Need Advice - New Truck Was Painted Prior to Sale

I would agree with others in the thread that if you are uncomfortable with the situation to contact the VA Attorney Generals office. I wouldn't worry so much about the 30-day stipulation. Net-net is in my opinion they committed fraud under VA Code, even it if was unintentional. They should be bending over backwards to make it right. BTW, I don't want to burst any bubbles, but IMHO, $3K under MSRP is a nice start, but it's not the deal of a lifetime. How much did they undervalue your trade to give you that $3K.

Given that you've made all these mods to your truck, maybe the first thing you need to figure out is what you think would be reasonable compensation. IMHO, you ought to be entitled to a new, similarity-equipped vehicle if that's what you want. But then you'd either need to give up, or re-do all your mods.

Or you could just ask for cash and/or services. The cost of the repairs that they're offering to reimburse you is probably a lot less than the hit you're going to take at sale/trade time if the body work is discovered or disclosed. So you could just SWAG how much that might be & ask for that much in cash.

I would also push to have the repair work inspected by a 3rd-party shop of your choosing, and have any deficiencies corrected (like the leak), with some kind of warranty/guarantee on Koons' dime, on top of any "cash" settlement.

 

Ok guys, here's the letter I've drafted. I will take pics and send this off tomorrow. What do you all think?

By the way - thanks so much to all of you for replying and helping. I kind of wanted to just run with the check and hope this all went away, but you and a few family members have helped me realize thats not the best thing for me in the long run.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Tuesday, November 24, 2009


Koons Tysons Toyota/Scion
Attn: XXXX XXXX
8610 Leesburg Pike
Vienna, VA 22182



Ms. XXXX,

Thank you for sending the fax copies of the repair and transfer reports, and the hold-harmless agreement to me on Monday, November 23rd, 2009. Because of the information I have received on these reports I do not intend to execute the hold-harmless agreement at this time.

The service report from Allen Toyota details that damage was caused to the roof of the vehicle by a tree limb during Hurricane Gustav. The physical location of Allen Toyota is approximately 1 mile from Mississippi’s gulf coast. Hurricane Gustav affected the Gulfport, MS area on September 1, 2008 and this area suffered extensive wind, tornado, and flood damage. The report also states that repairs were completed (invoiced) on November 14, 2008. There was a period of 74 days before this vehicle was fully repaired. These are facts that I was not aware of until today.

When I picked this vehicle up from Koons Tysons Toyota after repairs were made to fix the leaking roof on November 13, 2009, XXXX XXXX (service manager) went over his findings with me. He said that repairs were made to rusted and bent welds in the cab around the rear window and that the impact would have been severe to cause these points to bend. He also said that he went over the vehicle thoroughly and that there was no evidence of water damage. Mr. XXXX told me that I would receive a written copy of this service report by Tuesday, November 17, 2009. To date he has not provided me a written copy of this report.

Contrary to being told that the damage was cosmetic, and contrary to the service manager’s report of there being no water damage to this vehicle, I have found severe rusting of the driver and passenger’s side front seat frame. Please see the attached photos. I do not believe that a dent to the roof of the vehicle or a small leak from the headliner would cause rust to form 4” above the floorboard on the front seat frames. I have concerns that the full extent of damages and repairs to this vehicle have not been disclosed to me, as it is apparent there is evidence of water damage beyond the roof and rear window areas.

In our discussion this morning you clarified that Toyota’s warrantee would not cover any flood related damage or related future issues since this is not a factory defect. You also clarified that for the same reasons, an optional extended warranty would not cover these issues. To have the burden of responsibility placed on the buyer for possible future issues arising from an undisclosed condition is unacceptable. It is for this reason that I will not sign the hold-harmless agreement at this time.

I would like to work with you to reach a resolution on this issue. I would consider any of the below to be satisfactory solutions;

• Accepting a return of this vehicle and providing a full refund of the purchase price within 15 calendar days, including any adjustments to satisfy the payoff amount through Toyota Financial Services. I will not accept a deduction in the refund for mileage or depreciation.

• Providing a satisfactory replacement vehicle in new condition and accepting my current vehicle as a trade-in at the purchase price, with an agreement that if a satisfactory replacement vehicle cannot be provided within 15 calendar days, that a full refund of the purchase price will be provided immediately. I will not accept a trade-in value less than the original sale price of the vehicle. A 2009 or 2010 model year Toyota Tacoma with the following would be a satisfactory replacement vehicle;

• • Prerunner SR5 (4x2) with tow package and Off-Road or Sport Package
  • Manual transmission only
  • Access cab only
  • Silver streak mica, pyrite gray, or magnetic gray metallic

• Providing a 5-year, unlimited mileage bumper-to-bumper warranty on my current vehicle in addition to the reimbursement previously offered. You told me today that you would be confident there would be no future issues with this vehicle. I would like for Koons Tysons Toyota to back that statement with a warrantee. What I would be looking for in a warrantee from Koons Tysons Toyota is written assurance that any future problems would be evaluated and addressed by this dealership and handled as if they were issues covered under the Toyota factory warrantee (no-cost rental car provisions, guaranteed repairs, etc). This warrantee is intended to cover any issues that arise as a result of the events between the time the dealer took possession of this vehicle and the time that it was delivered to me post-sale. Should this resolution be provided to me, I expect the rusted seat frame to be replaced under this warrantee.

Please respond in writing with Koons Tysons Toyota’s intentions and timeline to resolve this issue by Friday, December 4, 2009. I would prefer to reach an agreement directly with your dealership, however I intend to pursue resolution through the Better Business Bureau and Fairfax County’s Consumer Protection Department if we cannot reach an agreement by December 4, 2009.


I look forward to your response,
Sincerely,

 

Nice job with this letter. Clear and to the point. Good luck.

 

Keep on it and please update all of us.

 

Very well done. Have you considered the diminished value if you keep it?
I would go for alot more cash to keep it. Hope all works out well.

 

You write very well. Do you need a job? I would definitely hire you!

The options you provide are excellent but be careful with the warranty. They can offer you a warranty and then fight any and all future damage caused by these damages or repairs. This is getting interesting...

 

I have read the entire post now and all I can say is IM SORRY! I hope this works out for you and your truck.

One word of caution here... I like the letter you have (very well written) but must say the last option you list would lock you into going to Koon's any time you need repairs. Not bad unless you move somewhere away from that particular dealership.

Otherwise, good luck and don't accept anything less than "NEW" from these guys.

 

I will tell you this if they replaced the roof panel as you indicated they told you what was damaged they are trying to lowball you. It looks like they are trying to pay you what their cost was not the retail cost of the actual repair. The roof panel itself is 535.00 (for and access cab) list plus 12.4 hours to install and 4.4 hours to refinish. the left visor is 55.64 the right 77.19 and .1 to install. If it is a double cab the roof is 661.99 list and 15.6 hours to install and 4.7 to paint,the visors are the same Written at the current labor rates in Columbus it is a 1700.00 repair for the access cab and 2150.00 for the double cab not including anything they didnt disclose.. Just an FYI I personally wouldnt sign the hold harmless and insist they pay you the street cost of repairs or provide you with another truck. That is my opinion on the situation.

 

I wish you the best of luck with this, your letter sounds great.. Keep us posted!!

 

Thanks guys! Writing is thankfully one of my strong points. I'm not too good with math

Here are pictures I took this evening of the seat frame. What could cause this kind of rust? Why is the upper part of the metal piece rusted but the lower part isn't? I'm kind of puzzled that the coverage isn't uniform. Could it be salt water?

 

Holy shit!

I'm sorry, but you need to dump this thing asap. It was flooded and that seems to be the proof. I believe previous posts pointed out that it is ILLEGAL to misrepresent a flooded vehicle. You have one hell of a lawsuit here.

Imagine if you would've never found that. All the mods you completed and you never saw anything. You are damn lucky the roof was leaking. It has given you a second chance to dump this thing.

If you have the time and energy, penalize the dealerships at fault for this to the fullest extent. I'm sure there are many more people that never realized the previous flooded damage to their trucks. That is terrible!

 

Wow, that's some serious rust.

I agree with some other folks on the thread, the "warranty" option is a nice gesture on your part, but it locks you into Koons, and you are definitely at their mercy when it comes to them honoring it. I would seriously consider taking that option off the table.

If you decide to stick with the warranty option, I would at least specify in your letter that this "special" warranty they're creating for you is an "exclusive" rather than an "inclusive" warranty.

Most extended warranties are "inclusive", meaning that there's this huge long list of what's covered. If something fails that's not on that list, then it's not covered. It can be difficult to glean what's really covered in that long laundry list of parts.

An "exclusive" warranty, on the other hand, basically says, everything in your car is covered EXCEPT for the following items. Of course, the shorter the list is, the better coverage it provides and the easier it is to figure out what's not covered. "Consumables", like brakes, tires, bulbs, etc. are things that you would expect would show up in the exclusion list, for example.

I would mention the VA Attorney General's Office (which actually has some teeth) rather than BBB or Fairfax Consumer Protection (which are kind of "toothless" agencies) as your next recourse. I think this would show that you've done your research about what your next steps should be. You wisely left any mention of "fraud" out of your letter, but if you end up going to the VA AG, Koons probably knows they are cooked in that respect.

Good luck. I'd recommend the Magnetic Gray on the new truck.

 

Have you received a response yet?

 

Definitely flood damage. Google Map the original dealer. its barely one mile from the coast. that area saw at least 5 feet of water from Gustav if i remember the pictures correctly.

 

The letter is very well written. I would have nothing further to do with this vehicle. Make them take it back and replace it. Don't keep it even if they offer to warranty it themselves. You purchased a new vehicle and they tried to scam you. I wouldn't purchase the vehicle even for $15,000.

Personally, I would remove the option to keep the Taco with the extended warranty etc. and only give them the option to take it back. They should also pay to remove your mods and install them on your new truck!!

I hope they make things right but I will be surprised if you don't end up having to contact a lawyer or consumer protection before things get straightened out.
Good luck!!
Cheers.

 

I agree, I don't think I would give them that option, but then I'm not in your shoes. Good luck with it. Well written!!

 

It appears that they replaced parts that would be visable when getting in and out of the vehicle like the floor rales and brackets and the seat adjuster arm. In other words, they were hiding the damage.

 

That looks like flood damage. If the truck wasn't underwater, I bet the interior filled up to the sills. Can you tell if any glass was broken? I think you are going to have one thing after another fail electronically down the road. Can you pull the plastic covers off the bottom of the door sills, see if the pinch welds have any rust. Also, pull the kick panels by your feet, not sure about Tacoma’s but on my Volvo one of the CPU’s was on the passenger side kick panel. Any rust under the dash?

 

I've owned 9 Hondas and can tell you many of them have had rusted seat pans/parts when I removed the seats. Granted they were 10years old but I've always attributed it to the seat really not needing any sort of rust proofing on the steel.

However, this part is very concerning to me

I wouldn't take anything but a replacement vehicle. Lawyer up if you need to.

 

Holy shiite... That is deffinatley salt water. Remember in an 09 there are airbags in the seat...what if they are screwed up from flooding???

74 days before they fixed it? that shit got rained in for over 2 months. Get a lawyer. You might wind up with a new truck and a refund... That shit is enough to shut a dealership down for good. they broke so many laws on so many levels selling this to you as a new car and being a flood car from a hurricane they are completely liable. They would probably get hammered by the state for this too. Shoot to kill...