New truck has 2 VIN's!!!

[Jaspernuts]

Just bought a 2005 Tundra from a Ford Dealer. They called me yesterday and said they were having trouble transferring the title and wanted me to check the vin. Sure enough, the door and dash vins are different. I want them to take the truck back, its obvioiusly been wrecked. What should I do if they refuse? The purchase agreement has the wrong vin on it so I don't think they can hold me to it. What would you guys do?

[Jeremy airjer W]

First I would find out what the right vin number is. Every panel on a toyota will have a vin sticker and if original will math the vin on the dash.

Once you figure out how many parts are original and how many parts have been replaced you may have a better argument. The only problem is the sale of a used item is "as is" or "buyer beware" and checking this stuff out before the purchase is much better than waiting until after the purchase. Every used vehicle inspection I do I make an extra effort to look for collision repairs and make sure vins match whenever possible.

In your case since they had the wrong vin you could argue fraudulence on there part since the vehicle they sold you and the vehicle they had the title for are two different vehicles. There argument could be that the title may be wrong but the vehicle has not changed and it is the vehicle you chose to purchase with out having it inspected before hand.

[kfk]

Try a carfax and see what turns up.

[Jaspernuts]

I always run a carfax on private purchases, but when a dealer hands you a sheet showing it was run through the shop and repairs were made on what it needed, I never thought of having it inspected. Isn't that the point of going to a dealer? To get a clean car? What if I want to trade it in a few years and the new dealer refused to take it bacause of the vins? I paid full retail for a truck that will never bring full retail.

[Scott K]

I would go talk to the sales manager, more then likely they didnt know about it either. If you let them know, you dont want it any longer, and you just got it, most places will let you out if within 30 days.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Try a carfax and see what turns up.

A carfax will only show something if there was an insurance claim. So lets say the the drivers door was tagged and replaced. The bill was $800 and the owners deductible is $1,000. The owner pays out of pocket and the insurance never gets involved. The repair never shows up in a carfax!

The only way to know what is going on with a vehicle is to talk to the previous owner AND have the vehicle inspected by someone who not only can identify the mechanical problems but can also spot collision repairs.

I just had a customer in a couple months ago that picked up a used impala from a hyundai dealer that his friend worked at. The car had some obvious unusual denting in some of the quarter window chrome molding. Upon further inspection everything from the drivers door back had been replaced or repaired. The guys friend had no idea and the guy had a car fax with no mention of it. Once I pointed out the paint blends, sand scratches, misaligned gaps, and painted over chips the guy was a little annoyed that this slipped through and a little surprised how easy it was to spot once he new what to look for.

Having a degree in collision repair helps me spot those imperfections. There is only one vehicle (that I know of ) that I could not spot the repairs and I knew the history and where the repairs where made. That was the wife's car. The body shop we went to did an amazing job matching color, and texture. They took the time to pull moldings, door handles, bumpers, headlights, instead of taping around them. That repair will also never show up on a carfax since it was not paid through an insurance claim.

[DrJuice1980]

Car dealers sell vehicles they purchase at auctions all over the country. There is no way to fill a used car inventory with strickly trade-in. Sometimes the vehicles that run through auction (and some times trade-ins) are labeled unibodys, meaning they were involved in some sort of accident meaning multiple body parts and frame needed fixing. That doesnt make them bad cars.

If you want out of the agreement then you have a pretty easy case on your hands. They are having title issues meaning there is no deal until it gets straightened out. I am sure the dealer will make it right on another purchase. The last thing they want to do is lose a sale.

I personally hate Carfax. Where do they get off valuing a vehicles worth due to reported oil changes? If you do your own or go to the local guy who doesnt pay the fee to report to Carfax your vehicle will show a lessor value than paying out your butt at a dealership (avg oil change: $35). With that said, understand that when you decide to trade that vehicle in the salesman will bring out a printed carfax that shows accidents and a minus in value and try to beat you down on your trade-in value.

If the truck is a good runner and youre comfortable with it and going to have it for a while and run up a bunch of miles and in the end its going to be a $3000-$4000 truck then a carfax is meaningless. If you plan on trading it in after a few years then I would return it and find something else, especially if you paid full-boat for it.

[Jaspernuts]

Dealer has offered to take the truck back. Let the search begin again. These tundras are impossible to find.

[Macgyver55]

Let the search begin again. These tundras are impossible to find.

A quick search shows 130 of them from 2009 to 2013 ranging from 20 to 50,000 bucks on Auto Trader. (Within 100 miles of the cities)

[HarleyK50]

Dr.juice, unibody refers to frameless construction in modern automobiles. It is in no way an indicator of needed repair or maintenance.

[DrJuice1980]

It is a classification of damaged vehicle as well (most likely repaired). Never said it was an indicator.

Right thing to do would be give the used car manager a 2nd swing and try to locate what you want. A good car guy would do that. They may be hard for you to find but there are a lot of different ways for the dealership to obtain one. Just tell them your parameters and it shouldn't be hard.

ps,

I hope the pups doing well.