wow, good to hear to worked out in the end.
i bought a 96 altima years back from a body shop (red flag right there haha). they were selling the car since they took the title as payment for repairs on the car. the previous owner spent the insurance check before the car was repaired, and couldn't pay for the car when it was time to pick it up.
the body shop was owned by a family friend, so i took them at their word when they said it was only a minor accident where the car was rear ended (only cosmetic damage). when i eventually sold the car to carmax a few years later, they wanted to know about the major accident the car was in since there was obvious frame damage, and they could tell where the clamps were put when the frame was bent back into shape.
needless to say, no one in my family takes our cars to that body shop anymore.
lesson learned.