New car damage dilemma

Re: New car damage delima

If done right it can be as good as new but inspect carefully. Many people would ask for a discount also. Assuming you are paying retail you might as well. It's not like they are going to be offended. If they act offended it is just an act. You could act offended and demand another car or simply ask them for lifetime free oil changes. :lol: BTW if you did ask for a new car they would just say OK and paint the one you got and hide it for 45 days while your "new" one got delivered. :roll:

Re: New car damage delima

We ordered a new car and when we went to pick it up it had scratches around one door handle that could be buffed out. On the other side around the door handle was about an inch long scratch exposing the primer paint. This will have to be airbrushed.

Do any of you know how well airbrushing jobs usually turn out?

We have to wait until middle of next week to see how it looks. But now I?m wondering if we should pay the full price agreed upon since it will sorta be repainted or touched up. :idontno:

Any opinions?

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It would have been better if you himmed-&-hawed on the day you went to pick it up...and worked to get the dealer to drop the price a bit then and there--on the condition (of course) that you thought the paint job was "pristine."

Since you (apparently) didn't do this--and assuming the fix looks pristine--you can point out the fact that you were "inconvenienced" by the dealership's inability to deliver the car "prepped and ready to go" (you DID probably pay dearly for Dealer Prep) on the contracted date. You should offer up a figure that you think is "reasonable compensation" to make you (the customer) satisfied. At the least, they should give you an apology, a couple coupons for a free oil change and a pine tree air freshener for your trouble.

You've got to ask yourself if you are prepared to take your money off the table and walk out the door...if that is an option...if you are, then you've got the power over the situation.

By the way, what kind of dealership is it?

Re: New car damage delima

If done right it can be as good as new but inspect carefully. Many people would ask for a discount also. Assuming you are paying retail you might as well. It's not like they are going to be offended. If they act offended it is just an act. You could act offended and demand another car or simply ask them for lifetime free oil changes. :lol: BTW if you did ask for a new car they would just say OK and paint the one you got and hide it for 45 days while your "new" one got delivered. :roll:

Make a big deal of letting them know you've got the VIN # to the old car. (i.e., Say, "I've already contacted my insurance company and gave them the VIN to that car, but I just phone them back and tell them I'll be calling in a new VIN for the same type of car."). :cool:

Re: New car damage delima

If done right it can be as good as new but inspect carefully. Many people would ask for a discount also. Assuming you are paying retail you might as well. It's not like they are going to be offended. If they act offended it is just an act. You could act offended and demand another car or simply ask them for lifetime free oil changes. :lol: BTW if you did ask for a new car they would just say OK and paint the one you got and hide it for 45 days while your "new" one got delivered. :roll:

Hmm - What if I ask for a different color? 😀

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Re: New car damage delima

.....
By the way, what kind of dealership is it?

Shelly, It's a Toyota Dealership. A little Scion car which we don't need right away, so waiting is not a problem. We could wait another 3 weeks and not be inconvenienced in the least.

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We ordered a new car and when we went to pick it up it had scratches around one door handle that could be buffed out. On the other side around the door handle was about an inch long scratch exposing the primer paint. This will have to be airbrushed.

Do any of you know how well airbrushing jobs usually turn out?

We have to wait until middle of next week to see how it looks. But now I?m wondering if we should pay the full price agreed upon since it will sorta be repainted or touched up. :idontno:

Any opinions?

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Rita,

I sold Acura's years ago and believe me, they expect to do some discounting! ;-) Your NEW car should be totally blemish free, as ordered! It sounds like they will be able to correct the issues. Personally, I would still ask for a $500 credit toward future services, or a cash refund, if you prefer that. They would probably, be more inclined to do the credit. More cost affective, for them.

Good Luck! 😀

Remember...You Don't Squeek, You Don't Get No Oil! :clap_1: :clap_1: :clap_1:

Re: New car damage delima

Shelly, It's a Toyota Dealership. A little Scion car which we don't need right away, so waiting is not a problem. We could wait another 3 weeks and not be inconvenienced in the least.

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I wouldn't tell them that if you are angling for a discount.

(1) Don't expect them to offer you anything more than an apology--you've gotta take the initiative to let them know what compensation you think is fair and why you believe you deserve it.

(2) Don't expect them to agree to your compensation at first--they'll probably leave you sitting around the dealership while they go "discuss" it with the chain of command.

(3) They'll probably come back with some type of counter offer less than what you've asked for and an explanation as to why it it "fair." The amount of the compensation will be based on the popularity of the car.

(4) The profit margin on Scions are "razor thin" (only a couple hundred bones) without much wiggle room for negotiation--if you've got a trade-in, that is probably where the discount will come from.

(5) Are you prepared to walk away? Do you REALLY want to get THIS car and be done with the whole thing? You've got to get this issue straight in your mind before you decide to confront them.

(6) Pick a high number (say $500) and work down from there. Having a Plan B with something else you'll be willing to settle for--i.e., getting a few extra optional accessories in lieu (armrest, car mats, cargo net --which are dirt cheap to the dealers) may result in a win-win for both of you.

Toyota is pretty customer service oriented, so you should at least get "something." If you don't ask, you'll never know. Good Luck!

Re: New car damage delima

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Toyota is pretty customer service oriented, so you should at least get "something." If you don't ask, you'll never know. Good Luck!

Boy, I guess so! :blink: They surveyed me to death after a service job on our van!
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I'm not liking the color of the NEW car as it is much darker than it looked on websites. I would much rather just have them order us another of a different color and let them sell this one to someone else. They indicated that they are "hard to come by". Soooo, I would think that would give them a car "on the lot" they could sell (the touched up one) and still have us as a customer for another. :idontno:

The more I think about it, I don't want a NEW car that has been airbrushed when it is a color I'm not really fond of anyway. I'd rather just cancel the deal and let them order us another. (I suspect "airbrushed" damage on cars is not uncommon, but the customer usually doesn't have a clue as we do in this case.)

We are working with the sales manager and he seems a fair enough guy, but he IS a salesman, right? So he'll likely want us to follow through with this car.

😀 He didn't even ask for a deposit or ask us to sign the order. I don't think they're too worried about being able to sell these cars, as the only one on the lot is their demo.

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Many years ago, I bought my first new car. It was a red Honda Prelude that I thought was pretty hot at the time. I had to wait months to get it. When it finally came in, it had a scratch near the gas cap and near the lock on the trunk. I pointed this out to the dealership before delivery and they told me that their bodyshop would fix it and it would be "like new". Unfortunately, I was very young and stupid and couldn't wait to get the car, so I agreed to let the body shop do its job. Well "like new" is not new. Especially when the body shop did a lousy job of painting the car. They painted whole sections. I alway regretted not having the patience to wait for another car to come in.

Get the color you want and don't take the scratched one.

Shelley, Wow! What useful advice! Rita, get the color you want. The dealer could sell 5 Scions for each one they actually get. Let everyone else work each other to death over non-issues and be the contrarian.

Re: New car damage delima

I'm not liking the color of the NEW car as it is much darker than it looked on websites. I would much rather just have them order us another of a different color and let them sell this one to someone else....

...The more I think about it, I don't want a NEW car that has been airbrushed when it is a color I'm not really fond of anyway. I'd rather just cancel the deal and let them order us another...

The answer is clear: take a PASS on this one and order the color you want. If you take this one, your eyes will forever drift to where the scratch is/ was and you will always regret that you didn't hold out for a new one.
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Re: New car damage delima

I'm not liking the color of the NEW car as it is much darker than it looked on websites. I would much rather just have them order us another of a different color and let them sell this one to someone else. They indicated that they are "hard to come by". Soooo, I would think that would give them a car "on the lot" they could sell (the touched up one) and still have us as a customer for another. :idontno:


😀 He didn't even ask for a deposit or ask us to sign the order. I don't think they're too worried about being able to sell these cars, as the only one on the lot is their demo.

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Geez...never heard of car being ordered, with NO deposit or contract! Sounds like you should simply cancell and order color you want. If it were me, I would buy a "preowned" still under warranty. I've always chosen, to allow others to eat the depreciation!

If you prefer to purchase through a dealership, remember this:

1. You're paying more than you should, generally speaking.
2. There is an automatic depreciation, after driving off of the lot.
3. Tell dealer that you insist on having it ck'd out, by an independent auto mechanic. Ck for ANY previous damage IE: paint or body work, as well as electricals, etc... If they balk, run!
4. Ck out www.CARFAX.COM for preowned vehicle history, accidents..etc... It'll be about $15-20 and well worth the expense!
5. http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/43774/article.html for new and preowned vehicle, new vehicle a lemon, etc., etc...

When my son was based in upstate NY, he got screwed, by not getting one ck'd out! He was so excited about the fancy sports car, he didn't remember what he was always advised, by Mom. After being a victim of an accident, he then found that the vehicle had been wrecked not once, but twice! That vehicle has always been a lemon and had electrical problems, among other things!

Re: New car damage delima

Geez...never heard of car being ordered, with NO deposit or contract! Sounds like you should simply cancell and order color you want. If it were me, I would buy a "preowned" still under warranty. I've always chosen, to allow others to eat the depreciation!

If you prefer to purchase through a dealership, remember this:

1. You're paying more than you should, generally speaking.
2. There is an automatic depreciation, after driving off of the lot.
3. Tell dealer that you insist on having it ck'd out, by an independent auto mechanic. Ck for ANY previous damage IE: paint or body work, as well as electricals, etc... If they balk, run!
4. Ck out www.CARFAX.COM for preowned vehicle history, accidents..etc... It'll be about $15-20 and well worth the expense!
5. http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/43774/article.html for new and preowned vehicle, new vehicle a lemon, etc., etc...

When my son was based in upstate NY, he got screwed, by not getting one ck'd out! He was so excited about the fancy sports car, he didn't remember what he was always advised, by Mom. After being a victim of an accident, he then found that the vehicle had been wrecked not once, but twice! That vehicle has always been a lemon and had electrical problems, among other things!

Diane, Folks buying Scions are not getting wacked immediately by any depreciation. Toyota's[Scion] fuel efficiency, low cost, and build quality are second to none. Your advice would be appropriate for a used Chevy. In this case, it makes no sense to buy used. Scion does not fleet vehicles through rental agencies, and production figures are relatively low, so used examples are as scarce as honest politicians. New Scions are generally sold at MSRP because the markup is rather small, and demand now is understandably quite high. If you aren't buying a new Toyota/Honda small car, then yes, it's as much a buyer's market as in real estate, but not in this case. Given the rising price of gas now, I'll bet you could drive that Scion for a year and get 90+ percent[minus taxes] of what you originally paid.

Re: New car damage delima

Diane, Folks buying Scions are not getting wacked immediately by any depreciation. Toyota's[Scion] fuel efficiency, low cost, and build quality are second to none. Your advice would be appropriate for a used Chevy. In this case, it makes no sense to buy used. Scion does not fleet vehicles through rental agencies, and production figures are relatively low, so used examples are as scarce as honest politicians. New Scions are generally sold at MSRP because the markup is rather small, and demand now is understandably quite high. If you aren't buying a new Toyota/Honda small car, then yes, it's as much a buyer's market as in real estate, but not in this case. Given the rising price of gas now, I'll bet you could drive that Scion for a year and get 90+ percent[minus taxes] of what you originally paid.

Hmm... makes sense! ;-) After all, I haven't been in the automobile business, for 10yrs. Thank you, Jesus! :wub:

Re: New car damage delima

Diane, Folks buying Scions are not getting wacked immediately by any depreciation. Toyota's[Scion] fuel efficiency, low cost, and build quality are second to none. Your advice would be appropriate for a used Chevy. In this case, it makes no sense to buy used. Scion does not fleet vehicles through rental agencies, and production figures are relatively low, so used examples are as scarce as honest politicians. New Scions are generally sold at MSRP because the markup is rather small, and demand now is understandably quite high. If you aren't buying a new Toyota/Honda small car, then yes, it's as much a buyer's market as in real estate, but not in this case. Given the rising price of gas now, I'll bet you could drive that Scion for a year and get 90+ percent[minus taxes] of what you originally paid.

We found this to be the case. Scions would make great 1st cars for someone who wasn't adept at negotiating on the price, because they really don't deal. (Unless you bargain on Dealer ad-ons and the like.)

We plan to call and cancel this afternoon and not wait to see how the airbrush job turns out. Appreciate you folks offering advice and opinions.

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Re: New car damage delima

We plan to call and cancel this afternoon and not wait to see how the airbrush job turns out. Appreciate you folks offering advice and opinions.

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I think you made the right decision.

Despite what the body shop manager says, a car that's been fixed usually looks, well uh, fixed.

Re: New car damage delima

If done right it can be as good as new but inspect carefully. Many people would ask for a discount also. Assuming you are paying retail you might as well. It's not like they are going to be offended. If they act offended it is just an act. You could act offended and demand another car or simply ask them for lifetime free oil changes. :lol: BTW if you did ask for a new car they would just say OK and paint the one you got and hide it for 45 days while your "new" one got delivered. :roll:

You were right on with this Kurt. I called and explained that we didn't want the car .... The salesman went into a "I knew you'ld not take it" and how much time he'd spent (which was so little it was funny he even said something like that, 'cause we had pretty much just gone in and told him what we wanted - did our research beforehand)

Basically, the guy blew his chance with us to order another car because of his trying to make us feel like we had inconvenienced him. :roll:

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