New Toyota Yaris paintwork problem

Darwin

Hi, my wife picked up a new Toyota Yaris last January. Rather foolishly, we picked up the car at night so we didn't get to inspect it properly. We spotted later on there was a problem with the paint finish on the car - on the back panel the lacquer is lifting off the car. We brought the car back to the dealer who took photographs of the car and agreed with us that there was a problem. We now hear that Toyota Ireland are saying the car was fine when it left their depot and want nothing more to do with it. The dealer has asked us to return the car today, where it will be washed and re-photographed. In essence I would like to know where we stand with this from a legal point of view if Toyota Ireland still refuse to respray the car. I would have thought our contract was with the dealer and it is up to them to sort it out? Where is the next port of call if the dealer refuse to pay for the respray? Any advice appreciated.

Kimbot

Don't they do a 7 or 8 year paint warrenty on all new cars?? They have done this since 2001 I think!! Its standard with them so just stick to your guns and don't back down till they sort it!!

bazz26

Whether it left the depot in perfect condition is of no use to you as you didn't buy it at the depot. Sounds like to me the distributor is saying that the dealer is responsible and should pay up.

Looks like your caught in the middle of a blame game between the Toyota distributor and the Toyota dealer.

PS This begs the question was the car involved in an accident on the way from the depot to the dealer's yard (ie damaged getting on or off the transporter) or was it a poor paint job from the factory. I would presume both the distributor and dealer have some sort of quality control check done on each new car that arrives on their door step before they sign for it? Not an easy one to prove but that should not be your problem as it is between the distributor and the dealer to sort out.

Maybe some legal advice is needed as both will probably give you the run around hoping you get fed up and let it go.

Of little help to you now but the moral of this story is always inspect the car before offically signing for it and never take a car in the dark. Just because it is brand new doesn't mean it is 100% perfect. Accidents can happen and if it is only spotted afterwards it makes it more difficult to get a satisfactory outcome.

Best of luck with whatever you do, I hope it works out for you.

crosstownk

bazz26 wrote:

This begs the question was the car involved in an accident on the way from the depot to the dealer's yard (ie damaged getting on or off the transporter) or was it a poor paint job from the factory.

It sounds to me like it's being treated as damage which is outside the scope of any body/paint work warranty. So in that case, one of three parties are responsible - 1. Toyota Ireland (or it's agents, transport company, etc) - 2. The dealer (or agents) - 3. The customer (OP).

How soon after taking delivery did you report this damage? If you didn't report it straight away then you can forget about it - if it is indeed damage.

However, if the lacquer is lifting and there is no visible sign of damage (stone chip, scratch, etc), I would be more inclined to think that IS a paintwork defect rather than damage and, therefore, should be covered by the paintwork warranty. Do you know anybody who works in a bodyshop? Or maybe you could consider bringing it to a bodyshop and get a second opinion as to what caused (or is causing) the lacquer to lift. If it is a paint defect then Toyota Ireland are out of order by insisting that the car was fine when it left their storage yard as quite a lot of paint defects take some time to show - which is why the paintwork warranty covers the car for many years.

The statement about the car leaving storage is what leads me to believe that it is being treated as damage, and as I'm sure you can appreciate, there is a massive difference between damage and defects from a warranty standpoint. This is the grey area that you need to clear up. My advice would be to get an independent professional opinion and based on that you can decide whether or not to go legal.

bazz26

crosstownk wrote:

It sounds to me like it's being treated as damage which is outside the scope of any body/paint work warranty. So in that case, one of three parties are responsible - 1. Toyota Ireland (or it's agents, transport company, etc) - 2. The dealer (or agents) - 3. The customer (OP).

How soon after taking delivery did you report this damage? If you didn't report it straight away then you can forget about it - if it is indeed damage.

However, if the lacquer is lifting and there is no visible sign of damage (stone chip, scratch, etc), I would be more inclined to think that IS a paintwork defect rather than damage and, therefore, should be covered by the paintwork warranty. Do you know anybody who works in a bodyshop? Or maybe you could consider bringing it to a bodyshop and get a second opinion as to what caused (or is causing) the lacquer to lift. If it is a paint defect then Toyota Ireland are out of order by insisting that the car was fine when it left their storage yard as quite a lot of paint defects take some time to show - which is why the paintwork warranty covers the car for many years.

The statement about the car leaving storage is what leads me to believe that it is being treated as damage, and as I'm sure you can appreciate, there is a massive difference between damage and defects from a warranty standpoint. This is the grey area that you need to clear up. My advice would be to get an independent professional opinion and based on that you can decide whether or not to go legal.

Sound advice there crosstownk.

TomMc

As the others have mentioned it sounds to me like the car may have been partially resprayed in the problem area rather than a fault from manufacture. I see quite a few brand spanking new cars at a local bodyshop before they are even registered, so it does happen.

If base (colour) coat & clear coat is applied without the use of primer underneath (say on a minor repair where no filler was required) or where poor prep work was involved, it can result in the clear coat peeling off after a few months of washing. Especially where the trim surrounding the area is masked off rather than removed and so the panel edges are not really repainted properly. This can result in the paint peeling at the edges in a relatively short space of time.

Toyota obviously feel the car has been repainted otherwise they would be duty bound to rectify the matter. If you are sure your good lady wife has not had any repair done on the QT, well my bet is either the dealer or the distributor are playing dumb. I would check nearby trim for signs of overspray or better still get the garage to have the paints thickness measured in comparison to other panels. This will give a pretty good idea if it is the factory or a repaired finish. When you know for sure someone will have to come clean as I very much doubt it is down to manufacture.

The only other explanation is if anyone vandalised that section of the car with brake fluid, battery acid etc. Highly unlikely as the damage would be more severe.

Darwin

Thanks for the very useful advice and help - for various reasons we were remiss not to report it sooner than we did. It was actually the dealer (and not I) who suggested the lacquer was lifting, so I don't think there will be any argument with the dealer on this front. The car has gone back in today so I guess I'll wait and see what Toyota have to say with the new photos. Lesson learned though, never accept delivery of a new car in the dark!