Vehicle Purchase - Severe Damage Reported After Purchase

Location: Michigan

Hey everyone, any insight to the following topic would be greatly appreciated!

My dad purchased a Used vehicle (2022 Chevy 2500 HD) on 8/30/2025 with a clean Carfax report and DMV Title, making him the second owner. The price of the vehicle before tax/fees and dealer added-on services was $61,954.00.

On 9/10/2025 (less than two weeks after purchase) there was "Severe" damage reported to Carfax. We are aware that it can take up to around 6 months for reported damage to be visible via Carfax.

My dad didn't notice the damage at first, it took a few months to jump out at him when he was hand washing the vehicle. It is covered in small/medium dents, logically we can only assume this damage was caused by hail at some point in time, prior to his ownership. While I don't agree that this damage is "severe", I do consider it to be minor/moderate and most certainly affects the value of the financed vehicle.

Considering the "severe" damage reported and stated on Carfax, the value of the vehicle via Carfax is at $49,300.00. This discrepancy in value is $12,654.00 between what was paid for the vehicle and what it worth as it sits now.

What my dad is seeking is one of three options:

1. Remove the severe damage on Carfax (via Carfax) or have it reduced to "Minor" damage. Not sure if this is even possible.

2. Have the dealer write him a check for the $12,654.00 difference due to sale of vehicle with undisclosed damage.

3. Move forward with Carfax buyback guarantee which claims they will reimburse the purchaser in the event of this type of situation, while specially calling out hail damage.

Here is the buyback guarantee from Carfax's website, "The CARFAX Buyback Guarantee helps protect consumers from unknowingly buying a vehicle with a DMV-issued title brand, such as Salvage, Junk, Rebuilt, Fire, Flood, Hail, Lemon/Manufacturer Buyback, Not Actual Mileage, or Exceeds Mechanical Limits. If you find that any of these title problems were reported by a DMV and not included in a report, you may qualify."

My question for all of you kind people, should we pursue legal recourse against the dealer or Carfax, is there a case here? If the dealer knowingly sold the vehicle with undisclosed damage that is a violation of the law, but I'm certain they will stick to their story of being unaware and clueless of the situation. As for working with Carfax I'm sure there is loopholes and issues trying to get them to honor their policy.

At the end of the day, my dad is now underwater in this vehicle and it's weighing on him heavily. Spending 10's of thousands in legal fees would be counter productive to reclaiming this ~$12.6k in overpayment.

Thanks for the time everyone!