I posted the same info on another forum to try & find the history on this car. I am disappointed the dealer would not tell the entire truth on something that only would have been a deal breaker if the car VIN showed up as branded or stolen/recovered, which it did not. The car has a clean title & went though Ontario's MTO without issue. I would not buy a car with a branded title unless it was something like a winter beater, definitely not a collector car.
I would say the car was definitely broken into at some point, but it was a very amature hack job. There is no damage to the column/steering wheel area, or any other signs. It looks as if from surfing the net the damage to the door lock area has been there at least back to 2006 along with the mismatch paint on the ps fender. If it had been a theft /insurance recovery I would imagine repairing the door would have been part of the claim.
All the dealer had to tell me was that the car was this way when he got it & it had a clean/clear title instead of make up a story.
In any case, the mileage checks out, the car is in decent condition & we will correct the door & fender.
Sure do wish people would take a little more care when loading & unloading from trailers though, takes a lot less effort to take a little care than the repair.
