New Toyota Camry owner, dissapointed

[WolfPackST]

Hello,

This isn't a flame thread by any means - but I am seeking advice on what to do next.

This last saturday, me and my new wife purchased our first Toyota product. It's a 2010 Black Camry LE 4 cylinder. It has around 20,000 miles on it. I'm a Ford guy, but my wife is 6 months pregnant and I wanted to get her into a dependable, safe car with decent MPG. Camry's are legendary for their reliability.

We left the dealership on saturday night, very excited. Car seemed to run good, we took it to a family members house to show it off.

The next morning, we went out to see the car for the first time in the daylight. There were several scratches and scuffs I didnt see the night before - but it wasn't a huge deal to me. Then I notice on the front bumper that there is a long, horizontal scuff - and the front license plate is bent like the previous owner drove into something. It should be noted that the RF wheel well fender lining was loose, and I had to tuck it back in. Again, it was a bit disappointing - no big deal - but something of note. I wanted to be excited about the car and for my happy wife.

Then we drove the car to her grandfathers house. We turned on the A/C for the first time - and immediately a foul smell of smoke came out (obvious that the previous owner was a smoker). That sucked, but no big deal. Definitely something I can overlook.


A few minutes later, the stereo speakers started cutting in and out (we were listening to the radio). There was this 'electrical' type sound that made me think that there was some electrical issues somewhere in the car causing the speakers to cut out. Its hard to describe the sound, but it is strange.

At this point I am starting to get agitated, but I put it on the backburner.

Then, this morning - my wife attempts to go to work, and the car won't turn over. Dead battery. The lights weren't left on (not even the dome light). Luckily my neighbor heard me trying to start the car for her and gave us a jump. He let us borrow the jumper cables (I put them in the trunk) in case my wife has problems later.

So I call the Toyota dealership this morning (there is a 12 month comprehensive warranty). I call the service drive. She tells me I need to call my salesman that sold the car. I call him on his cell at 7:45 AM. We speak for a few minutes. He says he will make a call and call me back in 15 minutes. As of 11AM I still haven't heard back.

If I am sweating over nothing, then please let me now - but I this is definitely not expected, and Im nervous anyways considering this is our first purchase.

Any help, advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

-J

[heartdisease]

Welcome to TN WolfPackST

I have a Black 2009 Camry le i-4 been a great car.
A couple of things.
Is this a Toyota Dealership of just some used car lot?
I would be down there at the dealership right now with the car and raising hell. I am not a prick but I can tell you the squeaky wheel get the grease. If they did anything other than lets get it in the shop now and give you a loaner I would say keep the car and make a huge scene in front of the other customers.

Well not really I am too calm for that but I tell you what I would have them make it right. I believe if it is a dealership they will. I will say it sounds like you did not do your due diligence with this car if you did not notice a bent tag on the car and a ripped wheel well liner.

Also the paint on my 09 is the worst paint I have ever seen on a car. Being black doesn't help but it scuffs down to the primer way easy. I used a quality polish and wax and got a lot of my more mild scratches out and I bet you can do the same.

I hope you get it sorted out and I would really take an aggressive stance as you don't want them to think you will just take whatever they give you. It doesn't bode well that they would sell a car themselves like that. If they said it had a 100 point inspection or some such I would throw that back at them also as obviously it did not. You can not check the brakes and pads and not see the wheel liner. Good Luck they are good cars. If I drive mine easy I can get 35mpg often.

[kitacamry]

I just got a "new" used Toyo Camry too...and after the sale I too discovered a few things that I didn't notice when I 1st got it...

The ususal scratches one overlooks at "first blush", a dead dome bulb, a wrong bulb replaced in the tail light (by the dealer!), a minor crack in the tail light (not through-n-through thankfully), a crack in a hubcap, a missing piece of plastic molding, and missing sounddeadening foam on the front passenger door...

BUT....minor all that I can live with...I got a super deal so I wasn't going to complain...

....not at all like your situation...so much you didn't notice...how many times did you review/survey the car, and take it for a test drive...?

You didn't smell the smoke at the test drive? That is odd...check the cabin filter...REPLACE it anyway with a WIX 24883 Cabin Air Filter or NAPA 4883...

Good luck....

[WolfPackST]

Originally Posted by heartdisease

Welcome to TN WolfPackST

I have a Black 2009 Camry le i-4 been a great car.
A couple of things.
Is this a Toyota Dealership of just some used car lot?
I would be down there at the dealership right now with the car and raising hell. I am not a prick but I can tell you the squeaky wheel get the grease. If they did anything other than lets get it in the shop now and give you a loaner I would say keep the car and make a huge scene in front of the other customers.

Well not really I am too calm for that but I tell you what I would have them make it right. I believe if it is a dealership they will. I will say it sounds like you did not do your due diligence with this car if you did not notice a bent tag on the car and a ripped wheel well liner.

Also the paint on my 09 is the worst paint I have ever seen on a car. Being black doesn't help but it scuffs down to the primer way easy. I used a quality polish and wax and got a lot of my more mild scratches out and I bet you can do the same.

I hope you get it sorted out and I would really take an aggressive stance as you don't want them to think you will just take whatever they give you. It doesn't bode well that they would sell a car themselves like that. If they said it had a 100 point inspection or some such I would throw that back at them also as obviously it did not. You can not check the brakes and pads and not see the wheel liner. Good Luck they are good cars. If I drive mine easy I can get 35mpg often.

Thanks for the reply. Im at work right now, or I would go down there.

It is a (rather large) Toyota dealership here in southern California. I bought the car from the pre-owned dept.

[heartdisease]

Well I think you will be fine just casually drop something like I would hate to call Toyota over this. I am sure they said it had an inspection right? Should give you lots of leverage. Good luck and keep us posted

[arabianobsession]

I have a black 2011 Camry that I bought new and the thing I hate most about it is the super soft, easily scratched paint. I have my car profesionally detailed several times a year at work (both at a dealership and now at a body shop), plus I am super OCD about scratches/general appearance, and it seems no matter what I have done the entire car is covered in hundreds of clear coat scratches. Wish I had better news for you!

As for the smell, I second the cabin filter being an issue. That is usually the culprit. I switched mine over to a charcoal cabin and it does a better job than the non-charcoal, IMO.

P.S.: I am also about 6 mo. pregnant and have no worries with my Camry. Definitely reliable! I get an average of 28-32 mpg, but I'm a bit of a speed racer. All highway, I have gotten 37 mpg.

[WyoToyo]

Agree with the above posts. Call your salesman and take it back to the dealership tonight. Have them document all of your concerns. Let them know how disappointed you are in the purchase and let them know that you expect them to make it right otherwise you expect them to take the vehicle back. If they are a reputable dealer, they will work with you to make it right.

They may tell you that you should have checked the car out more closely, and that would be a fair statement. But it sounds like it was dark when you bought the car, so you may have some leverage there.

Ask them to detail the car inside and out. That may buff out some of the scuffs and make the scratches less noticeable. It should also help with the smoke smell. Ask them to address the cabin air filter, the battery and the radio/speaker problem. Worst case scenario, a new cabin air filter is about $30 and a new battery will set you back another $100. The radio/speakers issue should be covered under the factory warranty. This could possibly be related to the weak battery. A failing battery will wreak havoc on the electric system of today's cars.

Take light in the fact that you have one of the most fuel efficient and reliable vehicles on the road. I'm a Ford guy too. You'd be hard pressed to get me out of my F350, but I absolutely love the Camry as a 2nd family vehicle and daily driver for the wife and kids.

Tough situation and yes, it sucks. I would be willing to bet that this will never again happen to you on any of your future car purchases. Take it as a learning experience. Get thru this initial bummer and I bet you will love this car long term.

Good luck!

[glenn14]

Originally Posted by WyoToyo

Agree with the above posts. Call your salesman and take it back to the dealership tonight. Have them document all of your concerns. Let them know how disappointed you are in the purchase and let them know that you expect them to make it right or to take the vehicle back. If they are a reputable dealer, they will work with you to make it right.

They may tell you that you should have checked the car out more closely, and that would be a fair statement. But it sounds like it was dark when you bought the car, so you may have some leverage there.

Ask them to detail the car inside and out. That may buff out some of the scuffs and make the scratches less noticeable. It should also help the smoke smell. Ask them to address the cabin air filter, the battery and the radio/speaker problem. Worst case scenario, a new cabin air filter is about $30 and new battery will set you back another $100. The radio/speakers issue should be covered under the factory warranty. This could possibly be related to the weak battery. A failing battery will wreak havoc on the electric system of today's cars.

Take light in the fact that you have one of the most fuel efficient and reliable vehicles on the road. I'm a Ford guy too. You'd be hard pressed to get me out of my F350, but I absolutely love the Camry as a 2nd family vehicle and daily driver for for wife and kids.

Tough situation and yes, it sucks. I would be willing to bet that this will never again happen to you on any of your future car purchases. Take it as a learning experience. Get thru this initial bummer and I bet you will love this car long term.

Good luck!

^^^ + 1
I agree 100% I would definatly bring your Camry back to the dlr and have them go through the whole car and have them detail it , otherwise I would raise hell too, and I am a pretty easy going guy, but that crap just does not fly with me. If they are an ethical dealer they should make things right for you with out any problems..good luck and keep us posted.

Glenn

[TGR-MAVERICK]

Didn't scroll through the comments, no idea if this has been said, if it has, sorry.

Some states have a return period policy, I think Florida is like thirty days or something crazy... Look into it!

[WyoToyo]

Most "Buyer's Remorse Laws" do not apply to automobile purchases. Original poster lives in California - there is no automobile buyer's remorse law in CA.

[kitacamry]

- I've scrolled and read through all the posts and just want clarification:
...you drove the car home the same night you 1st saw it?

That is NOT WHAT ANY GOOD DEALER WOULD DO...they'd take your money, sure, but a good dealer would have REQUIRED TIME TO PREP the car FOR DELIVERY...and it is unlikely that they could do that while you wait, let alone on a Saturday night!

...unless you insisted on taking it home...in which case THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD A WORK ORDER FOR YOU TO BRING IT BACK FOR DETAILING AND PREP...

[WolfPackST]

Thank you all for your kinds words, advice and suggestions.

I have been communication with the finance manager. He told us to bring the Camry in tonight after work (before 6PM), and he has already setup a rental car for us. So right after work I will take the car in (if I can get it started! lol).

We didn't discuss too much detail on the issues of the car over the phone, but I will make sure that is all disclosed this evening when I drop it off

[Snomax]

Originally Posted by WolfPackST

Thank you all for your kinds words, advice and suggestions.

I have been communication with the finance manager. He told us to bring the Camry in tonight after work (before 6PM), and he has already setup a rental car for us. So right after work I will take the car in (if I can get it started! lol).

We didn't discuss too much detail on the issues of the car over the phone, but I will make sure that is all disclosed this evening when I drop it off

When u get it back...KEEP IT WAXED!!

It will look a whole lot better, trust me.

I have a black 2011 LE myself.

[WyoToyo]

Good job! Kudos to your dealership for wanting to make it right. Write down all of the items you want addressed on paper before going to the dealership. That way you don't forget anything. Let us know how it goes.

[kitacamry]

Originally Posted by WyoToyo

Good job! Kudos to your dealership for wanting to make it right. Write down all of the items you want addressed on paper before going to the dealership. That way you don't forget anything. Let us know how it goes.

Good advice...esp. at my age...and hey..Wolf

...CHECK EVERYTHING ELSE BEFORE YOU BRING IT BACK
...like the heater
...look at the spare...is it in good condition?
...check the rear window defroster

A car prepped for delivery should also include a complete 10k service...oil change, new filters, wipers etc...

enjoy your Toy...

edit: I guess there was a glitch regarding my post about taking a newly bought car home...even a used car...so I'm repeating it here for anyone reading this in the future:

EVERY GOOD DEALER WILL INSIST ON PREPPING A CAR FOR DELIVERY...if you insist on taking a car home immediately the dealer should issue a work order for later to prep/detail the car as it would normally do before sending home with the new owner...

I had a work order done TO REMOVE A DEAD LIZARD FROM A HEADLIGHT that I claimed was a fire hazard (had it come in contact with the bulb) and the dealer agreed to let me bring it back a few days later to have them remove it...

...and finally...a bit of advice to future used car buyers....ALWAYS COME BACK AND REVIEW A POSSIBLE CAR 2X OR 3X BEFORE CLOSING THE DEAL...just to get over the rush of finding the PERFECT STEAL OF DEAL...this will give you the opportunity to look at the car (ironically in this case here on this thread) IN THE BRIGHT GLARE OF DAYLIGHT which would reveal all the warts you don't see on that 1st Saturday night date....you'll respect the car and yourself more for doing so....