Would you buy a new 370z that has been in a minor accident?
 

The dealer around here has a brand new (just 20km) fully loaded 6mt 2010 370z that has been in a minor accident. After 1.5h of negotiating I got them down to 500 under invoice + a full set of nice aftermarket rims (~2.5k)

On the accident:

The dealership's employee crashed the car. He did a 180, hit a curb (major curb rash on original wheels, hence aftermarket wheels), and hit something stationary with his rear bumper. The bumper itself suffered a major dent and apparently a few parts behind the bumper were also damaged. The dealership claims that absolutely everything that even had a scratch on it, has been entirely replaced. Nothing was "repaired" or repainted. No metal has been damaged at all, only plastic parts and only bolt ons, which were all replaced.

I saw a lot of pictures of the car after the accident and it did not look so bad. They even showed me their full repair bill and it was 4.5k. They claim that since it is a new car, if anything at all were to go wrong then it would be fixed under warranty. I intend to pay for extended full 7 year warranty as well.

This accident was not recorded at all and does not show up on carfax.

If I were to go for an accident free new car, it would cost me 2.5k more and no aftermarket rims.

Would you do it? If so, would you pay for a third party inspection? I need to decide in the next 24h...

Thanks!

I would request to see the car in person with the bumper off and see for yourself that everything was replaced. If they allow that and it checks out i would buy it.

Personal preference.
Honestly, if nothing shows up in carfax and if the damage was really minor, i dont see whynot..

Make sure to check if there's anything wrong INSIDE the bumper. Tell'em to take off the rear bumper, and also check if there's anything wrong with the drivetrain as well!

(BTW WTF was the employee thinking or doing to cause the car to do 180 =.=)

BTW what kind of rims are on it?

Also, see if you get get your hands on the undamaged stock wheels. :)

Good question, i missed that. Which makes me rethink my answer. When my sales guy took me for a test drive he drove first and he burnt the **** out of the clutch. During the 30mins or so i was driving thats all i could smell cuz of him, which made me think "if i buy a 370z, it wont be this one"

Which brings me to my point...if a employee was pushing the car that hard at 20km on the clock...what else was done in that 20km..thats not exactly a good break in.

Buy a car, that was in a wreck, from a dealer.....No Way!
Plus their is no Car-fax record, nor a record of the accident. Your about to get shysted!

I wouldn't do it. People buy new cars for piece of mind that there is nothing wrong. And that 2.5k paid over 48 to 60 months isn't that much in monthly payments

There is a full record of the accident and the damages. 20-30 pictures which they showed me. They showed internal pictures as well, but I am not a mechanic so I can not judge the extent of the damage. This was just kept within the dealership.

And I doubt they treat different Zs differently so if it was abused in the first 20km then I bet a lot of Zs are the same...

What could go wrong? I mean, if there is something wrong with the tranny then it will get replaced under warranty, right?

I would, for a better deal than that. 500 under invoice is about what I paid for mine minus the accident :P

Possibly would buy, but only if they paid for a second party inspection by your choice in addition to the price reduction. If they showed you a $4.5k repair bill I would guess that their cost wasn't even close to that. The inspection should take the engine/power train and suspension into consideration.

I believe a better option is to just buy a new one that is clean (from another dealership that does not beat their cars) and feel that much better about the purchase.

True that, i got my dealership to lower the cost of my Z by almost $10,000...just the damn taxes and interest raise it back up..lol. $500 even without a accident on the car isnt a good deal. Now that i thought about it, i wouldnt accept the deal, however if u have your heart set on it, this is what you should tell them and not settle for less.


-They pay for aftermarket rims
-$5,000 or more price drop
-Inspection at a shop of your choice (they pay the bill)
-First oil change for free

They will accept, if they dont, they wont make money. You buying a car pay's their salary so they want that car sold.

:iagree:

Tell them no, and then see what back pedaling they do. At least $2K under invoice.

I would be concerned about hidden damage to the differential, axle, drive-shaft and transmission. Warranty doesn't guarantee coverage because the damage was caused by abuse. Not your abuse, but they don't care!

I've been to every dealer in my city (ottawa) and the best I can get is $2k over invoice. This is the ONLY 'new' 370z coupe in the entire city.

I could probably get them to pay for third party inspection by a mechanic which I trust (I know a guy). They seem extremely confident that the car is good as new.

Must be a thing with your area, because they are throwing these things at us here.

Not worth it to me, all you get is some rims now and potential problem for the next years...

Probably timing. Spring in Canada is still another month away.

Good point, also if they did a report up and it never left the dealership then Nissan wouldnt know about it. All parts that are replaced by the dealership under warrenty, has to go to the head office/factory of Nissan to get looked at. That being said, if the report did go to the Nissan head office they would have made a report and therefore will most liking show up on carfax or some other system that the car has been in a accident. Dealerships cant control that whether they say it or not.

So if the dealership said it wont show up on carfax or any other system is bs and also if the dealership made a deal with you that they will replace parts under warrenty if it was caused by the accident that arent coverd under warrenty due to abuse then Nissan office wont accept the warrenty work....either you will have to pay for it or the dealership will have to pay for it.

Not saying this WILL happen but its something to think about.

Thanks for the replies guys! Will definitely get proper third party inspection now.

No, and here is why:This Z has already seen a life of abuse—and it's new!

In an accident "looks" are deceiving. The dealer states "nothing has been repaired" but this is not what he should have said. Instead this 370Z should has been placed atop the proper body alignment racks and its manufacturers alignment points referenced to determine whether the chassis has been skewed. Also, a full four-wheel alignment must be done (and hopefully was not done to hide any discrepancies). Ever seen a car "crabbing" down the road from behind? That's because it was not properly repaired and its chassis was left in a misaligned, and damaged state. When a vehicle is like this it can wear tires prematurely, never be properly wheel aligned, pull to one side or the other, and be unsafe in another accident as the chassis is compromised.

Below are some the factory specs to be used on frame alignment rack:


Carfax IMHO is utterly useless and the fact the dealer has not used it this instance, but I am sure will use when it is convenient, screams "no sale." You are already dealing with a disingenuous dealer.

Don't the factory rims MSRP for more than that?

Hell no. When's a deal not a deal? When's it abuse. Walk away.

If you are still hellbent on purchasing this Z then at least print out and show the dealer this post and ask them to refute what I've written. Thanks.

Can frame alignment be checked in another body shop?

Yes

Never had this done. Sounds expensive.

Say I get them to foot the bill for a full checkup including the check for frame alignment - would you do it then? Assuming all is well of course...

Too subjective as I would have to meet the players and review the automobile. Some dealers will promise you a lot, but the minute you sign the papers they fall into a memory lapse. The old saying "get it in writing" applies heavily in this situation.

Not worth the chance - ask NXTAZEE about his dealership coverup on his last car - I'll bet he'd give you a resounding "NO WAY!"

stock rims + tires from the dealer if they are 19s cost north of 4k... you are probably getting some wheels + tires that cost 2k... if you get another 3k off price i would do it...

People are getting Zs for that price un-damaged!! also what tires do the "aftermarket" wheels come with? Quite honestly - I would not buy a car from a dealer who condones that type of behavior -think about what else that car could have been through?

I will get that inspection done later this week and keep you guys updated. It was most likely nothing more than cosmetic damage, but I definitely want to make sure and I will also get them to put in writing that they will warranty any issues that come up due to their accident.

Should I call Nissan directly and let them know of the situation? The dealership is willing to say in writing that the car is 100% good as new.

To the people saying that it is possible to get this deal on a normal car - I've spent in total 10 hours negotiating with different dealerships and all I can get is $2k over invoice, so no it is not possible for me in Ottawa. I got under invoice for the G35 I am currently driving so it is not my negotiation skills. They are simply not budging here.

I forgot what rims/tires they have on it now, but they did offer to put on new OEMs for me.

I definitely appreciate all the advice!

What about Monteral or Toronto? You've got lots of options in a very short distance.... buying a damaged (used AND abused) car at new car prices isn't wise. If you have to resell it good luck....

..oh and what about getting it in the US - the warranty is good in Canada, USA and Mexico. Our dollar is almost at par and we'll likely be above the US $ in the near future (again).

I just moved from Watertown Ny (40 mins from Canada). I realize that dealers up there have a Sumer stock and a winter stock. Come spring time when a lot more Zs are on the lot dealers will come down on price. Right on there is more demand than supply. Damaged "new" car is not worth it. I'd wait if they are not budging give the dealer your phone number a the price you are willing to pay then leave. It's a reasonable price they will call you.

Wouldn't do it. Get exactly the car you want new if you can, or you'll probably wish
you did down the road and be tempted to trade it in early (which will cost you a lot of
money). Plus, the stock wheels aren't bad

The damage from the pictures was similar to that (less so than the picture), except on the rear bumper:

http://saverinthecity.com/wp-content...der-bender.jpg

I would call some dealers in Montreal.

In regards to 'legal' side of the purchase... if you were to re-sell the car down the road, and if you do not warn the purchaser of this incident you may be liable for any damages arising from the accident. You as a sophisticated party with more knowledge about the car have a duty to warn the purchaser and if the purchaser find out, it may be equivalent to fraud.

http://www.the370z.com/canada/12727-...ed-my-car.html

Just wondering if the 370 you are referring to was black?

IMO if you are going to spend this much money on a new car, get exactly what YOU want. Don't settle for little bargain up front, in the future you'll be happier knowing you don't have to worry about anything.

what a dip ****. (the guy who crashed and the dealer). I wouldn't by a car from a dealer that stated that one of their employees had pushed a brand new unsold car to the point that it did a 180, lost control and crashed with under 20 km on the odometer. Obviously this person and the dealer got caught this time because they crashed the car, but they've probably pulled this kind of crap in lots of other cars that pass through their dealerhship.

If i saw my butcher drop meat on the floor and try to sell it to someone, i wouldn't ever buy meat from him again. Same kind of thing. Don't get a car from a dealership that has employees who joyride cars that they don't own.

It quite possibly is that car!

There certainly was not $10k in damage though. (EDIT: Actually, if two wheels and tires are included it might be closer to that). The exact bill was $4600 (this is dealer COST; retail cost was 6600 + wheels/tires). I got all the pictures and the bill from the dealer and took them to a body shop nearby. I know the guys in that shop for a while now and trust them. They said that there was basically not even any point of them inspecting it because the damages were very minor and there was no way anything serious like the frame or the tranny was damaged from that. They said that they most likely would not even be able to tell it was in an accident. They recommended I get wheel alignment done to make sure there isn't anything wrong and if that checks out I should go for it.

I asked the dealer about frame alignment and they said it was checked and it is perfect. AFAIK they would be in deep ish if that is a lie. They are ok with me taking it wherever I want to confirm whatever I want.

After getting that opinion from the body shop guys I will probably go for the car, but ask for $1.5k more discount and a new set of OEM wheels/tires. I will get them to put in writing that if any issues occur as a result of that accident, they will fix it.

In my mind there is no sense paying 3k-4k more if the car is good as new.

This definitely sounds like the car that was intended for me. I saw the car at the body shop after the accident up on the hoist and inspected some of the damage.
I would have some concerns, particularly since they told me that the front rad support was bent and some rear suspension parts broke in half.
If the car drives alright and the price is right I don't see why you wouldn't consider it.

Theres one being sold in for 24K

2010 w/sport pckg


Its red and its auto.

It had no accident but was titled salvage as when the dealer took delivery they hit the roof of the car when it was being took off the truck...corner of the roof had to be repaired...because of this it was title salvage as it was a brand new car.

Im thinking about getting it.

Just my .02 I wouldnt do it ....3-4K is not enough.