Be VERY, VERY CAREFUL when buying certified pre-owned - christopher
Be VERY, VERY CAREFUL when buying certified pre-owned vehicles here. I purchased a used Toyota Tundra Hybrid Capstone with 33,000kms.on it for $96k after taxes here on April 15th with multiple marketplace ads from different salesmen listing this truck stating in capital letters 'NO ACCIDENTS!!!' When I asked to see the Carfax report there was a $0 collision showing on the report. They assured me over the phone this was a one owner vehicle which they sold to a client that buys a new capstone from them each year and that with regard to the collision it was just the side mirror glass that popped out of the mirror housing so the owner had called ICBC thinking there was damage. They very clearly and specifically stated the glass only had to be snapped back into place - NO ACTUAL DAMAGE. This was reiterated in person when I drove down from Kelowna to view the truck. The deal was made and two days later in Kelowna I started to notice some things that were not right so I took it to a friend who is a red seal autobody man. By crawling underneath and taking a look, within a few minutes we noted the following: Mis-matched left and right bumper caps on the rear bumper (I'd noticed this at home and this is what started the suspicion), a 2' long run in the paint or clear coat on the right rear quarter panel which you cannot see very well or at all in direct sunlight, white overspray on weatherstripping Inbetween the box and cab, broken mounting clips on the underside of rear bumper cover, wheel damage, both backup lights cracked and UNTREATED / EXPOSED WELDS FROM THE REPLACEMENT OF THE RIGHT REAR QUARTER PANEL just left to rust!!! I took it to an actual bodyahop as well and the estimator verified within minutes that significant work had been done on this truck. $15,000 minimum in repairs but likely closer to $20k. This was a Toyota Certified pre-owned, touting a 160 point inspection, top quality vehicle and they would barely budge on price - this is what they're selling their customers. Just look at the photos! I paid cash and found out quickly that Toyota Canada cannot and will not have your back in this situation either as dealerships are independently owned and it wasn't financed through Toyota. They GM did agree to take the vehicle back but we fought over who would pay for the freight back to Westminster from Kelowna for days and they refused to pay my expenses down which included gas, hotel and meals. Not to mention two days of my life wasted and missed out on a couple other similar trucks I was dealing on in the Vancouver area. The GM had his manager call me to try and shake me down, demanding I stop driving the truck because if they're taking it back its technically theirs now. I snapped and said unless you secretly deposited $96k in my bank account the truck is still mine and offered that if they want me to stop driving it while they arrange transport back, they better arrange a rental and deliver it to me because my life does not stop because of the mess they created and I don't do life without a vehicle. Arrogant, entitled and shameless this group is. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. I even had myself convinced that they simply made a mistake and had no malicious intent - lack of due diligence, missing the damage upon their inspection. Literally 10/10 people in the industry have said you'd have to be blind to just 'miss' this amount of damage when taking in a vehicle of that value for inspection/trade. The sales manager said several times over the phone 'we don't have to take this vehicle back' throughout our arguments. Again, 10/10 people with knowledge of the industry said the VSA claim would have been a slam dunk in my favour. If you are shopping for a 2024 Tundra Hybrid Capstone with 34,000kms on it and it's Pearl white, BE VERY CAREFUL!! They'll likely try running with the side mirror glass story again since they have no paper trail or history of the actual damage this truck incurred!
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