Did i get scammed

Shan30lk · July 21, 2016

I got a belta 2007 1.3 model last month... Today i went to a garage near my camp at Hingurakgoda. The garage base is telling me that this vehicle has met with an accident and showed me area shown in pic which is under the bonnet and opposit to the tires.he is saying the face has been welded new after a accident.. Is this true? Where can i get the answer? Thank you..

Shan30lk · July 21, 2016

On 7/21/2016 at 11:47 AM, Shan30lk said:

I got a belta 2007 1.3 model last month... Today i went to a garage near my camp at Hingurakgoda. The garage base is telling me that this vehicle has met with an accident and showed me area shown in pic which is under the bonnet and opposit to the tires.he is saying the face has been welded new after a accident.. Is this true? Where can i get the answer? Thank you..

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Ah i did check the vehicle before buying for these kind of things with a garage base who has good rep. Today i went to check a small screeching noice

Supra_Natural · July 22, 2016

On 7/21/2016 at 11:47 AM, Shan30lk said:

I got a belta 2007 1.3 model last month... Today i went to a garage near my camp at Hingurakgoda. The garage base is telling me that this vehicle has met with an accident and showed me area shown in pic which is under the bonnet and opposit to the tires.he is saying the face has been welded new after a accident.. Is this true? Where can i get the answer? Thank you..

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That does look a lot like a local cut and shut welding Job to be honest, doesn't look like the sort of thing Toyota would do does it? I'm afraid you may have gotten scammed. You could get the car inspected by Toyota Lanka or a place such as Car Checks if you want to know for sure.

hrm · July 22, 2016

Seems like a cut and bud job to me too. Can you find similar pattern in the other side of the engine bay? If you have some contact in the Insurance field you can do some check about past Insurance claims.

Shan30lk · July 22, 2016

Thank you for the reply. Today i went to a body workshop to show this to them... They are saying a repair has been done on right side of the face and it has been done correctly...but i dont understand.. I saw similar look in a yaris and the owner said that is the protective gluebor smthing like that. Anyway thanks. I will get the car to be checked by toyota lanka

kusumsiri · July 22, 2016

On 7/22/2016 at 6:35 AM, hrm said:

Seems like a cut and bud job to me too. Can you find similar pattern in the other side of the engine bay? If you have some contact in the Insurance field you can do some check about past Insurance claims.

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Shan30lk,

Could you check the Left side according to hrm mentioned ?
May not need to bring the car from Hingurakgoda to Toyota L***a in hurry. Better check the wheel alignment from a nearby place first.
In the worst case though its repaired, you may need to use the vehicle even for a certain time. If everything (mechanical/electronic/body) working properly its fine. If not try to solve issues one by one.
This car is old around 9 years now. So may be at least 2 owners (SL & JP) and number of drivers driven the car. So facing an accident is not a rare case. We are learning lessons each vehicle we use/buy. In next buy pay more care. That's how become a expert.

Shan30lk · July 22, 2016

Yes The car is working really fine now. I just got worried after hearing about a major accident. But hopefully it may be not the case. The car was registered on 2011... Thank u very much for the advices.

kusumsiri · July 24, 2016

Shan30lk,

Like to add one more comment. Could you find the airbag(s) deployed or not in said accident ? Care checking on dashboard & steering wheel is one way to find it. If so make sure they have fixed airbags, related cables & sensors correctly. Some 'makabas' hacking to off the airbag indicator.

osanda19 · July 24, 2016

Sadly Its looks like repaired one!!

Supra_Natural · July 25, 2016

On 7/22/2016 at 1:09 PM, Shan30lk said:

Yes The car is working really fine now. I just got worried after hearing about a major accident. But hopefully it may be not the case. The car was registered on 2011... Thank u very much for the advices.

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It may be "working fine" but you'll never really know if the structure has been compromised unless you show it to someone who can check it properly, ideally the agents or at least a firm that has a proper checking procedure. A random body shop will not tell you whether the car has had a major crash and been patched up to make it unsafe because that is what they all do anyway. To them, if it looks right, then it is right. Remember that if you ever get into an accident, if it has been cut and shut then the strength originally built into that section is no longer there, so it will not hold up and protect you like it is supposed to. If I were you I wouldn't risk myself or my loved ones in a car I couldn't be sure will hold up as it is supposed to should the worst happen.