Car Dealership Issue/Question
Posted by woodstock9999@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 23 comments
Bought CPO vehicle from a dealership about 30 miles away 3 weeks ago. I get a call from salesperson today - I am thinking our plates are in - but he tells me that the vehicle was never inspected so they can't register it. Now bear in mind this car had been for sale traded in by a dealer customer for over a month maybe 2. He tells me I need to bring the car in , they will give me a loaner, do the inspection and they will drive the car back to my house and get the loaner.
I got upset that they sold a car without inspecting it (although it went through CPO) as this seems like a very basic item on the make ready list to get a vehicle ready to sell. First I asked him why can't we just get it inspected near us and I will fed-ex the document to him to get the registration processed. He said it had to be done there. OK I buy that as it probably has something to do with their records etc so I said we'll drive over Saturday and wait while you do the inspection but you need to get us in and out but it shouldn't take long based on the umteen cars I have had inspected in my life. He says he'd need to speak to his manager about that. Now I am starting to get annoyed and I am like why. I told him I am not leaving the car there - they need to do it while we wait and to have the Manager call me.
I waited a couple of hours, no call so I called and left him a VM and sent him a text. He texts me back and says: I’m out of the office today and I can definitely look into the inspection issue tomorrow morning when I get in and get you accurate information." I replied why is this so complicated? What is it that needs to be looked into. An inspection should not take long and I am concerned about what else may have been missed on the car. This is disturbing. He says "I can’t say in this specific situation but I can definitely let you know tomorrow in detail. I understand it is upsetting and very inconvenient. I’ll have better answers for you tomorrow.".
Is it me or does something seem fishy? Why wouldn't I be able to wait while they do the state inspection? Why would this be an issue? Any thoughts or what to say if I get pushback. Obviously nothing has been done with registration etc for 3 weeks.
Any thoughts appreciated.
(PS had an earlier issue that has been but they were late making the payoff payment to my bank as well).
Thanks.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
All's well that ends well. Took car in on Saturday afternoon. The car was there for about an hour and had the fA service done. The next service date now reads service B in 365 days. Everyone from manager to sales to service came to talk to us, thank us and apologize profusely. I truly believe the service had been done but got lost in the hack. Thanks for everyone's feedback.
K3B1N@reddit
Car sales people are pretty close to bottom of the rung when it comes to dealership employees.
The person you’re are dealing with is only doing what they’ve been asked to do by the person who is actually feeling the heat from whatever is going on.
You should call the dealership and ask for Fixed Operations Manager, explain the situation and see what they say.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
see update below thanks
K3B1N@reddit
I read it. That seems like complete BS and whomever you’re talking is covering their ass even more. Whatever is going on here is not in your favor.
This is becoming an increasingly bizarre situation, and I think you’re still within the window where you can return the car and move on.
If I were you, I’d peruse undoing this transaction and move on to something different, if possible.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
I am curious as to why do you think so. the CDK hack/outage was legit and this seems very plausible to me. we bought the car 3 weeks ago and it only had 8000 miles and it is a cpo. the particular make and model we bought is hard to find. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdk-cyberattack-car-dealerships-still-struggling/
K3B1N@reddit
Just that none of this lines up.
The dealership effed up somewhere and they’re using easily Google terms to aide their narrative.
They are playing you, for some reason and I wouldn’t trust them.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
Update - when I heard back from Sales Manager he told me I had been given misinformation from the salesperson and that inspection had been done. Issue was with finalizing CPO paperwork with manufacturer. They kicked it back because it was missing a service A that should have bene done. Dealer was 99% certain it had bene done and had me check next service info on dashboard which says next service is B and in 200 something days indicating the A service had been done. Manager was pretty sure it was done the period when there was a hack of dealers all over and they had to keep manual records and it never got into the system. But they need to do it to get car CPO paperwork to close the sale and move everything forward. I recall reading about the hack so this now seems very plausible and we are bringing car in tomorrow and getting service done while we wait. Thankfully alls well that ends well I hope. Thanks all.
Subject_Reserve_3907@reddit
It seems weird to me too. Let us know about the callback.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
see update below thanks
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
Thanks - will do.
Total_Possession_950@reddit
Something is very fishy. And if it’s a large dealership that’s surprising…
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
see update below thanks
noncongruent@reddit
If you have insurance on the vehicle you can get it inspected yourself. The main thing is that it has to be inspected in an emissions testing county if you live in one.
https://www.dps.texas.gov/apps/rsd/vi/inspection/inspectioncriteria.aspx
It's strange that they want to keep the car for inspection, if they don't do the inspection themselves they're taking it to an inspection station and that's probably no more than an hour.
Is there currently a windshield sticker in place? If so, what's the expiration month?
If the sticker is still current the main issue is what county the sticker was issued in. If it's a county that does not require emissions testing then it will be invalid for your registration if you live in an emissions testing county.
9bikes@reddit
>you can get it inspected yourself
A licensed dealer is required to do a title transfer when they sell a car. It has to be inspected before they can register it in the buyer's name.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
I live in Dallas County - dealership is in Tarrant. No sticker on car now as it was a trade and dealer was the last owner. They are a major dealership and should be able to do inspection. Problem is they need to do the registration so I can get a sticker and plates.
9bikes@reddit
>they sold a car without inspecting it (although it went through CPO)
I bought a new car from an out-of-state dealer. They had to have proof that I had insurance before I could drive it off their lot. I had to have it pass the Texas inspection once I got back to Texas. Then I had to FedEx the inspection report back to the dealer. The car has to be inspected before it can be registered. The dealership had to send the paperwork to the Dallas County Tax Office. Then, as it was a brand new vehicle, Dallas County had to send the Application for Title to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. in Austin. My license plates had to be sent to the dealer, who FedEx 'em back to me. It took a total of 8 weeks.
Now, I don't know the exact process a dealer has to go through with a vehicle that has been previously titled and registered in Texas, but I'm sure there are specific steps that they are supposed to take in a certain order to comply with governmental regulations.
The State Inspection may not have been all they missed. Maybe they did the inspection, but it didn't upload to DPS's computer. Whatever it was, I feel pretty sure they want to "retrace their steps" and make sure everything regarding registering is done correctly. Losing their dealer's license would be devastating to them.
I can understand that it is a big inconvenience to you, but I suggest that you let 'em do it the way they want to do it, without rushing them. Yes, they made a mistake. They are human. But it sounds like they want to fix it properly in one shot.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
What can’t they just be straight with me. That’s what I am not happy about. I need the car registered correctly so if.when I trade or sell down road there are no issues and I want my plates. But I prefer honesty which would also give me a co girt level.
9bikes@reddit
The person who called you may not have even known the full details of what happed. His boss could have just told him "Call Woodstock9999 and arrange for him to bring his car back up here, so we can inspect it.".
Or maybe, he was the one who fouled up.
Humans are often embarrassed to have made a mistake and reluctant to admit it when they do. If forced to make such an admission, they'll often minimize it.
Let them have their "out". You're gonna have the car for years. They're going to fix the title/registration issue. It is all going to be fine.
ERCOT_Prdatry_victum@reddit
Pure speculation.....They somehow previously told state they had already inspected your car and somehow lost the record in a data system failure. So now it has to pass through their system to they cannot be proven to have lied to the state, and tjeir own corporate legal group.
Somebodies head is already on the block that only presentation of your car can fix.
PS have them bring a loaner to wherever you want to be that day, take your car, do their thing and return your car to your then location and collect their loaner. And produce a written inspection document and your plates.
MoeKneeKah@reddit
They’re hiding something they forgot to do, like a repair, and they don’t want you to get it inspected and find it. And they don’t want you to wait for the inspection because that takes 20 minutes and the repair (or whatever) will take longer. Just let them fix it, it’s better than being stubborn about not having the car for a few hours and having it break down and then you pay out of pocket to fix it. I bought a new car and three weeks later I had to meet the sales manager in a grocery store parking lot to sign a fresh purchase agreement because they messed up the original. Sometimes, people screw up and you might be inconvenienced when they try to fix it.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
They should be honest about it. It that’s the case I will also be having doubts about the car. Why would they wait 3 weeks to contact me? I understand things happen but I detest deceit. I have been buying cars for over 30!years and never had done thing like this happen. It’s a certified vehicle.
Minimum_Ice_3403@reddit
If it’s a small dealership I would give the grace and tell Them to come get the car and drop off the loaner since it’s the mistake.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
Not a small dealership. I don’t want to be without the car nor have some because driving it 60• miles. Why can’t they inspect it while we wait for it?