Dealership paint protection film issues.

Hey guys I need some help/assistance/advice. I bought my brand new truck from Rohrich Toyota dealership and took delivery of my truck on Sept 29th. I also paid to have the Toyota paint protection film installed. When they installed it and I got back the truck they did a terrible job. Firstly they scratched my left fog light bezel and license plate holder, and then the install itself was unprofessional. There was hair underneath, big bits of dirt/dust, air bubbles and it was already peeling.

I showed it to them and they said they'll fix it. I was dealing with my sales person. She was nice during the sales process but after she got the sale she was the total opposite. I told her that I was disappointed with the service I got with respect to the paint protection film installation. When she heard this, she got upset and started arguing with me, and said she'll have my sales manager call me. Sales manager called and rectified it.

Sent in my truck to get it reinstalled. When I got it back the bezel and license plate holder were replaced. But the film was just as crappy. Once again I approached them. They were annoyed but the sales manager said that have a person of my choice remove the existing film and replace it, and Rohrich Toyota will refund me for the film they installed.

Yesterday sent it in to my guy to get Toyota's film removed and XPEL Ultimate Plus installed. My guy calls me back and says he removed the film and the adhesive, but there are cut marks on the paint where the previous installer trimmed the film. Some of the cut marks are so deep they expose the primer. I called back the dealership to talk to the sales manager. Long story short he did not want to take responsibility and was low key blaming me and/or my guy who removed the film. He also hung up on me.

Went to collect back the truck from my guy. While I was there he spoke to the dealership on behalf of me. He explained and tried to proved to them that he did not cause the cut marks. Though the manager was initially blaming my guy, the manager said that he wasn't insinuating that my guy caused the damages. The sales manager said that he doesn't think they can satisfy me. My guy responded by saying yes you can. You damaged a brand new truck during the installation of a Toyota branded product. You can satisfy the customer by fixing his truck. The manager then said to bring in the truck to have them look at it.

So this is my situation. I've had the truck for less than 6 weeks now. Now there are cut marks, some deep to the paint primer, on the hood, fenders and bumper. I have documentation, notes, pictures, text messages and emails on everything that happened. What should I do next? What is my next course of action? Have any of you dealt with similar type issues before? What is your advice? Can any one of you help out or know someone who can?

I would really appreciate any help. When I saw the 3rd gen Tacoma debut in 2015 I fell in love with it, and it's been my dream vehicle since. Some guys want Ferraris and Lambos. I wanted a Tacoma. I've been saving since then. My parents helped me out to get this truck as well. This is so frustrating, stressful and draining.

 

Call Toyota Corporate. They will investigate. Give them all the details you provided here and timelines.

You think calling corporate would be a waste, I tell you it's not, they are extremely helpful and you get to talk to humans.

BTW, it would be wise to remove peoples names from this post.

 

Thanks a lot man. I would call them definitely. Just to make sure, Toyota Corporate phone number is 800-331-4331? Taken from https://www.toyota.com/support/contact-us

 

That would be it. Good luck. Hope everything works out for you. It may take a few weeks (hopefully sooner) but they will do their due diligence.

 

Brutal experience man. As @LivinOnEdge mentioned, I'd recommend going to Corporate. Keep us posted on your progress. I'm interested in hearing how they approach this. Good luck man.

 

What is your end game?
What would you like to see happen in order to consider this issue fairly resolved?

Ask the Toyota Dealership for it in a calm and respectful manner.

See what they say.

They owe you a repaint of the panels they harmed.

If they are not willing to do that, you can speak with a small claims attorney and address whether or not that is a realistic route to take.

I would not threaten them with litigation but if it were me I’d be making it clear to them I’m not going to let the issue go.

Corporate Toyota is not responsible for the damage but its not a bad idea for that sealerships names to be tarnished toCorporate.

Good luck

 

Here’s a couple photos of my Tacoma with the factory Toyota 3M paint protection film not sure if it was port installed or dealer installed it was on the vehicle and listed on the window sticker when I bought it...truck is 15 months old with 26k miles. No issues with mine sorry for your dilemma but it sounds like the dealer provided workers not skilled in the tasks assigned to them. I would file a claim against their insurer if you get no where with Toyota. Good luck

 

Yours look pretty good. I had mine dealer "installed", but the dealer subcontracted a 3rd party to do the actual installation. Here are some pics of the scratches. As you can see the scratches match the exact position where the paint protection film was installed. Remember I had the film redone twice by the dealer, so in some of the cuts you can see a double line, showing that it was cut twice. So the installer would have put the film on, then run a knife down to trim the edges, in the process cutting into the paint itself. It proves how inexperienced and amateur the installer was. Cutting should be done off the vehicle, not on the body itself.

 

A brand new truck already needing paint work done. I would not be happy about that.

 

OP, sorry for your frustrating experience. I've dealt with some annoying issues with one of my aftermarket wheels being curbed (dealer denied) and then having my truck three times to diagnose an issue with the CEL and trac off lights that keep coming on. I'm not even sure they actually fixed the issue since both have come back on and i reset them myself after reading the code it threw.

Hope Toyota Corp can help you right the wrong.

 

Unfortunate situation you found yourself in, but I've had a similar thing where my dealership tried to blame the issues on third party installers despite me having proof that they caused the issue. Anyways, one call to corporate and they will be obliged to reach out to the dealership and ask them about the matter. The manager who initially refused to refund me for their services sent me a cheque a week later. I guess what you can take away from this is that after causing the issue, for them to ask you to reach out to a third party to rectify would be really fishy as they can play the we didn't do it card.

 

I would not be either BUT the dealer is only required to fix the error not go above and beyond.

I will also say that BBP has had serious paint failure problems so actually it might be ideal for the OP to get newly painted panels. They probably will be less likely to fail than the factory.

 

Yeah I can see it...they took a razor to the paint. As to why they didn’t use the 3M paint protection film which is already precut to fit the Tacoma is a mystery probably to save a few bucks. If you have comprehensive collision insurance they should cover the loss most they can say is no but I would get that in writing the denial let them go chase the dealers liability carrier if it is a covered claim.

 

you can just walk around the lot and see if you can spot the cut marks as well. Now you'll have more evidence against them to make whatever resolution you feel amicable.

 

OP-- That's a VERY bad location to try to buff out scratches. So if they try to go that route, and they might, be sure they're taking paint thickness measurements on the edges as they go (with a paint thickness gauge- most professional detailers will have one).

Rule of thumb- If you can feel the scratch with a fingernail, it's too deep to buff out.

 

Good point-- op call your insurance agent and have them go after the dealer to cover the damage. But you need to decide what, EXACTLY, you want to see happen here.... New hood? Repaint?

 

Are they unwilling to repaint?

 

It’s the insurer job to make him whole again in the event of a covered loss...the insurance adjuster will make the call

 

I agree they did take a razor to the paint, and you're right, some of the scratches are deep enough to feel with you fingernail so they can't just be buffed out. I do want a proper repaint for the hood, fenders and front bumper. I just called Toyota Corporate and the representative took all my information. She said they will reach out to the dealer and have the customer relations manager contact me within 2 business days. But apart from that they can't do anything else. Is this what anyone's experience been like?

When I spoke to the sales manager, he said that he was not going to take responsibility for the damage. Then after the second time, after my guy spoke to him, he said to bring in the vehicle at the dealership for them to look at. I have asked for Friday off from work to go do this. I just trying to cover all my bases before I go in, and make sure I understand what are the all the things I need to consider.

 

You might need to litigate but with any luck they’ll cave and do the right thing.

Hindsight is 20/20. Next time you take your vehicle to ANYONE, take pictures before and after the work. Inspect carefully BEFORE driving off the lot.

I really hate life lessons. They suck.