Need some Advice/Opinions

[jonez]

Guys,

I need some advice/opinions/comments on the current situation. Before I get into everything, the advice from my friend was get a document from a licensed car mechanic/specialist stating that my car was previously in an accident and was not properly fixed under Toyota's 160-point pre-certified inspection program.

The story: Someone did a hit and run on my rear driver's side, the corner of the bumper is scraped and there's a small dent and scratch under the fuel tank cover. I took it to an autobody and the guy pointed out that there's a small misalignment between the driver's side front and rear door (if you run your hand across the two doors, the driver's door is slightly sticking out). He then went around to the front and located a paint job on the front bumper on the driver's side that wasn't properly blended in. he suspects the car has been in an accident with the previous owner and that it was not reported (hence why nothing shows up on carfax).

Not related but relevant, there is a gash on the passenger side of the rear bumper. Before I had bought the car, I had pointed this out to the salesman and he said that they could buff out the scratches on the car but they couldn't repair this. When I bought the car, they never buffed the scratches out and I had to take it back to them to buff them out the next day. After the first rain, the scratches came back. Asking one of the guys at the auto body, he said he used to detail cars for dealers and that all they did was put a 'gloss' on which temporarily hides the scratches until you wash it or it rains. According to toyotacertified.com, part of the 160-point inspection is:

• Bumpers are free of cuts, gouges and scratches
• Vehicle is free of improper paint repairs or mismatched color
• Doors open and close correctly
• Paint is free of buffable scratches

Under these terms, I believe I should take it back and have them fix these issues. I've only had the car for a month and about 2 or 3 days, 10 days of which I have been on vacation (after i came back from vacation is when I noticed the scratches had reappeared)

I'll have to read the paper work to make sure I didn't sign anything that relieves them of fixing any of these issues. If you have any helpful comments, suggestions or advice, please let me know.

Thanks

[jonez]

Still looking over my papers...no responses?

If you find something wrong with your car, after having bought it, that should be fixed under the 160-point inspection under Toyota's certified pre-owned program, can you bring the car back and have them fix it?

thanks

[ProperElite]

I think I can provide some relation to your situation. Having bought a used car myself, I believe that the dealer might have scammed you a bit. You said that it was a Toyota certified pre-owned which means you bought it from a Toyota dealer and from experience I have found that your used car dealerships (strictly selling used vehicles) are much better (in customer service, inventory, etc.) than your bigger dealerships selling both new and used vehicles. When I was looking for a used Camry a year ago, I went to my local Toyota dealership and all of the cars there were dirty and I asked the salesman why were they all dirty and his reply was that they don't wash the cars until they sell. (He also made a comment that they had a lot of pre-owned in stock and that they weren't selling...I wonder why.) I replied with a smart-ass comment saying maybe they should have their cars washed and detailed before they are put on the lot for sale, then they would sell better.

Anyway, back on track...one thing I looked for when viewing used cars were under-the-hood screws, bolts, etc...do they look brand-new (too new?), are the original factory paint marks (usually a white mark) on certain places like the fender horns (upper left and right hand side right below the windshield). In your case with the paint not matching, always look for overspray under the hood near where your upper valence beam frame is near your headlights...also look near your hood lining and cracks. These are places that the body shop usually misses and doesn't take care of well because of the cracks and seams in the assembly, therefore, your oversprayed paint is now on what should have been your primer. If you have the paint of the color of the car on any part that is primed, it is most likely overspray and the car may (not always) have been involved in an accident. Don't forget that dealerships do touch up on some of the paint on their cars (good dealerships do)...so it may look like the car was involved in an accident, but it may not have been. This was the case with my car, I saw a little bit of overspray underneath the hood near the upper valence beam and down below the radiator...the dealership did point that out and said that the car was not hit and that they had the car touched up on the hood and the lower bumper (near the radiator) because of highway debris making certain dings and scratches. I was still skeptical, but I had a credible mechanic check it out and he said that my car was not involved in an accident. That is another thing, did you have the car inspected by a private mechanic of your choosing before you purchased the car? Also about your doors, take into consideration what the guy said at the body shop. If your doors (or any other part of your car's assembly and body) mis-align with another part (they shouldn't...unless the manufacturer did a SHITTY job, which they can, but I mean its Toyota , so unlikely) then it is likely that it was involved in an accident. If you take some pictures (take close pictures) of various places under the hood (focus on the right (drivers) side of the hood and your door panels and post the pictures and I can give you a much better opinion.

[jonez]

Thank you for the insight and advice, that was just what i needed.

After looking at it further, it does look like it's just the front bumper that was sprayed and there's no sign of the area between the door and the bumper being repainted. Also it's only the corner of the door, and someone suggested that it could be a repo and they used a wedge to get in (hence why only the corner is out of line).

I will take it to a local mechanic that i trust and have him look at it to make sure there isn't anything hidden that you can't see from outside.

Thanks!

[ProperElite]

Originally Posted by jonez

Thank you for the insight and advice, that was just what i needed.

No problem. From the photo in your sig it looks like your car is one sexy beast. I forgot to mention if the car feels in anyway "funny" while driving it, this may include rattling, shaking, car drifting to one particular side (the car should naturally want to drift to the right just a LITTLE bit because of a slight crown in the road and being that here in America we drive on the right side of the road...if it overly favors one side then something on either your front end or any frame of the car is out of alignment suggesting that the car may have been hit.)

It probably is nothing to worry about since you said it was a few scuffs and a small misalignment with the doors. Nevertheless, I would still have it checked out.

[jonez]

Originally Posted by ProperElite

No problem. From the photo in your sig it looks like your car is one sexy beast. I forgot to mention if the car feels in anyway "funny" while driving it, this may include rattling, shaking, car drifting to one particular side (the car should naturally want to drift to the right just a LITTLE bit because of a slight crown in the road and being that here in America we drive on the right side of the road...if it overly favors one side then something on either your front end or any frame of the car is out of alignment suggesting that the car may have been hit.)

It probably is nothing to worry about since you said it was a few scuffs and a small misalignment with the doors. Nevertheless, I would still have it checked out.

Thanks for your help and great advice

The car runs perfectly, no drifting to either side when driving on a stretch of flat highway and no sounds of any kind while driving or turning. The only sound is a slight sound of wind passing through the door and I know that it's from the car door not closing properly.

thanks again,

[jonez]

Just an update -- took it to the dealership and the service manager said it was most likely a repo. That would explain the driver's side door corner being wedged out, the front bumper having some touch up paint from road debris and also on my console, the panel for the shifter release has been broken. It seems the repo guys don't really care how they treat the car, as long as they can get into it and get it moving.

The manager is having it sent to an autobody to have all the scratches and bumpers fixed so all is good.

Thanks for the help ProperElite

[ProperElite]

Originally Posted by jonez

It seems the repo guys don't really care how they treat the car, as long as they can get into it and get it moving.

Fuckers.

[Pawel062]

ouch. well according to some buds in repo it depends on the company. some will ask for the keys and will drive it off without hurting it. others will carefully get into the car and then get it on the tow truck without damaging it. others don't care like you said.

[jonez]

Originally Posted by ProperElite

Fuckers.

That's what I said when we figured it out.

Originally Posted by Pawel062

ouch. well according to some buds in repo it depends on the company. some will ask for the keys and will drive it off without hurting it. others will carefully get into the car and then get it on the tow truck without damaging it. others don't care like you said.

True, this car apparently came from NYC. I'm not surprised now that I think of it, as I figure in the larger cities they have a much more cars to deal with so it's quantity over quality for them.

What really aggravates me is that the dealership did not pick up on this. Of all hands that this car passes through, I would think they would have the most experience on recognizing a repo from an auction.

I'm glad that this didn't get ugly to the point where I would have had to throw the lemon law at them.