My CX9 got hit at the dealer!

[teedeebee]

Horror of Horrors!

I took my 9 in for some service today and before I could get settled in the customer lounge, the service writer informed me that "there was an accident."

Seems like the utility driver who takes the vehicles back to the shop encountered an aggressive salesman, going around a blind corner driving a 2010 Mazda 3. Result...

My left bumper, fender and head light assembly smashed...about $4k worth of damage. The whole left side of the M3 crushed...about $5k to restore. (Mazda body shop estimates.)

Question 1: Has any one had a similar experience or know of any one who has and would you share the outcome?

Question 2: If you were in my situation what would you do?

If anyone in the forum has any legal input to offer, please do. I am open to any suggestions.

Thanks guys.

PS: One bright note...I got a 2010 Cadillac SRX loaner for the duration of the repair.

 

[mgerst1]

If they try to make you pay for any of it speak to an attorney. it wont cost anything for a consultation. Make sure to make your insurance company aware of this and stress you were not driving. The insurance company could provide the push to make sure mazda does the right thing. Also if the driver of your car tries to get your insurance to pay for medical bills get an attorney because his workers comp should cover this as he was working at the time

 

[martispeed]

First off, sorry to hear!


Personally I wouldnt want the car back. Im sure its impossible but I would tell them to raplace it not fix it. Think about it, the repairs will never be 100% and this will now be on carfax, thus hurting your resale value down the road.

All this and you werent the one driving YOUR car...

How many miles on it?

 

[biglou]

car hit at dealer

Get them to give you at best a new one or a used one that has the same options etc. Even if they fix it it will not be right and yiu will take a hit in resale value down the line. When I bought the my 9 last year there was an older couple trading in a mini van that came up in carfax. The dealer would not give them anywhere near what it was worth. They were close to tears. My wife's minivan was hit two years ago. Toltally not her fault. THe ins company paid for everything, but I wanted to sue and get rid of the van(12k in damages) She did not want tro bother. Bottom line. It hasn't run right since and we will take a bigger loss when we sell it. Be firm with them and point all this out or they will screw you.

 

[ceric]

Even if they replace all the damaged parts properly, it is still hard to estimate your future financial loss from owning a CX9 w/ accident history. Assuming that you will sell it in a couple of years, I would guess your CX9 will worth at least $2K less than one w/ clean history, unless you can find a naive buyer who does not care or know enough to check.
Basically, any used car manager can spot the difference. Anyone uses CarFax can see that piece of history and assume the "worst" happened.

There are two ways to cover this "future financial loss".
(1) ask your dealer to trade your CX9 up for a new 2010 one w/ discount to cover your inconvnience
(2) If you don't want to chip in more money on car now, ask for an extended warranty package to compensate for the future loss. Says, 7yr/100K miles (which worths about $2k).

Remember, you are in the right. Dealer is in the wrong. Dealer will take any reasonable request from you. They want to get this unfortunate event over with.

 

[Force-1]

I would not report it to my insurance company unless the dealership refused to take care of it, which I doubt will be the case. Also, if they repair it through their body shop, don't think it will ever see Carfax.

I had a new Cadillac Escalade that needed a new intake manifold. The dealer raised it too high on the lift, hitting the overheard beam, crushing the roof about 6" W x 1" D from door-to-door. They called me to ensure I saw what it looked like before they repaired it. They then had their body shop repair it, and it came out perfect. They gave me a new car to drive too.

 

[mountjonas]

i don't know about it showing up on carfax. my friend's car has been in 3 accidents and it's carfax is spotless.

either way, i hate to be a downer, but i doubt that you'll get a new car out of it. maybe you can get it fixed at the shop of your choice, but unfortunately, accidents do happen. if it were me, as long as i wasn't paying a penny (and you shouldn't), if it was fixed correctly, it doesn't sound like too much damage was done, other than cosmetic stuff. Now if there's significant damage (doesn't seem to be the case) then raise hell.

my wrx was damaged on the lot before I bought it. I found out after about a month of owning it that an accident happened. I had the dealer repaint the car because I noticed some spots where short cuts were taken when they first repaired the car. It never occurred to me to even ask them for a new car after I found out about the damage.

 

[teedeebee]

I do appreciate all the thoughtful suggestions, expressions of concern and personal opinions and experiences. It sure is comforting to know that one can come here for information, insight and guidance.

I just went thru 34K miles with the vehicle and I am sure, once it's repaired, it should look like new again. The question is, how will it perform and how will this incident impact the resale value. I agree with those who said that it will never run as smoothly as before so I am leaning towards working some kind of deal with the dealership for a new or certified used model similarly equipped.

The dealership is repairing it at their body shop so a negative report to Carfax is not an issue.

I told the service manager that I didn't want any substandard parts used in the repair. He assured me that genuine Mazda parts will be used throughout.

We shall see.

 

[ceric]

If you will keep the one being repaired, make sure you ask them if they shall report it to CarFax or AutoCheck. By law (at least in CA), any accident costing more than $500 to repair should be reported to DMV. Once that happens, CarFax/AutoCheck can find that piece of info. Some dealers do this deligently. Others don't. CarFax also pay some fee for bodyshops to report repair works.

With my old BMW, BMW dealers report even OE warranty work (engine cam sensor failure) to CarFax.
It says "engine repair". Can you imagine my trouble of selling that BMW? Everyone assume some sort of disaster happened, not just replacing sensors....

True, not all accidents are reported. However, once there is a piece of info says, "accident repair". You will have a hard time selling it. Trust me.
You don't want that to happen, especially when you are not at fault.

 

[Force-1]

I would take photos of the damage before repair. That way, if anyone was concerned, you could show them the photos and detailed repair bill, showing exactly what was repaired.

I had a year old $75K BMW 740i that was rear ended in a car wash. It was the car wash fault--they allowed the lifted truck behind me to run into my car at the exit point. It rode over the top of my bumper, damaging the trunk lid, bumper cover, and both tail lights. Car wash paid about $5K to fix it. I took photos, and had proof that repair was simply cosmetic.

Same with the BMW engine repair. If it was simply a sensor, I would think one would have the invoice to prove it was a minor repair in case there were any questions, not to mention the records BMW maintains.

 

[teedeebee]

@ ceric and Force-1:

Great input and suggestions. Big thanks! I will go shoot some pics today if they haven't already begun dismantling the front end.

 

[badself]

Sorry to hear about your loss. As others have indicated, the Carfax report may or may not follow the car, but either way, any experienced dealer manager will spot the work, especially if the hood was painted. All they have to do is run their finger down the crease closest to your windshield, and they will know.

I would start high, and work down. The least I would accept is cash reimbursement for the "diminished value" of the vehicle. Some auto policies (and some states) exclude a claim for diminished value, but it's possible the dealer is taking the hit "out of pocket", or even if they're pushing it through insurance, the exclusions may not apply in your case. Tell them you don't want the car back, to put you into a comparable new vehicle at a minimum financial loss to you (i.e. appraise your vehicle at the highest tier for the mileage and excellent condition, and put you in a new 2010 at dealer cost). They'll probably decline. The idea of putting your into a "certified" used comparable CX-9 may not be the best way to go, because you really won't know the history of that vehicle, even with a clean Carfax.

Strike while the iron is hot, once you take delivery of the repaired vehicle, you're probably out of recourse against the dealer. I know you want to be decent, seeing as they're using factory parts and they're stepping up. If you're not willing to step up, all the advice on this forum won't help you (not trying to be disrespectful). At the end of the day, the dealer is looking to minimize their exposure.

If you end up keeping the vehicle, make sure they do a 4-wheel-alignment, even if no part of the suspension took a hit. It may not hurt to consult an attorney who practices these types of cases, or at least advise the dealer you're willing to go that route.

Good luck, it's always a heartache when these things happen, especially when you're not at fault. Don't forget to get a complete invoice for the repairs if you do have to take delivery from the body shop. You'll need it for a "diminished value claim", or to prove to a future buyer the full extent of the repair.

 

[teedeebee]

@ badself:

Thanks too for your kind words and incisive advice. They are self-insured and needless to say, they will try to minimize their total financial loss for the accident, after all, when it's all said and done, they are repairing my vehicle plus their brand new Mazda 3, which cannot now be sold as a new car, so the loss to the dealership would approach or well exceed $10K.

The more I think of having to settle for a damaged car, not of my doing, the more pissed I become and the thought of having to fork over a significant chunk of money to get into a 2010 is even more upsetting.

You guys have been great. Thanks again for all your contributions.

It may just be time to seek counsel!

 

[mazdadude]

@ badself:

Thanks too for your kind words and incisive advice. They are self-insured and needless to say, they will try to minimize their total financial loss for the accident, after all, when it's all said and done, they are repairing my vehicle plus their brand new Mazda 3, which cannot now be sold as a new car, so the loss to the dealership would approach or well exceed $10K.

The more I think of having to settle for a damaged car, not of my doing, the more pissed I become and the thought of having to fork over a significant chunk of money to get into a 2010 is even more upsetting.

You guys have been great. Thanks again for all your contributions.

It may just be time to seek counsel!

You would hope they would not be able to sell the car as new, however this is not the case. The car still has never been titled, and it will still be sold as new. I know this first hand from working in car dealers and body shops.(argh)

 

[ceric]

So true, mazdadude.
Everyone assumes that the "new" vehicle you buy from dealers are perfect from factory.
Not true. Some repair works might have been done to it.
Next time, we better check, and don't assume.

 

[teedeebee]

@mazdadude:

I hear you, but it's hard to believe that any reputable dealer would risk a scandalous lawsuit by representing a damaged and repaired car as new. That is serious fraud that could land them in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission. A used car dealer...yeah, perhaps, but a new car dealer... not so much.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post in this thread , and I agree, that it's easy to spot a repainted car by running your fingers along strategic seams of the car. I just don't think that a dealer would take that kind of chance and risk blowing up his business.

 

[dandan2]

@mazdadude:

I hear you, but it's hard to believe that any reputable dealer would risk a scandalous lawsuit by representing a damaged and repaired car as new. That is serious fraud that could land them in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission. A used car dealer...yeah, perhaps, but a new car dealer... not so much.

Someone mentioned in an earlier post in this thread , and I agree, that it's easy to spot a repainted car by running your fingers along strategic seams of the car. I just don't think that a dealer would take that kind of chance and risk blowing up his business.

what does running ur fingers through the seems do? a good body shop can make the car look like new. from the sounds of it it was all cosmetic damage with no frame damage at all. the car should be like new when they are done. situation sucks but u gotta make the best of it. accidents happen.

 

[FueledbyStriker]

ouch

 

[Senn8382]

teedeebee

What route did you end up going or are you still working with the dealer?

 

[teedeebee]

teedeebee

What route did you end up going or are you still working with the dealer?

Senn8382,

See my "Update with pics" post.