BUYER BEWARE, Dishonest Used Car Dealer, Reporting them to Better Business Bureau…read more$9,700 in hidden damage!!
I recently bought a 2014 Toyota Tacoma truck from DM Motors on a rebuilt title. The truck's carfax history report shows it was in a collision from the front left in January 2024. The truck was declared totaled. DM Motors then bought the totaled truck at an insurance auction in April. When I contacted them in June and drove up from Eugene to Portland to see the truck, DM Motors told me they had put a new bumper and lift kit on the truck, that it was otherwise road ready and not to worry about the truck being totaled and rebuilt because the insurance companies often declare vehicles totaled due to minor damage.
On the way to a nearby auto collision repair shop for a pre-purchase inspection, I noticed there was a grinding, popping noise from the front left of the truck going over bumps and pulling into and out of parking spots with the wheel turned all the way left or right. The repair shop performed a 27 point pre-purchase inspection, calling out possible damage to the front left control arms and bushings. When I took the truck back to DM Motors and asked about the grinding noise and possible damage, they said there was no damage and that the noise possibly came from the lift kit components because they are installed under tension. I asked why then is there noise from the front left and not the front right and they had no answer. I should have known then they were trying to sell me a damaged truck without telling me about the damage.
I bought the truck at a generous price around $21,000, happy to support a local business. Driving home to Eugene and around town, I continued to hear the grinding noise, so I took the truck to my trusted local auto repair shop for a full inspection. In addition to dirty filters and fluids, my local shop found that the frame mount for the front left lower control arm was badly bent, causing metal to metal contact between the frame and control arm where the bushing pulls away from the bent mount. My local shop said they advise people not to buy rebuilt vehicles because there is often hidden damage like this. They advised me to take it to a body shop to repair the frame and control arm damage, then bring it back for regular maintenance. The body shop put the truck on their rack and said they recommend replacing the frame because it is bent in several places. If they try to bend it back to true in all the spots, the frame will likely not stay true, the truck will not keep its alignment and will eat up tires, steering and suspension components.
I have quotes for $1,000 for a replacement frame, then $7,000 to swap the truck onto that frame, then $1,700 to replace the upper and lower control arms.
This totals $9,700!!
When I explained this to DM Motors and asked if they would do the right thing and reimburse me in full or part for the cost to repair the truck, they predictably said no, not a dime. So now I have to file a claim with the Better Business Bureau to recoup the repair cost from DM Motors. According to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA) by the US Federal Trade Commission enacted in 1975, DM Motors are violating federal law by not honoring the implied warranty between DM Motors, as warrantor, and myself, as purchaser. MMWA states that there is an implied warranty between the seller and buyer of a used vehicle (or any product) that the used vehicle be fit for the use for which it is sold. Since DM Motors sold me a damaged unsafe vehicle without my knowledge, they are in breach of the implied warranty and violating federal law. If I were injured in an accident in this truck due to the damaged frame and control arm, I could sue DM Motors for damages.
Save yourself the headache and expense and buy from somebody else.