I bought a used (not certified-used) '09 Mazda 3 from a Mazda dealer in SoCal a couple years ago.
It had a flawless carfax and NO ONE from the dealership told me that the whole left side of the car is not the original.
I had this checked by another Mazda specialist after one glance at my chipped paint that came out after a car wash. He said obviously it cant be covered under Mazda warranty since it wasnt the original.

Do I have any grounds to go back to the original dealer--ahem Cerritos Mazda-- I bought this from and demand some kind of reimbursement? In essence, as a Mazda dealer shouldnt they be able to tell if a whole left side of the car isnt the original by the paint job? I feel they turned a blind eye and expected the consumer to not notice especially since it didnt turn up on a carfax.

Please, anyone, any advice would be welcome.

 

If you can proof that they knew of the damage when they sold the car to you then you could sue them for fraud.
If you cannot proof that they knew they will most likely be able to get away with it. They can say they relied on carfax as much as you relied on carfax.

Carfax and their competitors cannot guarantee that the information in the reports is complete.

 

Essentially there is nothing that u can do. If the carfax doesn't show a wreck then they are covered as long as the vehicle is not structurally compromised. When u bought it there was probably a tag in the window stating that the vehicle is sold "as-is" if there were safety issues with the car due to the car being wrecked then there is potential for a law suit. Every car has to b inspected before sale.