What dealership did you get your Z from? I had almost the same problem when I bought my Z last year. I drove all the way to Ohio to pick it up thinking I was getting one hell of a deal. Dealer told me it was mint and carfax checked out. Once I started learning more about the vehicle I noticed where it had appeared to have been hit. I saw that the drivers side door sill was aluminum and the passengers was stock then my passengers side window would not go up, when taking the door apart I noticed that it was not put back together correctly and it was making the window not line up. There where mismatched bolts and screws holding the door together, a real bad job, prob. previous owner who did not disclose damage or file a police report and did the repairs himself, reason for a clean carfax report. Ultimately I repair these little things and moved on. I visually inspected the vehicle before purchase and there was no frame or suspension damage which was very important, glad it was just the door. Your case sounds a little worse, can you post pics of the repairs? GL, get it inspected for hidden damages, you might have a case against the dealer for not disclosing this info to you.

 

John,
In Fl is 5% of the MSRP but that does not include glass or plastic....is that true up there about the glass and plastic? I worked at a dealership for a while and there is a good chance the salesman didnt know the car was damaged.

 

Beyond the body shop if there was a claim on the vehicle through insurance there will be a record of the damage, i pull it up for my friends all the time before they buy a car, if any of you guys need my help let me know, saves buying the carfax.

 

thats a good question.... im not sure.... ill be the first to admit when i dont know something.... ill look into it and let you know

 

Umm no we didn't. At one point when I was there there were two other people and the rest there was only one other person. Also I can pretty much garantee you that a body shop is going to report everything that comes through the shop.

 

and like i said before if they dont then they are breaking the law.....the law is the law fella...if they arent reporting accident repairs then they are breaking it....

 

My last 2 car purchases are new but before that, I bought CPO for several years. A dealer may not know about previous damage but I don't care what they say, I usually tell them about damage. Three of the cpo's I bought had been in an accident. I'm a car nut. I can tell. Regardless of how good the repair is an enthusiast should know. There will be signs even for an off the car repair. There will be something different. Bought a 99 ES300. I told the salesguy I could feel slight overspray on a panel. I asked if everything was covered, it was and I bought the car. Bought my 95 SC300. It was so slight but I could feel a different texture on a quarter panel. Everything was covered so I bought it. The salesman and technicians were amazed at my ability to see these issues. Had a 94 J30 that also had some damage I told the salesman about. I'm no pro...just a car lover. Every car I've owned looks new til the day I part with it. Been washing and caring for cars for 30 years. I tap, kick, rub, push, shake and even smell cars before I buy...searching for imperfections.

If the damage possibly affected the frame or any moving part, I probably wouldn't buy it. A door or minor hit on a quarter panel, no biggie...but you do need to be aware.

 

"and like i said before if they dont then they are breaking the law.....the law is the law fella...if they arent reporting accident repairs then they are breaking it...."

Not in Cali it ain't. My wife had a minor fender bender. Repair was done through AAA & a local pro fix it shop. They did not report the repair. Plus, the other car (it was my wife's fault) did not want to call police because he was driving a friend's car without a license. So he scooted out before police could be called.

No record of accident anywhere....including Carfax.

 

it doesnt matter where you live..... THEY MUST REPORT ANY ACCIDENT REPAIRS THEY MAKE OR THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW....because there were certain circumstances that made this and that happen doesnt mean it isnt against the law.....