Toyota Repair: Need advice, 2001 chevy prizm, chevy prizm

Question
Hello,

I need your advice on an issue that I can not
decide which course of action would be best.

I purchased a 2001 Chevy Prizm on 3/29/2005 with
28000 miles from dealer B in upstate New York.

I did not drive the car very much during the 90 day
warranty period, my dummy mistake!

Now with less than 30000 miles on the car I am finding that the car consumes oil. I topped it off last week and drove 200 miles and checked the oil it was not down noticeably but when I returned home it was down 1/2 quart. I have had to add oil on other occasions also.

There are no visible signs of oil around the engine area, nor at the drain plug or filter. My wife drove the car and I followed but saw no visible signs of smoke.

I just checked the plugs and they didn't show any signs of oil fouling. they did have white deposit on them.

Also I find that the car has been repainted from seeing the over spray under the car.

And the driver's door closes poorly; these two may
indicate an accident?

Plus the engine is noisy at speeds above 65 and has more tappet noise when hot than my wife's Prizm at 80000 miles.

I wonder if I should take the car to a reliable dealer G in the area and have them evaluate the car, perhaps they could determine the true mileage?

Or should I take the car back to dealer B instead?
I feel dealer B would not be that helpful if
they stuck me with the car. But if they feel that
they have a reputation to maintain they could be
more helpful if major repairs are needed?

If I go to G first I would be approaching dealer B
with more clout?

CarFax gave the car a clean rating at the time of
purchase. They indicated the car was a GMC once
leased car.


Any advice would be appreciated,
Harry A  

Answer
I would recommend taking the car to the reliable dealer and have them do an oil consumption test to see if the oil consumption is excessive, it sounds like the car may have had some body and paint work done, have them check to see why the door doesn't close properly, get everything in writing from the G dealer, all the recommendations and whatever else they find wrong,get a written estimate for any repairs needed, then approach the original selling dealer and offer them a chance to rectify the situation, if they refuse the only recourse you have is to have it fixed and then sue them for the amount in small claims court if they refuse to settle otherwise.
Also you need to check under what conditions the car was sold as for as written or implied warranties, these vary from state to state in the US and normally in a dispute like this the judge will decide.