Friend in Tampa bought a Maserati GT in October. The car was purchased online from European Masters (Great Neck, NY).

The car was inspected by Maserati of Long Island. And they even checked off that they inspected the suspension components.

Today while having an oil change, replacing tires, and performing a recall the dealer in Tampa tells me that they cannot get the car aligned properly and upon further inspection they say that the car was in an accident and had the front right suspension components replaced with inferior parts.

I need an opinion on who to go after on this? He purchased the car after the inspection thinking it was in great shape, and now we find that the car is not as represented.

Would you go after the dealer who sold the car? Go after the Maserati Dealership that signed off an inspection that wasn't accurate? Or suck it up and just pay the $3000 that Reeves says it will cost to replace these parts. He can pay the bill just wouldn't have bought the car if he had known about this issue.

Thanks in advance

 

I'd say go after the dealer who sold it.
If it was a Maserati dealer I'd get Maserati North America involved, they would be able to put they appropriate amount of pressure on the dealer to "make good" or risk loosing their Maserati licensing...

The true moral here though is, don't buy sight unseen.

 

I disagree with the "true moral" premise - sight unseen is this case is no different than the buyer actually being at the purchase

he did all the right stuff - had a PPI done (?) by a supposed qualified dealership which is all 99% of us can rely on, since 99% of us aren't qualified to do a thorough mechanical inspection ourselves

so, tho I'm no lawyer, I say yes..do contact Mas NA and if no QUICK help there I'd look at taking the dealership to small claims court (I don't know how the 2 State thing works in small claims court however..)

 

I don't think there's much you can do. It would be a different story if you bought it certified from a Maserati dealer, but considering it was a random used car dealer, the car was probably sold "AS-IS" as all used cars are. If it was a major accident, it should appear on history report and it is a buyer's responsibility to check that. If it wasn't on the history report and something not readily apparent, the dealer is not responsible for it. It would be impossible for a used car dealer to know every problem with every car they sell (especially if even a Maserati dealer didn't find it). That is why its best to buy certified from authorized dealer, although that costs more money obviously.

 

Unfortunately I am thinking this. It was not a certified car and you have not said that the dealer in any way misreresented the car. I would say just suck it up and fix it.

 

I am afraid that most of those high end used car shops along 25A in Great Neck are all scum bags....When I was looking for an Audi S4 I stopped in a few including EM and they lied through there teeth.


Cheers,
Jim