1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Factory or Transport Damage

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by ilusnforc, Mar 8, 2007.

  1. ilusnforc

    ilusnforc Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    404
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Did your Prius have any damage when you got it? I picked up my Prius from the dealer and drove it straight home and parked it in the garage. I still had my Honda Insight that I was trying to sell so I kept driving it until I sold it a few weeks later, but I got the Prius out to wash the dust off from sitting in the garage after about a week or two. I noticed some small dents or creases on the rear quarter panels between the rear wheels and the rear passenger doors, on both sides in the exact same places (one on the drivers side, two on the passengers). To this day I haven't put a dent or scratch on it. I moved to Texas from Utah shortly after and didn't have a chance to get to the dealership before I left, it was a good hour and half drive in traffic so I stopped in at a local dealer when I had a chance. Of course they tell me there isn't much that can be done once the car has left the lot because they are inspected prior to delivery and I should call the original dealer.

    So, I call them and talk to Customer Relations. They tell me stories about how people drive the car off the lot and after the weekend bring it back with all kinds of damage, but they tell me it sounds convincing enough that I didn't do it and I should try getting an estimate. I call them back with a $200 estimate from a paintless dent removal shop and he tells me he would have a hard time spending $200 on me when they lost over $500 on the car they sold me (complete BS, the negotiated deal when I put $500 down on my order was Invoice + Toyota Marketing Fees + $500 and they even get almost $550 back in dealer holdbacks). But he says if that's what it takes to make me happy then go ahead and have the repairs done, make a copy of the invoice and receipt showing it was paid for and mail it to him and he will reimburse me. I had the repairs done, mailed him the copies and wait. It had been a while so I decided to call and see if he had mailed a check yet...

    He said he didn't have a phone number for me but he was meaning to call and negotiate. I told him we had already discussed this and we determined that I would be fully reimbursed. I talked to him about having written word for word exactly what he said to write on a note to remind him what the invoice was for (reimburse me for dents on my car) and I specifically remember hanging up after that and there was no further conversation. So, then he says I'm calling him a liar and tells me how today isn't a good day and I should try calling him back tomorrow afternoon or else he won't reimbursing me at all. Well I'm sorry he's in a bad mood but that's absolutely no excuse to piss off a customer and now I'm out $200. I tried calling back but the Gen. Manager wasn't in, so... I called Toyota Customer Relations, they took some notes and opened a case giving the dealership 3 days to contact me regarding the issue. Has anyone else had an issue like this? Has anyone else noticed damage in this area that could possibly be a common issue from transport?
     
  2. Tom6850

    Tom6850 Retired

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2007
    895
    4
    0
    Location:
    Macungie, Pa
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Bummer. I don't know what you can do now. It will be really hard to prove. I can see the dealers point, but they sound like a real bunch of AO's. Good luck. My dealer made sure that both myself and the salesman checked out the car thoroughly inside and out before I left the lot.
     
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2003
    19,891
    1,191
    9
    Location:
    Nixa, MO
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Honestly I think you should take a 50:50 deal if they'll offer it. It was your responsibility to inspect for damage as much as it was theirs to check for it. You're now weeks out from the sale and they have zero obligation to pay anything and now you don't even live in the same town so they don't expect any repeat business.

    If you take a hard line I suspect they will too and give you nothing. If you take a fair offer you get some satisfaction and some compensation.

    Sorry, that's the way I see it, personal responsibility and all. Also, this is not at all common.
     
  4. Hobbs

    Hobbs New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2006
    80
    0
    0
    Location:
    Glasgow, UK
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    When I went to the dealership to collect my new car I had to sign a form saying I'd inspected the vehicle. Did you do the same?

    You need to think legally. Some things to try,

    Ask the dealership for a copy of the pre-delivery inspection report. (PDI) See if there is a tick bok covering the damage you have to say it was ok before you got it.

    Ask them for a copy of the form you signed to say there was no damage. (whether you signed one or not.) If you didn't sign a form saying there was no damage when you got it then ask them where, in the contract to buy the car, is the time period by which damage is to be reported.
     
  5. ilusnforc

    ilusnforc Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    404
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I know we didn't fully inspect the car before it left the lot, and I think they didn't either. Unfortunately I found an inspection checklist that I had signed, must have been in a stack of paperwork where you sign here, here, here, initial here and there. The guy was telling me they do a thorough inspection before the car is handed over to the customer and he didn't see anything noted, I asked him if that included the pre-delivery prep and he said yes. That's a problem because when I briefly looked at the car, I already knew the Prius so well that I really didn't bother to look at it much, I only looked inside the car and sat in it a few minutes to play with the GPS and voice commands HOWEVER I did point out to the salesman a few pieces of plastic that were left in the front passenger area inside the car. There was a small piece sticking out by the tiny triangle window in the front that was from plastic wrapping the pillar, the salesman tried to pull it out but his fingers were too big to get in there and he only pulled more off leaving smaller pieces sticking out. It was finally removed when I later had the car tinted. Also, there was plastic on the strip running alongside the passenger seat where the door closes (kick panel?) and also a sheet of plastic still covering the front passenger door speaker grille. I told them this and said "in fact, those last two pieces of plastic are STILL ON THE CAR" and because of that I would find their inspection process "questionable". It's quite obvious that the chances of that happening with the car in my hands is extremely slim to none, I've had a '95 Thunderbird for 6 years, not a scratch or dent on it and it looks shiny as new. I know how to take care of a car, you look at the Prius and there isn't a ding on it, but those that are there are coincidentally in the EXACT same place on both sides of the car, which indicates to me that some straps or something may have been used in transport or whatever that may have caused some stress and warped those areas? Because the paint is undamaged it doesn't look like it was hit by anything and one of them looked more like a crease. Not sure what's going to happen, but we'll see in the next few days maybe.
     
  6. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    1,637
    16
    0
    Location:
    Dallas TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    :unsure: Hi ilusnforc

    I know how difficult it can be to "completely inspect" a brand new car on delivery, what with the excitement and all. I had a similar experience, though not as troublesome as yours, last November when I took delivery on my 2nd Prius {traded my 2004 for a 2007}. My options included "Mud Guards" and, in spite of my intent to go over the new Prius 'by the numbers,' I missed that until I got home. An additional problem was a slight drift to the right - alignment can be compromised during shipping activity.

    What really irritated me was that it became obvious that the delivering Internet Salesman *KNEW* that the MudGuards weren't there. Later that day, I returned to get some things out of my 2004 traded in, and he didn't even look at the 2007 to confirm the absence of the MudGuards. It required 3 weeks to get and install them. As for the alignment, the Svc.Mgr. was not accomodating on re-alignment, although Toyota would have paid for it... I believe they never even looked. A week later, I took my 2007 to the dealer who had been maintaining my 2004 for over 2 years... that dealer re-aligned on warranty and provided a print-out of the 'before/after' readings. Depending on your preference, you can take your Prius to any Toyota dealer for warranty work and maintenance regardless of where you bought it. Most dealers consider they Service Departments a seperate 'profit center' and are compensated appropriately by Toyota.

    The '50/50' may well be the best you can do. Some 'learned lessons' are hard to digest.
     
  7. ilusnforc

    ilusnforc Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    404
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the suggestions, what really gets me is that the guy said I would be reimbursed and now that the work has been done and paid for out of my pocket and he wants to say I'm calling him a liar. Why else would I have written word for word what he wanted me to put on a note to attach to an invoice to be mailed to him as a reminder of what the invoice is for?

    I just got off the phone with the Gen Mgr and he wants to take care of the customer etc. and said he feels pretty good about taking care of this one and he's going to put the ball back in the Cust. Relations manager's court. I'll be waiting for him to call me today and find out what we can work out.
     
  8. Walker1

    Walker1 Empire

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2006
    911
    6
    0
    Location:
    FL
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Sorry to hear about the $200 loss, but you were supposed to inspect your car closely before it lft the dealer's lot.

    Don't feel too bad. I have had my Prius for 13 months and every week I put my large cooler with ice on back seat to get groceries. Well, this time my wife helped me with the cooler. Stupid me banged the corner of the cooler against the car just below where the door opens. So I have a small ding. At least the paint stayed on. I felt stupid, but we live on a dirt road so it was a matter of time before the Prius would get dinged.

    I hope you get some or all of yopur $200 back.
     
  9. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2004
    1,637
    16
    0
    Location:
    Dallas TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    :rolleyes: Hi Walker1

    What's with that post... did your computer keyboard get "hung up?" :D :lol:
     
  10. ilusnforc

    ilusnforc Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2006
    404
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ Mar 9 2007, 01:56 PM) [snapback]402948[/snapback]</div>
    Not sure, but my inbox got flooded because of it... I just talked to the Customer Relations Manager again and it sounds like he's willing to send me $100. Better than nothing I guess, but I'm still out $100... at least the car is fixed.