Yaris paint / finish looks poor - not holding up through the winter.

[chriswb]

Originally Posted by tomato

See, all your complaints are about the dealership. You can't honestly blame Toyota because you did business with the wrong dealership.

Honestly, I went to 2 Toyota dealerships before I bought my Yaris. The first one had the Yaris I wanted, color and all, but the guy was a a jerk and I got a bad feeling right from the get go, so I walked . I forget what was wrong with the second Toyota dealership. Attitude, I think.

You're right. Most of the problems were with the dealership. I should have gone to a different dealer. This was my first experience buying a new car. The blame falls clearly on my inexperience.

Originally Posted by tomato

perish the tought!!!

I would give the dealership a ration of you-know-what about the rust. I agree with you, a 6 months old car should NOT have rust.

Darn tootin'! I want my car to look pristine.

Originally Posted by DerFlosser

I would be all over somebody's ASS for this. Totally unacceptable. Have you contacted your lawyer or a lawyer?

The title is in my father's name. We both signed the various papers the dealership presented since he was a joint-owner on the trade-in, but the dealership decided to put him on the loan. They did this despite the fact that we live in different states, I put the downpayment on the car, and I am paying for the car. I did contact Toyota Financial and they won't help.

Originally Posted by Hershey

we had rust form on a '03 MATRIX few years into ownership . Rust developed around driver side rear door handle and on part of the hatch door .

I'll check the doors, handles, and etc. for rust tomorrow morning.

[YAR1S]

Clean it regularly.... its the only way to keep it new looking... mine does look as shiny as the day I bought it but as soon as It warms up its getting the ultimate detail makeover! Should look like new again.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by chriswb

You're right. Most of the problems were with the dealership. I should have gone to a different dealer. This was my first experience buying a new car. The blame falls clearly on my inexperience.

Yes, please don't blame Toyota. The dealer is a separate entity. Has nothing to do with the car obviously. And believe it or not, for the most part Toyota dealers are among the best. Many other brands have horrible dealers.

The Yaris is proven to be practically the most reliable car available. Problems are extremely rare. Yeah, the paint is thin, but so isn't most low end cars these days. Of course more premium cars have more layers of paint. It's only logical that every layer costs money. If Toyota added layers, we'd complain about a higher price tag.

The paint still seems more than adequate. Like I posted earlier, 70,000+ miles on mine, and still looks new (in New England). Plus, it's a dark color. Just the normal light scratches but I'm always impressed by the depth and shine of the Flint Mica.

[YarisSedan]

Find a good detailer he should be able to bring your finish back to the same quality it was you drove it off the lot.

[41magmag41]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

You have environmental whack jobs to thank for that.

A main reason is that automakers must now use soft paint that is deemed cleaner for the environment.

That said, I don't find the paint that bad. Mine has 70,000 miles and still looks new in the northeast.

Ditto, I to have over 70K on my sedan and the only way I've been able to keep it looking decent is to wash and wax it regularly. I've also put a bra on it to keep the paint dings down.

[scape]

rust on a new car? have you ever rinsed the car down?

[BuildCode]

This has nothing to do with maintaining your paint (at this point...) - your car is so new that the conditions you are describing (worn through (!!!) and rust (!!!)) are just plain and simple defective paint job. Take it to a better dealer and get it fixed!

Good luck!

-From another Chicago area resident with a brand new 2009

[chriswb]

Originally Posted by scape

rust on a new car? have you ever rinsed the car down?

Not during the winter. It's below freezing.

Originally Posted by BuildCode

This has nothing to do with maintaining your paint (at this point...) - your car is so new that the conditions you are describing (worn through (!!!) and rust (!!!)) are just plain and simple defective paint job. Take it to a better dealer and get it fixed!

Good luck!

-From another Chicago area resident with a brand new 2009

Thanks! I'm going in this week to a different dealership.

[why?]

I agree with what has been said. Find a better dealer, and tell them your story, and highlight them the problems with your paint job.

I have 50,000 miles on my car, I don't really wash it, definately don't wax it. The paint job looks fine to me. I am in florida though, and moved here before the car could take a real winter up north.

A dealer should do something. Bad paint jobs happen from the factory. you just were the unlucky one.

Oh, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least talk to a lawyer about the financing thing. That might cause problems for you at some problem.

[IllusionX]

Originally Posted by PK198105

in winter is best not to wash the car, first because you will scratch the paint with all the crap thats on the car and rinsing it wont take off everything. and rinsing it will just add to the rusting. the dirt on the car actually protects it a bit from the the sand/salt and other stuff. I learned this the hard way the first winter i had my Yaris.

I've always washed my car in the winter. Maybe like once or twice a month. It's usually when it's really cold and the roads are dry.

So, i'd wash it and park it in the garage to dry. My wax is doing a good job at protecting my car. I don't like keeping the dirt on it for too long as the brake dust (or whatever metal-ish particles stay in the air) stick to the car and rust. So basically have to wash it off before it bonds to the clear coat.

[taracor]

Let's see, I've had my car since last may, wash it once a week, 2 weeks if I get lazy, wax every 1 to 2 months, everyone I know says I'm obsessed, but the car looks good so I don't mind.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by chriswb

The title is in my father's name. We both signed the various papers the dealership presented since he was a joint-owner on the trade-in, but the dealership decided to put him on the loan. They did this despite the fact that we live in different states, I put the downpayment on the car, and I am paying for the car. I did contact Toyota Financial and they won't help.

By law, that would be correct. (At least in PA, it can vary state to state, but for the most part, that's how it is.)

Example:

My boyfriend bought a new VW TDI under the Cash for Clunkers program. The vehicle that was traded in was his mom's Jeep Grand Cherokee (they had twins, but her's was in worse shape with a tranny going bad, and it would have cost more to fix than it was worth). Because she was owner (or even part owner) of the vehicle that was traded in, her name is also on the title of the new car (even though he is paying for the car, and she will never be driving it since it's a manual tranny, and she can't drive stick shift). The loan is in both of their names also.


In regards to your issue with this, you can check with an attorney lisenced in your state to verify your state's law, or check with your local DMV (or DOT, depending on what they like to call themselves).

[MUSKOKA800]

Originally Posted by chriswb

Disappointing! I guess I have to be resigned to accept that my car will look unkept even if I treat it with care.

Honestly, I wish I hadn't purchased a Toyota. The Yaris' mechanics are well-designed and the contour of the hatchback makes it visually appealing. That being said, I have had nothing but bad experiences with Toyota since buying the car.

1. The dealership was bad from the start. I should have bought the car elsewhere. My family's never been treated so poorly by a dealership.

2. The dealership lost my plates. I had to call everyone up the chain to the licensing manager (who was never there when I called) before they finally found the plates at the cashier's desk. They had been sitting there for a month.

3. The dealership wrote the wrong owner on the title. When I asked about this they said I could change it by calling Toyota Financial. I called Toyota financial and they flat out refused to change it, even if I paid off the car. Consequentially I don't get the benefit of having the loan on my credit report which was the only reason I financed the car rather than purchasing it outright. I could pay the car off and transfer the title to myself, but that seems like a waste of money since the car has 0% financing.

4. The paint. I can just imagine the hassle I'm going to have to go through at the dealership to get them to fix the rusting.

I should have bought a used Honda or even a non-Japanese car. It would be worth it to have a less reliable car if the customer service behind the car was better. My hubris caused me to purchase a new car, and I don't even get the benefit of having the car look good.

You are not obligated to return to your selling dealer. Find a Toyota Dealer who wants your business. That said, my resolve is to never return to the dealer unless you need warranty service. I can do all the maintenance myself.

[DandiDani]

was washing my car a couple of days ago and noticed a black spot. i thought it was dirt and when i looked closer i noticed the paint had flaked off on the front bumper!!!!! needless to say i was pretty pissed off. idk how it happened...

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by DandiDani

was washing my car a couple of days ago and noticed a black spot. i thought it was dirt and when i looked closer i noticed the paint had flaked off on the front bumper!!!!! needless to say i was pretty pissed off. idk how it happened...

If it was on the front bumper, there's a high likelihood that it happened due to shit being kicked up from the road by a vehicle in front of your (or any other similar type senario).

[chriswb]

Just an update - I found a new dealer (Tom Wood Toyota in Indianapolis) who appears to be pretty straightforward and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning. That should take care of the maintenance and rust.

The paint is still a problem and the quotes I got from local body shops to fix it were ridiculously high: $4000! I'm going to have to wait until I'm back in Chicago to find a decent body shop.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by chriswb

Just an update - I found a new dealer (Tom Wood Toyota in Indianapolis) who appears to be pretty straightforward and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning. That should take care of the maintenance and rust.

The paint is still a problem and the quotes I got from local body shops to fix it were ridiculously high: $4000! I'm going to have to wait until I'm back in Chicago to find a decent body shop.

Yeah, a good paint job (whole car) is $3000-$4000. By "good", I mean factory quality level which in this case should be better than the yaris' factory job.

[chriswb]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

Yeah, a good paint job (whole car) is $3000-$4000. By "good", I mean factory quality level which in this case should be better than the yaris' factory job.

My thought is that it would cost me $3000-4000 to trade my car in for a brand new Yaris. The expense is not worth it.