Used Cars: Buying a used car?, reputable dealership, time to buy a car

Question
Hi Robert,
I just bought a used 2005 Honda Civic and i brought it at night and did not see scratches on the hood and when i brought it to the attention of my salesman he said well it is a used car.  I want dealership to fix those scratches they are noticable as it looks like keys marks and i am afraid it will peel or something over time what can i do in your opinion as i waited a long time to buy a car like this and i am not satisfied!!!

Answer
Hi Karen,
I appologize for my delay, I was out of town due to the holidays... As for the scratches... if there isn't a warranty... or it doesn't cover the initial condition of the car... (which it probably doesn't) and the dealer wont fix it for you... then you really cant do anything... I would talk to the owner of the dealership first... maybe a reputable dealership would fix it out of kind nature... but probably not... You bought the car as is, and with that in mind you shouldn't have bought a car at night when you couldn't see it... I know we like to think everyone is kind and just in this world but they arent, the dealership wanted to make money, and thus never mentioned the scratches if you didn't... I'm sorry but there really isn't anything you can do to make them fix it... ask the higher-ups... or threaten the salesman with asking the higher-ups... say something like "the salesman failed to mention the scratches on the hood, and knowing they were there told me the car was in great shape"... then it all depends on the kind of dealership it is.. maybe you can get lucky.. good luck! and I'm sorry for how it turned out for you.
-Robert