A body shop lost its dealer license this week after it sold an unsafe Toyota Prius that it refurbished.
Crown Auto Body and Auto Sales in Surrey, British Columbia, recently sold the rebuilt 2005 Prius for $17,000, the Surrey Leader reported. The shop told the buyer the Prius passed a structural integrity assessment and private vehicle inspection by a private repair shop.
However, during a mandatory structural inspection in Ontario, it was discovered that Crown had performed inadequate structural repairs and masked them using the rear bumper and interior trim, the newspaper said. Further inspection also revealed that the car’s odometer had been rolled back and that the car actually had more than 114,000 km on it.
After the customer filed a complaint, the shop’s dealer license was revoked, and it was charged a $20,000 fine and ordered to refund the full purchase price of the Prius to the buyer, the newspaper reported.