GFM2Fitty

I have an 07 Lexus IS250 which I purchased from Lexus of Cerritos about 3 months ago. I bought it preowned at 45,000 miles so which means i still have my factory bumper to bumper warranty. This car had 1 owner and has all it's clean history and service records. Finally...I found something very interesting today at a local shop. Technician showed me my whole driver side of the car has been repainted(noticed the ****ty paint job), most of the body clips were missing, gas tank was bent, and when they took the rear wheels off there were BIG ripped holes on the wheel wall. Looked like wheels were rubbing against it somehow?? very obvious fact that this car was hit pretty hard. I was very shocked from what I saw today and very disappointed...I mean this is Lexus..and bought it FROM actual damn Lexus dealership. I'm ready to chew up their *** and take this to the court. What do you guys think about this?

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Was it certified?

2BENVD

iTrader: (1)

This reminds me of a court case i heard about a lady buying a brand new bmw, couple weeks pass an she finds out the front of the hood/bumper was a different shade of paint then the rest of the car, she got the car inspected by a shop and she figured right, apparently the car certainly had cosmetic issues the dealership failed to mention it, she of course took it to court and won a huge settlement, so hope you can to, good luck

GFM2Fitty

I don't remember...how can I find out?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

It would have said Certified Pre-Owned on the window sticker. If it did not, it's straight caveat emptor unless the dealership told you the car had never been in an accident.

stick

I think they would have to disclose it was in an accident/had body work. Even if the damage was not entered in Carfax, a certification through Lexus should have revealed the damage.......so they missed the body work which is a serious mistake on their part or they chose not to tell you. I say get a refund or full credit for what you originally paid so you can buy another car.

GFM2Fitty

I really hope I get my money back...I mean I want more than that to be honest. So what you guys are saying is that ONLY certified used cars can be returned on situations like this?? Doesnt make sense to me... I thought it's against the law for the actual certified big dealerships like "Lexus" selling horrible wrecked cars like this.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

A car is only certified if it passes Lexus' however many point inspection. If this car wasn't marked CPO, then it probably didn't pass the test for the reason you're upset now.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

If they didn't tell a lie, there's not a lot you can do. It's not against the law. This is why you get an independent party to inspect any used car before you sign the contract. It's also why people buy CPO, not just any used car.

mmarshall

How closely did you examine the body work/paint when you bought it? And what color is the car? Silver cars, and light silverish-metallic blues/greens, in particular, are hard to match the paint, for technical reasons in the amount of metallic particles used. Black cars are usually easy to match the actual color, but very difficult sometimes to get the exact same texture...so you can often spot it by slight texture-differences in the panels. If you have a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Lexus, you probably have a case against the dealership. With a Non-Certified model (in other words, the average used-car), it is less-clear, but check with an auto-attorney for whatever provisions in CA state law (if any) apply to specific conditions like this.

mmarshall

I often do that for people myself.......but, of course, that's water over the dam. It doesn't help him in THIS specific situation, after the sale.

Saturn used to address this problem by allowing returns of used cars, up to 30 days after sale, just like they did with their new ones....but again, that doesn't help out now.

Dealerships, though, (sometimes), if faced with a good lawyer or a customer that has a clear case, will quietly take back the car for a refund rather than have the negative publicity of a lawsuit or legal dispute make the local newspapers....they don't want bad press, for obvious reasons.

GFM2Fitty

Agreed. I'm not gonna even waste my time going back to the dealer *****ing. I know they'll try their best to get out of it...Gonna go search for a good lawyer.

mmarshall

If you decide to go that route, try and find one that has experience in auto-litigation cases. And, as a couple of posters here have pointed out, you may or may not end up with a legal case.

Good Luck. I'm 3000 miles away in VA, and can't personally help you much beyond what I've described here, but when you're ready to buy your next car, there are some experienced CL members in the SoCal area that (maybe) can help you check/inspect your next one.

GFM2Fitty

thanks man. I'll come back with an IS-F HAHAHA jk...

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well, first you will have to find what's "illegal" about it. like others said, if the car is CPO, then it's probably a problem coz' i believe for a car to be CPO, it can't be in any accident (maybe over certain $ amount). otherwise if it's not CPO, then it's just another normal used car, nothing different from the ones you see at independent dealer lot or private parties.

i don't think at the time of purchase the dealership has to disclose prior history to the car. it's up to you to ask. if you asked them, and they said the car has absolutely no accident what-so-ever (and got it on writing), then you might have a case

of course, using lawyer will help, like marshall said they want their reputation. but to be very honest, there are assumptions you made that are just not right