[lawnman]

When buying a Viper out of state from a dealer, do they have to disclose if the car had been in a major wreck? I have bought many cars out of state on ebay and over the phone using carfax for safety and never had a problem, but my friend recently bought a used Viper, the car came up clean on carfax and the dealer told him that the car has never been wrecked, but on a recent trip to get the oil changed, the mechanic showed us the frame damage and told him that the car has been in a major wreck. Is there any thing he can do, or does he just suck it up? The car is a 98 GTS with 20k, any idea how much its worth now?

Thanks for the info!!

 

[99RT10&GTS]

As long as the title is clear, he could alway unload it on another unsuspecting person, probably get what he paid for it. How bad was the damage? Entire frame rail bent up or just the horns off the front?

 

[CS]

I believe if the vehicle was represented in a certain condition and sold under that representation then the purchaser has a case, but your friend needs proof of the condition when he purchased it. If there is no documentation stating explicitly the condition of the vehicle at the time of sale then about the only thing that can happen is a he said/she said pissing match or expensive legal proceedings.

This happens a lot - never buy a car, especially an exotic, sight-unseen. There's too much that clever camera angles can hide. About the frame damage - how severe was it? A major accident would be apparent as soon as the car had been driven. Just MHO.

Perhaps the seller was the second owner and was unaware of the frame damage when he purchased it? Just a thought.

Clint

 

[99RT10&GTS]

Here's a car that has been over on the Vipernation site for a while. Here is the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...y=6209&rd=1

And here is the buyers response to the story that was told, again and again over at vipernation:

http://cgi2.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=extremecorvette

 

[Viperjohn]

I thought the deal on that car seemed to good.

"If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true."

You should always do an inspection of the underside of any used car purchase. Put it on a lift and check it out. If you don't know what to look for, bring or pay someone else to look at it. Most dealers will not have a problem with this.

 

[Matt]

The owner was on corvetteforum.com quite a bit. It was no secret there that this car was a salvage title rebuild. He certainly wasn't trying to hide it when he was selling it on the message boards. You might be able to search over there to dig up more detailed info.

 

[lawnman]

The frame rail has a very slight bent, but it has been welded very sloppy. The car rides fine, the passenger door doesn't close perfectly. The bad thing is that when it comes time to sell, he won't get truly what its worth. I guess you live and learn, but the car came up clear on carfax, so how can that be?

 

[99RT10&GTS]

Not all repairs are reported. No report to insurance, no report to carfax.

 

[Super Squirrel]

If your car is reported on YOUR insurance, it will probably carfax out, if someone hits you and you take it to the bodyshop of your choice, your car MAY not come up on carfax. how do I know? It happened to my old 4 runner...body shop told me that ins. companies don't always report. If you bring it in to the dealership...it will certainly come up on carfax.