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Help, I missed this when I took delivery

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by krazypriuslady, Apr 8, 2012.

  1. krazypriuslady

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    I got my new Prius on March 14. I just noticed today a small vertical crack at the bottom of the front spoiler directly below the grey cover for fog lights. It's about 2 inches. There is no other damage to the spoiler, like scrapes or scratches. I didn't hit anything. All I could think is some sort of stress crack.
    I want to talk to the dealer about having them take care of it.
    What should I say and who do I talk to?

    I know I should have looked it over better. :mad:
     
  2. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Good Luck.

    You are at the mercy of the Dealer.

    I'd try to reach the highest level at the dealership possible.

    I would tell them you never hit anything. I would point out the absence of any other damage or surrounding damage.

    Then I'd say a silent prayer that they accept that presentation and actually have it replaced or repaired under warranty.
     
  3. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

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    As long as there's no damage indicating you did something ... they should replace/repair it no problem.

    REV
     
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  4. krazypriuslady

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    here are the pics. the damage curls under the spoiler.

    edit: bigger pics below


     
  5. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    My wife drove the Prius once and got a nasty road rash in that area and had no idea how it happened nor detected it. I've noticed curb rash on the front side is rather common on the Gen 3 as it's pretty low to ground.
     
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  6. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    The pictures are small, but IMO that does NOT look like road rash.

    Nor would I think "Curb Rash" it doesn't look like a scrape.

    It looks like pretty clean crack.

    If the OP hit nothing?

    Then my guess would be damage during transport, loading or unloading.

    You still pray for the mercy of the dealer.
     
  7. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Not saying it's a road rash, but a customer can also cause such a crack so good luck with the dealer. My wife also believes she hit nothing.
     
  8. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    The crack could have been caused by anything. You may not have hit something while driving, but something could've hit it while it was parked, like ball, shopping cart, large rock. I know that this is unlikely, but that's how the dealer is gonna look at it. How do they know (or how will you prove) that it happened BEFORE you drove it off the lot? Not trying to sound discouraging, just realistic.
     
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  9. krazypriuslady

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  10. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    How many miles and how long have you owned the car? There should be a so many mile/so long a time anything goes wrong warranty on the car that covers paint chips, cracking, squeaks, rattles, anything that is not right.

    Mike
     
  11. krazypriuslady

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    march 14, coming up on 800 miles
    garage stored. used for running errands, not 'parked' in a lot all day
     
  12. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    I was just thinking what is that initial anything goes warranty and now I remembered US manufacturers have a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty like that. Do the imports have that same coverage? I could not find that out on the Toyota.com site a few minutes ago :(

    Mike
     
  13. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

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    Despite a warranty, I can't imagine a dealer assuming responsibility for a bumper crack on a car 800 miles and almost 1 month after ownership, unless OP really gets in their hair about it...But I do hope that OP can sway them. Perhaps talk to a higher manager that would value your future business and referrals over a small bondo job and repainting?
     
  14. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    I agree. If it were actually caused pre-delivery, the OP would have a strong case if she took it back within a few days, but not nearly 1 month into ownership.
     
  15. krazypriuslady

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    I'm going to call them today.
     
  16. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    I've never heard of such a thing. Which car manufacturers have this "anything goes" warranty?
     
  17. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    We have had that on Saturn, Ford, Mazda & Chevy cars in the past. It covered squeaks, rattles, excessive paint chipping, body panels out of alignment, simple things. I'll look around today and see if I can come up with anything. The Toyota site came up empty last night on that. Might be an old school thing that is no longer offered because of issues. I had to use it a few times over the years. One Mazda got it's front end painted because of paint chips which they determined was excessive. That was 1992 though :p My Ion is a '06 and it had body panel alignment issues which they fixed for free in '06.

    Mike
     
  18. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    I can't come up with anything now :( Maybe I am thinking some old school thing they had way back then? IDK, if the OP can prove there is no hit on that bumper, they stand a chance of getting it replaced on a once time basis, ain't gonna happen again deal :)

    Mike
     
  19. krazypriuslady

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    Kudos to the dealer. So far I just sent the 2 people I know of there, the customer relationships person and service manager, the photos and they forwarded them to Toyota to get their response. It's a shot in the dark, but at least they didn't just say no from the get go.
     
  20. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    Issues like excessive paint chipping and body panels out of alignment are obviously factory defects and would be covered under the standard 3 year/36K mile warranty. Dealers fix squeaks and rattles free of charge all the time judging from the posts here, at least while under warranty. The problem is the crack in the OP isn't an "obvious factory defect" and could easily be either user-inflicted or pre-delivery damage. The dealer may give the OP a pass and fix it anyway (just simple patching up and repainting). We'll see.