Automotive

Locked: New car damaged in transit. Can decline to buy it and can i get my deposit back?

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 6th, 2019 1:53 am
Newbie
Nov 22, 2016
58 posts
33 upvotes

New car damaged in transit. Can decline to buy it and can i get my deposit back?

I bought a new car from BMW dealer. The car did not arrive on time and the dealer told me that the car was damaged in transit. There is a dent on the front of the car and they have sent it to body shop to fix. The sales person said he doesn't know how serious it is as he did not see the car. I don't feel comfortable getting a car which has been damaged. What should I do? Can I decline to purchase a car from them?

Update: Dealer showed me the picture. It turns out not to be a dent in the front of the car. The whole back window is completely broken and glass falls all over the trunk. There is also a dent on the back of the car located close the window. I see the car after being fixed and it seems new to the eye. I also get the internal report on the fixture from the dealer, the back window has been replaced completely, the back window wiper and the dent are fixed. The total cost of the fix is more than 3000. The carproof shows nothing.
Now the dealer offered me 1000 discount if I take the car.
Should I take it?
Last edited by mitchieyy on Jan 20th, 2017 12:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
51 replies
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jul 30, 2007
33237 posts
21168 upvotes
Toronto
you can certainly request not to take delivery of the said car and simply ask for another one. The dealer will then have to order you another one which may take a couple of months. If the dealer refuses to do so, then ask for the $ back and call up OMVIC (if you are in Ontario) and file a formal complaint.
Deal Fanatic
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Mar 17, 2006
6913 posts
5816 upvotes
Burlington
Yes, you can decline and get your money back.
AND SPLIT IT TO THE PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONs.
Temp. Banned
Jun 18, 2008
5095 posts
4664 upvotes
Montreal
booblehead wrote: you can certainly request not to take delivery of the said car and simply ask for another one. The dealer will then have to order you another one which may take a couple of months. If the dealer refuses to do so, then ask for the $ back and call up OMVIC (if you are in Ontario) and file a formal complaint.
If the dealer gives him his deposit back, why should he file a 'formal complaint'. What's the purpose of this? To do maximum damage to a business? Stuff happens. The car got damaged in transport, many dealers would not have been as honest and would have just fixed it and sold it to him. This happens more than you can imagine. You should seriously stop your vindictive agenda towards dealers.
Deal Addict
Mar 14, 2006
4409 posts
819 upvotes
ottofly wrote: If the dealer gives him his deposit back, why should he file a 'formal complaint'. What's the purpose of this? To do maximum damage to a business? Stuff happens. The car got damaged in transport, many dealers would not have been as honest and would have just fixed it and sold it to him. This happens more than you can imagine. You should seriously stop your vindictive agenda towards dealers.
do you even read? he said if the dealer refuses then file the formal complaint.
Deal Expert
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Jul 30, 2007
33237 posts
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Toronto
How so ? Not to do damage to the dealer. Some dealers are not so easy to deal with and will put up all kinds of obstacles for the buyers to have the problem resolved. (I am sure you have seen the hundreds of threads with this kind of situations in which you had commented on them in the past) I am just stating if dealer does not give the $ back and/or refuses to order another car, then proceed to file a formal complaint and hope they will assist the buyer in getting the deposit back. Is this not justified ? If this happens to you, would you not want your $ back ? I wonder.

I understand some dealers will work with the buyers to come to a mutual agreement and resolution, but OP here simply wants a new car that is totally undamaged. If OP chooses to settle with dealer by requesting monetary damages to be paid out, then the matter would be a closed case.
Temp. Banned
Jun 18, 2008
5095 posts
4664 upvotes
Montreal
booblehead wrote: How so ? Not to do damage to the dealer. Some dealers are not so easy to deal with and will put up all kinds of obstacles for the buyers to have the problem resolved. (I am sure you have seen the hundreds of threads with this kind of situations in which you had commented on them in the past) I am just stating if dealer does not give the $ back and/or refuses to order another car, then proceed to file a formal complaint and hope they will assist the buyer in getting the deposit back. Is this not justified ? If this happens to you, would you not want your $ back ? I wonder.

I understand some dealers will work with the buyers to come to a mutual agreement and resolution, but OP here simply wants a new car that is totally undamaged. If OP chooses to settle with dealer by requesting monetary damages to be paid out, then the matter would be a closed case.
Maybe I misunderstood but the OP clearly wants his money back, 'can i refuse to purchase a car from them'? Where in the OP does it even imply he wants to work with the dealer? In that case, just ask for the deposit back and go elsewhere. Obviously if he refuses, file a complaint.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Mar 9, 2007
15620 posts
13286 upvotes
Think of the Childre…
If they go through insurance, yes.
gizmo8 wrote: Wonder if the damage would be listed on the car history report.

WOULD SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jan 8, 2006
11295 posts
6298 upvotes
Ontario
Do not take delivery of this car, unless you are ok with that damage (which you are not) and/or dealer gives you heavy discount on it (which they probably won't). Though I would not accept it even with further discount.

Refuse delivery and order same one from this dealer, provided they are willing to throw something extra for inconvenience. Otherwise go to another dealer, or another brand. The dealer has 90 days to deliver car, which I am assuming either already passed or will pass soon. If the car is not deliverred (in a new, perfect condition) then you have the right to cancel and take your money back. Do not listen to dealer fairytales, details of this are clearly written on your bill of sale.
Deal Expert
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Oct 6, 2010
15881 posts
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Toronto
Andro wrote: Do not take delivery of this car, unless you are ok with that damage (which you are not) and/or dealer gives you heavy discount on it (which they probably won't). Though I would not accept it even with further discount.

Refuse delivery and order same one from this dealer, provided they are willing to throw something extra for inconvenience. Otherwise go to another dealer, or another brand. The dealer has 90 days to deliver car, which I am assuming either already passed or will pass soon. If the car is not deliverred (in a new, perfect condition) then you have the right to cancel and take your money back. Do not listen to dealer fairytales, details of this are clearly written on your bill of sale.
This is solid advice op.
DIY difficulty scale:
0-joke
10-no joke
Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2011
41802 posts
30056 upvotes
Center of Universe
Refuse delivery.
Do not sign for it, with them promising that they will take care of things for you (ie: try to repair it back to 100% or get you a new one if not satisfied).
Walk away ASAP!
Deal Fanatic
Aug 4, 2008
5752 posts
2585 upvotes
Toronto
Wait to hear from what the damage is and ask for pics to be sent to you.

If it's just a minor chip on the hood, and it needs to be repainted, I don't think that is a big issue.

A colleage of mine had a chip on the front hood, they repainted it, but also polished and buffed the vehicle for him. He said it looked better after than it did when it first arrived on the lot.
Member
Mar 16, 2014
256 posts
75 upvotes
CLAREMONT
First it would make a difference if it's a lease or purchase, lease as long as they fix it then I wouldn't care. Purchase I would ask to find out what the damage is as others said, if it's just a small dent and they do paintless dent removal and it doesn't show after I would think it's fine if you really want this car.

I don't think I would be ok with anything needing repainting personally if I'm buying the car but like I said above lease I don't care I would have it documented in case it causes issues later on but because it's their doing and they repaired it should be ok.

If you have regrets over your purchase and need a good excuse to back out then that's a different story.
Deal Expert
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Jul 30, 2007
33237 posts
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Toronto
One of my past car which I purchased brand new was damaged (at the front passenger door) and was repaired/repainted by the dealer without my knowledge at all. I only found out when I was trading in the car in later years that another dealer had measured the paint thickness on the car and found the deviation and issue and informed me of such. The end result was the appraised value had to be adjusted by about $2000 for this issue. Now, if I had known about this before delivery, I would most likely refuse to take delivery of the car as I know it may affect future resale value down the road. Well, that's just me.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Apr 21, 2004
58648 posts
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Can you walk off with 30% off?

That's the pitch car sellers get from dealerships when they try to trade in a used car within a one year period.
Deal Guru
Oct 6, 2007
11213 posts
10058 upvotes
Kootenays
In my high school years, I worked at Autoport in N.S. Almost all of the brands we transported had in-house body shops to deal with transportation damage. Most dealerships wouldn't even know if a car arrived with damage that had been repaired. Lots of cars had minor scrapes or dents repaired.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 20, 2011
1002 posts
594 upvotes
Montreal-Ouest, QC
ottofly wrote: If the dealer gives him his deposit back, why should he file a 'formal complaint'. What's the purpose of this? To do maximum damage to a business? Stuff happens. The car got damaged in transport, many dealers would not have been as honest and would have just fixed it and sold it to him. This happens more than you can imagine. You should seriously stop your vindictive agenda towards dealers.
Chill.. it's common knowledge and fact that dealers will scam you any way they can.Face With Stuck-out Tongue And Tightly-closed Eyes
Paying full price for an item is a sin. :twisted:
Deal Guru
Aug 14, 2007
12807 posts
3837 upvotes
--
rebel_rfd wrote: Wait to hear from what the damage is and ask for pics to be sent to you.

If it's just a minor chip on the hood, and it needs to be repainted, I don't think that is a big issue.

A colleage of mine had a chip on the front hood, they repainted it, but also polished and buffed the vehicle for him. He said it looked better after than it did when it first arrived on the lot.
Do you know how long it takes to polish/buff a vehicle? Not too long given you aren't doing it by hand.

I myself would be pretty angry if I bought a brand new car and had a chip in the paint and then had it repainted, I'd rather take a brand new, 100% paint matched to the rest of the body hood.

I don't know, it's hard to say and everyone has a different answer because they have a different opinion. I myself like my vehicle, but am pretty pissed off right now after taking my vehicle in for a recall on the transaxle, the next day (yesterday) I went to accelerate out of my driveway and had almost no power, heard a clunk and then everything went back to normal, it did this 3 other times and surprise surprise this did not happen until right after I went for the recall. Service at the dealership has been closed until tomorrow (monday) so they will be getting a nice phone call from me (keep in mind, I have had this vehicle in (bought brand new Aug 2014) about 13 times now for various problems ranging from minor rattles to major issues (well, major to me, such as the radio randomly not turning on, an update fixed that though).

So while I can understand the frustrations the OP has, it is somewhat a pretty big problem. It comes down to (in the end) how he gets treated by the dealership. In my case, the dealership (after reading my review of them) fired the sales person that sold me the vehicle (long story) and tries to make sure that all issues (even new ones that come up) get fixed. But at the same time, I will never buy a vehicle of the same brand ever again because of the issues I have had (Jeep, who very obviously bought their 'amazing vehicle reliability' reviews when the Cherokee came back out)
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 19, 2007
1451 posts
811 upvotes
Torontario
We've been on this topic before, right? exactly for a BMW (http://forums.redflagdeals.com/bmw-2016 ... t-2036995/)
I hope guys you are not sourcing from the same dealer... as this would be more coincidental than pure bad luck.
Banned
Mar 11, 2016
2081 posts
893 upvotes
just walk away ...who wants a damaged new car...cant imagine they would not let you cancel the deal unless they can provide a similar replacement in reasonable time

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