Should a Dealer do this? What would you do?

A dealer should not do anything to your vehicle unless it is something that the owner agreed to. The first thing I do when I buy a new car is remove the dealer advertising. That would be like letting one of our inept politicians put his campaign sign in your yard without your consent.

 

I am of the opinion that they should have asked you if they wanted to swap out the license plate frame but they may have been legally obligated to remove your existing frame.

Last year here in North Carolina a law was passed that the state name is no longer allowed to be covered by license plate frames. So when I went in to the dealership they legally were required to swap the frame with a smaller one that no longer covered the state name on the plate. I'm not saying this is the case for you but is something to consider.

This is a result of all the proliferation of "specialty" plates with different colors and stuff on them and the difficulty in recognizing state plates and the corresponding tags. Just letting you know there may have been a reason for the swap.

Happy Driving,
Chris

 

I've had so many headaches with Toyota and I get the good info on the big issues from this forum. I have had numerous problems with my Gen3 and I'd take my 2008 Prius back in a heartbeat! I don't hesitate to tell Toyota that I've been so disappointed in the 2010 Gen3 that I'm inclined to never buy a Prius again! The only reason I would consider it is because of the outstanding service and sucking it up that my dealership does to keep Toyota afloat.

To date my dealership has replaced the intake manifold; entire gps console which managed to change satellite radio stations when I tried to enter an address. ($4,000). So....my issues with this product are much larger than license plate advertising without my permission.

 

I think this is a great trade-off. You should get something in return for your advertising service, otherwise I'd take your 2nd tack: add "sucks" to the end of the dealership name.

 

I'd ask them how much time it takes to install their plate frames and how much their labor cost is. Then have them deduct that from your bill, because no doubt you ultimately ended up paying for them to put their plate frames on.

 

Some Toyota dealerships could use a little improvement when it comes to things like ethics and customer relations. I've owned three Yotas in the past and one of the top two reasons that I'm a Toyota driver instead of a Toyota owner is because their dealership network.
However (comma!!!) if you're happy with this dealer and they're honest? I think that I would let this go and just put whatever license plate frame you're happy with back on the car.
There's really nothing to be gained from starting a pissing contest over this.

The next time you take the car in for service, park it and put a sticky note on the rear plate telling them to leave your property ALONE! Sometimes...in some states, you have to sign a hunk of paper in order to get wrenches swung on your car. Often it's actually a mechanic's lien cleverly disguised as a consent form.
Just write "LEAVE MY ^%$#@! PLATE FRAME ALONE!" if you're that worried about it.

Otherwise?
Like I said. If you've actually found a dealership that you're HAPPY with???
I think that I would just bring a screwdriver with me when I picked up the car.

YMMV

 

In North Carolina, it is now illegal to have a license plate surround which partially covers the state name (standard license plate surrounds cover the lower half of the state name). Dealers now exchange the old thicker surrounds with the new thin surrounds. But, of course, they only have their own delarship surrounds.

Nice way to get some cheap advertising!

 

Think of all the license plate frame makers who are going to be put out of work because of this Draconian law!!!