A Sad Sad Story

I purchased my 07 Prius through a private deal. It had less than 5000mi. Because I was without transport, I took the bus on a 2 hr.bus ride to my son in TO & he accompanied me to make the deal. The owner disclosed to me that the vehicle had been in a collision but it had been repaired & certified to be roadworthy. That was in March 08.
On Sat. June 28, I had been driving for about an hour. There was a drizzling rain. A red triangle with an exclamation mark appeared on the dashboard accompanied by a warning buzzer. It went away after about 10 seconds. I continued driving & the icon & buzzer came on again. I stopped the car & checked the oil & coolant. Both appeared OK. I was hoping that by switching off, it might clear the icon. After restarting, the icon & buzzer again returned, this time with a CHECK ENGINE light. I consulted the manual for clues, & it instructed me to take it to a Toyota dealer. I abandoned my original mission (pick up vacuum cleaner from my son in Oshawa), & headed for the Toyota dealer approx 1 Hr. away. When I arrived, they drove the car in & shortly told me that it was displaying codes they had never seen before. They said they would make an appointment for 9:00 am on the 3rd of July. They said they could clear the icons but preferred to leave them until the appointment. The also mentioned that because the car had been in a collision , the warranty was void. I was on the hook for the repair.
I proceeded on to Oshawa , picked up the vac, & started for home. I was in cruise control (80KM/HR), when the engine would rev up without an increase in road speed. I disengaged the CC & noticed the same behavior. IE:when I pressed on the gas, the engine would rev but did not increase the road speed. I also noticed a rattling sound when I took my foot off of the gas. After about 3 min. The car stopped. There was a problem message on the screen display & a temperature icon. I let the car sit for about 1/2 hr & restarted. It would not go into drive.
I called my son & about an hour later he showed up. We had to have the car towed to the dealer, then he drove me home.
The dealer called on the Tuesday to inform me that a coolant hose had come loose. The engine had lost it's coolant & overheated. The damage so far is a leaking head gasket, warped head & possibly damaged block. Repairs will cost around $4500.00 CDN.
I feel the dealer should be partly responsible. I got to the dealer the first time with no real problem. It was only after they allowed me to continue driving that the damage occurred. I am still without the vehicle
Any thoughts on this?
Malibujohn

Update;
I picked up the car today. Total cost $5206.34.CDN. I accept the fact I was naiive when I purchased the vehicle. As I mentioned before, I took a bus (2-1/2 hrs) to see & test drive the car. The owner did mention the replaced hood & fenders & that the car was certified so I assumed the warranties would apply. They do not & I accepted that. My argument is that when I first arrived at the dealer, they informed me there were icons (codes?) displayed that they had never seen before. They made an appt. for me for 9:00 on Thursday June 3. I asked if the vehicle was either safe to drive or roadworthy & they assured me it was. The only options offered to me was to clear the codes or leave them displayed for the Thurs. appt. they left them.
The invoice reads: FOUND MULTIPLE CODES IN ENGINE CONTROL COMPUTER. CUSTOMER WAS ADVISED THATWE WOULD NEED MULTIPLE HOURS TO DIAGNOS. CUSTOMER WAS UNABLE TO LEAVE CAR ON SATURDAY JUNE 28.
This is a crock. They made the Thursday appointment, & I was assured it was safe to drive.
The invoice also states CUSTOMER ADVISED THAT IF A RED LIGHT TURNS ON THEN CAR IS UNABLE TO SAFELY DRIVE. CUSTOMER TO RETURN AT HIS CONVENIENCE TO DIAGNOS.
Again, this did not occur. I am 69 years old & know a fair bit about mechanics. I know how to look, feel & smell for problems, but todays vehicles rely on computers for feedback. They mentioned that by removing a cover plate, they noticed the disconnected coolant hose. surely the red icon would indicate such a fault but they did not check it at the initial visit, prefering to wait until the appointment. They did admit some negligence by offering me a 10% discount. but withdrew the offer when I mentioned litigation.
This whole thing gets even more confusing.
Please bear with me.
I purchased the Prius because my 1997 Toyota Tacoma was diagnosed with a perforated frame in Feb 08. my mechanic warned me the vehicle was unsafe to drive. I live in a rural area 2-1/2 Hrs north east of Toronto. It is a small community & everyone knows everyone. I frequent a Community Care facility to purchase frozen meals on a biweekly basis. Ida, the woman I deal with, knows my day to day living experiences. She was aware of my wifes deterioration & subsequent passing on Oct.5 last year. When I informed her about my truck with the perforated frame, she asked if I wanted to sell it. I told her I might get another frame & rebuild into an electric vehicle. I did complete the restoration of my one owner 69 Malibu convertible, hence my name. but I digress. I told her the truck would need a frame & was only good for parts. The conversation ended. Later that evening she called my home & said that Jeff, her husband was interested in purchasing my truck. I again emphasized the bad frame, assuming she had missed that part of the previous conversation. She said he had successfully repaired the frame on a Nissan truck.
He came to see it on a rainy day. He did not get under to inspect it nor did he request a test drive. He asked about the price & I said $4900. so we settled on $4000. A few days later he gave me the money & I signed the ownership over to him. A week, to the day, Toyota sent me a recall notice for the vehicle stating they would extend the Warranty on the frame for 15 yrs. & would buy back the vehicle for 1.5 times the blue book value. This puts it's worth in the $12000 to $15000 range. That morning I drove to Ida & informed her of the recall notice. I asked if I could buy back the truck. She said Jeff had gone to buy brake parts for the truck & they had informed him of the recall. She said I should call him in the afternoon. I did, & he said the paper work was already transferred. I was disappointed.
I called her again hoping to get some resolution & when I identified myself, she asked if I wanted to purchase some dinners. I said I wanted to discuss the truck & she said I should talk to her lawyer.
A couple of days went by & Jeff called me to tell me that Toyota had offered him $15000. for the truck & that he would split it with me offering me $7500. I thanked him & resigned myself that it was better than nothing. The next day I called a Toyota dealer in Lindsay Ontario, to see if I had any legal recourse, explaining that only 1 week had passed between the "deal" & the recall letter. I mentioned the $7500. offer & Brian (sales manager) said that once the papers were signed & moneys accepted, it was a done deal. He also said that if he had offered $7500. I should "accept it & shake his hand as a true friend". I can remember thinking the statement was a little odd.
Further into our conversation, he mentioned he had seen my truck. He also admitted to knowing the owner as a former Toyota employee & a friend. I was flabbergasted. What were the chances of me calling the dealership where he used to work. Things started to clarify in my naiive brain.
He had advanced knowledge of the recall.
Q: why did he not inspect or test drive the truck?
A: He had no intention of repairing it.
Q: Why did he drive an unsafe vehicle 1-1/2 hrs to purchase brake parts when he owned a roadworthy RAV4 & a Nissan?.
A: The truck had to be inspected by Toyota to qualify.
Q: Why would he purchase brake parts before he repaired the frame?
A: A slipup in info.given me by his wife.
Q: Why would she need a lawyer for a simple truck purchase unless she could foresee possible complications in the future?
As A friend , why did she not inform me of the recall?
A: They decided to scam a grieving pensioner.
The real estate agent that handled the sale of my house, calls me periodically to see if I am alright. She too knows of my wifes passing & some problems I have with my home. Her husband is an OPP officer & when I related the story to her, she said that he might be "interested". He came over & interviewed me. He said that she, as a Community Care worker, & he, as a paramedic, when dealing with the public, have a very fine line to adhere to & that they have crossed the line "big time". He said he would investigate it as a fraud.
A few days later, he left a message on my machine stating that after interviewing the couple, they had agreed to sign the Toyota payout cheque over to me in exchange for my $4000 cheque. I was elated. I had been in a depressive state & am seeing a counselor to help me with grief & depression.
On Tuesday, June 24, I helped a buddy rebuild his dock & launch his pontoon boat. When I got home there was a message from the officer stating that Jeff had changed his mind & was keeping the money. $18000.00.
I am, still waiting for the police investigation & have contacted legal people to help me through this. Ironically the dealer that employed this guy & repaired my Prius are one in the same.
Maybe I can get a 2 for 1 deal with the lawyer.
Any advice or comments out there?
Malibujohn