Back in December, I posted about a no-fault accident I had with my old Honda Civic. I searched around for the best deals, and eventually decided on purchasing a used 2008 Hyundai Elantra, with ~17000 miles. We paid ~$12,000, and it had a few known issues:
However, the dealer promised to fix the mirror (which had to be done to allow the car to pass inspection anyway). Edit: The dealer did say we were basically purchasing "a new car," and didn't point out any other problems.
About a month later, I noticed that the fender liner (plastic sheet that goes over the tire) for the driver-side was broken. We purchased the part and installed it ourselves, but it only led to more discoveries. The "lip" on the bumper that held the fender liner was completely broken off, preventing it from being installed properly. Still, I shrugged it off and continued to drive it.
About a week ago, I discovered that the bumper on the same side was starting to separate from the rest of the car. We called the dealer, and the guy who sold the car to us agreed to fix the problem, thinking that a simple screw had to be put in to keep the bumper from falling off.
So I meet the guy today, he sends me to a body shop, and they tell me they I need a new bumper. Prices ranged from $519 (the shop I was initially sent to), including parts and labor, to $733, NOT including the fog light or the headlight. Needless to say, the dealer went back on his word and refused to cover the expense.
I went to talk to a friend of my mother's that does body work, and he said we simply overpaid for the car, pointing out dents that went previously unnoticed on the hood and side of the vehicle, and said that the car already had work done on the bumper and the door, but they essentially half-assed it. He told us that the bumper, headlight, and foglight needed to be replaced (there were cracks throughout the body, and when he took off a part of the bumper to show us, the fog light actually fell out because it wasn't held on), and due to the extent of the damage, the dealer must have known about the issues and simply tucked everything in to make the issues difficult to notice in the lot.
The dealer is only willing to "find a screw to bolt the bumper to the car," but our friend explained that we should go back and make them handle all of the expenses, adding that he was amazed they "would even sell a car like that." His best advice was to stop driving the car entirely, and either talk to the dealer again or get the car appraised for a trade in, because Elantras are hard to sell and have low resell values.
Now, the NY State lemon law doesn't cover my vehicle (and doesn't seem to cover body issues), but I know that dealers are required to provide all known accident (and presumably damage) information when a customer purchases a used vehicle, but if we were to take him to a small claims court or tried to return the car, we would have to prove the the dealer had knowledge of the problems (though nothing about the bumper was said when we purchased the car).
I plan on filing with the BBB, but I it will probably be of no assistance. Anyone have any recommendations?
Edit: Forgot to attach pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/co...lantra?feat=directlink
They only show off what I saw when I first discovered the problem. That is what the car looks like on the outside.
Cliffs:
Bought used Elantra
Found body damage after the fact.
Stuck footing the bill
- The driver-side mirror was cracked
- The driver-side headlight had a chip in it
- The windshield had a small crack on the opposite side of the car (still legal to drive - fine to this day)
However, the dealer promised to fix the mirror (which had to be done to allow the car to pass inspection anyway). Edit: The dealer did say we were basically purchasing "a new car," and didn't point out any other problems.
About a month later, I noticed that the fender liner (plastic sheet that goes over the tire) for the driver-side was broken. We purchased the part and installed it ourselves, but it only led to more discoveries. The "lip" on the bumper that held the fender liner was completely broken off, preventing it from being installed properly. Still, I shrugged it off and continued to drive it.
About a week ago, I discovered that the bumper on the same side was starting to separate from the rest of the car. We called the dealer, and the guy who sold the car to us agreed to fix the problem, thinking that a simple screw had to be put in to keep the bumper from falling off.
So I meet the guy today, he sends me to a body shop, and they tell me they I need a new bumper. Prices ranged from $519 (the shop I was initially sent to), including parts and labor, to $733, NOT including the fog light or the headlight. Needless to say, the dealer went back on his word and refused to cover the expense.
I went to talk to a friend of my mother's that does body work, and he said we simply overpaid for the car, pointing out dents that went previously unnoticed on the hood and side of the vehicle, and said that the car already had work done on the bumper and the door, but they essentially half-assed it. He told us that the bumper, headlight, and foglight needed to be replaced (there were cracks throughout the body, and when he took off a part of the bumper to show us, the fog light actually fell out because it wasn't held on), and due to the extent of the damage, the dealer must have known about the issues and simply tucked everything in to make the issues difficult to notice in the lot.
The dealer is only willing to "find a screw to bolt the bumper to the car," but our friend explained that we should go back and make them handle all of the expenses, adding that he was amazed they "would even sell a car like that." His best advice was to stop driving the car entirely, and either talk to the dealer again or get the car appraised for a trade in, because Elantras are hard to sell and have low resell values.
Now, the NY State lemon law doesn't cover my vehicle (and doesn't seem to cover body issues), but I know that dealers are required to provide all known accident (and presumably damage) information when a customer purchases a used vehicle, but if we were to take him to a small claims court or tried to return the car, we would have to prove the the dealer had knowledge of the problems (though nothing about the bumper was said when we purchased the car).
I plan on filing with the BBB, but I it will probably be of no assistance. Anyone have any recommendations?
Edit: Forgot to attach pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/co...lantra?feat=directlink
They only show off what I saw when I first discovered the problem. That is what the car looks like on the outside.
Cliffs:
Bought used Elantra
Found body damage after the fact.
Stuck footing the bill