Hey gentleman, just some thoughts what I should do in this situation. Went and bought brand new 2023 Ram 1500 Laramie, 2 weeks ago. My first wash found out the left rear bed side has been painted. No big deal, wanted to see how much damage there was , so I inspected and checked it out wasn't that bad. Called the dealer and told them, sales person found the body repair invoice and sent it to me. Just painted the left bed side and replaced tail light. Of course dealer never told me anything yet about this. He said that they don't have to reveal that info when its a small amount. LOL . Ya but the bill of sale says NEW ! No biggy, I said needs some paint cleaned up and I run under the gas door. But my concern was if it has a Carfax ? Yup it did for minor damage $2000.00. Now still love the truck. Need the Carfax removed or this isn't going to work for me. I did buy a new truck? Down the road I want to sell and it doesn't have a clean title? Thoughts?
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New 2023 Ram had damage and repainted.
- Thread starter Bill A
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Talk to the manager of the dealer, but first consult an attorney to educate yourself on consumer protection laws in the state where you live. Don’t tell them you spoke to a lawyer, but I would try to get a different truck. Really depends on the law where you live. And also, if you can, name the dealer. Irrespective of the law, that is a scum bag business practice and they should be publicly shamed. Be careful not to do it before you reach a resolution or you may undermine your leverage.
Biga
Ram Guru
Yea, I would demand a different truck, if it already has a carfax report against it is not a new truck. If they would have disclosed it to you in the selling process and offered a discount that that would have been the proper way to do business but what they did is a shady business practice. The repainted bed side may look good now but it is hard to tell how it will hold up in the long run as most repaints arn't as good as factory and may fade or fail sooner then the factory paint.
This part has truth to it. Depends on the state you are in. Some are 3% of MSRP. Some are 5% for repairs.
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Or on the flip side, most body shops will do a better job of painting, sanding, polishing, than the factory robots.
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It was probably damaged in shipping. It can be repaired prior to sale and still be sold as new because it was never registered. Even though there has been a repair, and a Carfax report, it was still a new truck that has never been sold. As mentioned above, read the laws from your state and educate yourself prior to storming into the dealer.
Prior repair or not, your truck took a huge depreciation but as soon as you signed the paperwork and drive it off the lot. But you wouldn't have complained about that. Minor body damaged, that has been repaired, doesn't devalue a vehicle enough to worry about. And I highly doubt you bought your truck as an investment hoping to make money off of it when you trade it in a few years down the road.
My last 21 Ram had front fender and mirror replaced and if the dealer hadn't told me you would never know it.
In my earlier days I worked in a body shop and looked it over pretty good. They did a solid job.
After 2 minnesota winters and 125K miles it still looked great when I traded it in.
Tom
In my earlier days I worked in a body shop and looked it over pretty good. They did a solid job.
After 2 minnesota winters and 125K miles it still looked great when I traded it in.
Tom
Correct it varies by state, I forget what ours is becuase it was silly high like 5% which is frankly a LOT of repair on a $60K truck average.
Our internal policy is $1K damage gets alerted to sold order customers with the option to re-order or refund deposit.
BUT that is if it arrives to us with said damage. If it is damage in production or transit and fixed by RAM before it ever gets to us, they never tell us exactly what was done - as it's all part of the production process and they haven't released possession.
We can probably have a LOT of fun debates on the proper definition of NEW as well, but it really comes down to what you value in your mind rather that just the word.
SD Rebel
Spends too much time on here
Vehicles are damaged and repaired all the time due to incidents in shipping, that being said, it's in a freaking Carfax report, that should not be the case!
If the damage was small enough that they didn't disclose that to you, it should be small enough not to show up in a car history report. Most reports are great at showing oil changes, but body damage usually requires a large incident. That's why I don't rely on them when buying used to know if the vehicle was in an actual accident.
The fact your truck showed up in a history report with that damaged noted before you took delivery would be a no go for me. That incident automatically depreciates that truck on the market a bit. Unless the price was especially discounted to compensate, I would be complaining with the dealership about this and wanting either a different truck with no damage history or money back.
If the damage was small enough that they didn't disclose that to you, it should be small enough not to show up in a car history report. Most reports are great at showing oil changes, but body damage usually requires a large incident. That's why I don't rely on them when buying used to know if the vehicle was in an actual accident.
The fact your truck showed up in a history report with that damaged noted before you took delivery would be a no go for me. That incident automatically depreciates that truck on the market a bit. Unless the price was especially discounted to compensate, I would be complaining with the dealership about this and wanting either a different truck with no damage history or money back.
I am not really worried about the damage to much and if they would of said something up front I would made my decision to take it or another one. They lied that's the thing. Also its on Carfax! They want to be shady should of fixed it without going on Carfax. I am in Florida. They are willing to fix it properly not a problem, they said. Plus it was there body shop who did the repair , showed me the bill.
Biga
Ram Guru
Not saying it can't be fixed and sold legally as it can in most states, that said because it's legal does not mean it's not a deceptive business practice and not the way to do business. A small scratch or ding I can kind of see but repaint of entire bed side is a big repair and should be disclosed to your customer before selling so they can make a decision to take it or not.
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Whenever you get the issue resolved please post the name of the dealership so any fellow Floridians can steer clear of it.
Darksteel165
Legendary member
I have never thought there existed a need to say "show me the carfax" on a damn new truck. If they fixed it that's on them legal or not, but they reported it as damaged and did not disclose the truck was damaged and needed to be repaired post production, it might still be considered new as you the the original owner, but they need or should of disclosed the damage as they reported it as damaged to carfax screwing your over resale value and the cost of the truck itself would be lower for being repainted even with 0 ownersbefore you even brought it paint repairs are a big thing for resale and you weren't informed it was repaired by the dealership prior to the sale, new vehicle are assumed to never of been repaired and documented prior to the sale. Fixing minor problem is fine, reporting it isn't.
Also OP said the taillight was replaced, so there was likely body damage done to it, what everyone else would call an auto accident which affects the value of the truck.
Have them give you back $5k, maybe call your local attorney generals office too.
Also OP said the taillight was replaced, so there was likely body damage done to it, what everyone else would call an auto accident which affects the value of the truck.
Have them give you back $5k, maybe call your local attorney generals office too.
6of36
Spends too much time on here
My dad bought a "new" GMC in 1989 or 90. After about a year, paint started peeling. He went to have it repaired under warranty. They told him it wasn't warranty, because the truck had been repainted. Turned out, the entire side of the truck had been damaged, repaired, and painted, before being sold as new, and not disclosed. He died last year , so I can't ask him how they resolved it, whether he got some credit, but I know someone at that dealership was lucky to be alive.
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A small scratch that goes down to metal requires a repaint on the entire bed side. That's how automotive painting/blending works.
GMetal
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Did they tape to the plastic or remove the plastic rail covers? Do the rail covers show signs of being pried off? Can you see overspray on anything? Is there visible tape lines? A LED flashlight will show any paint problems. If they tried to "blend" the clear there will be a shadow line where the clear edge will show up no matter who sanded and buffed it. That could be hidden by using wax. Id be very angry if I bought a new vehicle that was painted after it shipped from the factory.
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Darksteel165
Legendary member
They replaced the taillight and reported it to carfax too. So whatever it was broke the taillight too.
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The dealer probably didn't report it to car fax, I'm going to assume it was repaired under either the shipping companies insurance policy, or dealerships insurance, which means the insurance company reported it
Biga
Ram Guru
Most won't take the time as they run regular cars through the paint booth as fast as they can do get as many in and out they can in a day, plus if done correctly they will need to match the factory orange peel on the adjacent panels. I don't trust any body shops, the last time I had my dealers body shop fix some minor front end damage. They didn't even bother to remove the PPF on the little panels under the headlights and painted right over it LOL, honestly I didn't notice it until I took it back to the PPF dealer to have it reinstalled like a month later. I had to take it back and have it redone.
Fl threshold is 3% of MSRP
Sorry you are going through this.
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