I purchased a 2009 F350 online from Texas. The truck appears to have been wrecked and the air bags deployed. The truck seat has been replaced. Many things point to this truck being wrecked (totaled) and not reported. Clean title and carfax. How can I prove y theory.
5 Answers
Did you but from a private seller of dealer? Dealers are regulated by the state, and required to disclose damages to a vehicle, usually if it was 25% or more (it varies) contact the Attorney General's office for information. If you bought from a private seller, contact your insurance agent. They can look up past claims made on that vehicle, including any accident reports, and give you that info without revealing private info. If the vehicle was damaged and no claims made, and repairs made by owner, there isn't anything that will tell you this, your stuck with the owner's word. For now, I'd contact your insurance agent for help.
Some more to add: If you think you bought your truck from a "flipper," someone who bought a damaged vehicle at an auction house like Coparts or IAA, then effected repairs and resold it, a "motor vehicle report" can disclose ownership through those types of places. Not all the damaged vehicles they sell are titled as salvage or rebuilt. Again your insurance agent might be able to help you with an MVR. You can also file for the form at your local BMV/DMV.
It is important to know that CarFax only reports what is reported to them. Maybe the owner fixed it in his driveway. This is why you inspect BEFORE you buy.
Thank you so much for your help. I bought this truck from a dealer. It was DFW Cars, Dallas TX . They insist the vehicle was not wrecked but it sure has a lot of damage. I purchased through EBay. Their vehicle purchase protection plan has a lot of fine print. This seller said paint exterior and the interior was in great shape. They had pictures but they did not show the damage. So many problems I can't list them all. Replace the grill with 2 bolts. Headlights don't work. Brake/tail lights out on passenger side. Has a flat bed with no trailer hitch. I asked him if the factory brake system worked. He replied that it did. The windshield has not been installed properly. They tell me I purchased the vehicle "AS IS". and gave me a 3 month drive train warranty. The seat doesn't move it is gray and the vehicle was sold with a beige seat and carpet. Now no carpet. They made a mistake on the odometer statement of about 200 miles but they say it was a clerical error. These people know all the tricks. I'm not shocked to have to replace tires and both batteries. This truck has 3 toggle switches that I don't know what they go to. It is rewired with wires going everywhere. It is a mess. I know I should have done a personal inspection. No excuses. They are in TX and I'm in VA. Hindsight, now I have plenty of that but money not much now. I will certainly contact my insurance agent. Because the dash is busted, it will not pass inspection. I have many problems with this one. I hope the motor vehicle report can help me because this truck has been flipped. Do you think the MVR will detail whether or not the truck has been wrecked? Again, Thanks for your help.
The MVR will only show ownership since new. Carfax and your insurance will be the ones to show and claims made from an accident. Have you tried to get out of the deal? Does TX have a 30-day lemon law? I think nearly every state does. You can also try looking under the bumpers and see if the crumple zone is crushed under the steel bumper. (there is a rubber bumper cover that fits over the steel bumper, but those are easy to replace.) One area car flippers make a quick fix is to hammer out the steel bumper, not even bother replacing the crumple material (looks like an eggcrate), then replace the bumper cover and paint it to match. If you paid and took possession of the car, you have to start raising hell now, with the TX AG, Ebay, your credit card company (if you used them to pay for any of this), whatever, as the car you bought clearly was not described accurately and the dealer may be hiding collision damage. The rules for dealers are much stricter about not disclosing such damage, look into it.
