Screwed on Bent Frame-Brand New 12

I Purchased a 2012 Tacoma Double Cab TRD-Offroad brand new off the lot in March of 2012. I returned to the dealership a week later because of allignment issues on the back bumper. I was told that they couldn't fix it or if they tried they may make it worse. The spacing was minimal and you couldn't notice it without really looking for it, so I decided to not let the mechanics cause any further damage at the time. I then noticed that the bed seem to be sitting off a little. I took the truck to my mechanic and had them look at it. They lifted the truck and noticed that the frame was not level on the truck. I took the truck back to Toyota and they had the frame lasered. The frame was 16mm off at the greatest point. I spoke to Toyota about this and told them that I wanted a replacement truck or my money back. The dealership told me that I had to contact
Toyota corporation since the sale was already made and that they were not responsible. Long story short, Toyota told me that I had to file an arbitration suit since that is in the purchase aggreement when you buy a Toyota. After going through the CDSP - California Dispute Settlement Program I was told that the frame was repairable under Toyota's warranty. I told them that the value of the truck was never going to be what I purchased it for and that if I was to resale the truck the value would be drastically different. Toyota told me that I didn't have to disclose the bent frame. This doesn't work for my as I have a soul and didn't want to pass on a lemon to the next guy. I declined the arbitration and
I am about to file suit with Toyota. Toyota never addresses the value difference on my truck and will not replace my truck or give me my money back. Just wanted to give a heads up to people thinking about buying a Toyota and wanted to inform you of my experience. Toyota in my experinece is a company that lacks honor and morals. I wouldn't
purchase another vehicle from Toyota.

 

Best first post ever

/thread

Total ninja edit

Seems to me Toyota has had bad luck with frames on the Tacoma. Too bad because they are great trucks.

 

Stick to your guns.
I agree, they will do anything they can to get you to buy the truck and then anything they can to NOT stand behind their product unless forced by law.


Toyota has good resale but I wouldnt be suprised if that starts to decline with the rest of Toyota Corps quality.

 

you can hire a lawyer, i'm sure there are some people who specialize in this kinda stuff. sorry about all this OP the frame shouldnt a 1/2 inch off straight off the lot hope all works out well

 

Well that sucks and I am buying a Tacoma but lemons do happen and go to Toyota and say if you don't fix my frame i will tell everyone i know and others about Toyota and keep documentation and show people maybe then they will listen

 

If this actually happened.................I know that people are gonna say it's on you for not catching it when buying it before leaving the lot. I am not one of them. I do NOT believe you should have to take the time to micrometer the whole truck inside and out on a brand new fucking vehicle. It should have been caught leaving the factory or arriving at the dealership. It is their responsibilty to ensure what they are representing as new is just that in every way. It is now their responsibility to make it right functionally & monetarily at very least. If they were on the up & up they would flat out take it back and replace it with the same vehicle or upgrade just for your hassle if they really cared about what they are doing and any future business from you. But that's just my opinion of what would be right. I'm sure there are plenty that will come in here and try to put this off on you though. Fucked up story to be sure. Betting their story in court is gonna be that it wasn't like that when it initially left the factory and dealership because we have many redundant quality control checks in place. Best of luck on this shit.

 

Maybe I've been spending too much time on other parts of the internet, but as a first post...I smell a troll.

 

Troll or not shit like this happens.

Dissclosure of damage widely depends on individual state laws. When I sold cars, the dealership would sometimes divide the repair invoice (have more than one for the same repair) to produce repairs below the reporting threshold and therefore not be required to disclose it to the consumer.

BTW, This was on "new" cars & trucks. And it's not unique to Toyota products.

It also pertains to products damaged after being manufactured.

It's shady as hell.

 

Something about this sounds odd... It sounds very similar to what is going on with my truck. The alignment is out of whack and it dogs to the right when driving on the highway. The back bumper doesn't line up evenly to the bed either. Hmm...

 

It is funny thought how The OP will not make another post lol

 

Oh yeah, forgot troll shit would be called on this. Damn, I fall for it every time. People just say that because it hasn't happened to them.....or the internet just sucks totally.

updated my previous post to reflect this possibility..............

 

Yeah probably is a troll or smeagle trying to get attention damned hobbits trying to get fame after Lord of The Rings

 

Well I am sure I will most likely get flamed for this, and worse probably from the OP, but here it goes: Assuming this is a real situation and not a troll.....

I side with Toyota. They did attempt to be reasonable and fair in their arbitration. There is no evidence at all that the value of your truck would be decreased just because a frame was replaced within the first few months after a new truck came off the lot. I have seen plenty of new cars get replacement engines, transmissions, rear differentials, etc within the first year of ownership and not see any issues with value. Toyota made a good effort to try and make a reasonable settlement with you. And Toyota is not the only company that would have said the same think. I will be willing to bet the farm that every other manufacturer would have offered the same, or similar, and not just give you another truck.

 

Bama:
wow, that was one hell of a post...you can remove your lips from toyotas proverbial a$$ anytime. no, it was a good post - made me think about it in a different light.

I probably would have taken the arrbitration.
Then I would march my happy ass to the nearest Toyota or other Dealership to trade-in or sell.
Wipe your hands of it instead of dealing with a lawsuit against a large company that could probably draw it out as long as they wanted.

either way it sucks.
hope it all works out for you

lemons do happen...doesn't mean the whole line is bad.

 

^^I tend to agree with this.

 

Why would you take the arbitration, get the frame replaced then trade it??? If you're going to trade it, trade it back to the dealership you bought it from as-is. If they are behind what they're saying, they shouldn't devalue the truck because of the frame but either way you'll end up losing some money on a trade in. I'd take the new frame and move on with my life.

 

the frame swap wouldn't be a bad option , would be stronger then them pulling the frame rails back into position. if op plans to off road

 

I'm a little confused. Did Toyota accomplish a repair?

 

Let them put the thing on a frame jig and get it right...16mm isn't that big of a deal, about 1/2"...

Howard

 

No, Toyota said they'd put a new frame under the truck. OP was worried about devaluing the truck because of the extensive repair so early in it's life so he refused it and is trying to make them buy it back or give him a brand new truck.