3-day old 2010 Prius already in shop - advice needed

After it's fixed they'll sell it to StarBrite who won't know the difference.

I had an ABS failure early on that took a week to fix. First & last problem the car had. If it isn't a loose or bad connector then there's no point in fooling around with the electronics--just swap out the part. If the new parts keep failing then I believe you'll have a legitimate complaint. Right now they are taking care of you so try the DECAF.

 

1 trip to the dealer is not a lemon even if it takes several days for a part to arrive.
It is extremely common for spare parts to be back ordered on brand new redesigned cars.
That is a huge risk you take when you choose to buy a newly redesigned car only weeks from the debut date. Safer to wait at least 6 months if you want lower risk of back ordered parts.

 

There were many points that I considered when deciding whether to buy a G2 or a G3. The "risk" that you take with a major redesign was indeed one of them. In fact it was a major one.

There are many good members here that are brave enough to buy the G3, and share their experiences. This in turn will enable Toyota to improve the product.

I am confident that Toyota will do what is right by fixing many such quality issues. The G2 has enjoyed "excellent" reliability ratings for several years, because Toyota is very concerned about reliability and user satisfaction, from what I've read. I'm confident that the G3 can quickly be brought past these initial "growing pains".

Hopefully the OP will report back when his car is returned to him.

 

Some are saying not to be so hard on Toyota as they figure this out. But here's some thoughts:

1. If you put up the car for sale right now with it in the shop, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a buyer who would be willing to pay full price (of the blue book value of a 3-day old car) and the gamble that the car will be ok, even given the carrot of the platinum warranty. I guarantee that you wouldn't find a dealership that would take it on trade-in as it is, even with Toyota's commitment that they'll fix it.

2. If you wait and try to sell the car the day it comes out of the shop, you will still probably have to disclose that you had this problem and that the car was in the shop for a month. I think you'd still have a hard time getting full value in a sale.

So, if you can't sell it for what it's worth, did you sustain a loss? I'm afraid I'd say yes. And I would try for what a previous poster's mother succeeded in doing-- get a new car.

Good luck.

 

No, you would not need to disclose anything. If the car is fixed, it is fixed. It makes no difference if you had to wait for parts because the parts warehouse wasn't yet stocked with 2010 parts. It's not as if they tore the car apart, reassambled it by hand at the dealer and worked on it for a month straight.

However, you wouldn't get near as much as you paid anyway. You need to sell cheaply enough that it makes sense for someone else to buy your used car instead of a brand new car with dealer financing available.

You can always sell for what it's worth. That is what "it's worth" means. It may not be be worth what you want it to be worth if you just bought it a few weeks ago.

 

its a bummer that you had the issues, but your experience will insure only that a great car gets better. someone had to be the guinea pig and i am personally glad its you!

now there is a buyer's remorse clause applicable nearly every where. check on that. here is like 5 days where you buy something, change your mind, return it, get your money back. i dont think its a good idea to pursue this option.

considering how Toyota has treated you, i feel that you are not in a bad position. sure its your first car and i would be concerned as well, but this is no where near any indication that you have made a bad decision and it appears that Toyota is bending over backwards to make this right for you. how would you have felt if it was in the shop two days and it was fixed no problem?? to me that is the real question and my answer would be "THAT SUCKS!!"... and the reason is that i would not have gotten any freebies like that extended war. pkg, etc... so what is a few weeks worth?? i think $1000 for your troubles would be awesome...now that i think of it, i retract my first statement...now i WISH it would have been me... (personally i think i would have gone with free LT oil changes...but hey... FREE IS FREE!!)

you didnt say what kind of rental you got and i doubt that it compares to a shiny new Pri, but i think you need to be patient and understand that 2009 is not even half over so exactly how available would spare parts on a 2010 built 6,000 miles away be anyway?

**edit**

**re-edit** ok had someone tell me bogus info (he works repairing cars so i figured he had "some" knowledge of the subject but that was not the case)

had a chance to come home and google it and the lemon laws here are pretty liberal

there are several scenarios where if any apply you can apply for a lemon ruling. many instances where only one incidence is needed especially in areas where "safe operation of the vehicle is severely impeded" etc.

 

Wow, some very good advice, and some absolutely terrible advice.

Here is the Lemon Law as applicable to MOST states, but not all:

1) Same problem 4 times in the first 12 months/12,000 miles of ownership.
2) Vehicle is out of commission for 30 business days. The time does not tick if the part is on backorder, or Toyota has supply issues.

Now, given those two scenarios, you are far from it being a "lemon". Ask yourself this, would you be this upset and posted up if your dealer had the part on the shelf and was fixed in a matter of a few hours? Probably not. The big issue you have is not really that the part went bad, but the inability to get the new part in a timely manner. And I really do feel for you. I know how much it sucks to have a new car sitting in the shop instead of in your driveway. But, since an extended warranty was thrown your way for free, and the car is too new/in demand to have excess parts laying around, you just have to roll with the punches.

And be very careful if you start using words like lemon law to the dealership. Those are dangerous words. Not that the dealership will not try to fix the problem as fast as possible, but the open communication you have right now will diminish greatly. If you are in an accident, you never say "I'm sorry". If someone says "I'll have my lawyer contact you", you do not say another word to that person. If you say, "This car is a lemon and I want a new one right now", the dealership will clam up and tell you to call the 800 number which will lead to arbitration. And it will be a much longer time before you see your or another car while everything gets sorted out. In other words, do not cry wolf when it comes to legalities. Just some friendly advice on how most dealerships handle customer concerns about lemon laws.

 

Ah, it's worth what it's worth. Too bad so sad for you that it's worth less now, is that it? It may be worth what it's worth, but has it's sellability declined?

What buyer is going to look at a new car that was off the lot for a month and not wonder why there's only 50 miles on the odometer?

Let's face it... this is not some beta version of software that he decided to download early prior to the new release, or a beta version of product that he bought at reduced price to be a guinea pig... This is a brand new car. Did it come with disclaimers that this is a newly released production version of a working prototype and that there may be problems with it for 6-12 months, and to expect bugs to be worked out? There's a problem in this country when we, the consumer that paid full price for a product, has to tip-toe around Big Corp to make sure we get what we paid for.

 

I think the lemon law won't take affect until they've been able to give your car a once over. If you're getting a loaner car for free, maybe it's best that this problem came up now, and not later.

 

If this had happened at 10,000 miles would it still be a lemon? I'd worry more about electronics going bad after it has some age on it than initially. Just pop a new module in. New electronics either work or don't work within the first month but if it "wears out" then we're all sunk.

 

If this happens to a hundred of them built on the same day, then we have a recall. If it happens to one in the first month, then we have a bad part.

 

Any Toyota dealership would take this on trade at Fair market value. However remember to a dealer it would have to be well below invoice or they would be stupid to take the car over a new one from the factory. That goes for any car reguardless of the condition. My daughter traded her Corolla while it was wrecked. They simply deducted the repair cost from the offer.

No one has to disclose anything for a part repaired under warranty. Body damage is about all they ever ask about and many of them don't even ask that anymore.

All of us sustained a loss the day we drove it home. The residual on a 2 year old Prius V is around $20K. Tell me I won't lose a bundle if I don't keep this car.

 

The lots are full of them. Look at Steve's Prius. Nothing wrong with it but he sold it very quickly. People simply decided they don't like something and they trade. Happens all the time.

I'm sorry this happened, especially since it was their first new car purchase. Certainly won't leave a favorable impression with them. However it won't be the first disappointment in life. In a year from now you will look back and see that you have a platinum warranty and feel secure knowing that you have a long term committment from Toyota to take care of you. That's what the Platinum Warranty is; Toyota's promise to you.

I think you fell into a pile of crap and come out as a budding rose.

Don't let these naysayers drag you down. Move on.

 

You are right about one thing - There is a problem in this country when the consumer is dumb enough to think that we live in a perfect world and demands absolute perfection when he (or she) pays full price for any product. The reality is that this is not a perfect world and there may be some defects in anything we buy. So the seller is obligated to fix those defects in a timely manner. And in this specific case Toyota is making reasonable progress to fix the problem.

The fact is that we live in an increasingly complex world and if one decides to be an early adopter of new technology, then he (or she) should expect that there might be some early production problems.

Keith

 

Early on I was considering an 09 and there was one with 50 miles on it in the used lot. Wife had bought it - husband returned it.

 

LOL, wonder how that conversation went?

 

A lot of people have responded to this post asking ridiculous questions like, "What's the problem" or even posit that you have no reason to complain because of the rental car. I can't believe that!

THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM! I commend you for waiting even 8 days. If I were you, I would be considering some serious actions. The fact that 8 days has gone by complicates matters a little bit, only because each day that passes after you purchase the car, different things happen to transfer the ownership into your name, set up the financing, etc.

Anyway, if you paid cash for the car, has your check cleared? Issue a stop payment if it has not. Did you finance it? Has your down payment check cleared? Stop payment if it has not. Then, contact the finance company - customer service will probably not be able to help you, so you may need to ask for the executive office. I would advise the finance company that the car they have invested in is defective, and that they need to unwind the loan transaction by collecting all of the proceeds back from where they were disbursed. You should also contact Toyota's executive office to notify them of the issue and what you will be doing to correct it, since they have so far done nothing. (That is, besides credit you with a warranty... that's nice and all, but it doesn't get your car out of the shop. I would take the option of "fix my car today" if it was there.)

I'd suggest you contact an attorney for legal advice if there is someone you know, just to make sure of your rights - and of the obligations Toyota has. I believe after 8 days, you have surely passed a reasonable amount of time wherein one can expect their NEW car to be fixed, or at least have a firm date as to when it will be ready. Anything else is completely unacceptable.

 

Hey Toyota!

Can I have OP's deal, please ?
Feel free to break something