u/Aggressive_Ad5939

I bought a used car from a dealer about a year ago. I knew it had a side accident and did a full inspection at the time, which didn’t show any airbag issues.

Recently I got a warning message and took it to a specialist. They found the driver airbag had already been deployed and was taped / improperly wired instead of replaced, meaning I’ve been driving without a functional airbag.

I haven’t contacted the dealer yet.

Would this qualify for a criminal case, or is it handled as a consumer complaint (DED)? What’s the best way to proceed in this situation?

Bought a BMW about a year ago from a dealer, was told it had a side accident repaired abroad. I actually tried to do my homework since it was a Korean import, I attempted to check the accident history, even got someone in Korea to help look it up, but the records were confusing and we couldn’t find anything clear or reliable. So I relied on a full inspection here instead: engine, chassis, diagnostics, everything came back clean. I thought I was being responsible… just not the kind of “full full inspection” where you dismantle half the car and check every hidden safety system. I guess that’s on me.

Fast forward to now, I get a restraint system warning, take it to a BMW specialist, and they tell me the driver-side seat airbag had already deployed and was “repaired” in the finest engineering fashion… aka duct-taped instead of actually replaced. So yeah, I’ve been cruising around thinking everything’s fine while one of the main safety systems wasn’t even functional. Love that for me.

Now I’m sitting here wondering if other airbags or safety components might also be affected and what actually happened to this car before I got it.

Has anyone here dealt with something like this? Is it even worth going after the dealer or escalating after a year, or do I just fix it and move on with my life and trust issues?