ed1le

I bought my 07 suburban a few months ago under the impression it had never been in an accident. It's GM Certified and the car fax report listed it as being accident free. THe dealer had the report on their website and never said anything otherwise. Therefore, as far as I'm concerned, they were representing the truck as being accident free. Talking to a neighbor last night about paint jobs (he just had his car repainted) and commented on my suburbans repaint pointing out some dirt in the paint on the front fenders I never noticed before. Further inspection revealed socket marks on the fender hardware and looking closer underneath, I discovered a couple of stickers on the bumper cover and brace dated 2009. Overall, any damage was fixed pretty well, however, I'm not sure I would have bought the truck, or at least would have haggled some, knowing it had been in an accident. Especially not knowing the actual extent of the damage. Thoughts/suggestions on how to proceed? The dealer is over an hour away as well so it's not like I can just stop in and talk to them about it.

SabrToothSqrl

I'm sure they have a phone number.

Call, get a grand or so off, or return it as being sold under false pretense.

kevinkpk

Well if it was in an accident, and the dealer knew it, you've got a good case. Could be if it was, and they did not know it. Either way, I'd take it back, and decide what you want to do, but definatley have them repaint the whole thing at least.

maxxman04

here's where the tough economy comes into play. carfax only reports what manufacturer authorized dealers, shops report, and insurance companies. if a vehicle is in an accident, but it's never reported or documented, then as far as the unknowing is concerned, it is accident free. where i live, it happens alot where a damaged vehicle is repaired "under the table" off the books. there are a number of guys who are actually really good at body work, and who will buy quality crash panels and paint to get rig back in shape, and they'll do it off the record. no taxes for him to pay, no insurance rate hike for vehicle owner, and rig is repaired well. so it is possible that your rig was in an accident, but not reported. i would have a reputable body shop check out damage repair to make sure it's good, and maybe do a little research with dmv. would also take a nice leisure drive to dealer one day soon, with written proof from body shop that truck has been repaired, and let them check it out.

73shark

Carfax is not able to get accident reports from all states according to a report I read about two years ago.

ed1le

I know Carfax isn't full proof but upon doing the dealers inspection to certify it, there's just no way they could have missed these decals. I still have their listing printed out as well which I believe (I’m at work now) also states it as being a one-owner, accident free car. I also noticed on the front bumper cover some runs in the paint. I know a GM Certified vehicle can have been in an accident and still be certified based on quality of repairs but like I said earlier, having had knowledge of this, I would have looked closer and maybe haggled some, or not bought the truck at all. It also had new tires on it so who know if this undetectable damage which is going to cause excessive tire wear in 10K miles, etc. In combination w/ the crack that just appeared in the driver’s seat leather, squeaky engine pulleys & a drivers mirror that doesn't adjust properly, I'm becoming less & less satisfied with this truck.

SabrToothSqrl

what did you expect? it's a GM... they haven't built anything that actually works since... well... before I was born. I've seen Civics for 1/10th the price with better build quality.

in2pro

I agree that it may have been fixed by a reputable shop but was paid for out of pocket and not through insurance... and the shop didn't bother to report/record it....

T.Neff

In any court that is fraud and DMV's take a dim view of things like that.

ed1le

So how can I research if it was in an accident by using the VIN? Does DMV have records of that info (incident or accident reports)? I mean, it could have been something as minor as hitting a deer as well, however, both fenders have been repainted so I'm guessing it was something more.
Also, the hits keep coming...last night driving home from work the CEL came on. Stopped by my neighbors house who has a scanner and its an emmissions code. He reset it and it hasn't come back on yet. Then this morning, the add oil message came on. Not sure how low it has to be for that to come on but 3K miles ago when I bought this truck, the oild level was right where it was supposed to be. Now I'm concerned I may have the infamous oil consumption problem. Love the truck, how it drives, rides & looks but worried I may have a lemon here....
Going to take to dealer but can't until next week as our other car (accord, daily driver) is getting a repaint so we're down to one car until Friday.