Escalade ESV-Prior Damage

[mplin]

My wife and I recently purchased a 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV. (Purchased March 2008) I just started to notice that the paint color on both back door and right rear quarter panel does not maych the rest of the car. From what I can tell both back door and right rear qtr panel has been repainted. I was told by a body shop that if you run your fingers down the edge of the door and it's rough, then the car has been repainted. I guess the baking process of the factory paint make everything nice and smooth. Need less to say both back door edges are rough. I don't think the car has bondo on it (at least it doen't sound like it) so it may have been scratch at the factory or damaged during shipping. I though GM or the dealer would have to disclose this info before the car is sold. I know there was a case where someone sued BMW for this exact reason and won. They received damages for the de-value of a repainted car. I going to try and contact the dealer and Cadillac's customer service and see what they say.

Anyone have experience with this or have any idea what can be done? I really would prefer that Cadillac replace the vehicle instead of repainting the entire car so the color would match. We only have about 2500 miles on it.

[newdude]

try taking it to the dealer?? It is under warranty, so you could see what they can do.

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

Originally Posted by mplin

My wife and I recently purchased a 2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV. (Purchased March 2008) I just started to notice that the paint color on both back door and right rear quarter panel does not maych the rest of the car. From what I can tell both back door and right rear qtr panel has been repainted. I was told by a body shop that if you run your fingers down the edge of the door and it's rough, then the car has been repainted. I guess the baking process of the factory paint make everything nice and smooth. Need less to say both back door edges are rough. I don't think the car has bondo on it (at least it doen't sound like it) so it may have been scratch at the factory or damaged during shipping. I though GM or the dealer would have to disclose this info before the car is sold. I know there was a case where someone sued BMW for this exact reason and won. They received damages for the de-value of a repainted car. I going to try and contact the dealer and Cadillac's customer service and see what they say.

Anyone have experience with this or have any idea what can be done? I really would prefer that Cadillac replace the vehicle instead of repainting the entire car so the color would match. We only have about 2500 miles on it.

You did not state if you purchased the car new. If so, I would speak with the salesperson and ask to see the Predelivery inspection form completed for your vehicle. It should detail any damage. I would also ask the service department to show you a list of any warranty work done on the vehicle - it would include paint repair, even if it was done before the vehicle was sold new. Any GM / Cadilac dealer can access the warranty history using the vehicle identification number.

If either of the people decline to show you the information, they are hiding something.

If you bought the car used - you would have to pursue the repair under the new-car warranty.

Good luck - let us know what you find out.

[mplin]

We purchased the car new. The dealer who we purchased the vehicle from is no longer in business. The dealership is being converted to a BMW dealer. I believe the owner of the dealership is Sonic Automotive Group. I'll try taking it to another dealer in the next week or so and see what they have to say. I'll keep everyone posted.

[likearock00]

Originally Posted by mplin

We purchased the car new. The dealer who we purchased the vehicle from is no longer in business. The dealership is being converted to a BMW dealer. I believe the owner of the dealership is Sonic Automotive Group. I'll try taking it to another dealer in the next week or so and see what they have to say. I'll keep everyone posted.

Do you live in Charlotte?

First of all, I'd take it to a Caddy dealer. Ask them what they think about it. If indeed it was damaged before delivery, then go to Sonic and see what they can do for you. If all else fails- talk to a lawyer.

[mplin]

[quote=likearock00;1464537]Do you live in Charlotte?

In Los ANgeles

[TuffG929]

If you plan to do something about it, I suggest you do it quick.

[73ChevelleSS]

Take it to a Cadillac dealer.Have someone inspect the paint.I am sure they will take care of it.You are not gonna get a new truck though.

[Sal Collaziano]

If there's no body damage, a repaint really wouldn't be so bad. Just saying. :p

[triadecho]

I bought an expensive Nissan sports car. After two years (past warranty), the paint powdered off the hood and front fenders. The dealer made me wait 3 weeks to talk to the Nissan area rep. His records showed the front clip had been repainted due to damage in shipping. Nissan used a local body shop and did a good repaint the front of the car.

I thought this was reasonable and didn't persue any damages because they treated me fairly.

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

Originally Posted by mplin

We purchased the car new. The dealer who we purchased the vehicle from is no longer in business. The dealership is being converted to a BMW dealer. I believe the owner of the dealership is Sonic Automotive Group. I'll try taking it to another dealer in the next week or so and see what they have to say. I'll keep everyone posted.

Update?

[mplin]

I went to the Cadillac Dealer near my home this past Saturday. Of course they claim they can't do anything since I didn't purchase the car from them. I asked if they can lookup and see if there were any prior service history from the preinspection from factory to dealer and they said no. They told me to return back to the dealer where the car was purchased. I told him that the dealer where I purchased the car from closed for business about a month ago. He then told me to call the 800 number and find out which dealer the records were transferred to and to go there. It looks like the dealership that all records were transferred to is about 35 miles away from my house and the service center is not open on the weekends. I will try to take some time off work and make a trip down there. We'll see what happens.

[Navymac]

Post up or IM me the last 8 of the vin. I'll pull the GM service history for you.

[mplin]

A big thanks to Navymac who helped me get history info on the car. The history didn't show any paint repairs at the factory.

However, I finally made the trip to the new dealership yesterday which has all the records from the dealer where I purchase the car from. They were able to confirm that the right rear door and qtr panel had been repainted due to "transportation damage". There were no records of the driver side rear door being repainted. They have agreed to repaint the right side blending from the front door back but we have to wait for GM's approval. We may be in more of a fight to get the driver's side repainted. I still don't like the fact that the paint is not original but at least the color will match. I asked the service manager if the dealership was suppose to disclose the fact that the car had prior damage before the sale and he told me only if it exceed a certain dollar amount of damage. Of course he didn't know what that amount was. I find this fact hard to believe. I did some research and found a case against BMW in Alabama. It's not exactly my situation, but similar. I'm going to contact a lemon law lawyer and see if I have a case against the dealership or GM. Below is the lawsuit against BMW.




The BMW vs Gore "Paint Job" Case
Why Did BMW Deliberately Rip Off Its Own Customers?

Dr. Ira Gore, who treats cancer patients in Birmingham, Alabama, bought a new BMW 535i automobile in January 1990. He paid $40,750 for the car, which BMW markets as the "ultimate driving machine," with "flawless body panels" that retain "their original luster" after many miles of wear.

Dr. Gore wrongly assumed that since the car was new, it had never been damaged. In fact, when Dr. Gore took his car to an auto detailing expert nine months after the purchase, he learned that virtually the entire car -- the top, hood, trunk and quarter panels -- had been repainted due to acid rain damage sustained in transit from BMW's factory in Germany. BMW kept computer records of repairs to all of its cars, but no one from the automaker ever told Dr. Gore that the car he bought had been repainted at a company facility in Georgia. BMW even failed to disclose to its own dealers that cars had been repainted.

Feeling cheated, Dr. Gore filed a fraud suit in Alabama state court against BMW and the dealer. During the trial, Dr. Gore showed that:

the repainted car -- although it looked "new" -- would always be unavoidably inferior. This is because the super-heated painting process at the factory could not be duplicated once non-metal parts were installed in the assembled car.


even if the repaint job was done as well as possible, the car still would be worth 10 percent less, a former BMW dealer testified. This is because the paint on the repainted car would begin to fade, reducing the value of the car. (In Dr. Gore's case, he was defrauded out of approximately $4,000, i.e., the $40,750 purchase price minus 10 percent.)


BMW's Executive Board had adopted a policy in 1983 to deliberately and fraudulently conceal from customers -- and even its own dealers -- that vehicles had been repainted, regardless of the extent of the damage or cost of repairs. Notably, a BMW expert testified that he would want to know whether a car had been repainted if he was going to purchase it.


a minimum of 983 other cars, each with at least $300 in damage, had been sold to unsuspecting American customers. BMW also sold more than 5,850 other repaired vehicles as "new" without disclosing repairs. These figures, though, vastly underestimate BMW's program of nationwide fraud. At a post-trial hearing, BMW filed a document indicating that repainting is required on 2 to 3 percent of all new BMW vehicles sold in the United States.

By selling damaged cars for more than they were worth, BMW reaped millions of dollars through this nationwide consumer fraud. The Alabama jury did not let BMW get away with it: The jury awarded Dr. Gore $4,000 for the diminished value of the car and $4 million in punitive damages to punish and deter BMW from engaging in fraud. Five days after the verdict, BMW dropped the policy and quit fleecing Americans. The manufacturer now discloses all damage to its cars.

In upholding the award, the trial court found that BMW had "deliberately engag[ed] in a scheme of fraud from which [it] derived monetary benefits," that the scheme "had gone on for several years," and that in light of the "monetary benefits accumulated by [BMW's] wrongful acts . . . the jury was justified in awarding sufficient damages to prevent similar wrongs in the future."

The Alabama Supreme Court agreed with the trial court that BMW's misconduct had been reprehensible and merited punishment. However, the state supreme court found that the jury -- which apparently arrived at the $4 million punitive award by multiplying the approximately 1,000 documented cases of fraud by the $4,000 diminution in value per car -- should not have considered the fraudulent acts occurring outside Alabama. The Alabama court then considered the fraudulent cases in that state and reduced the punitive award to $2 million.

This case is about what it will take to punish and deter a multinational company that deliberately and intentionally defrauds its customers and reaps an unjustified windfall. Punitive damages are particularly appropriate where a defendant, such as BMW in this case, has fleeced unsuspecting consumers.

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

Good luck. It is obvious that the selling dealer was deceptive (does that surprise anyone?).

I had a similar problem with damage to the hood of a new 1981 Chevrolet Citation (caused by the dealer's service technician) that I bought. I agreed to allow them to repaint the hood. The color match was never right and I was never satisified with the car.

Although the new dealer is willing to repaint the car with GM's approval - I don't think you will ever be completely satisfied.

GM should not be able to sell a NEW car with repaired damage as "new". I hope you can sue and recover damages - and I hope you are able to sue the owner of the selling dealership and the car salesperson.

Once again - good luck.