Shipping damage - requiement to disclose

[Ghostrider]

For new vehicles I know some may get some damage on the boat coming over. Is there any way to find out if a truck I am looking to buy had this repaired? The reason I am asking is I remember a court case from 20 years ago where an entire car was repainted and then sold as new.

 

[Mybuddytmil]

I bought a 2003 toyota tundra brand new off the lot and I had it for several years and then a couple of spots showed up on the hood. The paint was just a different shade and color. You couldnt see it when it was new. But I guess the small areas I suspect were repainted didnt age or weather as well as the original paint and it started to show. There was no damage other than paint color difference.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

For new vehicles I know some may get some damage on the boat coming over. Is there any way to find out if a truck I am looking to buy had this repaired? The reason I am asking is I remember a court case from 20 years ago where an entire car was repainted and then sold as new.

I don't think that happens as much as you might think anymore. I believe "PDI" (Pre-Delivery Inspection) cars go through multiple checks/sign-offs from boat to truck to dealer to showroom floor. We actually have a guy at the dealer that "checks-in" the PDIs when they get off the truck and then the driver has us sign for the delivery. I haven't seen one come off a truck damaged before, but I imagine if it did we would probably not sign for it.

I'm sure there's a couple oddball instances (we had a brand new not even inspected, still wrapped Corolla at my old dealership take a hit in the door because of a careless truck driver picking up scrap), unfortunately none of that will show up on a CarFax because it's usually filed as an internal claim. Your best bet would probably be to run the VIN through Toyota's website or have the dealer pull the service history on the vehicle via the VIN and carefully scrutinize that for anything that might indicate internal body repairs. The first item on the service history should be "Pre-Delivery Inspection Performed" or something similar indicating that the PDI was performed and then the vehicle went to detail and was made ready for sale.

 

[jti30666]

I've run into this problem before....both receiving incoming and outgoing shipments...

If a NEW vehicle, never titled, is shipped anywhere and it gets damaged to any extent a few options are available (to broker/dealer/etc..)

The damage still can be repaired whether claimed under shipping insurance or private business insurance but DOES NOT have to be reported under "certain" laws regarding motor vehicles in the relative receiving country..

Most reputable dealers will NOT do this...They will either file a claim on the loss or put in a reorder on vehicle

Its sad but true...

So in instance you could special order a new vehicle being shipped either overseas or local....You receive the vehicle thinking its "CLEAN" but later find out that its had significant damage, but then its too late...

Mostly shipping damages are cosmetic really but depending on the vehicle it could be a make or break decision if the consumer really knew what happened...