Tips on Buying Cars: used car, carfax report, sideview mirror

Question
I have bought 23 new cars. However I have only bought one used car and that was back in 80 something. So my knowledge and what to look for in a used car is limited. Recently I bought a used '03 Cavalier with 32k mi, for my teenage son. I felt assured it was a good car being as it is one of those "certified used cars". Certified, what?? All I see is that as being a come on. Heres the situation. Before signing any papers, they had to fix a few visual things I saw. That ranged from a sunroof that didnt open well, an outside sideview mirror that didnt operate well, a horn that didnt work,and an interior light that didnt turn off.Obviously their 100 point inspection means diddly crap.But with all that repaired, I was content I bought a good used car.
A few days after I took possession of the car, I became suspicious of something. The previous owner had a very good detailed account on whenever service was done to the car, like oil changes and tire rotation almost every 3000 miles. I noticed that the last one was in Nov '05. A Carfax report that was so 'generously' given to me by the dealership,showed that in March it changed hands with only 1500 miles added on since the last oil change. That made me think, why wasnt the car being driven so much in 4 months. A few weeks later a relative with good knowledge of cars, brought to my attention the car was in an accident to the passenger side of the car. He pointed out to me where it was repainted and looked like pieced together welded.To shorten this, I brought it to the attention of the dealership, knowing I had no ground to stand on other than to let them know I realize now they were hiding something from me. Their response was since it didnt show up on Carfax, they had no idea. Well, if there was a so called 100 point inspection for this car to qualify for it to be a "Certified Used Car", they would have seen this. Obviously they knew but didnt want to make it known. Iam still in the 3 month warranty. But what Id like to know is, do you think I could have done anything afterwards to make them liable for this by some money back? I appreciate your response.  

Answer
Your rights on used cars vary from state to state.  I can only say that in Georgia, there is no disclosure requirement or refund rights on used cars.  

There are a couple of things to keep in mind here.  Carfax is an overrated joke.  Most insurance companies and law enforcement agencies do not report to Carfax.  Many states do so the only usable information is if a vehicle has been deemed a total loss.  In most cases, this would also follow the title  and dealerships are not generally going to deal with such cars nor certify them.  

The "certified" programs focus on a list of check points that are focused more around mechanical and cosmetic issues.  They do look for obvious prior accident repair but rely on Carfax as well.  It doesn't sound like these folks did a very good job at all.  

On the upside, it is very unlikely that the vehicle was a prior total loss if the title is clean.  It also takes very little damage to total a car in that price range.  Therefore, the prior repairs may not have been as substantial as you think.  Keep in mind that with a unibody car, everything is welded together.  As technician skill has deteriorated over the years, many are incapable of properly repairing body panels with acceptable results.  Getting a 1/4 panel to pull out without waves takes artistic talent and skill.  The new generation of body tech has been instead taught to just weld a new panel on.  The fact that your relative was able to spot the seam may just mean that the weld wasn't dressed enough but the car may be fine otherwise.  You could always take the vehicle to a body shop and see what they think of the overall repair.  

Though the dealership should have caught this, I doubt that they were aware of it.  When main line dealerships find cars like that, they simply send them to the auction where they are sold to "buy here, pay here" lots.  There is really no incentive for the dealer to keep such a car and try to dupe a retail customer.  

If it turns out that there is a real problem with the body work on the car, what I'd recommend is that you ask the dealer to exchange it for another vehicle in the same price range.

Good luck and I'd appreciate your feedback.