Frame Replacement Approved -- Concerns about unknown costs!

I am sorry if this question has been posted elsewhere. I did a search but there are a ton of messages about frame replacement but I haven't seen my question answered.

I was approved for a frame replacement (2009 double cab TRD sport). My dealer is ordering it and it will take about 45-60 days for it to come in.

The service manager told me that while the frame is covered under warranty, anything that breaks (such as exhaust and some brake lines) will not be covered and I will have to pay to fix and replace.

Given that some dealers take advantage of people, I am concerned about how vulnerable I am to them taking advantage of me. Conceivably, they could break my exhaust and then I am beholden to them to replace it. I have seen their quotes for simple things like replacing a cabin filter for 65 dollars (something I can do for 12 dollars) and other outrageous costs.

Questions: For those who have gone through this process, what was your experience like? What broke that wasn't covered? What did you do to protect yourself?

Obviously I will tell them to be damn careful and to call me if/when something breaks but again, I don't know how this will protect me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You’re probably going to get taken for a ride, so I’d play it carefully and ask to see parts they deem as unable to be reinstalled. They can make a lot of extra money in these cases.

 

Calling the service manager at another dealer may be helpful or Toyota customer service. I believe the brake lines are replaced as part of this process so I immediately went to “wtf? Oh no...”

 

As bad as it sounds. At least you're getting a new frame which will extend the use of your truck for many years. Plus whatever else gets replaced, will be replaced with Toyota Parts. Thus, eliminating these items from future replacement.
No much of a conselation l know since the frame rust issue is Toyota's fault in the first place.. Just trying to look at the bright side of a crappy situation.
All you can do is what you said. Keep an eye on the work that they do, while they do it.
Has the dealer done many frame replacement's???

Good luck!!!!

 

I don't know if they have done a lot of frame replacements. I should ask. If I decide to go elsewhere I wonder what problems that will cause. They already ordered the frame from what I understand.

 

Im pretty sure all the hard brake lines come on the new frame.

 

Was that 8,000 bill because it was replace under warranty and thus all that cost was because they broke stuff or was that cost associated with a frame replacement that WASN'T covered under warranty?

 

So the Service Manager tells you that they are going to do a "repair" and anything THEY brake, YOU have to pay to replace?

That's what he told you?

Ya, I'm thinking that's not how this works.

 

Is this a 10 year old Virginia truck?

 

I would explicitly request that the service manager contact me throughout the process if/when parts break/ need replacing unexpectedly. Be up front with him/her and make it clear that you would like to minimize unexpected cost. I remember a thread here recently where somebody got hit with some crazy bill after the fact and wasn't provided a parts list or anything.

 

Good advice. Thanks. I just email the service department asking more detailed questions. This is a scary process. While it may seem like a good thing that the frame is being replaced, I shouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Wonder if it is best to just sell the damn thing and avoid rolling the dice.

 

You’re fine, plenty of frame replacement stories on here that were as expected. A few that weren’t.

Being prepared, informed and ready to advocate for your wallet is the only trouble you’ll need to bother with, and that’ll take care of your unnecessary risks. Besides that, you’ll feel better about everything. You just have to be careful that the shop isn’t going to take advantage of you, same as any time you go to a shop - the difference here is the scale of work is much larger and offers plenty of opportunity for a shady shop to try and get as much out of you as they can. Again, this isn’t always a problem.

Also, know that things do break, have normal wear and tear that you may not notice until they’re in your hand and off the truck, and that rust can be a big issue with taking things off and putting them back on. Things definitely can need replacing in this process, you just need to be sure that it’s for legitimate reasons and not because the tech had a blank check mentality like the member mentioned above who still doesn’t have his truck back.

 

Unfortunetly, it is how it works at scumbag dealerships.

Fortunetly however, Toyota ships a lot of the breakables new with the frame (brake lines mainly, LBJ and LCA's etc.) There are far more cases (like my dads) where the only thing screwed up by the dealer is aftermarket stuff added by the owner. Aside from his backup cam not working, there was no issues with his frame swap.

 

As long as the dealer that's doing the work has experience doing the frame replacement, I really wouldn't worry too much. The two big things in my opinion are make sure the dealership has experience doing this job before agreeing to let them do it, and make sure there is constant communication throughout the process with regard to unexpected replacement items

 

Absolutely not... I would let them know that this is a Warranty. They are a Professionally Licensed Automotive Repair facility completing Warranty on behalf of an Auto Manufacture.

Under the frame replacement, Toyota (big Toyota) reimburses the Dealership (in this case) (repair facility) a predetermined set amount to complete a frame replacement. Any incidental items that need to be replaced beyond what (Big) Toyota pays for is the responsibility of the repair facility (in this case the Dealership)... the dealership is just trying to cover their expenses because (Big) Toyota's set amount probably doesn't cover their $100-$150 (what ever it is, using examples) per hour labor charge... so they plan on having their dumbshit hack mechanics complete this work.

I would not, under any circumstances, sign a piece of paper that essentially gives them a blank check for anything they brake while completing this Warranty repair... even if they promise to let me know how much it's going to cost me every time THEY fuck up and brake something.

 

I suspect that if I don't sign such paper, then I won't get the replacement and then a decision needs to be made.

 

Then request an itemized list of associated parts that come with the replacement frame, before hand. As others have said, many of the parts that need replacement during the frame replacement ship with the replacement frame. Let them know that you do not expect to pay for any of these parts, or the labor to replace them, because the reason they ship with the frame is because they are an expected item that could potentially be neccesary to replace during the frame replacement.

Also let them know you will expect the old parts on any and all items that are above and beyond the frame warranty, and a written explination of why the item needed replacement.

I (myself) would probably contact Big Toyota and ask them what dealership in a certain distance has the most experience dealing with frame replacement warranties... it's probably not the dealership you're currently dealing with.

 

Sure, that's one way of thinking about it. I don't disagree with what you said and in an ideal world where we all get our way as a customer, the dealer would eat the cost. But realistically that's not gonna happen. If you go into a frame-replacement expecting zero out of pocket cost, good luck getting your frame replaced. Don't want to sign the work authorization form? Go pound rocks

 

Familiarize yourself with the PDF on post 13 on this thread. The parts list is on there.

 

Not saying I wouldn't expect to have out of pocket costs... I am saying I'm not going to be responsible for A) the dealership making up the difference between their labor rate and what Toyota pays them B) covering the costs of stupid mistakes or lazy mechanic practices.

So, again... I would request the Bill of Lading on the replacement frame, and all of the replaced parts the Dealership claims are above and beyond with a detailed description of why it needed replacement and goes beyond the warranty coverage.