Truck broke down today...

holy crap you have been way more patient than I would have been. Good luck and here hoping to this being resolved soon.

 

They should also waive a monthly payment if you have any.

 

Lawyer up. What state are you and what are the lemon laws?

 

At a minimum I'd be pushing for then to cover all rental fees etc. My dealer would have me in a new tacoma/tundra rental. I'd also push to have them foot the bill for the 100k mile warranty if they haven't already. Hopefully they drop a new motor and not try to fix this one.

When we have a catastrophic failure like that, we pull the motor and install a new one so we can tear it down and find out exactly what happened.

 

I'm not sure what my rights are. People say to "get a new truck" but I know of nothing that gives my that legal right.
I'm in California and our lemon law states that the vehicle needs to see the dealership three times for the same problem before either being replaced or the buyer receiving the full amount invested back.

I don't know what else I can do. What I can fight for. Everything is free - the repair, the rental, everything. What else can I do?

 

This is my exact concern. There is no talk of them putting in a brand new engine. Only replacing the spark plugs and piston rings.

 

I just made my monthly payment this month. I'm not sure I have the right to deferr that?

 

I already have a 100k warranty. I opted for it when I bought the truck in December.

 

I work for a finance company, one I won't name on TW. But you don't have the "right" to defer this payment. Reason being is that your payment is tied to a loan of money. You used the money to buy a car. Though you're having trouble with the truck, the finance company is only concerned with getting their money back. An example of this would be you lent a friend 200 bucks for a fridge and he said he'd pay it back, but the fridge goes out and now doesn't want to pay you back. It's not your fault the fridge went out. If anything I'd see if toyota were willing to give you concessions, like free oil changes for 5 years instead of 2. Or something along the lines. But don't expect much from the finance company.

 

Makes sense. I'm still the owner of the vehicle. I would expect to continue to make payments on it as such. Despite it sucking, it only hurts me in the end because it would take longer for me to pay back the loaned amount.

 

I hear ya. I hope it works out for you. I'm sure it will, it's a Tacoma.

 

I would push for them to reimburse you the cost of this. They may tell you to get bent, they may make it right. Depends on your dealer I suppose.

I wouldn't push for a new truck, Imho if it were my truck, as long as it was fixed and fixed correctly, they cover the cost of the rental and repairs. Realistically that's all you can ask for.

I have seen dealers reimburse you for a payment on a vehicle that has been in the shop for extended periods of time. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

At the end of the day there are a lot of Internet bad asses that would make x y and z happen. Most would be laughed at.

Again sorry this is happening to ya. Bright side is you are getting it fixed. And i happened under warranty.

 

This. Or maybe Toyota could throw in some all weather floor mats, or a gift card for the parts/accessories dept.
I have seen some guys get as much as a 500 dollar gift card because there was trouble with their brand new boat. And a boat is a recreation item, your vehicle is your way to work. It doesn't hurt to ask because if you don't ask, they won't offer it.

 

This^^

Your major inconvenience is a bit of time spent dealing with the dealer (not much overall once it is dropped off). You have a ride, you will have the truck back with full 100k warranty and in working order. I think you are pretty well covered. If you had some "need" of a truck in the interim (have to pick up a load of mulch or lumber or move your apartment belongings), see if they will cover the rental upgrade for the day. Otherwise as others have stated you could see if they would be willing to do something gift card wise to cover the intangible "inconvenience" factor.

If not, it is mostly just a disappointing event not worth losing sleep over at this point. It is like getting in an accident that isn't your fault. You may be out your vehicle for a couple weeks and have to make a couple of trips to the shop, but ultimately what is there to fight for? Life happens. You'll have your truck back in full working order.

 

Lindsay,

I had experience with the Ca Lemon Law. Fortunately Dodge stepped up to the plate and replaced my vehicle without having to go to Arbitration. The below is the Ca Lemon Law guidelines.
The "Lemon Law" applies to these problems if they arise during the first 18 months after the consumer received delivery of the vehicle or within the first 18,000 miles on the odometer, whichever occurs first. During the first 18 months or 18,000 miles, the "Lemon Law" presumes that a manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle if either (1) the same problem results in a condition that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven and the problem has been subject to repair two or more times by the manufacturer or its agents, and the buyer or lessee has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (2) the same problem has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents and the buyer has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (3) the vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle.

Take note of #3.

 

Just to be clear on the above.... The exact same issue has to be reported multiple times. Ensure the dealer documents it the same way everytime otherwise it can be construed as a different problem. After the 3rd time, you need to contact corporate and have a corporate representative come in and review. If after that time, and after corporates fix has been implemented the issue happens again then it is Arbitration worthy.

Now for # 3 is a culmination of issues adding up to more than 30 days. Each day menas the vehicle had to spend the night. taking it over in the morning and picking up in the afternoon does not really add to the cumulative period.

 

Which dealership are you working with?

 

"You're just out free time"..........I love when people throw this around like your free time is worthless but everyone else's is worth $100 an hour and cannot be wasted. Comical. Wait til you get older and clock is ticking and everyone wasting your time is actually stealing your life away a little by little. Your attitude of having all the time in the world to piss away will change. OP's free time is worth just as much as the labor cost to get him back in his truck is worth at bare minimum. Me choosing to waste my free time is up to me, no one else.

 

Probably nothing at the moment. Take care to document everything with dates, times, contacts, etc.

https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/cars

 

I think she is already half way there.