Mis-Sold a Demo Car from an Interstate Dealer

LCharlieBrooker on 15/12/2020 - 18:02
Last edited 15/12/2020 - 22:29

Hi all,

This is my first post on the OzB forum. I've seen some fantastic advice on here before, so I'm really hoping some of you can help me with an issue I'm experiencing with an official Mitsubishi Dealership.

I purchased a demo car from said Mitsubishi dealership with almost 3000kms on the clock. I purchased the car from Victoria and I live in South Australia. The car was shipped to me via Prixcar.

I decided to purchase interstate as the premium paint colour & trim combo I wanted wasn't available in stock or as a demo in South Australia.

Before I agreed to the purchase, the dealership sent me a video of the car. In the sales video, the salesman says "it presents as a brand new car". I asked him whether there was any damage or issues with the car and he told me there was nothing at all. I was very thorough with my questions, and thankfully I had all of them answered in writing by the salesman.

I got a fairly good deal on the car, but nothing extraordinary.

The salesman told me that the car would come with a temporary registration certificate from VIC so that I would be able to drive the car to get it registered in SA.

Upon delivery of the car, I found out that the dealership had lied about the temporary registration. They only organised a permit for the day they dropped it off to the transport depot. I had to fork out for a temporary registration permit, which I was mildly annoyed at, but decided just to let it go.

Once I got the car home and rinsed off the dust from the transport truck, I noticed that the paint didn't look right. Although the VIN number matched the car in the video, the paint was flat white instead of the pearl white premium paint that was advertised. I even asked the salesman to double check the paint colour, and he confirmed in writing that it was pearlescant white.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed white overspray on the bonnet, on the lights, the wheel arch, the door button and the silver trim. I also noticed a large touch up job on the driver's side door which looks like someone has tried to cover up some significant damage with Wite-Out and clear nail polish. The colour and texture are totally off. There were around six other smaller areas with the same type of touch up paint applied. There was also a scrape on the wheel arch which seemed to be covered in a black plastic dressing to disguise it.

I sent a formal complaint letter via email, asking for the dealer to reimburse me for: the refund amount of the VIC registration which the vehicle was advertised with, the cost of my SA unregistered vehicle permit, the premium paint upgrade cost and the cost to get the dodgy paint fixed up properly.

The email included date stamped photos of all of the paint issues and damage to the car.

The manager of the dealership has come back to me with a low ball offer as "a gesture of goodwill". They also told me that they approached the painter who did the touch ups, with the photo evidence I sent through to them. He has apparently refused to pay for the damage he caused to the car. They said that in future they will no longer be using the painter, which I reckon is probably a load of bull, because it looks as though they got their workshop apprentice to do it.

Does anyone have any advice on where I can go from here? I'm feeling totally ripped off at the moment.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Automotive

Comments

  • bobbified on 15/12/2020 - 18:44
    +9

    If what you said is true and you're not exaggerating at all, the dealer should be named and shamed.

    • CharlieBrooker on 15/12/2020 - 20:56

      The dealership haven't argued against any of my complaints. I guess it would be hard for then to argue as I have all of the evidence in photos and in writing.

      I'm considering doing so if this isn't resolved soon. I'm hoping that Mitsubishi Head Office will be able to pull the dealer into line.

      • bobbified on 15/12/2020 - 22:56

        Even if they agree to fix it, it's impossible to deny the fact that they would've known the condition of the car and they shipped it to you anyway. The salesman has obviously lied to you outright about the car during the negotiations.

        Honestly, I'd be seeking to have that contract torn up and the car returned with costs reimbursed.

  • spackbace on 15/12/2020 - 18:49
    +12

    And this is why we don't buy cars sight unseen in the hope of getting a bargain…

    Was it a genuine demo, or bought from the used car department? Are you the first owner in the book, or is someone else?

    No, I'm not victim blaming, there's shitty car dealers all over the country, but there's ways to avoid issues with an interstate purchase (50+ pics, pic of build plate with paint code, etc), to avoid getting stung.

    • tsunamisurfer on 15/12/2020 - 19:35
      +3

      Yes….buying a car sight unseen is very very risky.

      Although the OP has got the salesperson's assertions in writing and is probably in the right, he now has to work hard to chase for compensation.

      So even a win comes at a great cost in time.

    • CharlieBrooker on 15/12/2020 - 20:54
      +7

      I'm the first owner in the logbook. The Mitsubishi Dealership genuinely used this as a demo vehicle.
      I requested around 30 high res photos, but the dealer seems to have tactically avoided showing the problem areas close up. Textural paint issues on a white car don't show up particularly well even on high res photos.
      I'm by no means an expert in cars - this is the first half decent car I've ever owned. I wasn't aware of paint codes until after this issue arose. The dealer hasn't argued against any of my points though. I specifically asked whether the paint was white pearlescant, and the dealer replied "yes it is, don't worry".
      Being ripped off stings even more when you've been saving up for years so that you can pay in cash.
      I certainly wouldn't purchase from an interstate dealer again without personally inspecting the car. I hope others reading this thread who are considering doing the same thing, reconsider their options.

      • godofpizza on 15/12/2020 - 21:00
        +1

        i feel you man, i was going to buy a used car from a regional Victoria ( 5-6 hours drive awa). The dealership has did videos etc. mentioned that there were chip marks. But i couldn't see what it look from the grainy video.

        it was probably 2-3k better than average for the going rate of the car. I had put a deposit on it and founded out it was sold an hour earlier by another salesmen.

  • Almost Banned on 15/12/2020 - 19:02
    +2

    What's the value of your loss?
    That will determine how much of a fight it is worth.

  • Drakesy on 15/12/2020 - 19:05
    +1

    Yeah unfortunately the old adage where you can't trust a used car salesman applies here.

    I personally would never purchase something sight unseen, especially a car. I'd take this as a lesson learnt

    It's a bit difficult given you've already received the car and upon buying the car you've effectively agreed to take it as is.
    The fact that you've seen the video and still gone with it might also work against you unfortunately.

    It's a bad approach by the secondhand dealer which i'm afraid without actually naming and shaming you might not get any further recompense.

    • CharlieBrooker on 15/12/2020 - 21:01

      Technically it wasn't classified as a used car as I'm the first owner in the logbook. The dealership used the car as a demonstrator.
      Hopefully the Mitsubishi Head Office will be able to pull them into line before I have to resort to naming & shaming and media threats etc.

  • Tee Rex Arms on 15/12/2020 - 19:35
    +7

    You roll the dice buying clothes online sight unseen let alone a motor vehicle. Phark me.

    • CharlieBrooker on 15/12/2020 - 21:22

      Hahaha true indeed! Lesson learned. I hope this serves as a lesson to others too. I thought I could trust a genuine Mitsubishi dealership.

  • brendanm on 15/12/2020 - 20:03
    -1

    Did you not get a photo of the sticker with the paint code?

  • godofpizza on 15/12/2020 - 20:56

    they sold you a car with the wrong colour, threaten to take it back to the dealer.

  • ShannonN on 15/12/2020 - 21:00
    +4

    Return the car as its not what you ordered and you have email etc proof to say so, its not fit for the purpose as its damaged and you would NOT have bought it (at least at the sale price) had you known that

    Get whatever state body that governs these things to contact dealer

  • kizashi on 15/12/2020 - 21:19
    +3

    Demonstrators are often used by staff/execs to drive as dealer cars as a job perk. That is why they have more than 1,000 km on clock. Dealers often get kick backs from manufacturers to do this to go numbers up on models and can claim depreciation as a tax benefit. Normally the saving you are paying is not worth risk (as in this circumstance it appears as staff do not treat cars with respect). Even though OP says purchase is not a second hand car, unfortunately this is what these cars are. Is a hard lesson to learn, and feel for you, but never ever buy something (especially 2nd biggest purchase behind home) without seeing it,

  • abb on 15/12/2020 - 22:33
    +2

    I'd be calling up the fair trading department in Victoria, or whatever their local equivalent is.
    It sounds like you've already accepted delivery, which might have been your strongest point in time for negotiating. But presumably there is still some protection as the car was described "as new". Push for a refund, escalate to the ombudsman or whatever. Have some quotes from a local painter on hand to back up your claims for compensation.

  • Keplaffintech on 15/12/2020 - 22:48
    +1

    Overspray? Overspray from what? How much of the car has been resprayed? Why did they need to touch up areas if they were respraying. I'm confused. Pictures?

    • CharlieBrooker on 16/12/2020 - 09:01
      +1

      I'm presuming that it was touched up by a sprayer in some areas. Those touch ups are really well done and I can't distinguish the areas where the paint was applied, apart from the overspray.
      The overspray on the bonnet is lots of tiny raised bumps, so I'm guessing that when spraying other areas of the car, or even a different car, the paint picked up in the wind and hit the bonnet.
      The really bad touch ups appear to have been done with a brush, with a different shade of white paint. I'm guessing these were done at a later date.
      How do I upload photos to this thread?

      • Keplaffintech on 16/12/2020 - 09:23

        Ah two seperate paint repair jobs would explain it.

        Images need to be uploaded to a 3rd party site and linked in, e.g. imgur.

  • ECE on 16/12/2020 - 09:07

    May I know what car you bought from the Covid state?😷

  • Legoncy on 16/12/2020 - 09:32
    +1

    Hi Mate -it seems like you have more then enough evidence to push your point.
    Contacting head office with evidence will support this - however your going to come to a point where you can either return the vehicle to them for a refund or accept an amount they offer.
    I truly doubt they will give you the $4500.00 you are down, so you need to decide an amount of which your happy with or you'll return.
    List this in the email, inform them of the evidence you have and if your demands aren't met I am sure you can pursue this through a legal means? I'm based in Vic so the options we have is the ombudsman or VCAT but I am unsure about interstate purchases etc.
    From a legal standpoint it seems like a slam dunk right? You say you have evidence of them saying its exceptional, and a certain paint code etc - if that's not the case then you were sold a product that was misrepresented with the intention to fool the consumer.

    Goodluck

  • CharlieBrooker on 22/02/2021 - 10:52
    +7

    Update

    Thanks so much for all of your help and suggestions.

    I tried contacting Mitsubishi Head Office who were unable to help as the dealer apparently sold the car as a used car and not a demo.

    I politely harassed the general manager of the dealership as he was terrible at remembering to respond to emails. I only seemed to get a response when I emailed him and CC'd the main email address for the dealership. I told him that I would be willing to escalate my issue to VCAT and the ACCC. I made sure to keep all of our communication in writing.

    I managed to negotiate a partial refund for the mis-selling, and the dealership allowed me to select a local paint repair specialist to rectify the damaged paint at their expense.
    It took over nine months to fully resolve, but I am happy with the outcome.

    Here are some of the things I've learned along the way:

    Pearlescent paint is more expensive to repair, so I have a new found appreciation for my plain white paint.
    A formal complaint letter in PDF format is the best way to outline your issues as well as your suggested resolution. This letter can also be used as evidence further down the track if required.
    Be polite but persistent. If the person you're dealing with doesn't have the authority to rectify the issue, ask to escalate it to someone in a more senior role.
    Purchasing a car from interstate probably isn't worth the hassle it may cause you. Even without the issues I experienced, I still had to dedicate an entire day to have it inspected and registered. Next time I'll look a little closer to home!

    • buckethat on 24/02/2021 - 14:10

      Glad things worked out for you mate, sounds like a pain. Nine months to fully resolve.. ouch, but at least you came out happy.

      Will keep this in mind the next time I'm due for an upgrade.

  • godofpizza on 22/02/2021 - 11:13

    How much did they refund you?

  • [Deactivated] on 24/02/2021 - 00:12

    Glad it is resolved.

    Lesson learnt and might be more savvy the next time buying a car unseen.

    I generally pay deposit, refundable subject to satisfactory Redbook inspect. Then spend $300 on inspection to ensure what's present is indeed what I will get.

    So far bought a few cars from dealership unseen, and all worked well.

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