New Car on Dealer Lot-Possible to Verify No Hail Damage?

[Jalva22]

We are looking at a new car, but it's at a dealership that was hit very heavily by a hailstorm at the end of May. We have searched the car and see no signs of damage, but the dealer is $500 lower than any other quote we can find. Another dealer suggested it may have been hail damaged and fixed. I have an oral representation from the salesman that it arrived after the hailstorm and has not been damaged/repaired, and he has said he will put that in writing if I want.

Is there any way for me to independently verify any of this? Car fax, or anything else, that might show if it had been repaired? They have MANY cars on the lot with visible heavy damage. Just wondering if there is a way I can ease my mind on this.

Or is it worth an extra $500 to have the peace of mind?

 

[deegack]

We are looking at a new car, but it's at a dealership that was hit very heavily by a hailstorm at the end of May. We have searched the car and see no signs of damage, but the dealer is $500 lower than any other quote we can find. Another dealer suggested it may have been hail damaged and fixed. I have an oral representation from the salesman that it arrived after the hailstorm and has not been damaged/repaired, and he has said he will put that in writing if I want.

Is there any way for me to independently verify any of this? Car fax, or anything else, that might show if it had been repaired? They have MANY cars on the lot with visible heavy damage. Just wondering if there is a way I can ease my mind on this.

Or is it worth an extra $500 to have the peace of mind?

Ask them to run a car fax or show you the paperwork detailing when the car arrived. It should show the vin number of the car

 

[jmrdavis99]

Ask them to run a car fax or show you the paperwork detailing when the car arrived. It should show the vin number of the car

I purchased a new vehicle in January 2011 that was previously damaged in a hailstorm. The dealership told me that they were required to disclose the damage to me and gave me a copy of the invoice for all the repairs that were made. I inquired about it showing on carfax & they indicated that they did NOT and were NOT required to report it to carfax. I forget the explanation as to why they didn't have to report it.

This was just my experience.

edited to add: If they show you the paperwork detailing when the car arrived, that should help alleviate concerns if it truly did arrive after the hailstorm.

 

[msmayor]

No one is ever 'required' to report anything to CarFax. CarFax will only stand behind the information it is provided them too...don't expect to get anything for something not disclosed to CarFax that you later find out about the vehicle.

Think about it...anyone who does their own maintenance on the vehicle at their home is probably not reporting repairs to CarFax. You could conceivably have a vehicle owned by one person for 3-4 years with no CarFax history at all because the owner did all the work himself.

 

[the5marions]

Why worry about it? You said you couldn't see any damage, so if they want to give yopu $500 why not say YES! Remember in a couple of days you will have some dings from other peoples car doors, rocks, etc. If they say it wasn't damaged and you can't see anything then just take the deal and be happy!!!!

 

[mrsklamc]

It's not like hail damage is structural so who cares?

 

[wvjules]

I would question the integrity of the other dealer that suggested that to you.

 

[Anne34]

Why worry about it? You said you couldn't see any damage, so if they want to give yopu $500 why not say YES! Remember in a couple of days you will have some dings from other peoples car doors, rocks, etc. If they say it wasn't damaged and you can't see anything then just take the deal and be happy!!!!

This is what I would do too. Hail damage is not structural/mechanical. It is just cosmetic.

 

[benniecooper]

Could the car have been delivered after the hailstorm? If it was at the end of May, that is very possible. Or it could have been in the showroom, clean up, or the service department when the storm hit.

If you have inspected the can and find no signs of repair, it probably hasn't had damage. Paintless dent repair is very easy to detect. The metal tools they use to push the dents out scratch the paint (like under the hood-that is a tell all). Also, check the door jambs for little black plugs. They drill holes in the jambs to work the dents on the sides of the vehicle and then plug the hole with a rubber cap.

 

[Hannathy]

It's not like hail damage is structural so who cares?

Exactly. It isn't like it was in a flood and they are trying to hide that.

 

[Jalva22]

I went ahead and ordered a Car Fax. Showed it to be clean, which is obviously no assurance.

However, it also showed the date it was shipped to the dealer, the date the dealer performed their pre-inspection, and the date it was placed in inventory. All were after the date of the storm. So, we're good.
-----
As to why I care, I'm not a professional car buyer. I don't know what problems can crop up later. If a dent has been popped out and fixed, does it weaken the paint? Will I see issues from that disturbance sooner than I should down the road? I have no idea. All I can say is it's a brand new car, it's a significant investment, and $500 would have been worth it to ease my mind if I had worries (given the size of the investment).

Which is why I asked the question.

Thanks to all who responded.

 

[Jeff_G]

All I can say is it's a brand new car, it's a significant investment, and $500 would have been worth it to ease my mind if I had worries (given the size of the investment).

in·vest·ment
[in-vest-muhnt]
noun

1. the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

2. a particular instance or mode of investing.

3. a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.

4. something that is invested; sum invested.

5. the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.




Brand new car does not fit into that category, a large purchase yes, investment, no

 

[angwill]

Could the car have been delivered after the hailstorm? If it was at the end of May, that is very possible. Or it could have been in the showroom, clean up, or the service department when the storm hit.

If you have inspected the can and find no signs of repair, it probably hasn't had damage. Paintless dent repair is very easy to detect. The metal tools they use to push the dents out scratch the paint (like under the hood-that is a tell all). Also, check the door jambs for little black plugs. They drill holes in the jambs to work the dents on the sides of the vehicle and then plug the hole with a rubber cap.

My car was damaged in a hail storm on Memorial day this year and there was no need to use metal tools or drill holes. If the dents are small all it takes is a hair dryer. You heat up the dent and it pops itself right back out. My husband had a good old time doing it himself. You can not tell there was ever a dent either.

 

[powellrj]

I bought a brand new car in March and 2 weeks later I had over $3000 in hail damage due to a storm when I was driving home from work, it made me mad, but it is what it is.

 

[swilshire]

Four of our vehicles got minor damage in the last hail storm. The car my son drives was damaged badly in a storm 7 or 8 years ago, but no broken glass. While I'm sad that there are dings, they happen eventually with any new car. Not going to lose any sleep over it and the repairs would be less than my insurance deductibles.

Sheila