More bad news...

[Glock1985]

More bad news... UPDATED Post #18 3/28/11

I posted the other week what had happened to my 4runner:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/84121-something-horrible-happened.html

I dropped it off at the dealer last Saturday to get everything fixed. I picked it up yesterday. I couldnt wait to get her back the entire week, when I finally picked her up it went downhill fast from there.

Every square inch of my paint has scratches on it now, also including dozens of chips down to the metal or plastic (None of which were present when I dropped it off). I keep my vehicle extremely clean, when it was taken in there was no dirt inside it at all, when I picked it up, there was mud caked into my floormats. There are scratches in my door panels and the window they replaced now does not go down. To make matters even worse my insurance company gave the dealership a check to have the rubber gasket around the back window that was broken replaced, they told me they replaced it and when I checked to see if it was replaced it was the same damaged one that was on when I dropped it off.

It looks like whoever was driving it around at the dealership took it offroading, thats my only guess as to where all the mud and paint problems could have come from. When I showed them the problems they first tried to blame it on me, before they said to bring it in next Saturday and they will buff the entire truck and fix the window, then go from there.

I am completely disgusted, this was the first new vehicle I ever purchased and less than a month of ownership and I might have well have bought used. Now I have to leave my truck with them again for another week, Im afraid of what will happen next.

 

[DaveS]

How many miles went on it from the odo reading when you dropped it off? I usually set a zero on one of the trip meters if I leave a vehicle at the dealer and leave the odo on that so they can see I am watching them - it's so easy for someone to treat your truck like their own especially if it's a sweet ride like a T4R.

 

[CXS]

They should record the mileage when delivered and when you took it, how many miles of "road testing" did they do?

Dave beat me by a minute

 

[4RNNR]

IMO = MAKE SURE YOU TELL YOUR INSURANCE CO !!!

this is -totally- unacceptable !!!

 

[MICA4R]

Dude that's bull****!

Have them detail it and make it like new. What's the mileage? pre/post

 

[chetJ]

Dude- totally sucks- my honest sympathies. I hope that they will have fixed the problem this time!

 

[DigableKid]

Dannnng! That sucks rhinoceros balls. I just installed Nerf Bars today and I'm irked because the passenger side now has a creaking, growing pain type noise. Now thats just noise.... I would be livid if my runner ended up how you described it. I feel for you, brotha. All the best with resolving that disaster.

 

[Glock1985]

....

 

[4RBob]

DO NOT GO BACK TO THIS DEALERSHIP!!!!

Deal with your insurance company and Toyota customer service directly. This dealership needs to be held responsible.

 

[Titanpat57]

I would assemble a list of expectations to be paid for by the dealer, but not necessarily completed by them (seems pretty obvious their incompetent)....the first being a complete professional paint job and then next, to have the parts replaced that you originally paid for. I would not settle for having it buffed out...all that does is remove paint and finish, and that's not the way they recieved it...period.

I would not waste a minute with a manager...I'd deal directly with the owner. I'd make it clear you are prepared to notify Toyota of the way they treated your new truck, and also the BBB. If you're making payments it may be helpful to notify the bank, as they also have an ownership share in the vehicle, and may be in a position to put addtional pressere on the dealership to make corrections.

Hopefully you have pictures of the truck in it's condition prior to taking it to them.

There's nothing worse than taking care of your vehicle and then have it treated like a $200 junker by some ***hole. Good luck

 

[Foques]

^^

+1

though, BBB has no power what so ever. My friend's father owned a shop, and had that shop reported to BBB multiple times, not a single time anything happened..
Now, my company is doing their payroll (3rd party), and their payroll admins/HR/managers openly admit that they are just a note keeping company.

I would, however, do everything else that post 10 is referencing. More so, consult a lawyer.

 

[Koz]

You need to see a LAWYER!

Koz

 

[deekoi]

DO NOT GO BACK TO THIS DEALERSHIP!!!!

Deal with your insurance company and Toyota customer service directly. This dealership needs to be held responsible.

I'd do the same, they will wreck something else that isn't as obvious like poor something down your gas tank or change out your oil with something else. They have already proven untrustworthy.

 

[DaveS]

I just don't understand why the dealership needs the vehicle a week at a time either btw. Fixing a broken window and repainting a door should be a two day job (only because of the time required for paint to dry between coats etc). I suspect you are kind of locked into this whole awful mess if you want the dealership to clean up after itself otherwise you are dealing with lawyers and nothing good ever comes of that. I would demand they give it you back in a lot less time than a whole week!

 

[Glock1985]

....

 

[mike530]

That really sucks. Sorry to hear that. I always do a "walk around" w/the service writer and have him note any scratch/damage before I leave a vehicle. I do this because of an issue I had at a Line-x dealer years ago. Good luck

 

[Socco]

I'm sorry. The dealership just bought themselves a new truck. End of story. If I found myself in the same position I would have gone ballistic. Its obvious some d**khead took it out into the bush. I've never seen a dealership with a mudpit for a parking lot and overgrown shrubs by the paint bay, which is the only other explanation I can think of. Wow, I'm vibrating right now just thinking about this! This is beyond reconciliation with a new paint job and a good detailing. What about excessive wear or hidden damage? A kid who used to work at my shop took a '08 Chev 3/4 ton diesel 4x4 p/u into the bush one night. He washed the body down, but couldn't explain the dents in the skid pans and the mud caked underneath. We didn't even realize until the winter that the front diff was blown! I just bought my first brand new 4R from a dealership last summer and I totally feel your pain. If I were you, I'd start wandering their lot looking for a new one.

 

[Glock1985]

Update 3/28/11

I went to pick up my car on Saturday, and they pulled it into the bay for me to look at right away there were problems. They had my 4runner for all of last week. They were suppose to touch up the chips in the paint they had done (this was the only thing they actually did), they replaced the window gasket, when the car was there last time it looked like another car had hit right at the rear fender and one of the screws holding the plastic tire well had popped out (they were suppose to replace the screw), they did not replace it. I had asked for them to put a bug deflector on the hood, they did not do that either.

Then I am just walking around to look for any damage and on the back bumper there is a football sized area of paint and chrome trim that is all tore up. They backed into something and tried to give it to me damaged again. Now they have it for another week. Since I bought it in Febuary, the dealership has had it longer than I have had it.

The manager was told of the damage again and was very apologitic, they gave me the deflector for free and said this has never happened before and they would go above and beyond it make this better. I will have to wait and see what happens now.

 

[scanny]

Well, at least manager seems to be nice guy, hopefully they fix it and you will never see them again.

 

[westwind77]

They backed into something and tried to give it to me damaged again. Now they have it for another week. Since I bought it in Febuary, the dealership has had it longer than I have had it.

Are you kidding me?! Again?! Wow! As stated above, especially at this point, the dealership WOULD own this 4R and I would driving out with a NEW one! I would pursue every avenue until this was the end result. You need to 'speak' to owner of the dealership and go as far up as you need to at Toyota to get the results you want. Who is going to pay for the paint touch up areas that start to degrade over time? Who is going to pay for the 'hidden' damage that was done to the 4R the 1st time that will not show its head for a while?