Hidden damage under bumper

[ResinM3]

Purchase M3 about 3 months.
While detailing vehicle notice a small patch of overspray. Very small.
Never notice it before. But Dealer states no dents/dings/or issue. No accidents on CarFax(useless) and per sale associate.

I decided to investigate.
Remove bumper and saw impact to the right bumper cover bracket.
Remove bumper bracket cover, and saw an small impact to the unibody/frame/(whatever the correct term is).

On the other side of that is the battery.
It appears to be pushed in 1/2 inch because the plastic nut that engage the bumper bracket and stud on that body no longer engages it properly. So basically 4 out of 5 nuts are holding the bracket to the body.

This is consider unibody damage?
Is this consider cosmetic?
Paintless dent removal to push it back out? Sorta like a dent to car with a baseball..etc..

No problems with the vehicle tracking straight.

I'm asking dealership for a refund of $3500.00. Should I ask more?

Please advise.
Thanks

[miringrains]

Thats nice and all, but you shouldn't ask the dealership for anything back. You really have no leg to stand on in terms of asking for money back if they never lied to you.
Pm me the vin from your car, I'll run an autocheck report for you. Accident may be on there.

[Vic311]

+1

The time to have brought this up is before you purchased the car.

[ResinM3]

Originally Posted by Vic311

+1

The time to have brought this up is before you purchased the car.

I asked if there were any dents/dings/ or issues. They mention no and have it in writing from the dealer.
The car was bought and service at that dealership its whole life...until i purchase it.
The dent is not visible from the exterior.. so one would have to remove the bumper cover to see dent.. I doubt they would let a potential buyer strip the bumper cover off to see any potential hidden damage..

[Vic311]

Well if you have something from them in writing stating there were no accidents and you can confirm this is accident damage, then you may have some recourse.

You don't have anything to lose by trying.

[Brian0473]

I feel for you brother but this is going to be a tough one for you. They could claim that you caused this damage in the last three months or that they too had no knowledge of it.

[ResinM3]

Originally Posted by Vic311

Well if you have something from them in writing stating there were no accidents and you can confirm this is accident damage, then you may have some recourse.

You don't have anything to lose by trying.

I'll see what they said on Monday. Worth a shot.

[miringrains]

Originally Posted by ResinM3

I asked if there were any dents/dings/ or issues. They mention no and have it in writing from the dealer.
The car was bought and service at that dealership its whole life...until i purchase it.
The dent is not visible from the exterior.. so one would have to remove the bumper cover to see dent.. I doubt they would let a potential buyer strip the bumper cover off to see any potential hidden damage..

I find that hard to believe considering it went from North Carolina to Nevada

[ResinM3]

Originally Posted by Brian0473

I feel for you brother but this is going to be a tough one for you. They could claim that you caused this damage in the last three months or that they too had no knowledge of it.

Yeah.. that dent is always gonna linger on my mind. I want to see if PDR can push it back out...or leave it as is.. The only time i see if I remove the cover and bracket cover...hahah

[miringrains]

Actually I'm going to assume that you're the one who lives in Nevada. Regardless they'll probably tell you to kick rocks. Either way for you it shouldnt matter, if its not on carfax it doesnt exist in terms of resale.

[ResinM3]

Originally Posted by miringrains

Actually I'm going to assume that you're the one who lives in Nevada. Regardless they'll probably tell you to kick rocks. Either way for you it shouldnt matter, if its not on carfax it doesnt exist in terms of resale.

Most likely they are gonna tell me go kick rocks.


Lession learned. Correct on resale...as its an internal dent...with no report history.
Just makes me wonder how many cars are like that out there?
Almost impossible to tell without stripping the car down. ..

[GVIFlyer]

I have seen "good will" adjustments at my Motorwerks dealership, you have nothing to lose by asking. In direct response to your question, $3,500 seems about right.

[TrevorM3]

this is for all of the guys who trust dealers.


And honestly, i would leave it alone. Why would you open a can of worms?

This turns out bad for you in every scenario, (if the dealer even does anything)


You'll now have a car that has an accident history. Obviously the repairs were done fine, because you didn't notice it before. Clean off the overspray, give it a good wash and hit the redline.

[Harry Da Hamster]

You're fighting an uphill battle. You bought the car used and this has negligable impact on the cars function and operation. It sucks, but that's the risk you get when buying a used vehicle. I can run the CARFAX for free if you post the VIN.

[miringrains]

Originally Posted by FNG

You're fighting an uphill battle. You bought the car used and this has negligable impact on the cars function and operation. It sucks, but that's the risk you get when buying a used vehicle. I can run the CARFAX for free if you post the VIN.

Ran it already, its clean. Repairs were done with cash.

[InterJon]

I had a very similar issue, in the same location on the car. I had a representation by the dealer that there were no issues or damage involving the car (they too had always done the service). The cash repairs done to mine were no more than hammering out the parts enough to put on a new bumper.

Dealer purchased it back plus $2,500 for my trouble. My facts were a little better than yours: more damage, I discovered the damage the next day of purchase, and when I purchased it, I saw an oddity regarding the trunk, so they said I could get that portion of the car inspected (despite purchasing the car that day).

Best of luck.

[M3PO]

It's very possible that the dealer didn't know, just like you didn't. There's nothing you can do (as mentioned above) and there's no reason to lose sleep over it. Just drive the damn car.

[BaseM3]

If it bothers u that much sell it and get another. Looks like its dirty behind that panel too.