Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for ages and finally have something I feel like I could use some input on.
2 weeks ago I bought a 2020 AT4 with 2000 miles on it. It was a demo.
I gave it a cursory glance, liked the price, and went for it. 2k miles what could go wrong, I thought. Plus i was in a hurry to get a truck and had been hunting for one in my area for awhile and was down to the wire.
Got it and 2 days later took off on a vacation in it. Drove it 2000 miles in the 2 weeks I've had it so far. I have made an alarming discovery though - the rear carpet under the rubber mat is soaking wet.
When I picked it up it had some awful smelling air fresheners in it. 2-3 dropped into each door pocket. I found them and took them out and after a day or so it had the usual mostly new car smell.
When I opened the rear seat compartments I noticed broken glass in them. Obviously the rear window had been shattered at some point and replaced. I was disappointed they did such a poor job cleaning the glass out but just let it slide. I found that the day after I got it and the day before I went on vacation.
Fast forward to about 3 days ago I and when I got in it I noticed it had a musty, mildew-like smell in it. I didn't think much of it. Another day passed - still smelled.
Get home from work today and decide to get to the bottom of this. I've heard about rear window leaks so I'm investigating all the nooks and crannies, sticking my nose into corners like a madman but don't find anything wrong.
On a hunch I pull up the rear rubber mat and low and behold it's covered in condensation. The carpet is wet to the touch and the mildew smell hits me like a truck. Found the problem.
Here's the kicker - this truck came from Lake Charles, LA. If you haven't been watching the weather in Lake Charles they've had 2 hurricanes pass through recently. The broken glass tells me that it got storm damage, the wet carpet tells me it got rained in, the smell tells me they half-assed the repair instead of replacing the carpet, and all the air fresheners tells me they knew and covered it up. I am beyond pissed for obvious reasons.
I'm heading there in the morning because they can't smell it or feel the carpet and the wet rubber mat in pictures. Bare minimum I'm going to be looking for the carpet to be replaced but now I need to inspect the whole thing for any other possibly water damaged areas.
My question is - it did sit in a parking lot at a hotel in several days of heavy rain while I was on vacation. I can't identify a rear window leak but if it was does it get bad enough that it would wet the rear carpet? I'm thinking it isn't the window because the carpet under the seat isn't wet only under the rubber mat, it seems to me that moisture was covered up and trapped there.
If this thing was storm damaged and they didn't disclose it what recourse do I have? I'm obviously less than thrilled to have a 60k truck that smells like mold. Should I see what the dealership offers to do first or contact GM directly? Do dealerships have any obligation to disclose damage done to demo vehicles? On paper it's sold as brand new but it is not in brand new condition by a long shot.
Sorry for being so wordy. Any advice appreciated.