Hi folks. I wanted to get opinions on how I should handle this.
I purchased a demo 2014 Red Mustang convertible. The car had been driven by a dealership employee (the GM I think), and had 5400 miles on it and was about 5 months old. Right before I went in to sign the papers on it, the salesman told me "hey, we found some chips on the paint above the window and a bad spot on the roof, but we're going to get that fixed and it will be back to you in a week". I thought, ok, I loved the car and with 5400 miles some wear was probably expected. Well, the next day they called me to come up, and said "hey, we found out the car has had hydraulic fluid on the clear coat, probably from the transport, and there are spots all over the hood and trunk." Both now had to be also painted. They did that.. took 3 weeks, but the dealership did pay my first months car payment. Well, now it's 3 months later and I've finding more chips on the drivers door, and bubbles on the hood and trunk, one on the hood actually popping to form a small hole.
Was the fact that this damage was never declared to me fraud? The GM admitted he knew about it but was off when I purchased it. I'm now taking it back for a 2nd time, and I'm guessing they're going to again paint my brand new car. I'm wondering if I should get a lawyer involved? I've tried meeting with the GM, but he's just blown me off to the service manager.

 

Return the car and either void the deal or get another car....this is a lemon in the early stages. Save yourself a lot of trouble...ditch this car.

 

Unfortunately these 'demo' cars are sometimes beaten and abused by the salesmen, or in this case, another employee. At this point in time, since the dealership is working with you, see if the car gets repaired to your satisfaction. If their attitude changes and you are not satisfied, then get an attorney. I hope it works out. Good luck!
** Just a side note for anyone else reading this: During my 25 years in law enforcement I personally witnessed many instances of salesmen just horribly abusing these 'demo' cars, just like people abusing rentals. You have no idea how many I pulled over. They just stomped on these new cars light after light. The strain of the engines made me wince. For grins one day in Gainesville, FL I test drove a demo '04 Mustang with 5,000 miles on it. I could not believe how poorly it performed compared to the one next to it with maybe 20 miles on it (really a new car). The engine was already 'tired' in that 5,000 miles car. I really felt bad for the future owner of this car laying out hard earned $$. Another situation involved brand new Toyota Celica GT's back in the 90's where salesmen used to try to 'blow up' the engines since Toyota had the free engine replacement warranty back then. It was so widespread that Toyota had to halt the program. Imagine buying one of those cars where the salesmen failed to blow it up but it may have been one attempt away from succeeding. Just no conscience and no feelings for the hard working customer buying a new car.

 

Just a few questions to ask yourself. Is this paint issue going to keep happening down the road? What other issues will appear? What happens when the warranty is void and you keep finding chipping or bubbled paint? I would return it for your money and buy somewhere else. Good luck!

 

Unless they are making me a really great "steal deal" making me feel like I stole it, I'ld have already terminated the current deal and been looking elsewhere .... but then I would hope that I looked close enough to see all this paint problems before taking the car?


Can't account for that 5,000 mile dog, but I learned early on from an old Trooper to go ahead and baby a new issue cruiser the first week if it made me feel good .... then to "break it in like I was gonna drive it" which meant some long days of radar stop after stop on the big road, pursuits, long hot idling, you name it ...
... and over the years practicing that plan, I always had cars that really ran well for what they were. I took good care of them, regular maintenance, daily checks, I often did my own oil / filter / tire changes and used every opportunity on a lift to go over them stem to stern 'cause it was my bacon that was on the line.

But I ran them from day 2 (day 1 being the day I went to Richmond to get one and then I just "drove it" home) onward just like I was gonna use them (not abused, but not babied either) and never saw any harm done.Seemed to me that somewhere around 1200-1500 miles is where they started loosening up noticeably and started running better.

 

That's interesting because our chief mechanic told us to take our brand new 'take home' cruisers straight to I-75 and break them in also. No warm up period. I did it but it went against every grain in my body. I agree, the cars ran great, but I wouldn't want to buy one that was used in such a fashion. I shouldn't be saying this here on a Ford site but those LT1 GM engines (mid '90's) in our Chevys were indestructible. Like you said, the hours of idling in the hot FL sun, a/c full blast, and then flooring it to catch speeders just amazed me how strong the engines were built. Again though, I wouldn't want to buy one. Maybe that's just me, but driving that demo Mustang confirmed my fears of getting a dog tired engine. Not worth the risk.
Sorry OP for getting