# Suggestion Requested for a Certified Car with Undisclosed Body Repair Due to an Accident **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** prius, toyota\ **Created:** [November 16, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/suggestion-requested-for-a-certified-car-with-undisclosed-body-repair-due-to-an-accident/109434 "2017-11-16T03:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![moveherfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@moveherfeet](https://community.cartalk.com/u/moveherfeet)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/suggestion-requested-for-a-certified-car-with-undisclosed-body-repair-due-to-an-accident/109434/1 "2017-11-16T03:40:17Z")
I am a single woman who could use some wise guidance and help. On December 29, 2016 I bought a 2015 Prius at a Toyota Autonation dealership which is about an hour and a half from where I live. It “looked” gorgeous and had less than 4,000 miles on it. It has been running quite well, but on October 29th I found that my right rear bumper appeared to have popped out. I did some research on what could have caused this, and based on what I found decided i should take it to the dealership I purchased the car from and have them fix it. The problem was the dealership (in Irvine, CA) is quite far from my home. I called the Irvine dealership and they told me to take it to my local Toyota dealership in San Diego county, where I live. The Irvine dealer said all Toyota dealers are under the parent Toyota company so this would be okay. I took my car to the collision center in my local Toyota dealership, where I was immediately informed that my car had been in an accident. The Toyota collision repair man could see auto spray paint on the internal screws, buffer cream in the crevices and found masking tape on the inside of the bumper, which he said was used when the car was repainted but never removed. Needless to say, I was shocked. Because I wanted to have m ducks in a row before confronting the Irvine dealership, I thought i would double check on this conclusion. I took my car to another very reputable collision center in my town who told me the same thing and added that there were scratches on the body work due to poor sanding. At this point, I decided to get my car thoroughly inspected to find out the extent of any body and frame damage. I hired an inspector from a business called Auto Doc. He found "bent and broken tabs on the bumper panel, filler with “substandard bodywork and painting” on the right rear quarter and the right rear door. In looking at the frame of the car he found filler in the right “right rear C pillar post” of the back right door. I have done NOTHING to this car. This is clearly the way it came., when I bought it, but was unaware at the time. I might also add that he had one of those sonar paint sensors which clearly had a different number count around the back right quadrant of my vehicle. The auto inspector wrote a detailed report for me with lots of photos and documentation. When I spoke to him he said that the body work was so poor, that it could have taken very little for the right rear bumper to pop out because it was not in securely. He also pointed out the variance in the luster and clarity of the paint in the right rear door verses the right front door. He stated the right front door had been painted simply so the colors of two doors would seemingly blend together. I am still under warranty. I realize more could be wrong with this car but it seems to run quite well. I just want the dealership to “properly” fix the right rear bumper so it is secure and won’t pop out again, as well as properly sand and repaint the the right side of the car so as to eliminate the poor sanding and paint job which was done before. This auto damage did not appear on the Carfax report. Unfortunately, the dealership is not calling me back. i left 2 messages to them, so far. What recourse do I have? My brother-in-law said contact the consumer reporters at our regional television stations and area newspapers. He also suggested i contact our local congressman and the Better Business Bureau as well as raise a stink on Yelp. My other brother in law suggested I just take them to small claims court. I just can’t understand why this dealership would want to jeopardize their reputation by not getting back to me and trying to make this thing right. BTW, the Carfax report indicates the car was leased from Toyota in Glendora CA, and then auctioned off by the dealership. This is where Toyota of Irvine picked it up, and within 8 days they sold it to me. I figured that if a car was “Certified” with a clean Carfax report it was in good shape. Silly me. --- _[View the full topic](https://community.cartalk.com/t/suggestion-requested-for-a-certified-car-with-undisclosed-body-repair-due-to-an-accident/109434)._