O.K. I was getting a oil change on my 2004 RX8 and while waiting i figured i would test drive a new 09...As I got in the car and i was reversing out on the dealerships lot, i hit a pole, there was no dent but just a few scratches on the rear passenger side fender. The salesman who was in the car with me told me not to tell anyone and he wont either and said quit worrying and dont worry about it. So i took it off and test drove it...Honestly i wasnt impressed in comparison to mine and i hate the new steering wheel...lol.

Now my question is, they have all my information but my salesman let me leave and nobody said anything to me about the scratches from hitting the pole on their dealership lot. Now I was told that they would HAVE to have me sign something on the spot aknowledging that i did the damage and i would pay and since they didnt do that, am i going to be responsible?

Someone from another dealership told me that since it happened on the dealerships lot and its private property, that the dealership has insurance and it was just be filed with there insurance as lot damage and that I shouldnt worry at all about it and i wont have to pay anything.

Please let me hear your advice.

 

i wouldnt worry about it....they have insurance for that

 

yeah your fine, they arent gonna make a big deal about scratches its just a cost of doing buisness and theyll let another customer complain about it

when i bought my 8 another salesman stole the sun visor out of it to put on an 8 he sold. when i noticed it wasnt there my salesman stole the visor off another 8 on the lot. a problem like yours isnt a problem until someone buying the car says something, and then in that case the dealer will fix it for that customer

 

The dealership is insured for those little mishaps.
You are off the hook


The question is; did they fix the scratches or are they gonna try to sell it that way?

 

you don't have to have insurance to test drive... just a valid license.

their insurance will cover any accident you're in at their expense. No worries to you.

 

You will be executed.

 

Years ago I was purchasing a mini van (yeah..i was "that guy"). The salesman had to get the one I wanted from the back of the lot. I watched him back the mini van into another minivan, caving in the sliding door on one and collapsing the rear corner of the one he was driving.

I ended up going to a different dealership since they only had two vans in stock that I was interested in. The one he was driving and the one he hit.


To the OP: NEVER EVER EVER EVER SIGN ANYTHING in a situation like that. 99.9 percent of dealerships will simply write off dents as the cost of doing business, but you may end up at one of those dealerships who are down on their luck and will just milk you for a couple of hundred bucks and still have their insurance cover it.

 

<hides> back when I was in AIT @ Ft. Gordon, I did a similar thing with a much cheeper car, and probably less damage....

I hit a sign at the head of the parking space while pulling in... I remember thinking as I was pulling in.... "I should stop right about.... <ding> now..........."






Don't hurt me... my cats will die

 

You should be stoked that you didn't do it in your own car

 

how did you manage to hit a pole?

 

Exactly. If they did pursue people if little things like that happen, I'd have a feeling we'd have less people test driving cars

 

yeah it all gets written off, and the dealership eats it, or depending on the situation those little fix me ups may come out of the salemans commission if the car is purchased

 

I hit a dealership car with my car when test driving one time and took off like a bat out of hell... never heard anythin' about it :D

 

Well I hit the pole because it was freaking tiny and the mirrors were not adjusted for me so i couldnt see it...Also something else i remembered, the salesman at the dealership is supposed to pull the car out of the lot...not let the customer do it...

I am glad to hear im off the hook, i figured i was since they let me leave without any consequences....I would be sooooooooooo pissed if i did that in my own car, it would of been pure ignorance because my rear views would of been adjusted for me in my own car too, atleast here i can blame it on the mirrors and the tiny pole. lol

I kept my RX8...dont need a 2009. I like the styling on mine more and also that 09 has this scratch on the rear bumper...looks like someone might of hit a pole. :P j/k

Thanks for clearing my mind up guys!

 

yeah the dealership won't even fix it until someone comes to buy it and IF they ask "what's up with this scratch" for a brand new car alot ofppl don't even look just get in drive and say "I want NOW" haha you're good

 

You have no problem. You did nothing wrong, and the salesman had authority to speak on behalf of the dealer, which he did.

 

You're fine. Happens all the time as people mentioned. I have friends that were auto sales folks, and heard the stories.

Heh, when I bought my 8 the driver side mat was missing, all others were in place. Bought the car used mind you. So they ordered a whole new set for me. Now I have 3 new mats in my basement and I cover the new drivers mat, yea....I'm bad.

 

The Mazda police will ve knocking on your door shortly ready to take your RX8 keys and give you the keys to an 1989 Yugo.

I wouldn't sign anything.

 

A lot of dealers are like that.......shame on them for not following procedures.

 

So give more details on the test drive. Was it an R3? That is the only one that would have any noticeable differences. I think the facelift may grow on people after awhile. I'm not sold on it yet either, but it does interest me.

 

I think it was a sport or GT model. I didnt like the new gauges to be honest eithera and the front end is ok but i like the fog lights on mine more then the new one, the new fog lights remind me of the Saturn Sky's fog lights and i do not want to be reminded of that crappozoola lol. Also the rear end i dont like, i like how we have the rotary triangle and how our exhaust pipes are enclosed within the bumper instead of the new one where it is enclosed on the bottom. Just my two cents and driving it wasnt anything special, felt like i was driving my car lol. Mind you i have 42,000 miles and have never had a issue yet, only check engine light i ever had was because my gas cap was defective and i got a new one for free.

The rims i do like though, i will be honest...oh yeah, eeeewwww to that steering wheel also lol.

I mean the handling was great but felt the same as the 03-08 RX-8's....The gears felt a little better but thats because i am comparing it to a 42,000 RX-8 and this one had like 11 miles on it lol. I actually think the clutch is a lot softer too (not a fan of).

 

if they damaged your car and you drove off without noticing until later they'd not pay up or admit guilt (not in the UK anyway), so just do the same and "it never happened"

 

if you changed exhausts as much as I have, you'd appreciate the new exhaust setup

 

The insurance everyone is talking abotu has a $1000 deductible in every case I know of... this is a cost of doing business, it will be eaten. And these are the nice things dealers to and don't mention much, but get figured in to other purchases.

 

Can you please elaborate what you didn't like about the '09 compared with your '04? Thanks