Greetings,

This is my first post we just purchased a used 2017 GX 460 premium with I think almost every option except the rear dvd screens. My wife and I were pretty happy with this vehicle, it met all of our criteria and we decided to buy used. Anyhow we purchased it with 39000 miles from a national used car company that you all have heard of. Purchased 6 days ago and it was late in the day. I have been working all week and today was the first time I really got a good look at in the daylight. I was shocked to see lots of dents in the roof and upon further inspection found it appears this car was damage from hail and repaired. Except the roof. I called the dealer and they told be to bring it in Monday so they can look at it. How much of a depreciation would one expect if the roof is dented? Lot of dents. Or should we just return it and keep looking? Thanks

 

They should have disclosed hail damage. The diminished value based on hail damage depends on too many factors to guess at - you'd have to have an appraisal done, but the diminished value can be quite significant - many cars are totaled if it affects trim pieces or areas close to weather stripping. I've seen $10k estimates for repair on cars that didn't look "too bad."

 

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like the hood had dent removal done and if the dealer is willing to do the same for the roof, I wouldn't sweat it too much if you really like the truck and got it at a good price. I figure the headliner will need to be dropped for this so not a cheap thing for the dealer to cover.

So you do have an option to return if you choose?

 

My wife and I do like it, I thought it was a fair deal until this morning. They told me we can return it if we are not satisfied, I agree they should have disclosed the hail damage before purchasing. If they can refund me the estimated depreciation from the damage we will keep it. Otherwise return and and keep looking for another low mileage GX. Thanks for the input.

 

I assume carmax or carvana etc. Just return it, if they fail disclose prior damage, what else are they hiding.

You can be clever by asking for the depreciation, but thats your call. Depreciation on our GXs can be found by looking at comparable vehicles with similar accident reports, but again its not specific to hail damage.

 

I had bad hail damage on my Silverado and I was sick about it. I took it to who I was told was the best paintless dent guy in town. It was bad and I was sick about it. The guy looked it over and said not to worry I would never know it happened. I guess he sensed I wasn’t convinced and told me when I came to get it, If I saw one dent in the truck, there was no charge. When I went to get it I couldn’t believe it, it was perfect! I gladly paid the man and was thrilled all the way home. If I was you, I would give the dealer a chance to fix it if you like the GX. I think they can make it right and make you happy. If you look at it and are not happy, walk away.

 

Why live with it ... even with compensation, you will always know it's there. Lots of good examples are out there.

Years ago I worked in Boulder, CO ... new to the area. One day at work everyone bolted for the doors to move their cars under the nearest overhead protection ... trees ... whatever was available. I had no clue what was going on, but observed an extremely smart and calm person open their trunk and pull out an inflatable king mattress that they bungee'd to the roof of their car, and another over the front hood. The major hail storm passed thru ... and inside 5-minutes my Acura (with extremely thin sheet metal) was destroyed.

Moral of the story ... keep an inflatable mattress in your trunk if you live in one of these areas ... cheap insurance.

 

Or you could actually get a proper solution where the bungee cords and mattress won't scratch your paint.

 

Don't think these were available back in 1996 ... always an innovative solution available at some point

 

I'd return and get a different one. Although the paint less dent removal (PDR) guys can do amazing jobs, you'll still be bothered by it. Not to mention when it's the time to sell, you'll have to disclose the hail damage and whatnot.

 

Yes, and I'm still not sure how well these work. I've seen hail and wind rip one of those canopies right off when I was in Colorado. The mattress probably won't go anywhere.

 

... probably 100+ small dings the way hail typically hits ... so the cost per ding using the paintless removal approach would add up quickly.

 

Agree. But I think in his case, the dealership will have to cover the cost for sure if he decides to keep the GX.

 

Did the carfax show anything about hail damage? I've had some serious hail damage repaired by an expert dent removal guy, and you truly would never have known it happened! The dealer may be able to take care of it easily for you if you really like the car. They may even refund some $$ for your trouble.

 

In the end we decided to keep the GX, they had someone do a PDR job and the truck looks perfect all around and the roof is still not perfect but you have to look real hard now to see anything, and honestly I doubt anyone else would notice. Amazing how they can pull out dents now! They offered to take it back no question asked or find another one. We looked at a few and none of the others have the luxury package with the driver support that my wife seems love. This is the first used car I have ever purchased the interior looks brand new as does the exterior. Anyways thanks to all for the discussions.