Check your vehicle condition report before taking delivery

[w0rt3x]

Hey folks,

Last night I got a call from the dealer saying that Ford AU has another 'stang with the exact same specs to the one I ordered (which is 1 week away from unloading from Tamesis). Reason being, the other person's finance fell through.

I said yeah no worries, send me the VIN and I'll double check the specs. In the meantime we locked in a date for pre-delivery inspection and we agreed if it's all good I'll take delivery.

Straight after I got off the call, I went and checked ETIS - great, everything matched and I was happy with it. But then I realised that there is one more tracking piece for Australia - Prixcar. Since my car is still on the ship and there are no records I haven't bothered checking, but I thought let's check where this car is at and when it has been delivered.

Off I went and by accident I discovered that there is a Vehicle Condition Report completed by Prixcar before the vehicle is transported from the docks to its destination. This applies to almost everybody on this forum (in Australia) and I urge you to go and check your vehicle condition report to see if your car has had any damage. You can possibly negotiate even further with your dealer or refuse to take delivery, up to you.

Here is how to get your Vehicle Condition Report based on your VIN:

1. Search for your VIN at http://e2.prixcar.com.au/e2/DirectAccess.jsp?task=VehicleTrackerHome.jsp

2.

3.

And you end up with this:

http://e2.prixcar.com.au/e2/pdfRead...7_20161020_1_SenderVehicleConditionReport.pdf

I would be asking the dealership for photos of the damage and will be negotiating big time if that's the case for my vehicle. Fingers crossed it comes without any circles on that report!

Hope this helps!

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[msweet]

I'd say this only applies to cars that have a damage report. First time I've seen that, mine didn't/doesn't have that link.

But good spot, might be a good idea to chuck into the sticky just in case

 

[w0rt3x]

Yeah it'd be good to make it sticky so that people don't get stitched by dealerships!

 

[apsilon]

I always ask the dealer about transport damage when I go into take a look pre delivery and then start going over the car with a thickness gauge anyway. Repairs show up easily as a different thickness paint.

This is good info though.

 

[w0rt3x]

I always ask the dealer about transport damage when I go into take a look pre delivery and then start going over the car with a thickness gauge anyway. Repairs show up easily as a different thickness paint.

This is good info though.

1. I wouldn't trust the dealer in a word they say.

2. Not everyone has or knows how to check or what to look for with a thickness gauge. Most of us, ordinary folks.

 

[apsilon]

1. I wouldn't trust the dealer in a word they say.

2. Not everyone has or knows how to check or what to look for with a thickness gauge. Most of us, ordinary folks.

I like to give them a chance to be honest. It hasn't happened yet but I'll also get some amusement from watching them realise I'm going to check it anyway and they just lied.

Actually that's not true, way back before I got more involved I took a mate who was a former spray painter with me to look at a used car (only 6 months old in the colour I wanted that was no longer available to order) I was buying from a dealer. The dealer had already given assurance nothing had been repaired and we'd agreed upon a price. From across the room as soon as we walk in my mate says "the whole side has been resprayed". Dealers jaw dropped LOL. Turns out it'd been keyed and repainted. I couldn't see a thing wrong with it and still bought the car but knocked another $3k off the price.

I have testers here at work but you can get cheap ones for under $100 from ebay etc (though they won't be able to test plastic at that price point). A cheap investment really. They don't need to be super accurate for this purpose. All you're doing is looking for a spot that's giving a very different reading to the rest of the car. A respray will typically be thicker than factory paint. Conversely a thin spot could point to an area that's been heavily buffed.

A good repair the difference will be subtle. Check more than one spot on the panel. If readings vary as you move away from a point it could be an indication of blending. I haven't looked but I'm sure there'd be Youtube videos demonstrating it. Good for buying used cars as well.

EDIT: Out of curiosity, I just bought a thickness gauge from ebay for under $30 delivered. I have a car I know has been repaired and where so I'll check it out and grab some photos if it works.

 

[Drewbo]

This has been previously reported several times.

E.G. http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1471766&postcount=965

Perhaps [MENTION=10325]Aussie Mate[/MENTION] could update his original post in the "Etis and Window Sticker Process" thread to ensure that new members with orders are aware of it.

Good pickup, [MENTION=23077]w0rt3x[/MENTION], not a good area on the car for any degree of panel damage.

 

[Freman]

I found the link by accident for mine.

It is the same report as the one above except instead of a diagram of the car it has "No Damages Recorded".

 

[Frostee]

I found the link by accident for mine.

It is the same report as the one above except instead of a diagram of the car it has "No Damages Recorded".

In my case I too have the same reports, but there are no mentions of damage or any PDF condition report

Totally happy with my car and am certain there was no damage as paintwork got a clan bill of health when it was being corrected and protected by Final Finish.

As mentioned in previous threads, the only two problems I had were

1) slight panel alignment issue on driver side between bumper and fender. The installer who did my front sensors easily fixed this when he had the bumper off

2) passenger door alignment issue. It was slightly too high which meant that when opening and closing the door, even though the window automatically drops, it caught slightly on the rubber seal. My Dealer booked it into the panel shop that they use and fixed it perfectly (cost charged back to Ford)

 

[Unkle Ed]

The link will only appear once the car is about to depart or has already left Prixcar.

I wouldn't trust the report as being 100% accurate as mine said it had no damage but there were scratches and staining on the rear bumper bar.

 

[w0rt3x]

Guys this report is only for 'noticeable' damage just for Prixcar's safety to cover their arses. They wouldn't be inspecting every vehicle under the microscope and measure the panel gaps as that's a factory issue and not a transport issue.

 

[GGT-66]

It is an arse cover report for Prixcar. Mine said they had checked and my spare wheel was there boot was still taped up when I saw it and GT's don't get a spare !

It is a case of if there is damage noted beware but if not means little.

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