[wilsonho87]

hi guys i bought a 320i a week ago. Today i realised that theres some weird pattern with one of the back seats leather. theres like a 1 inch line which is not that visible but when i look closely, i think its probably been a repaired damage to a scratch. I can see something has been moulded onto the seat and when i feel it that part is harder than usual. Since i didnt find this out before i signed the contract, i think there is not much i can do about it in regards to chasing him up for it.

But i would like to ask, was the dealer responsible to have told me about any repairs or damages the vehicle has encountered before? Is there like a compulsory law procedure that this has to be undertaken? If so then i can ask for maybe a replacement vehicle ?

like i said it was a demo so it cant be perfect but i personally think the dealer should have at least told me about it. i only drove it for 1 week and 2 days. Any thoughts on this?

[NBTBRV8]

No I don't think so, you're responsible to check the vehicle your buying.

[pcockley]

mm sounds like buyer beware I am afraid. This is why when buying a used car (which a demo is) I always recomment people give the car a full detail yourself, might take a two hours of your time but by going over the car in detail you will find any little fault.

[Chris.G]

You want to hire a Leb/Lebs (better in a group) to intimidate the dealership? I can be the middle man for such a service.

[Stuart@BMRAutowerkes]

Originally Posted by wilsonho87

But i would like to ask, was the dealer responsible to have told me about any repairs or damages the vehicle has encountered before? Is there like a compulsory law procedure that this has to be undertaken? If so then i can ask for maybe a replacement vehicle ?

Nope.

caveat emptor, either make your peace with it or get it repaired.

[Chris.G]

Originally Posted by bmroxm5

caveat emptor

Luceat lux vestra, let your light shine.

[luster]

Originally Posted by pcockley

mm sounds like buyer beware I am afraid. This is why when buying a used car (which a demo is) I always recomment people give the car a full detail yourself, might take a two hours of your time but by going over the car in detail you will find any little fault.

Couldn't agree more!

I did a proper wash, clay, (then had to buy polish) polish, wax when I got my ex-demo.

It was crazy the number of imperfections you find on a car with so little miles on the clock.

I could get angry at my dealer for not disclosing the damage to me at the time I bought the car, but realistically, he wouldn't have personally known about the damage.

I had scratches on the boot, roof, touch up paint on rear pumper, ever so light scratches on the rims and so forth. I didn't notice anything like this when I bought the car, in fact, I though the car was perfect.

On another note, if you dont know how to detail a car, perhaps get a friend to come down to dealership with you (for future purchases), as they will be able to point out things like this very very easily.

And when they say they will polish scratches out of the trims, at least your detailer friend will point out that that will only cover, not remove scratches *slaps head*

Had I been able to point out all the flaws with my ex-demo, I know I would have gotten a discount, or even just walked away had they not discounted.

[luster]

The dealer has no duty of disclosure for minor things such as these. What you need to also bare into mind is that these cars are not only used on the floor as demo cars, they are also used by dealership staff as their transport.

So many times, the damage done to the car is by a staff member and it is very unlikely they will ever disclose said damage to BMW. They would try to cover it up for themselves. And I'm sure if they were ever questioned, they wouldn't know about the damage anyway

It is for reasons like this there are no duty of disclosure rules for selling cars. As you have pointed out, the damage was always there, it is your duty to find it before driving the car off the lot (or signing the contract).

[wrickem]

Leather being a natural product, is subject to all kinds of imperfections. It could be the cow had run into barbed wire in life and it marginally passed inspection with a little filler. Let it go.

[wilsonho87]

yeah i guess i have to move on. lesson to be learnt when buying demo cars even as little as 900kms

[luster]

Originally Posted by wilsonho87

yeah i guess i have to move on. lesson to be learnt when buying demo cars even as little as 900kms

Bring your car to the meet on Sunday...and bring some girls pimp daddy!

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by wilsonho87

yeah i guess i have to move on. lesson to be learnt when buying demo cars even as little as 900kms

That's the spirit. Things happen to cars and if a flaw in the leather is all that you can find, I'd say you did really good! Enjoy your new ride

[johnnydad]

Originally Posted by wrickem

Leather being a natural product, is subject to all kinds of imperfections. It could be the cow had run into barbed wire in life and it marginally passed inspection with a little filler. Let it go.

or track down the farmer?

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by johnnydad

or track down the farmer?

Yeah, why not! Teach him to be nicer to his cows

I am definitely the minority around here that actually likes some imperfections in leather. And I like the seats to get some wrinkles and a little patina, otherwise it looks too perfect and manmade to me. But I guess we're all different.

[pcockley]

Originally Posted by wrickem

Yeah, why not! Teach him to be nicer to his cows

I am definitely the minority around here that actually likes some imperfections in leather. And I like the seats to get some wrinkles and a little patina, otherwise it looks too perfect and manmade to me. But I guess we're all different.

Go buy a poob, they spend 30 years trying to make plastic look like leather then a few years back they released a car with real leather and yup looked like plastic! Perfect first time ;-P