ok, i got a 2003 350z a few months back, well today i was looking around it and seen the whole under hood is primer gray, i was checking it out because the bumper looked a little off on the lining, well anyone have any input on buying a car from the dealer and them not telling you that it was wrecked before you paied for it? the car is silver stone thats why i never really seen the primer before when i had the hood up! any input would be of great help!

the car was used, with 15k on it i got it for 21k they marked it down from 24k and never said it was in an accident! thanks al

 

they dont have to diclose it was in a accident? they do if it has a salvage title though. it's used man. sorry to say but you should have ran a carfax or opened your peepers a little better.

 

well i was wondering i asked, de lemon laws say that if it is missrepresented at the time of sale, it can still fall under this one federal act! and it was misrepresented at the time of sale because i was not told and i asked about the car, the rotors were really loud on the car too and i asked about that, seems the allgment was off, i later found out so he lied to me about that to, he said it was just from sitting for a while,?

 

silverstones are grey in the engine compartment, it's not primer, it's a grey base coat paint i assume.

 

my silverstone is grey base coat under the hood too.no worrrys

 

+1 and my bumper was not 100% even either. LOL

 

thanks guys i got scared there for a min lol!

 

That doesnt mean you shouldnt carfax your car.

 

After owning it for a "few months", kinda late for that, wouldn't you say?

 

1) Its a used car. The Lemon Law applies to new cars only.

2) Unless you bought it with a warranty, you bought it "as is".

bill

 

So if you bought it with a warrrenty this law applies?

 

Nope a used car is a used car. Body damage will never be coverd by a dealership unless the damage came from a part that failed. Lets say the strut feel out and caused damage to your fender. then Nissan would pick up the tab to fix it.

However, if you buy a used car and later find out it was repainted.... tough luck, didnt you do a detailed one over with the car before signing?

Now if it was a brand new car... you'd have yourself a case!

 

If yours is Silverstone like mine that is just the gray base coat with no clear coat or sparkle

 

i think it goes beyond a carfax... if you aren't comfortable with the appearance or a certain aspect of a used car you should just stay away... i can tell you right now, carfax does not report all accidents and if i could dig up the vins of my my friend's last two cars and my first maxima i'd post them up for everyone to check.

1st car was an '04 alti, front end damage from a civic and rim/control arm replaced when the car went into a median in rain (turanza tires)... the accident, i felt, was serious enough to report but it never came up...

2nd car was an '04 g35 that got rear ended... there was a total of about $14,000 in damage and the car was down for over 2 months... we checked carfax 4-5months later when my father was in the market for a car and the g was clean...

my maxima (1997 SE) had rear/quarter panel damage (i discovered later on) and before i bought the car i had carfaxed it and it was clean...

needless to say, when i shop for cars, i don't put much weight on the carfax if at all...

 

"1) Its a used car. The Lemon Law applies to new cars only."

If you buy a used car with a warranty, whatever is in the warranty applies. I never saw a used car warranty that guaranteed the car was never in an accident.

bill

 

1) As others have said, the plastic panels don't match the metal panels. I noticed it on my brand new Silverstone when I took delivery.

2) If it took you a "few months" to notice, then I guess it must not be very bad.

3) Dealers seldom know anything about the history of used cars. Most of them come from auctions, and even if is a local trade, owners lie to dealers too.

4) Don't count on CarFax to give you info about accidents. Unless it was totalled, and a salvage title issued, accidents seldom show up in CarFax reports.

5) And one more time (for everybody) unless you get a warranty with the deal, used cars are AS-IS. Do your inspections and research BEFORE you buy.

bill

 

Thats false in most states...It applies to used cars as well that fall under certain guidelines..

 

The so-called "Lemon Law" generally refers to the Moss-Magnusson act, a Federal statute that says in essence that if the manufacturer is unable to repair a defect after a reasonable number of attempts over a reasonable period of time, they must make resitution

"Magnuson-Moss is a federal law that protects the buyer of any product that costs more than $25 and comes with a written warranty.

The (somewhat) technical definition of what constitutes a vehicle that is a "lemon" is: any NEW vehicle that has a substantial problem that isn't fixed within a reasonable number of attempts, or that has had a certain number of days out of service."

Some states have passed similar legislation at the state level, and the sepcificss vary from state to state.

"State-Specific Lemon Laws :

Most state lemon laws specify that a manufacturer must provide a refund or replacement for a defective NEW vehicle when a substantial defect cannot be fixed in four attempts, a safety defect within two attempts or if the vehicle is out of service for 30 days within the first 12,000 to 18,000 miles or 12 to 24 months. "

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/lemon_law/

And please note that both the state and federal statutes deal with the manufacturers ability to repair defects. It does NOT deal with issues of disclosure of prior accidents, repairs, or other characteristics of a purchased vehicle

That does NOT mean a buyer can't take action if a seller misrepresents the vehicle, but it wouldn't be covered by the so-called Lemon Law, either at the state or federal level. As I stated, unless a specific warranty was provided, used vehicles are "as-is".

But as a generalization, when buying a used vehicle, the resposnible to determine its condition and suitability falls on the buyer.