Problem with car dealer, any advise?

[TMagda]

Thursday my wife picked up her new Toyota Sienna at our local dealer. It was brought in from a dealership about 250 miles away for correct color, options, etc... This morning she noticed glass shards in the trunk area as well as some black glue in the back carpet. She called the dealer immediately to find out if the van had been damaged and after making a call to the dealer he sourced if from, confirmed that yes, it had. He said only the back window had been broken and it shouldn't be a big deal. I looked at the car when I got home tonight and found the shards are actually some glass and some plastic, that matches the tailight lenses, mixed together. Finding the plastic lead me to inpsect the tailight lenses more carefully, and sure enough, the gaps around both of the lenses are filled with shattered plastic. This makes me think the van was hit from behind hard enough to break the window and both lenses at a minimum. The salesman said he would have the general manager call us back immediately, but then they both left for the day. I got online and put a stop payment on the downpayment check. Do you think I was within my rights to do so? I still want a van, just not that one. I tend to keep cars for a long time and I would be concerned with long term perfomance of the paint, as well as the operation of the electric door. In addition, how much faith can you put into the repair if the guy who changed the tailight lenses couldnt be bothered to clean out the original broken plastic. This car was not cheap, and was only slightly discounted. I know my dealer could not have known it was damaged, but it's on him to make it right and he 's off to a bad start. BTW it was supposed to only have the 250 delivery miles on it but when it arrived it had more than 450, indicating a some use prior to delivery. Any opinions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

[L72copocamaro]

You'll need to act fast as you only have 72 hours under federal "right of rescission" law.

[njsteve]

The stop payment was a good start but did you take out a loan for the van? Next thing is to immediately return it to the dealer. Park it directly in front of their front door, so they have to actually move it to get inside. This way they cant ignore it, or the problem. You need to be there exactly when the doors open tomorrow morning and demand that they cancel the contract. They sold you an obviously damaged vehicle, not a new one, and they never disclosed the fact.

Keep us posted.

By the way, that "they left for the day" crap is a complete lie. Its a business and they will always have someone with some level of authority there, otherwise they couldnt complete any sales.

[67L78conv]

Pictures, pictures, pictures. Document every little detail just in case.

[mockingbird812]

Tom

The stop payment will get their attention. I would be surprised if they do not do a full refund or try to find the right van for you. How are you with a camera and a mike? An astutely made youtube video featuring this dealership, should they not cooperate would go a long way....or at least suggesting making this video!

You are in the driver's seat, so don't let them convince you to do anything you are not comfortable with. Telling them you want to sleep on whatever offer they suggest might be a good idea. Keep us posted and hang in there!!!

[Xplantdad]

Steve is correct. A similar thing happened to us at a Toyota dealer in Ca...when we purchased a Toyota Tacoma extended cab 4WD truck that was "brand new"...with less than 4 miles on it.

When we got it home, I started to detail it (wax inside doors, frame rails <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif, inside the bed, etc) I noticed some overspray/tape/residue on the area between the cab and bed and on some of the rubber sections around the back window.

I immediately called the dealership back up...and they denied any damage had occurred. I asked them to contact the delivery truck people and the storage yards where the vehicles were offloaded. we eventually found out that the truck had some significant damage to it on the cab section and to a portion of the bed.

I was not happy...but still wanted the truck. They gave me a lot more money off of the truck and I made them have their lawyer draft a statement that said that if any fading/crack/damage of the paint or repairs before my purchase and during my ownership of the vehicle occurred...they were entirely responsible to repair it to my satisfaction...on their dime. That satisfied me...and kept me a happy owner.

[Mr. Chevy]

Remember, &quot;The Customer is ALWAYS Right!!!!!!&quot; Hopefully they will correct the problem for you and give you what you want...

Like the others said, document this. Take photos and DO NOT clean the glass and plastic fragments up, leave everything as is and take it back to the dealer..

Rich

I absolutly agree with what you are doing and would try for the same terms Xplantdad went after in his situation.

[TMagda]

Thanks for all of the great advise guys! There is so much auto dealer bashing going on in these forums I am really happy to report an instance of outstanding customer service. The business manager was waiting for me this am and started apologizing profusely as soon as I walked in the the door. Before I could say a word, he said the whole transaction will be reversed and it would be my choice to either 1. bring in an identical Sienna, with an additional discount, 2. bring in a similar Sienna, with a bigger discount, 3. take one of the more fully optioned models on their lot at a massive discount or 4. walk away. It is really great to know in this day and age you can occasionally come across real integrity. Now the dealer that sent them the damaged van in the first place, whole different story...

[njsteve]

That's great news! Congrats.

So which route are you gonna go?

[92646]

Great news. Please keep up posted on the outcome. I work at a big Toyota store on the west coast and really hate to hear stories like this.
Mark Sheppard

[TMagda]

We are going to bring in an identical Sienna. It's a really nice silver. My wife got attached to that color. Its nicely equipped leather, sunroof, sound upgrade, movies for the kids. We passed on AWD and NAV. I will inspect it myself before any money changes hands this time!

[mockingbird812]

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif Good going!

[PeteLeathersac]

Great outcome and nice to know there's still good people working in dealerships out there!.
Considering it would've come out if they didn't satisfy you, since they have isn't it only fair you post their name now?.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif
~ Pete

[WILMASBOYL78]

I would have expected this kind of outcome, my clients are auto dealers, and the car business, especially in NY, gets a lot of scrutiny. Between the Attorney General and Consumer Advocacy groups there are very few new car dealers willing to risk it all on &quot;one sale&quot;

From where I sit, the real bad guy is the dealer he did the swap with....I'll bet if this issue was investigated...you would find someone very guilty at the other store...

Glad to hear it worked out ok...wilma

[TMagda]

I was not going to post the dealer name if this turned bad, but now I am happy to say the dealer is Hoselton Toyota on the Pittsford, Fairport NY line who earned my business. It's clear the bad guy is the sending dealer.

[47Hammer]

Glad this worked out well for you.

[njsteve]

Is Pittsford in the Rochhster area? My in-laws live up there. Given the happy outcome I may recommend that dealer to them.

Feel free to tell the dealer that the good publicity from this transaction traveled pretty darn fast in the internet world. (almost as fast as bad publicity!)

[TMagda]

Yes Steve, Pittsford is a few miles southeast of Rochester. Hoselton sells Toyota, Chevrolet &amp; Nissan.

[Ngtflyr]

Slightly off topic.

This reminds me of when I lived in Ft Walton Beach Florida. There was a guy with a Toyota Tacoma running around town who was not happy with the service he got at the local dealer. He had an A-Frame sign in the back of his truck bashing the dealer and advising everyone to avoid the dealership because they don't back their product. I saw his truck a lot over at least a five year period, made me chuckle every time I saw it. Pre U-Tube, but had to be a thorn in their side.

[x Baldwin Motion]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ngtflyr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Slightly off topic. </div></div>


Then there was the National Champion, the guy that stood on the roof of his Mopar with the sign that said &quot;Conway Sold me A Lemon&quot; right down the street from the shop in Baldwin. He was there for years, and also was instrumental in developing the Lemon Law in NYS.

[TMagda]

Slightly ironic ending..... Dealer handled this perfectly and had us a brand new replacement within a week. 8 (yes eight) days later, my wife takes out the back passenger quarter. The guy she hit was furious! - Yes it was me. In my driveway. And yes, it WAS the second time! Can you guess who's fault it was?!?!?!
She took out the front drivers fender, 2 doors, and rear quarter of my beloved '04 Highlander daily driver!

[Xplantdad]

Holy cow!!! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif

[PeteLeathersac]

N <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif !!!
Bummer news and so sorry for your loss..

Are you hoping to rectify and keep what you have or looking for a replacement?.
And what about the car?.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif
~ Pete

[njsteve]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PeteLeathersac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">N <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif !!!

Are you hoping to rectify and keep what you have or looking for a replacement?.
<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif
~ Pete </div></div>

A replacement wife? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif

[SuperNovaSS]

Bummer! The irony is overwhelming. Did the taillight or back glass break?


Jason

[92646]

Sounds like what has happened to me over the last month. I was going to take my Nova to a local swap meet but I did not want to drive it so I rented a trailer from U-haul. Not sure what happened but the trailer came loose from the ball while I was loading the car and it tried to shove the nose of the trailer thru the back hatch of my wife's Sequia doing about $3200 in damage. Last week end one of the rafters in my garge broke that is about 12 feet in the air that I have a sheet of plywood laying across with 2&quot;x4&quot;s stored on top of that for future projects. All that came crashing down on a 1969 Camaro SS that I bought last year. I would have thought the car would have been safe in the garage. I am afraid to take the car out in the sunlight to see all the damage and get an estimate.

[Xplantdad]

Wow Mark that sucks as well. Are you talking about the green Camaro?

Take it easy buddy! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

[92646]

Yeah that is the one I just bought last year. The car sat pretty much untouched since 1993 and I own it for just a few months and all heck breaks loose. I guess that is what I get for taking over my Wife's side of the garage and I just picked the car up from my freinds shop less than 2 months ago up in Fresno after he finished the interior. It could of been worse if everything fell on the Nova instead.

[kwhizz]

Wow!!................ <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/mad.gif

[Xplantdad]

Mark...thanks for the email! Glad on one was hurt! We had a a garage door spring come apart when we lived in SoCal...if we would have been outside it could have killed us! (it was an old one without the cable tether on it)

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif