I just read the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle brochure. It says that as part of the inspection, the dealership will “check the frame/unibdy for damage”, implying that no TCUV will have been in an accident. absolutely get Toyota USA involved. The dealer that sold it to you as a TCUV had an obligation, and was probably paid by Toyota, to make sure the car had never been in an accident. If I were Toyota, I would be in that dealership quickly looking for answers. Don’t let it go. You did nothing wrong, they did. They must take the car back. If they refuse to, make Toyota take it back. Toyota can deal with the dealer. BTW, this is far beyond small claims court. If you have to, get a lawyer and take them to court for the full value of the car. Don’t delay, that only weakens your story. Do it now.
Speak to Toyota’s customer service. Perhaps they can help?I read your description closely and I would be mad if I were you as well. The really good news is that the damage you describe does not impact the safety or drivability of the car. From what I read it is cosmetic. Best of luck.
John , I doubt if we will ever find out if this is an actual Toyota Certified or dealer advertising hype.
Actually, I raised that question, and I believe OP answered it
If the frame/unibody has been repaired it is no longer damaged. If questionable underbody repairs are found our used car department rejects the vehicle and it is sent to the auction.
Sheet medal and bumper repairs do not disqualify a used car from CPO certification however the repairs must be up to reasonable standards.
Just to add my two cents again, yeah I wouldn’t exactly appreciate a 4000 mile car with body damage but bent sheet metal may not be a significant issue. If there is no frame/unibody damage, just sheet metal work is not really a big problem. Now the missing tabs and so on for the bumper and grinding marks really does need to be corrected.
Not his fault but my son’s old Integra got hit in the front end at least four times. The last time I fixed it, enough of the tabs were broken from the bumper cover that I figured one more time and I’d have to get a new one. While it looked good and held together, my repairs would not have passed for a quality job on a 4000 mile car and the cover would have needed to be replaced. All hit an runs and free repairs to him but the cover should have been replaced to bring it back to new quality.
The OP said it was improperly repaired as verified by more than one mechanic. If you read the TCUV brochure, it says they want only the best used Toyotas for the program. I have a hard time believing Toyota would find this one acceptable if they looked at it themselves. Toyota USA can look at it now and determine if this car meets the requirements for their TCUV program.
I think the dealer will fix the bumper but not go beyond that, but only if you persist. So go in and sit down and wait for the manager, ask for everything, but expect less.
A body shop estimator stated it was “substandard bodywork and painting” but quality of repairs can be subjective and the vehicle was acceptable at the time of sale.
If the paint and bodywork is to be corrected at the selling dealers expense the problem may be proving the repairs were performed before the sale and not after.
The question here is how much would this car sell for if the damage was disclosed. That would be the point of the argument.
In NH, used car purchase problems are so commonplace that in order to prevent their clogging the court system(s) state statutes were passed specific to used car purchases that make all used car purchases “as-is” unless otherwise specified in writing or fraud can be proven.
I suggest that before you spend a whole lot of time and frustration trying to get this resolved, you talk to a lawyer about whether your state’s laws even give you any recourse at all. Be sure to bring all the purchasing documents. If, in your state, you have no recourse anyway, you can put the frustration behind you and focus on getting the car fixed properly. Or accept its current condition and enjoy it.
Sincere best.
Anybody can buy a car like OP’s . . . with mediocre damage repairs . . . as a regular used car
cpo cars are supposed to be better than that. They’re pretty much supposed to be the best used cars out there.
In fact, I’d expect them to be, considering the premium you’re paying, versus the exact same car WITHOUT cpo status
In all likelihood, the guy inspecting the car . . . when it was undergoing the initial cpo inspection/certification . . . missed the shoddy accident repair. Mistakes happen. But I think Toyota corporate and the dealer should own up to the mistake and make things right for the owner.
Was either the frame or unibody damaged? Seems all damage was to the bumper cover and non-structural body panels.
The last inspection showed damage to the rear C-pillar, fender, and door. Any damage besides the door and bumper is structural since it is a unibody car. Read @db4690’s most recent post above. Someone pays for. CPO, or TCUV in Toyota"s terms, to get the best vehicles on the lot. This one doesn’t match that description.
I can’t believe that the selling dealer was unaware of the previous damage. Someone at that dealership is responsible for evaluating all trade ins and auction purchases. The first item that they check is for paint work by measuring the thickness of paint on all body panels. They smell a rat when a used car has only 4000 miles.
The OP states the was “dealer certified”. Hopefully it was a Toyota CPO.
My Acura dealer showed me a lease return which was accepted by Acura finance. The unibody was twisted and the sunroof was not flush with the roof.
I appreciate you feedback, d4680. Can you tell me what you think “make things right” should look like?
I was a Toyota CPO.
You should have some paper work showing it was an actual Toyota Certified . All you can do if the selling dealer will not help is call the Corporate number in the manual and open a claim .
So I called Toyota’s national corporate offices to complain. i talked to a customer service rep, there. He told me that Toyota does not own the Irvine dealership. Corporate only provides the dealership with the license to sell their cars. He said that when corporate gets enough complaints about a dealership they can take away that dealership’s license to sell Toyotas. He said he was contacting the customer service rep at the Irvine dealership. I received a call, late yesterday afternoon from a gentleman at the Irvine dealership. Best i can tell is he is the Service Director for the dealership. i am not sure what his job entails, but I think it must have something to do with auto repairs. I will call him back today.
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Thank you for your suggestion. I did call them.