Dealer Wrecked My 2010 Prius

Jabber:
Alright, time to fess up if you got this guys car by mistake there in Illinois "Chicago Area."

 

The dealer said the VIN has not been registerd in any dealer yet, but I'm not sure how fast and accurate their system is...

 

Looks like an unsold Prius III with no options is something they could just get somewhere with the Region's assistance.

 

PM me the vin that you have. I'll check and see where the car is.

 

Do you have a VIN#?
I can try and do a little research for you.
Bummer, wish we were closer to one another! ON ground, I have a II in blue, III in white with NAV and 2 red IVs and a silver IV NAV as well.

Maybe I can track down some honest news on your car that you're chasing.

 

Gotta love it! Thanks, you two, for showing some real interest in helping Indy find his car!

I hope we hear the rest of the story. As much as I'm pulling for a good ending, I'm a bit concerned that the dealer had a VIN but now has no idea where the car may be found. There is no way Toyota is not tracking these cars. Heck, FedEx can tell me where any $5 package is!

 

Yes, this forum is not only a nice place for informative and fun discussions (most of the time) but also for very appreciative help.

I will let you all know what the outcome of this is going to be, but all I can say at this point, is that things are not looking good. I was so excited about getting my Prius soon and now I'm beginning to loose my hope...

 

OK, the sales guy just left a message in my phone admitting that my car has been damaged during transport and that's the whole reason for the delay! I think the dealer knew all along about it but was trying to conceal it from me. They were never up front about it. If I had not asked for the dealer inquiry report, I wouldn’t ever know. In his message, he says that the car is being fixed and it appears to be very minor because the value reported was just $500, but he didn’t say exactly what happened. Now he's asking if I want to proceed with the purchase, in that case, they will try to get me the car as soon as possible, or if I want my deposit back. Of course, he's playing this BS game now because he knows he can easily sell the repaired car to someone given the high demand and it will be very difficult for me to get another one like that fast. Please, share your thoughts with me, I need help asap!!!!!

 

I wouldn't buy a new car that was damaged in any way. "Very minor damage" & $500 seem mutually exclusive. This guy's jerking you around--I'd find another dealer.

 

tell him you still want the car. ask him to start being honest with you and tell you exactly what was damaged. Base you r final judgment on what was damaged, how it looks when it shows up, and a discount for the damage, regardless of how good the fix looks.

i'd say $500 off for being jerked around and for the damage.

 

If I were you, I would definitely need to know exactly what happened to the car, what was damaged, and what was replaced or repaired and how it was repaired. I would hold off on making a decision as to whether or not I wanted that particular car until I knew exactly what transpired and could see the car for myself.

Something else to consider is how badly do you want your new car? How long are you willing to wait for another one? Has your salesperson given you an estimate of how long it would take to find a different car? I know I would have a hard time swallowing buying a brand new car that had been damaged, even if fixed. Others might not blink at that fact at all as long as it was fixed properly.

 

I don't see any great words of comfort for you in terms of continuing relations with this dealer. I know it doesn't seem like a very good idea to go somewhere else and be placed at a later point on someone else's waiting list, but I don't know what it would take to get your confidence back in this dealer. Perhaps they thought you were an easy mark. It appears they were surprised by some of your inquiries.

Yes, this is easier for me to say, because I HAVE my 2010. Still, I'd start looking elsewhere right now. You probably don't need to ask for your deposit back yet -- maybe they'll call you tonight with a brand new car. They clearly haven't been able to perform under the contract, so you should be able to get your refund (be certain of this before buying elsewhere).

Jabber isn't that far away, and you'll be driving to WI anyway, fairly soon. See what he can do for you!

 

Sometimes I can barely eat while I am waiting for a toy, but really guys: breathe.

$500 may be nothing more than a bit of easily fixed cosmetic damage. Get details and then decide.

 

OK, end of drama. I'm feeling better now. I decided to give them a chance to fix this mess, so I asked for details of what has been damaged and how it's being fixed. If it was just something minor that was being replaced by an original Toyota part, like a broken rearview mirror for instance, I would be willing to get the car as long as they provided me an official detailed report of the repair. I also asked for a discount, felt a little bad about it, but not so much because they have caused me extreme stress and discomfort as you can imagine. They responded that Toyota was unlikely to ever let them know details about the repair and they have to decide if they still want the fixed car or let Toyota sell it to some other dealer, but at that point, I could barely trust in anything they were saying. So, given the situation, I required a refund and was promptly taken care of.

Now, I don't have my Prius, but I do feel relieved. Interestingly, my first impression of this particular dealer was the worst compared to my other local options, but I decided to order from them because they supposedly could get what I want faster than anybody else and also offered the best money for my trade-in...

Luckily, something not too distant is coming up for me... I'm about to close a deal with another local dealer... hopefully will have it done today. The wait is not bad, it's just 1 month and this is going to be my first choice of color (winter gray metallic). The black was my second choice. This time, the dealer is actually the one I liked the most during my shopping around...

So, the better deal not always turn out to be the best in the end... there is a saying like that in my country of origin, I'm not sure what the America equivalent is...

Have a nice day folks… and thanks for your comments!!!

 

Transportation damage is not uncommon. Normally it is fixed by the dealer and the car is sold as new.

Tom

 

Perhaps... but I just don't want to deal with the same dealer anymore...