Just bought a 2001 Denali last week and took a long trip. Discovered there was some wind noise coming around the top of the door. Thought it was the door gasket, took it to dealer and they couldn't align the door. Turns out the door hinge mounts are cracked and one is bowed out. Like someone either swung the driver's side door really hard or it was open and they backed into something with the door.

I'm hoping they can replace and re weld the door hinges (good dealership so far) and since we've only had it a week and a half.

Maybe more of a rant than a question, just wondering if anyone else has heard of this type of incident. And can the dealership be held accountable for selling a vehicle that apparently had a known defect without disclosing this information.

Thanks.

It's not uncommon to discover body damage in a used vehicle. That misalignment could also have been caused by a collision but the dealer's explanation is more likely. That kind of incident would likey have damaged the fender and/or the door itself and thus could've required repair in those places. When doing repairs body shops tend to overlook the stuff that's not obvious to the eye. It should be an easy fix for a body shop, but the pillar will need straightened and repainted then new hinges installed.

No, the dealer cannot be held accountable unless he offered up some kind of warranty and even then used car warranties usually cover mechanical defects (and are limited even in that regard). If they're willing to work with you that's great. Just a lesson to you - make sure your test drive is thorough. A ride at highway speeds would probably have allowed you to hear the wind noise.

Jim

The dealership has been good so far fixing all our requests, but that was before we signed the dotted line. Pretty crappy I'd say to sell something knowingly messed up. The sad thing is it will hurt my resale value when it comes time for me to sell it or trade it in.

Nice GN, don't see too many of those nowadays.