Buyer Be Really F***ing Aware

[Bailey Guns]

So, we bought a new car from a large Seattle-area dealer. I drove over, finalized the deal, and brought the car home on a trailer. When I picked up the car I looked it over, didn't notice anything, gave it a short drive around the lot (because I've driven one before), made sure everything worked, etc... Then loaded it and drove home. This car is a 2018 and had been at this dealership for probably 9 months or more. This was on the 15th of Feb.

The car sat under my carport for about a week because the weather forced me to drive my truck to work. Then, the 3-day WA registration had expired, so it sat a few more days until I could get a temp ID registration. When I was able to drive it I noticed a strong diesel exhaust smell in the cabin. Not the new kind of diesel exhaust smell - that doesn't really smell - but the old kind. Like an old city bus or something. That strong, obnoxious diesel smell. I started smelling it as soon as I'd get into the car. I initially thought it was from my tractor that is parked next to it under the carport. I'd used it a lot for snow plowing and such and I thought the exhaust was just getting into the car somehow.

After a few days I realized it wasn't the tractor. I opened the hood and the odor was really strong...as in there was definitely a leak in the exhaust system somewhere.

Took it to the dealer in town and it had 304 miles on it when I dropped it off. That was last Thursday, the 28th of Feb. Service advisor logged it in as a warranty repair and gave me a loaner since it would require an overnight stay for repairs (that's part of the Chevy warranty).

Today the service guy calls me and tells me that the catalytic converter and some other exhaust components along with some sort of underbody cover or shield had been punctured by something the car had obviously hit. He sent me pictures and I have to agree...it definitely looks like the car struck something. It's no longer a warranty claim. I'm now the lucky guy that gets to pay the $2511.72 bill for repairs. I have no idea if they're gonna charge me for the loaner they gave me when we thought it was a warranty issue.

So I'm waiting to hear back from the Seattle dealer to see if they're gonna just play dumb or work something out with me. It's quite possible they had no idea the car was damaged, either. I'm certain this had to have happened on a test drive or maybe on the lot. I've seen the way lot guys treat some of the cars.

Bottom line...make sure you REALLY check over any car you plan on purchasing.

My insurance company (GEICO) is willing to cover this as a no-fault comprehensive claim which is pretty cool since it's obviously a collision of some sorts. The adjuster said since I have no idea where/when it happened or what caused it he'd just do it that way. So that'll save me $500 on the deductible at least. I thought that was a pretty nice gesture.

Whatever was hit would've obviously been noticeable. That's a helluva hole.

[CS1983]

Looks almost like shrapnel hit it. Weird. Really bummed for you

[Irving]

Pretty sure you still owe the deductible on a comp claim, but it is upstanding of him to handle the claim that way. I don't know every policy in every state, so it's possible you have no, or lower deductible on comp. If so, more the better for you.

ETA: That is a crazy puncture. There is no way whoever was driving it at the time didn't know it happened. Not that it's helpful, but my guess is some salesman took the car to lunch, ran something over and just parked it without saying anything. I used to see that all the time when I worked at a dealership.

One time this guy was high on coke and totaled a car, then limped it back onto the lot and pretended like nothing happened. Haha.

[BushMasterBoy]

I would just MIG welded it.

[Skip]

I would just MIG welded it.

Good PSA!

The last used car we bought we paid to have it inspected by and indy repair shop which included pulling codes and putting on a lift. It was really clean and I trusted the dealer but you can never be too sure given the cost of things these days.

My folks have a RAV4 that needs a new converter and they were quoted a similar estimate just this week. A lot of labor to get at it apparently.

[ray1970]

Darn rabbits. They'll chew through anything if it sits long enough.

[Gman]

That really sucks.

So...what'd you get that's a 2018 diesel? Did you get another Cruze?

[Bailey Guns]

Pretty sure you still owe the deductible on a comp claim, but it is upstanding of him to handle the claim that way. I don't know every policy in every state, so it's possible you have no, or lower deductible on comp. If so, more the better for you.

Yeah, I have $1000 ded on collision and $500 on comp.

That really sucks.

So...what'd you get that's a 2018 diesel? Did you get another Cruze?

Yeah.

[def90]

New off the lot and they aren't covering it? What has the dealer that sold it to you said?

[Bailey Guns]

Haven't heard back from them yet. I doubt they're gonna be much help.

However, I do have a little leverage. Not much but it's something. Rather than just pay cash I financed it thru GM to get an additional $1250 rebate. The dealer asked me to make at least 4 payments before paying it off, otherwise they have to eat the $1250. And I also haven't got my Customer Satisfaction Survey from GM yet.

So if they don't want to help me with this I can at least cause them a little pain with those things.