Kaotic

So I recently bought a 2014 F150 RCSB at a Toyota dealership and now that the weather isn't freezing in northern WI I was poking around it and noticed that the passenger door does not match the truck. It has a 1" wide sprayed on chip guard that has been painted over and the chip guard isn't anywhere else on the truck. The hinge side jam of the passenger door is sprayed unevenly as well, the white paint is speckled in spots and does not completely cover. Then I noticed the front axle (tires) are shifted 7/8" to the driver side and the rear axle is sticking out about 1/2" to the passenger side. (I shot my framing laser down the side of the truck for the measurements) The driver side lower corner and rear of the cab has been repainted and you can see overspray under the hood in areas around the radiator.

What other identifiers are there to look for? I think the accident happened the first year the previous owner had it, since the surface rust looks uniform under the truck. Do the body panel ID numbers match from the factory or anything like that? Firewall and driver side fender are both stamped W 131 where the pass fender is stamped W 123.

Thanks for any help. I am hoping to get enough proof to force the dealership to buy back the truck. Since it was "Certified Inspected" (have the window sticker) a trained mechanic should have noticed this stuff during a pre sale inspection.

UlrichWolf

I would take it to a body shop, and ask for their opinion. Did you get a Carfax on it?

A trick I like to do is to google the VIN. Every now and again, you find some interesting things lurking in the deep, dark internet.

Tim

River1

Most used car dealers have a Carfax or similar service. They want to know about trade ins and buying off the street. Whenever buying used from a dealer just ask for the car vehicle history. If they say they don't have it unless you really like what you're looking at, walk away.

VFL

I always check the carfax. The only way it wouldn't be listed on there is if the insurance company wasn't involved in the accident and the body shop that fixed it didn't report it. Could've been something simple as the owner did a door swap due to a dent he couldn't fix, or could've been much more serious.

5.0nly

Carfax isn't always accurate but I would never buy a vehicle without running it. Also, 9 times out of 10, "certified inspected" means squat.

Kaotic

Yes, I did get a Carfax and it is clean but this truck has obviously been in some sort of accident. And Carfax is not always right.

I bought a 1998 Jeep Cherokee in 2004 and was always replacing motor mounts and the fan ate the radiator a couple of times it was so close. Finally found out in 2014 that it was in an accident. Carfax now listed that it was in an accident in 2003 and it wasn’t listed until 2009, 5 years after I bought it. I still don’t know why it took so long to list it. Regardless I don’t trust Carfax anymore. It is only as reliable as the people that report to them.

I have an appointment at a body shop next week. Lawyer’s friend owns it.

Spiky

I agree. It has been less and less reliable in recent years.

UlrichWolf

It has been, but some times you can read between the lines and grab a hint. Lots of titling in different states is one I look for. Certain types of repairs very close together, like wheel alignments, A/C recharges, etc, all can be a clue.

It's nothing definitive, but sometimes you can catch a hint if you have a guy that did a title wash.

Tim

diegoo.jayjay

Look at the bolts too, if the paint is chipped on them then you know they were removed at the very least.

Kaotic

Some of the bolts have no paint on them at all. I was briefly able to compare my truck to another of the same color and generation and I have a good number of bolts that are unpainted or different than the other truck. I will still wait to see what a body shop inspection tells me.