End of last month I bought a new car from a VW dealer, 2014 with 65 miles on it. Not an expensive car and got a good price on it, so I thought. I signed the usual paper accepting 'as is'. AFAIK, this is standard practice that I've seen whenever I buy a car. I inspected the car at the time of purchase and didn't notice the damage. Just yesterday I noticed about 9 small dimples, mostly in the roof. Nothing was disclosed at the time of the sale, verbally or in writing.  It's possible that they didn't notice it, but I'd be surprised. I didn't think to ask for a Carfax, since it was brand new.

I recently had my 3-year old car in for hail repair and it was a PITA. $500 out of pocket for the deductible, plus car in the shop for 2 weeks. They had to remove the hood, rear hatch, headliner, etc. and while they did a great job replacing everything, you never know if there are going to be issues resulting from the repairs.

I have full coverage on the new car, and chances are it will get hailed on in its lifetime requiring repairs through insurance.

I plan to contact the dealer on Monday to see what they say, but frankly am not looking forward to the time and hassle. And I haven't told my wife yet, 'cause I know she'll hit the freakin' roof.

Any thoughts or words of advice out there? What would DMF do?

Go show the GM of the dealership.


Ask for mil readings on the roof, over 5 and it's been repaired/repainted.

Are the dimples "in" or "out"?

I never signed anything "As is" on a new vehicle.  Certainly the person who cleaned the car for delivery would have noticed the damage.  Approach them nicely, but first find out what the laws are regarding delivery of a new car with damage where you live.

You might want to start your search here:
http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/consumer_resource_guide/automobiles

North Carolina is easy:
http://ncdoj.gov/Consumer/Automobiles/Disclosing-Car-Damage.aspx

Thanks for the reply.  The dimples are in, so it hasn't been repaired. It looks like my other car that escaped mostly undamaged except for a few larger than average hail stones that struck random areas.

I plan to email the GM and cc: the other involved parties. I'm pretty sure CO law requires disclosure of damage prior to sale. A small part of the issue is that the dealer is 1.5 hours drive from here.

I guess when it comes down to it, I don't want to have it ripped into to repair, since it's brand new. My other car was 3-years old and I planned to sell it, so I wasn't as bothered by it. Plus, it happened under my ownership.

Quote from: howie on January 18, 2015, 10:55:04 AM
I never signed anything "As is" on a new vehicle.  Certainly the person who cleaned the car for delivery would have noticed the damage.  Approach them nicely, but first find out what the laws are regarding delivery of a new car with damage where you live.

You might want to start your search here:
http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/consumer_resource_guide/automobiles

North Carolina is easy:
http://ncdoj.gov/Consumer/Automobiles/Disclosing-Car-Damage.aspx

Thanks, Howie.  I never saw the person doing the detailing, so I'm not sure there. I only noticed the dimples after owning it for a few weeks --the light and angle has to be just right, then it's pretty obvious.

The as-is paper I signed at this dealer and a previous one when I bought new 3 years ago. I think it's more of a statement that no additional work is to be performed by the dealer unless authorized. It does say 'Sold as-is', though so may or may not be binding.

I'll be doing some more research.

Sold As Is means just that, if you didnt notice, too bad, especially after a few weeks, really there is no way of knowing when it happened

Never park near a driving range.

Quote from: Grampa on January 18, 2015, 05:16:33 PM
Never park near a driving bombing range.

Quote from: stonemaster on January 18, 2015, 04:44:12 PM
Sold As Is means just that, if you didnt notice, too bad, especially after a few weeks, really there is no way of knowing when it happened

I have to verify through the AG, but my understanding is that by CO law they are required to disclose any damage prior to sale of a new vehicle.

I suppose it could've been something else, but I'm sure most would agree the damage was due to hail. Hail is rarely if ever seen outside of spring and early summer in CO. In other words, it's pretty safe to say it happened while in the dealer's possession.

I may end up pulling a CarFax to see if it was actually reported but I'll probably speak with the dealer first.

After a few weeks is a long time to make a claim. 

I thought the "as is" clause applied only to used vehicles.
Maybe it goes state by state.

Quote from: Ducatamount on January 19, 2015, 04:38:39 AM
I thought the "as is" clause applied only to used vehicles.
Maybe it goes state by state.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This.

How can a new vehicle, with a manufacturers warranty, be sold 'as is'?

Because dealers often add things like rims, or paint protection packages into the the deal. Typically those are written on a "due bill". If nothing is added, or the added things were done prior to the deal being written up, the sale is considered as is.

I just spoke to the Sales Manager (GM apparently wouldn't deign to call me). No apologies, but they said I could bring it in and they would have it repaired and give me a loaner for the interim.

They didn't ask any questions, so my guess is they probably knew and were hoping it would go unnoticed.

I'm not happy, but things could be worse. Caveat emptor, as they say.

Nice to hear about a dealer stepping up to the plate.