2016 Malibu

[Anonymous]

Hello guys,

I will try and add detail but also make
It short as possible.

Back in the end of June 2019 I made a used car purchase. 2016 Malibu LT, 7120 miles! Car fax was super clean. Test drive car drove like perfect! No shakes or drifting no nothing everything work just fine. It actually still has some manufacturing warranty left in it until 2020 or the 50,000 miles.

Got the loan for $16K OTD through my credit union. There’s a dent in drivers door I noticed after I came out of the store recently but was parked out in the open no cars by me but willing to have my brother and dad fix it at work and make it like new. They’re mechanics and do body work/paint.( just don’t wanna make a claim and all that and potential ally have insurance increase) was giving my brother information about the car and taking pics of a few spots in the car with the VIN and title so he has the info to give the office at work to look up some info about it. I pulled out the trunk liner and noticed that VIN is different than all the rest in my car. (Door jam/ hood/ under the drivers glass etc) It comes back from a 2017 Malibu that the paint code is GM silver. Like I said car fax is clean but I know there are people who don’t make claims and get around stuff.

Dug into some stuff online and a few different VIN checkers and what not. My car still saying clean. I search up that VIN that is from my trunk, 2017 Silver Malibu into an accident. Right front damage not rear and not totaled/salvaged or anything.

When buying the vehicle I signed an “as is” I think I just got ripped off while a business is laughing and counting the money. And I’m not sure there is anything else I can do now it’s been a few months and have around 13K miles on the car. I still love the car and drives fine no problems and all but I guess my question is, is there anything that can be done about this by going to my credit union with having information about it like this that isn’t or hasn’t been reported or any legal action even though I signed an “as is” paper when signing the car into my name and handing the check over? Car could’ve been salvaged but not done properly and now I have this vehicle that may be worth way less than purchased for. I may have shot myself in the foot but everything seemed just fine when driving and buying.

Any information about a situation like this would be nice but seems like I’m in the hole around half of the loan at least.

Thanks.

[GApeachy]

If you ever went to sale this car it could become an issue.  I'd call local authorities and ask.  I was sold a truck, told it was one year newer, paid that price, nada, then my Insurance man, who also had it previously insured with the old owner who sold it to me told me nope, he told you wrong. He pulled the vin and showed me, sure nuff, one year older. The tag office didn't even pick it up, issued my tag as the year the neighbor told them.  My neighbor actually drove me to the tag office, it wasn't shady but ppl make mistakes/typos. So I didn't press the issue, no need to but Poop happens. cyb

[Anonymous]

Right that is what I’m afraid of is when I sell the car later down the road, there will be an issue with value and all of that because of this. I don’t think it’s a mis tag the VIN in the trunk is from an accident from Ohio and the outside of the trunk has a decal from a place in Ohio. But I know mis tags happen my brother says it does happen but I’m afraid this is not the case

[GApeachy]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Right that is what I’m afraid of is when I sell the car later down the road, there will be an issue with value and all of that because of this. I don’t think it’s a mis tag the VIN in the trunk is from an accident from Ohio and the outside of the trunk has a decal from a place in Ohio. But I know mis tags happen my brother says it does happen but I’m afraid this is not the case

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We bought a boat from out of state.  Dh couldn't get a tag until we provided the "correct" vin number.  The one on the bill of sale was wrong.  So the tag office told him to call the county police; they'd come out and inspect, fill out a form for which dh would be able to present in order to have a tag issued.

So the cop came out, we're all under the boat and trailer looking for a metal vin, finally found a sticker, old and faded.  The young fella, cop, ran the numbers, came back nada, so I took pics, enlarged and we guessed...it's either a B, 8, or 6.  He ran all the numbers that way til he found it.  After the cop left, dh found the vin, a small metal plate the old tag was covering, hahahaha.  But the cop did good, he got it straightened out.  So call your tag office, get the name of the form, have a county cop bring the form and inspect your car.  Or call the authorities and ask how to do a find out.  There are laws to protect you if it's what you think it may be.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think I can do anything, I did a lot of research last night and did different VIN checkers about the TWO different VINS.

Turns out the trunk comes back to a 2017 Malibu in color silver. At first I didn’t know the color my brother looked up the Paint code from the tag and it was GM silver (he obviously knows about these since he does auto body work)

Dug around some more and found that the car (2017 Malibu) was in an accident in Ohio which left it disabled and towed then later destroyed...

Now my car doesn’t really come back with much but does say Airbags deployed (window/curtain airbags) so it was in some sort of it but never reported via insurance which is why Carfax didn’t pull anything when buying and only showed as 1 owner and super clean. And which the car was super clean looking at it checking some basic things out when buying and like I said the test drive was 100% how it should be.

Long story short the trunk or ass end of my vehicle was replaced with the 2017 before it was crushed and I know this because the reporting city PD who handles the accident report for the silver Malibu has the same area code as the decal on my trunk which is ALSO Ohio.

My brother finds it just as strange as me and he says if they ever get parts from an auction or junk yard they can be out of state and this Malibu I have is and was sold in Michigan and has been a Michigan car not too far from where I live.

All in all I don’t think I can do anything and will just have to suck it up for the remainder of the loan. The car was sold as a green MI title so it’s not like it was salvaged or rebuilt and was slipped by my credit union.

[GApeachy]

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@Anonymous 

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Well it sounds like you bought a half of two vehicles.....that's gotta have footing somewhere.  Call Carfax and ask them for the title to the ass-end, jk. But it sounds like you'd have something to go on being you have both vin's.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I just may call and see what carfax has on that vehicle if I can even get it without paying.

Funny that some free vin checkers that show MUCH more info than the crap that is advertised to pay for and DEALERS USE. Took a lot of digging to find them but I found it.

I’ll have to give a call later it’s early in the AM. But I don’t think nothing can be done signed a “used as is” paper and have 7k miles added to the vehicle and the sale was back in June.

[GApeachy]

Yeah, kinda sux.  Good luck, I'd just press it in all different directions.  You bought one car; not two halves.