Man shocked Winnipeg dealer sold car with 3 prior claims

A customer of a Winnipeg Toyota dealership wants the company to exchange his car after learning significant details were not disclosed prior to the purchase.

Blair Friesen was shopping for a reliable commuter car in December 2011.He turned to Woodhaven Toyota, a member of the Birchwood Auto Group, a big-brand dealer he felt he could trust.

He said a salesperson showed him a 2009 Corolla, and left him with the impression the car had never been in anaccident.

"I was told it was a clean car assuming that meant a non-accident car, so Ididn't think nothing of it," Friesen told CBC News.

"I didn't think a bigoutlet like that would sell a car like this."

Friesen paid $15,500 for the Corolla, which had previously been returned from a lease.Last year, he got a surprise when his nephew was fixing a small ding in the door and noticed the car had been through major repairs.

"He asked me where I bought the car, and I told him Woodhaven," Friesensaid."He says 'well, I'd be taking it back there. This car's been in apretty good accident.'"

Three claims on 'clean' car

Friesen later ran his car's serial number through a vehiclehistory reporting service called CarProof, which catalogues insuranceclaims.

The report showed his car had three previous claims:Oneforvandalism, anotherfor a minor collision and a third fora collision thatnetted an $8,200 repair.

"I was thinking like, wow, how could you not tell somebody that?"Friesen said. "Why would you even have that on your lot?"

Just one month after Friesen bought the car, the province changed the law in Manitoba. Today, auto dealers are required to disclose a car's history to the buyer or they could face penalties.

Steve Chipman, president and CEO of the Birchwood Auto Group, owns theWoodhaven Toyota dealership.In an interview, he told CBC News that his dealership didn't know about the accidents.

He said at the time Friesenbought the car, his sales staff were not required to run history reports.

"We bought the car from Toyota Canada, back from a lease. It looked like a good car. It wasnt obvious it had been in an accident," said Chipman.

"Weve offered him compensation."

No guarantees with new law

Chipman said the salesperson who sold Friesen the car doesn't work at the dealership any longer.

"There is nothing on file that would indicate that we knew it was in anaccident," Chipman said. "There is nothing wrong with selling a car thats been in an accident because lots of cars are in accidents.

"Cars are repaired, theyre safe to drive and theyre priced accordingly."

Chipman said he supports the new law that took effect on Dec. 31, 2011, but he adds that vehicle history reports are not foolproof.

Some cars are repaired without an insurance claim being filed, meaning there are still no guarantees, he said.

"I dont think the searches are 100 per cent accurate," said Chipman. "The information is imperfect."

Chipman said Friesen's Corolla was inspected and safetied before it was sold to Friesen. Birchwood isnow offering Friesen $1,500 ascompensation, in an effort to make things right.

"Disclosure laws have changed certainly and weve never tried to hide things from people," Chipman said.

Friesen doesn't believe the $1500 offered by Birchwood is enough and he's worried about the car's resale value in light of its history.

"It'll be hard for me to get rid of this car now because it was in an accident and a fairly major accident," said Friesen.

"If it was somebody like me, I'd shy away from the car unless you sell it at a cut rate."

Friesen wants the dealership to exchange his car for another of the samevintage which is accident-free.

Birchwood said it will entertain that idea and that it wants to resolve the matter with Friesen.