Car Paint and Repair Issue

[sterlingice]

I bought a pre-owned 2005 Corolla about a year and a half ago. At the time, it was about a year old with 18K miles on it, a former rental car. It CarFaxed ok and I did a really close inspection on things like this among the five cars I was considering and this one looked like it was in the best shape. I went ahead and bought a 4 year/100K miles comprehensive (i.e. not power train) warantee as I knew I would be driving it a lot. Over the next year, I ran it up to 60K miles but now I have a work vehicle so I harely drive it at all and I'm enjoying it catch up to its lifespan with maybe 20 miles a month since.

I notice this summer that paint is starting to peel off of the bumper. Not just in one spot but all across the bumper. Nowhere else on the car are there any paint problems (except one or two door dings but those don't count). But sure enough, on the front bumper, it's peeling in multiple places.

I take it in to the dealership I bought it from for its regular oil change and also have them take a look at the bumper. Of course, I get told it's body work and not covered. They go one step further, saying it would be cheaper to replace the entire bumper than try to fix the paint and quote me a price in the $500-$600 range. The body shop claims it's probably from gravel getting up underneath the paint, causing it to bubble up. This sounds like crap as I don't see every single freeway-driving Corolla owner in the shop, a couple of years after buying a car and it's not as if I abuse my vehicles (tho it did have high mileage on it). But I don't know enough to argue them on any of these points.

A few questions:
One, does this explaination wash or is it just the bs it sounds like? Two, do I have any recourse with Toyota or the dealership? Three, ultimately, do you think there is anything I can do or is this just something I'm going to end up eating the $500+ cost on? Lastly, would I have better luck taking it to a body shop instead of a dealership to work on this?

SI

[CU Tiger]

IME you should bee able to get the bumper painted for 2-300 TOPS

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

IME you should bee able to get the bumper painted for 2-300 TOPS

Agree. Have you asked this question on Edmunds?

[Swaggs]

If it was a former rental car, it is quite possible that it had damage and the body work was done in house, so not reported (and therefore not on CarFax). I think, from the damage described, it sounds like it probably had some bumper damage and they did a cheapie repair on it before selling it wholesale.

You can definitely get a cheaper bid on it at a bodyshop. I'd check 3 body shops and see who gives you the best deal.

[Wolfy]

You bought a rental car ?