Bad dealer alert..

[redwing]

Heads up to anyone thinking of buying a new truck in the Pacific Northwest specifically Idaho. I would strongly recommend staying clear of Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg Idaho. Ironically they are one of the biggest dealers in the country and are the biggest Ram dealer. That said they sold me a new vehicle that had over $2000 dollars in body lot damage and did not disclose it. I found out the hard way by looking at the Car Fax that I pulled after I bought it. Yes I did pull a Car Fax on a new vehicle to see what service was done to the vehicle while it was on their lot. It indicated there were two "service items" which I assumed were nominal items like cleaning and maybe a battery change as the vehicle had been on their lot for over a year. I got a service advisor on the phone to find out what was done and it turns out that the vehicle had body damage when it was delivered and had also suffered some "snow damage" ( possibly hit by a plow) and they did not disclose this when I bought the vehicle.

When I confronted them with all this their response was " Idaho law says that we don't have to disclose any damage that does not exceed 6% of the MSRP of the vehicle". So that is the law there and they will use it to their advantage to sell a vehicle. If you buy a 70k truck there it could have had over 4k in damage that would not be disclosed. They are unscrupulous and do nothing but contribute to the culture of car dealer deceit. Stay away.

 

[MADDOG]

So what did you buy from them?

 

[adrianp89]

Wow that is pretty shady. Stick to Denis Dillon I guess.

 

[likes2build]

That is TERRIBLE!!! I worked in the body shop at a GM dealer long ago and we actually put a replacement frame in demo vehicle that the owners son crashed. They didn't have to disclose anything as it didn't have a "repaired" frame.

 

[Hootbro]

That dealership is not unique and probably a good percentage of current owners here are running vehicles with lot and transport damage repairs and are none the wiser.

Like was mentioned, it is going to vary by the state. The real surprise it even showing up on a Carfax to begin with.

Also, nice first post.

 

[WilliamS]

I dont personally know Ram's policy, but Ford forces anything over $500 to have a disclosure to the consumer. Ive had cars get damage from bad drivers pulling them off the train, to cars torn apart at the Mexico border for drug searches.

 

[redwing]

I actually bought a Corvette from them that was damaged. I am posting here because I know they are the biggest Ram dealer in the world and the only satisfaction I can get it to possibly interrupt a sale or at least alert prospective buyers of what can possibly happen with them on any new vehicle. Obviously a Corvette is a lot more susceptible to lot damage than a truck but the fact is that in Idaho your 70k new truck could have several thousands of dollars of body damage and they owe you no explanation and will hide that fact. Some states are 3%. Some like Montana ( where I live) is " any damage to the skin of the vehicle" has to be disclosed. I would absolultey have a dealer pull a Carfax on any new car even if they lie and say there isn't one... there is. Just flat out shady business practices. Kind of the way the world works these days.

 

[hotrod45]

Why not write to a government representative? Your "complaint" ought to be directed toward them for not writing the law the way you think it should be written. Meanwhile, dealers are complying with laws as written. What about vehicles that are damaged before they come off the line? I had one of those once, at least as far as I know. There might have been others, but if I couldn't see it and it didn't affect anything about operation, what difference does it make?

 

[stimpy433]

So why would the dealership post it to Carfax if they were gonna be shady and not tell the person who buys it???? If I didn't want anyone to know, I sure wouldn't have reported it to Carfax....

 

[Hootbro]

So why would the dealership post it to Carfax if they were gonna be shady and not tell the person who buys it???? If I didn't want anyone to know, I sure wouldn't have reported it to Carfax....

Even though it is lot or shipment damage, most dealership service and body shops still have to generate a repair order/service ticket for internal tracking purposes since supplies and labor is being expended. Many of those systems automatically report to Carfax any dealership repair order against the VIN regardless.