Shame on me! I know I know

List places that are relevant. Ive done 2-3 already. Google, yelp and dealer rater

 

Official name of dealership is TOYOTA OF BOARDMAN

 

For anyone still interested. I have an idea I thought might be worthy. If this crooked dealer TOYOTA OF BOARDMAN is asserting that this damaged cpo listed Tundra was not damaged prior to sale then doesnt it make sense to call my insurance co to place claim? Even though i did not cause damage under my watch, im hoping they might intervene somehow

 

But if your insurance says it was something you did, your rates could go up.

 

If you show your agent the damage and tell them your story, that it was there prior to purchase you close the avenue for deductible only repair. Prior damage on a used vehicle won’t be covered under your policy. Especially when you live in hail country, some agents require a look at a used vehicle before completing a new policy for this very reason. You’ll be left holding the full bill if you don’t get anywhere with the dealer. What I’m saying is there is NO reason to get your insurance involved until the dealer has “convinced” you that the damage happened after you took delivery.

 

Contact the BBB

I’m no lawyer but you should probably contact one as well, quite giving them the benefit of doubt and get serious.

 

This! File a complaint with the BBB, and seek legal advice. Might also file a complaint about fraud with the applicable state attorney generals office. Best advice is get a lawyer ASAP. Good legal advice is priceless.

Edit: I would also call your lender. They loaned you money on the appraised value of the vehicle which was fraudulently determined - they might be able to help.

 

They will not fight your fight for you

 

Have you tried calling your state Insurance commissioner to see if they can help?

 

No. I wouldnt actually seek a claim. But just think how that would play out. Id love to see my insurance company go after the dealership!!!

 

If it makes you feel any better I had this happen with a brand new Ford Bronco many years ago - Ordered the truck from the dealer and when it came in went to pick it up during a rain storm - brand new what could be wrong I figured - took delivery and drove away . Next day when washing it found a huge crease on the roof - could see that it hit the top of the car carrier, called dealer and they accused me of doing it , I fought for a week before they agreed to fix it . I had bought like 3 new Broncos in a row from them - that was the last time I set foot in their Dealership !

 

I wonder if you can find out the name of the previous owner and contact them? They wouldn't be on the hook for anything so maybe they'd be willing to give up any info that could help your case.

Local dealer near me, Adventure Subaru in Painesville, Ohio, destroyed a lady's car when they let one of their idiots drive it to college and he wrecked it. They tried to claim it wasn't their fault and they weren't going to pay for it until the owner got one of the local tv stations involved. Public shaming might help!

Also: don't be so hard on yourself, when the scumbag dealerships charge more for "CPO" then they should be willing to stand behind their vehicles. The fact that these scumbags are trying to weasel out of holding up their end of the deal makes them a-holes, doesn't make you wrong for not crawling under the truck, in the rain!

Following this thread, I want to see how this plays out.

 

If you file a claim with your insurance company, that is tacit admission that the damage was done with the truck in your possession.

Your insurance company may cover the claim (any amount over your deductible), but you will have to explain how you think the damage occurred. If the dealer did the damage while the truck was in his possession then, by definition, that damage is not covered by your policy.

 

It doesn’t help that a week went by before you saw the damage. Leaves enough doubt that during that time you caused the damage and sounds like the dealer is trying to exploit that. Tracing the vehicle history prior to your driving it off the lot would be valuable information.

When did dealer acquire it?
When did you buy it?
Who were previous owners?

You might go at this angle with the dealer - ask them for the vehicle history, who previous owner was so you can contact them to “rule out” anything. It’s kind of like tracing a timeline for a criminal investigation.

Try a simple Google search of the VIN, you’d be surprised what that reveals!

 

Correct but I felt that they might fire a proverbial “shot over the bow” to dealership. Its USAA and they do a very good job with advocating for their insured. I wouldnt truly go this route because it would cost me.

 

I think you're confusing their reaction when there has been acknowledged damage to a vehicle from another party during your policy period. In that case, they ARE going after that party, because if that party doesn't pay, then they will have to pay.

If you're thinking they will pursue the dealer paying for this damage, my thought is they don't have a "stake" in your claim because the dealer's possession predates your policy period. It is a "pre-existing" condition, and therefore not covered by your policy.

Recommend you get 3-4 estimates, including one from a dealer (preferably not a Toyota dealer). If you are convinced this damage happened before you took possession, send the next to highest estimate to the dealer. At this point, the dealer has no idea what the cost of the damage is unless he actually already knew and is genuinely is trying to cheat you. Family or friends testimony re presence of the damage will help. I would hold off on all the bad-mouthing reviews until it's clear he isn't going to pay. The guy has a higher than expected profit on the truck because of the CPO. He needs to see how much of that profit he has to pay to do the right thing.

If he's done well on the deal, he could negotiate the repair with the body shop, or you can insist on getting a check from him for the damage. During a pre-delivery inspection, a Chevy dealer did some minor damage to a brand new C5 Corvette I had ordered. The dealership wrote me a check to cover the damage to avoid making any claims on their insurance.

 

//UPDATE//UPDATE//UPDATE///

Got an unexpected phone call from the dealer who sold me a cpo tundra with extensive structural damage a month prior. Initially their posture was “Wasnt there day it was sold” or “We wouldnt certify a truck with the kind of damage you show us” (hence, its your doing). Which is entirely untrue!!! Anyhow, the call was from service manager and he asked that I get an estimate from a local body shop to repair it. Im not celebrating yet but this is a definite turn of events from where I was at a day ago!!!

 

Wow - some positive news. Did you do anything like file a complaint with Toyota or the BBB that would have changed their minds?

 

Oh hell yeah. I did several reviews on yelp,google, dealerreview, and carfax. I believe the car fax review(s) may have been the one that sent them over because carfax gave me an opportunity to continue adding to the review in the “update” portion. In addition, the dealer responded to the first car fax review saying bs like “we are a stellar dealer...” and nonsense. So they obv got that initial one and i added to it DAILY!! But I also got toyota involved and sent them 23 diff emails with data, pictures, video and neg reviews added from other irate buyers against this very dealer. The toyota rep commented, “in my 13 years here with toyota, i have NEVER received so many emails”. Lmao. I told her “Thank you. Then consider these as my gesture that I will NOT GO AWAY, ROLL OVER, OR QUIT THIS CLAIM UNTIL THE DEALER DOES WHAT IS RIGHT”. So in all, im not entirely sure which of my efforts worked but I can honestly tell you, I had alot more ammo in my “bag of opportunities” and they only saw 1/8 of them. I had ohios dmv ready to go. Bbb. Ohios AG email and phone number. Local radio and tv stations in their area. I reminder toyota of all of these items and assured them if they did not advocate for me (a registered nurse active daily on the front lines” that Id include them in my narrative.
I just want the dealer to do whats right. Someone concealed this damage and they know it.

 

Hats off to you! I’ve done things like this in the past to get an issue remedied. I’d tell them just refund me the cost of the vehicle and I’ll walk away quietly.

I hope this doesn’t affect your resale value.

 

ah shit! You bring up a good point now! Yes. This will inevitably make its way onto carfax and others. Thats a new bag of ammo i will prepare for now! Thanks for the heads up

 

I bought a vehicle a while back with a “clean” car fax but later discovered it had some body repairs done (no structural damage). I checked for major stuff like frame damage etc. but not things like repair to body panels. I am thinking someone repaired it without going through insurance.

 

Im in no doubt the same occurred here. In fact, a showroom pic of this truck has a black smudge right where the crease is on truck and i noted this prior to driving the 7 hrs to pick up truck. I did look for this smudge when i was on scene but it was raining like hell so i did a quick look for black and nothing more. It was gone so between the day of showroom photo shoot and me pick up truck, someone took care of it. In addition, the rep i initially called and spoke with after i discovered damage DID PULL UP THAT SAME PIC AND FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED IT THERE. So there is evidence and i know i had these pics on my phone but deleted shortly after coming home with truck but before i noticed the damage. I am waiting to buy an iphone app that will recover all deleted pics and if I do this, then I will possess the “smoking gun”

 

I agree with glowblue. I would let the lender know about the fraudulent transaction regarding the CPO. They have money on the line and stern letter from the lender would provide a good amount of motivation.

 

Here's hoping you get some restitution from them. I did a very similar thing when I bought my first LS430. Bought it in the rain (I know, I know) and didn't notice the scratches in the bumper cover until a few days later.

 

Not sure how old your iPhone is, but if it’s anything close to current, you open photos and tap on “albums” at the bottom. Then you can scroll all the way down to “recently deleted”. Default is 30 days for deleted pics to stay there, and they’re easily recovered.

 

CONCLUSION TO ISSUE!!
I was just informed by the dealership who sold me a damaged CPO tundra that’sa check would be sent to me to cover the full repair of my truck that was concealed prior to my purchasing truck.
I thank the many respondents to this thread for moral support, effective suggestions and other. I could not have done this without your concerted efforts! A special thanks to JohnLakeman, TaquitoBandito who offered strategic and meaningful assistance.