Mad Dawg

As previously stated, if the damages were repaired "off the books," paid out of pocket by the owner and not by reported to an insurance company, you will not be able to find out if the vehicle was involved in an accident, unless you had an independent "PPI" (pre-purchase inspection) done on the vehicle. A qualified mechanic would have very easily seen the stickers of the after market parts that were used for the repairs and alerted you that the vehicle was involved in some type of accident.

ed1le

If there was an accident of some sort and a police report was written, if it never made it to the insurance company, there would still be a report out there somewhere. However, I understand that's a long shot b/c even if a report was written, it probably never made it past the police to the DMV anyway. I guess I could contact the DMV in the state it was owned and see if I could get the previous owners info to contact them and ask them...probably another long shot though.
A qualified mechanic inspected the truck when it was GM Certified. That's my point and ultimate beef...the dealer had the truck certified, there's no way they could have missed the stickers, yet still had the Carfax report linked to the vehicle and represented the vehicle as never being in an accident and never disclosed to us that they discovered damage during the certification inspection. There is nothing indicated that repairs had been made at some point on the certification inspection for either.

in2pro

I believe it would only be fraud if there was intent to deceive..and you would have to prove that... The dealer is working with the same info you are i.e carfax... The re-seller may have never even lifted the hood to make that certification...
Depending on where the replaced parts are it could have been a tire blow out that damaged the wheel well liner and jacked up the fender paint... that's not a collision accident per se so the PO just had it repaired or may have even done it themselves....

Research the VIN and or the plates on the vehicle and see if you can ask the PO about the vehicle...

ed1le

I'm not implying there was an intent to deceive, but to certify a vehicle, the hood is definitely lifted...the do a pretty thorough inspection that would include having it on a lift as far as I know.
A tire blow out wouldn't cause both front fenders to be repainted either. The entire front of this truck looks to have been repainted.

Mad Dawg

"Caveat emptor" - Buyer beware.

I have never bought a used vehicle without having a qualified independent mechanic fully inspect the vehicle. Just because the dealership provides you with documentation (presuming they did) and slap a sticker on the vehicle saying it's "certified" does not necessarily mean they actually did a thorough inspection or any of the work (all current on scheduled maintenance, fresh fluids, replacement of worn parts - brake pads/rotors, wipers, tires, etc) to make it "certified." I feel in your case, they did not, and likely overcharged you $5k.

I bought my 08 Mercedes Benz E350 back in January. It was listed as a "Star Mark" CPO, which is MB's certified program. I asked the dealership to provide to me the vehicle's maintenance history as well as the documentation showing what was done on the vehicle to qualify it as a CPO vehicle. The dealership without any hesitation gladly provided. I then took the vehicle to a reputable independent MB mechanic who through his own inspection verified the work the dealership did as well as giving the vehicle a very thorough look over, giving me the assurance the car I was interested in buying was in like new condition both mechanically and structurally. I was allowed to be with the mechanic as he inspected the vehicle so I know he did a good job. The whole inspection process took about 90 minutes to complete and well worth the $200 I paid. I now have the daily pleasure of driving the best car I have ever owned to date thanks to my own due diligence.

ed1le

I had the vehicle inspected by a reputable mechanic when I had it state inspected. He actually commented how nice it was. However, he wasn't looking for imperfections in paint or stickers on panels indicating they were replaced.

in2pro

It comes down to what do you want...

Do you want the vehicle

Do you want the dealer to take the vehicle back

Do you want a discount off the purchase price

Are you willing to pay for a independent inspection to prove what was repaired, knowing if you give the vehicle back that inspection money will most like be out of your pocket (which you will have to do anyway if the dealer challenges it)

Check now to see if your area has a buyers remorse law which may give you the ability to return the vehicle ( you may still be out some money for the time you have had the vehicle and registration fees) keep in mind you may only have this out for less the 30 days possibly even less.... (3 days)

Mad Dawg

Of course your mechanic would not be looking for evidence of body damage/repairs etc, that is not what you paid him for. You only paid him to inspect the vehicle in accordance to state laws. A state "inspection" is just nothing more than making sure the vehicle is road worthy and the emissions system is working properly so that you can maintain the license plates on the vehicle.

in2pro

a blog posting I found for MD...
Maryland Buyers Remorse Laws - Labor Law Talk Blog

ed1le

This isn't buyer’s remorse though. We really like the truck. It's the fact that we feel like the vehicle was misrepresented. It's that within only a few months and 3K miles, the leather cracked, side view mirror stopped properly adjusting, alternator whine started coming through speakers, low oil message and CEL came on. I just paid $32K for this thing that was sold to me by as a GM certified truck by a GM dealer as being accident free. I understand I should have been more thorough in my inspection (although I did look for masking lines and overspray but didn't find any although that's irrelevant) but bottom line, the dealer misrepresented the vehicle. I had already walked away from one GM certified truck that had been in an accident and the dealer disclosed that information.
My buddy works at a body shop, I could easily take it there and have them document what repairs were made.