More details to this question:
I purchased a car from a dealer 300 miles from me and had it transported. On delivery it had 3 areas of paint damage, one of which was noticed at time of delivery (on street at 9pm on dark road), the other 2 noticed on inspection the next day without any miles being driven on the car. I had a "clear bra" placed on the entire car at dealership prior to it being shipped to prevent paint damage ($6k). Dealer wont take car back, transport denies damage except for scratch on clear bra, clear bra installer denies damage when he applied film. No bill of lading from transport which was subcontracted out from a transport company. 3 estimates of work, 5.5k,6.5k,7.5k for repairs. Problem is the car is 1 of 500 ever made...and repainting it excludes it from being a collectors item which is why one reason I purchased it and applied protective film to car. Car now has 200 miles on it, only driven to repair estimates over 4 weeks. What are my options?
1 ANSWER
Consumer Debt Collector Harassment & Abuse Attorney serving Tampa, FL
Partner at
Tischhauser Law Group
2 Awards
This was handled poorly from the beginning and it is likely that you will bear the cost of the repairs for financial reasons, unless your comprehensive insurance covers the issues. If the vehicle is valuable as a collectors item, you should have driven to the dealer to inspect prior to final purchase and placement of the protective "bra" and been there for the loading. You should have also refused the delivery at 9pm in the dark on an unlit road, and insisted on a day time delivery or to a well lit location for inspection. You gambled that nothing would happen and the bra would protect from damages and it didn't pan out. The legal expense of fighting over who did what now will likely equal or exceed the amount of the damages. You can try using a lawyer to write a letter or two to see if you get some value rom the other parties, but beyond that it is not likely a cost effective legal dispute.
Answered on Apr 24th, 2015 at 6:49 AM
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