I just got back from the dealership today. I had picked out the truck I wanted and when I showed up today...they showed me the truck being worked on in the Body Shop. Someone (Salesman) hit the truck while parking another one. Damage to the rear quarter panel, above wheel well, and to the bumper. Not really a great amount of damage. Also...This was Demo so the truck has 1700 miles on it.

But would you still buy it? I am thinking about still buying it if I could get the price discounted for the damage and mileage. How much should I ask to be discounted?

Your thoughts.

Z

 

well 2 thoughts:
1 how long are you planning to keep this truck? It will listed on carfax as being painted and or wrecked.
2 depends on how much you're willing to ride around in a brand new truck thats already been painted, to some its a big deal

 

what he said.

Depends on how much they are willing to come down in price. one way to approach it, see what they will do on the price then hit them up for accessories to throw in too.

 

Well, A lot of brand new cars on the dealer lots have body work of some sort already done on them before the consumer ever gets to buy them. Most of the damage that gets repaired is from very minor incidents tht occur when loading and transporting so many vehicles. I would ask if the body repair has to be reported. How much is actually damaged? Also, if there was no structural damage and it was only to the sheetmetal, I don't think there would be a huge problem with it at all, as long as the repairs are being done to the highest quality. Just my $.02

 

So what do you think a Demo truck discount is worth?

 

As stated above there are alot of new vehicles needing body repair after transport. In fact in 95 I bought a new Chevy Z71, an by the third year I owned it the clear coat started peeling off the hood, I took it to a paint and body shop in which I knew the guy and he looked at it and said where did you have the hood painted at. I stated I bought the truck new from a dealership and it's never been in a body shop as far as I know, he stated it's been damaged before and fixed probaly by the dealership or a outsource body shop, an that was not factory paint and clear coat on the hood. He said that happens alot that he had done several new vehicles himself for different dealerships. In fact anything not exceeding 1500.00 dollars total in damage they did not have to inform you it was damaged.

Also around these parts when they say "demo" you think "wow" I'll save a bundle with just a few miles on it, but they consider anything under 5k miles is to be sold as new.

Tony

 

I agree with what is said above about body work, I 'worked' (hung out and farted around) in a body shop that was right near a Dodge dealership when I was in high school, and they had vehicles in there all the time... 2-3 every time that they had a shipment in, and at least one a week from lot fender benders. I would think as long as the carfax is clean, (not wrecked) the dealer is selling it as 'new', and you check it out really good before hand, you should be good. I'd see what the rebates were for it, and try to get 7-10k after that. It all depends on what you are willing to pay. Go there in the middle of the night and ruin the other rear quater panel, make them fix it again, then buy it...

 

I would stay away. Carfaxes are not really all that. They are not always right and don't tell half the story. Trust Me!

Anyway, besides the carfax, dealers look at tape lines from painting. Unless the part is removed, all moving/ working parts removed and then sprayed like it was done at the factory, there will be a tape line.

Tape lines are a tell tail for a body part being sprayed. Watch the people who do the trade values. They look for tape lines.

Tape lines equals a painted part. Raises the question of why it was painted, Was it in a accident? Either way, tape lines cost you money on reslae value.

Unless your keeping this for 10 years and could care less, I would walk away. If your gonna trade into a new truck in 3-4 years, it will cost you money. A brand new truck that has been repainted is no longer brand new. Just my opinion.


further example. "All and I mean all Ford trucks" come with orange peel from the factory. This is a known problem. When something is fixed, it will be wet sanded and the orange peel will be gone. Making it noticable that body work was done.

 

The easy fix to that is to have the rest of the truck color sanded. It makes the truck look like a million bucks and would get rid of any blend lines.

 

I have an older S-10 and the neighbor backed into it about 10 years ago..

After about 5 years the clear coat started comming up and it looks pretty bad in a few places.. It was repaired at the local cadilac/GMC dealer.. Grat job for the first 5 years..

 

I wouldn't do it unless they are willing to give you a huge reduction in the sale price. Not worth the hassle.
Chip

 

Yep, huge discount and a warranty that the repaired areas will always look and holdup as well as the rest of the truck. I don't have any mercy on dealers and this would be another reason to beat them up as badly as possible. I bet they wouldn't have told you if you hadn't seen the damage already. Craig

 

If you buy it, remember...It`s not NEW.
It`s a Demo that`s been crashed, witch in my opinion would equate to a MAJOR discount with a written warranty for the crash repairs.

 

At first I was told there was a ding/dent in the rear bumper. So I asked to see it. They said it was being taken care of. I said I would like to see the damage before I buy the truck. I am surprised they took me into the body shop. There they were skimming and sanding.

I do plan on keeping the truck for a long time. If I can get a discount out of it, I think I would still do the deal. I would be curious to see if the dealership would tell another potential buyer about the damage. If they weren't inclined to give me a discount, I imagine they wouldn't tell anyone else about the previous damage. A shame if that is the case. I wish I would have taken a picture.

 

This will never show up in a carfax report, guaranteed. If they do a good job fixing the damage, and you can get a couple hundred off your best deal, go for it. Otherwise pass it up and get one you like.