Has anyone ever bought a car from here? My husband and I did in Aug. and we had an accident at the beginning of this month that totalled the car. The guy at the repair shop said there was previous damage that was very obviously poorly repaired. His exact words "it looks like someone could have done this in their backyard." The dealership never told us it had prior damage. Has anyone else had any problems with a car bought from this place? Do you think we have a case against Access Auto for not disclosing the previous damage? 

U didn't carfax it before u bought it? 

The dealership never told us it had prior damage.

Buyer beware. You are responsible for checking out the car (or having someone do it for you), getting a carfax, etc. 

You can sue for breach of contract. You may also be able to file a complaint with DMV. However, if you bought the car as is, you may have waived any claim. The question would be whether you can prove the car was in this condition when you bought it. 

No we didn't carfax it. We were in a tight spot at the time, his old car died and he needed one immediately so we took the dealership on faith. Bad idea out here, where apparently most of the businesses are low down, dirty, and crooked. They just like to prey on young and naive marines and their wives.

I have looked into the laws in Cali, and it might qualify as a lemon, or under the deceptive practices law. Even though we did sign an As Is statement, they sold it to us as a certified pre-owned, which means it was "inspected" fully. Any Honda person would not have given it a stamp of approval if they had seen the previous repair work. (I get the feeling it was not really certified properly) 

Last I checked, the only safe place to buy a car in 29 Palms is the lot next to Rocky's on 62. Every where else it's a bad idea. 

Even though we did sign an As Is statement

Not sure if it just applies to private party sales but in the state of california there is no "as is" clause. you cannot legally sell a vehicle "as is" and have that back you up on court when its private party sale. 

Go to G&B next to Rad Wheels. They don't look like much but they're honest. Talk to Eric. 

We bought a car from Motor city and were told it is California law that the seller must include a carfax report. We got one with our car. 

No we didn't carfax it. We were in a tight spot at the time, his old car died and he needed one immediately so we took the dealership on faith

It only takes 10 minutes to ask the dealer for a carfax report, never ever buy a car without one cause you can get seriously screwed! 

is it a private party sale if it was from Access Auto Sales, since they are a dealership? 

we had an accident at the beginning of this month that totalled the car

If the car was totalled why are you even bothering with this...Your insurance company should take care of the matter.... 

is it a private party sale if it was from Access Auto Sales, since they are a dealership?

You didn't really ask that question did you???? 

Apologies, Mona, that not everyone is gifted with ultimate knowledge like you. Yes, I asked the question because I honestly don't know the answer, and wouldn't mind clarification on the subject.

ToysforTom- we didn't get the right insurance so they can't help us. We were never told that we put the wrong insurance on it, so instead of the full coverage our lein company required we didn't have collision coverage, meaning we still 14K on the car, which is now totalled. 

so instead of the full coverage our lein company required we didn't have collision coverage

im confused.
maybe its just been a long day.
doesnt full coverage cover collision? 

we only had comprehensive and liability 

who do u have insurance through?
its my understanding that ALL insurance companies would amke sure you have full coverage if you ahve a vehicle financed.
but yea, if your financing company said you needed full coverage.. why wouldnt you ahve had it? 

21st century, and I set it up online so the policy wasn't right. The lein company wasn't very nice about not having the right insurance. However, they require full coverage, but they don't force you to have it. Which is pretty contradictory in my opinion, but the woman from the lein company didn't share my opinion. 

You got screwed on every end it sounds like. I would recommend that you do research on the how to's of buying a car / financing a car before you purchase your next one. Every states laws will be different so keep that in mind. 

we only had comprehensive and liability

What insurance company allowed you to do that?!?
And I always recommend gap cpverage for financed vehicles so if the car ever gets totalled you will have additional coverage to make sure you don't end up owing on car that you can no longer drive. 

so the way I see it you are directly responsible for your own predicament, but instead of accepting responsibly for your actions you come on here and attempt to trash a local company. you are bordering on slander, which access could possibly file charges on you for. so next time as many have told you, educate yourself , accept responsibility for your (actions)mistakes and move on in life, hopefully learning from and not repeating this blunder…jmo 

NEVER RELY ON CARFAX REPORTS!

The Carfax report will only show accidents the vehicle was in if the total damage of the car was over 25% of the value of the car at the time of accident. That is only if the owner turned it into the insurance company. If the customer paid cash to fix the damage from the accident, it will not show on the Carfax report. Many people do pay cash to get their cars repaired, and not turning it into the insurance company. If the damage was under 25% of the value, it could have damaged a major part of the vehicle, and if that wasn't repaired correctly, can be costly down the road. 

For the record:
1. I NEVER claimed the accident was anyones fault but our own.
2. I NEVER implied the accident was Access Auto Sales responsibility to fix.
3. SLANDER is only a case that can be built if I have made derrogative comments that impune the integrity of the company. I have simply stated the facts of the situation in regards to Access Auto Sales, therefore nothing I have said constitutes slander.
4. I appreciate all of the positive and helpful comments on our situation, and will fully admit to being in over our heads and not doing the right research on a car. (A mistake we will obviously not make again)
5. Thank you AuroraBorealis, for the information on CarFax, we have since the accident purchased a car report using a different site, one that pulls up records with the vechicles VIN.
6. For anyone elses further information the car was sold at auction with frame damage. (which is why I still believe we might have something against Access Auto Sales, for non-disclosure under California Unfair/ Deceptive Business practices)

So to recap: We bought the car, without being told it had previous frame damage. We had an accident that totalled the car, which was entirely our fault. We did not have the correct insurance on it, as required by our lein company, due to a lack of knowledge of insurance terms on my part. We now owe the lein company 14K on a car that we cannot afford to fix, the estimate was about 10K but that was before they saw anything internal once they began taking the car apart. The previous frame damage was in the same place as where the contact point of the collision we had was. It was not the cause of our accident, but could have potentially weakened the frame to a point that the damage was multiplied due to the poor repair work previously done.

please only post positive comments in the future as we obviously already know we are basically screwed, rudeness is not necessary. 

rudeness is not necessary.

that was as nice as i could say it.

insinuating can also be construed as liable.. you may want to look up,Defamation of Character... 

you may want to look up,Defamation of Character...

Plus you might wanta lock this thread... 

and do tell, what have I "insinuated"? and as far as "Defamation of Character" goes,
Defamation of character can include slander (spoken derogatory statements), Libel (written derogatory statements) or both. To constitute actionable defamation, the statements must be false and expose a person to hatred, ridicule or contempt.

Nothing I have stated has been false, nor written in hatred or contempt, nor meant to ridicule. 

Guess you didn't see that part about lockin the thread.....