My purchase of a used 2024 BMW M4, its reported accident history, and an unresolved dispute

Summary

Vehicle

2024 BMW M4 Competition xDrive Convertible, red

VIN

WBS33BA00RCR62866

Purchased

July 25, 2026

Odometer at sale

15,626 miles

Vehicle price

$75,811

Title

Clean (no salvage or other brand)

Seller

BMW/MINI of Wesley Chapel, FL

Before signing, I asked whether the car had any accident history and was told it was clean. The CARFAX report the dealership obtained that evening lists an accident on November 11, 2024 and a damage report on December 10, 2025. A clean title is not the same as a clean accident history.

The dealership's position is that the report was pulled at 8:13 p.m., before the signing session, that it was given to me, and that I signed an acknowledgment of it. My position is that it was not presented to me for review before I signed the transaction documents. I set out both below.

The vehicle record, as the CARFAX reports it

Every row below is taken from the CARFAX Vehicle History Report generated on July 25, 2026 at 8:13 p.m. Eastern. Rows naming the dealership are in bold.

Damage eventMy purchase

Source: CARFAX Vehicle History Report for VIN WBS33BA00RCR62866, "provided free of charge by MINI of Wesley Chapel," based on information available as of 7/25/26. The 07/25/2026 row is my purchase and is not a CARFAX entry. Rows with "—" have no mileage on the report.

What the record shows:

• The first event happened in North Carolina in November 2024, before the dealership had the car.
• The dealership sold the car once before, on February 25, 2025. The second event, on December 10, 2025, happened while that buyer owned it.
• The dealership's own MINI service department serviced the car on December 29, 2025, nineteen days after the second damage report.
• The dealership then took the car back, listed it again in June and July 2026, and performed a pre-delivery inspection on July 9, 2026, before selling it to me.
• The report shows a "CARFAX 1-Owner" badge, although the dealership's own February 2025 sale means the car had at least two owners before me.

Whether the history was disclosed before I signed

I maintain that the CARFAX report was not presented to me for review before I signed the transaction documents on the evening of July 25, 2026.

The dealership says otherwise. Its counsel has written that the report was generated at 8:13 p.m., that the electronic signing session ran from about 10:08 to 10:30 p.m., and that I signed a one-page "Used Car Recall and Prior History Acknowledgement" stating that I had been given the CARFAX. The dealership also relies on documents in which I acknowledged buying the car "as is" and not relying on oral statements.

Points that remain open, in my view:

• The acknowledgment and the CARFAX were signed in ink, outside the electronic platform, so neither carries a timestamp. The acknowledgment has no dealer date field.
• When a report was pulled does not establish when it was shown to the buyer.
• Neither document was on the USB drive of signed documents I received at closing. The dealership says that is because those two pages were signed on paper.

The rear paint

On August 19, 2026, a professional detailer inspecting the car told me the rear trunk lid and rear bumper had been repainted, pointing to texture and color-match differences from the factory finish.

The only damage event on the CARFAX with a recorded location involves the front and right front. The second event has no location recorded. I have asked the dealership for its December 29, 2025 service record, its June 2026 reacquisition appraisal and its July 2026 reconditioning records, which may show when and why the rear was refinished.

The detailer also noticed a Texas sticker on the windshield. The CARFAX does record a glass repair in Lewisville, Texas on May 22, 2026.

Value

A car with two reported damage events is generally worth less than the same car with a clean history, even when the title is clean. A CarGurus study of about 2 million used-car listings found that a past accident generally reduced a vehicle's value by 3% to 12%, depending on the model.

The dealership's general manager wrote to me on September 14, 2026 that neither Kelley Blue Book nor Black Book provides a deduction for accidents. The dealership's position is that it accounted for the history by rating the car "Good" on Kelley Blue Book ($74,260) and "Average" on Black Book ($73,525), an average of $73,892.50.

I am not an appraiser. That is why I have proposed that a credentialed, independent appraiser determine the car's diminished value.

The dealership's offer

On September 14, 2026, after a phone call, the dealership's general manager offered in writing, as a goodwill gesture, to repair the paint imperfections and to refund $2,000. That was the difference between the price I paid and the average of the two book values above, rounded up. I declined, because I did not believe it reflected the effect of two reported damage events on the car's value. The dealership withdrew the offer on October 15, 2026.

What I am asking for

I have proposed to the dealership that:

• an independent, credentialed appraiser acceptable to both sides determine the car's inherent diminished value, with the cost shared equally;
• the dealership pay the appraised amount and correct the rear paint at its expense; and
• both sides exchange a mutual release of claims arising from the sale.

I am seeking what is fair, measured by an independent figure rather than mine or the dealership's.