Dealer's name tag on my new car

My dealership was kind enough to remove both the "Toyota" and "Prius" badges from the rear of the car at my request. The license plate surround came off about 10 minutes after reaching my house.

Bruce

 

Finally, a post that touches on my opinion. I don't understand the all the hatred of dealer advertising, but hardly a mention of all the advertising Toyota does. At least the dealer decals can usually come off without leaving marks on the car. Not so with the Toyota ads. Toyota is no worse than any other car maker, but they're all bad.

Jeff Wygal

 

Any chance you could PM me a copy of that contract?

 

do not know... i'm originally from buffalo, and had to buy my last car up there even though i no longer lived there.... so it gives me this nice nostalgic feeling to have the buffalo identifier on my car. if you know any buffalo people, you probably know we're all crazy that way.
now the new car... maryland... no nostalgic feelings there, i think. hmmm
-bill

 

Usually the toyo stuff can come off as well. I know someone said you can't take off the nose emblem, but I don't know about the rear. Usually they aren't all bolted on anymore and will come off with fishing line.

 

I think the reason people hate dealer advertising more is because it's not part of the product as, arguably, Toyota's logos all over.
It seems more like self serving violation, particularly when many deals promise not to do this then the decal is "accidentally" put on the car by the prep team.

 

I don't object to the Toyota logos because those are in the brochures and ads for the car I bought. I object to the dealer logos because they are often not even on the showroom cars that you test drive. If I wanted to order the dealer logo option I would have.

Seems like something that Toyota should address as they address all other aspects of the dealership experience. If the advertising is really that valuable to the dealers that they really need those stickers, then they could offer promotions to motivate you to keep the stickers, like half off oil changes with sticker or something. My guess is that the value of the sticker to the dealership is not much more than the cost of removing it, and the fact that dealers don't do such promotions is proof.

BTW, those stickers don't help you get better service from the dealer either. The service department at the dealership makes their money by servicing, and they could care less where you bought your car. I've always brought my cars to different dealers than where I purchased the car, and gotten great service.

Make sure to note stickers on your surveys that you send to Toyota.

 

My car hadn't even been on the lot for a full day so they never put them on the car. They didn't even put on the dorky license plate frame.

 

My wife has this: The salesman opened the fuel flap on her TDI and stuck a button on the inside displaying his name and phone number.

 

I luckily have only the license plate frame with my dealers name. I've been looking for just a plain black frame, but, haven't had much luck. Most of what I see either has some lame saying on it or it's made of shiny chrome-looking plastic. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find two plain black license plate covers in the Orange County, Ca. area? BTW, we need a Prius Club out here.....Can I have an AMEN?!

 

I agree that the dealer advertising is worse, but I just don't think it is that much worse. I think the main difference is that we're all just more accustomed to the brand advertising because it is so much more prevalent.

I'm not sure I believe the decal is "accidentally" put on very often when it is requested to be left off. I'm sure it happens sometimes, truly by accident, and sometimes purposly, but I would be surprised if either situation was very common. I'd certainly be even more upset if it happened to my car, whether or not it was a real accident.

I suspect they don't offer promotions because they don't need to. Most people probably leave them on for free, so why pay everybody just to get a few more people to do it?

I agree that's its worth mentioning to Toyota, especially if the dealer put in on when you requested that they don't.

Jeff Wygal

 

You have a Prius Club in L.A. It's the Orange County Prius Club.

http://www.ocprius.com/

There is also a Los Angeles Prius Club.

http://priuschat.com/Local-Prius-Club-Main-Forum-f27.html

I don't know how active the L.A. club is but the O.C. club is pretty active. Yes, I know Orange County isn't exactly Los Angeles, but it's a lot closer than some states that don't have any. And I believe they have a section here on PriusChat in the Local Clubs section. PriusClub San Diego and Orange County Prius Club have had a few joint meetings. What's a 100 mile drive for a Prius owner?

And I think there are plain black frames.

Four hole black thin rim:

http://www.toyotapartsstore.com/product_in...roducts_id=1116

$19.94

Two hole black thin rim:

http://www.toyotapartsstore.com/product_in...roducts_id=1113

$18.89

 

Try your Toyota dealer. That is where I purchased my black pearl plain license plate frames.

http://www.toyota.com/prius/accessories.html

 

<_< Careful about removing the Toyota emblem on the hood. Previous postings commented that there are two small "locating" holes in the hood, so removal of the emblem would necessitate minor body work. A Prius owner had removed the emblem with a hair dryer and nylon thread only to discover that he had cut the locating "pins" on the back of the emblem.

 

I would have sold all the plate frames back to the first dealer.

 

Actually I like the decals ( as long as they're small), because when you go on vacation it's neat to see where the other Pri are from.

 

I only got the license plate cover with the ad, but I got rid of it quick and put on "Your SUV Sucks, My Hybrid Sips" license cover. http://www.cafepress.com/buy/hybrid/-/pv_d..._/fpt_/c_/hlv_t