Just Ordered Auris Hsd T-Spirit After Failed Honda Cr-Z Order

[Cord77]

Hi Guys

Didn't take me long after a test drive and seeing the excellent warranty offered on the Auris HSD before ordering one (test drove it yesterday). Been driving a Honda Jazz 2003 CVT from new which my wife is now using for the school run. So back in June I was in the market for a new car and had my heart set on the Honda CR-Z GT, with deposit down. However due to mistakes from Honda in their brochure, and then some antics I didn't like from the dealer which delayed my order to end of November, and finally an important dealer fit accessory was pulled from sale, I had enough and cancelled. I had some worries about actually being able to use it for longer family drives (wife + 3yr old daughter), and I wasn't enjoying manual test driving after having the CVT for so long.

I tested the Citroen DS3 and Auris HSD yesterday and they were worlds apart, I hated the Citroen more than I could have imagined.

So I've ordered:

Black Toyota Auris HSD T-Spirit + privacy glass + protection pack. Total cost from local dealer (£20,617.34 inc VAT and everything)

Am looking to also get dealer fitted:

JBL speaker kit £571

DAB radio upgrade £370

Mud Flaps £83

Really pleased with my purchase, I only have to wait 2 weeks. Will be getting some choices over number plates early next week. Will go back for the boot maximiser when they are available (free upgrade).

During my test drive I got to test my iPhone 4 over bluetooth, was able to play music over the air and the steering wheel controls worked (volume + track forward/back). I will be using my iPhone 4 as my Tom Tom GPS also.

I'm still waiting on information about the JBL speaker kit, the install instructions seem to be 6 Speakers + sub woofer and amp, but I'm asking for more details such as wattage etc. Has anyone else had the JBL upgrade done?

Looking forward to my new purchase.

Cord

[Parts-King]

Hi Cord

Congratulations on your new purchase, I'm sure you will love it

I'm just trying to find out the technical specs for you, if you want to buy those accessories at a discounted rate, send me a PM

Kingo

[Cord77]

Thanks Kingo, I'll bare that in mind. The JBL costs have just jumped up as there were other parts that go with the kit to complete it. Quoting my dealer:

"The Amplifier does need to be ordered (this is a different part number to the one we can see on the lists and is unique to the radio system on the Auris HSD) also there are several parts that are required that are not part of the kit. They are a fitting kit, stickers and rivets. The total cost of the accessory including fitting and VAT is £982.99."

so obviously if I'm to pay that much I would love to know what the set consists of and if the sound quality will be amazing.

[jw67]

Welcome to the club Cord

[Raistlin]

Welcome to TOC

[Parts-King]

TGB are looking into the info for me Cord, seems nobody knows They are contacting Belguim to find out, will report back when I hear anything

Kingo

[Cord77]

Thank you very much indeed, seems a shame they don't advertise the kit more.

[Cord77]

TGB are looking into the info for me Cord, seems nobody knows They are contacting Belguim to find out, will report back when I hear anything

Kingo

Any more on this Kingo? I'm trying to see if its worth getting it installed at the same time as the DAB radio upgrade. If both need the dash to be opened up, I'd rather it be done all at once. I think the £980 price I've been quoted for the JBL upgrade incl fitting seems a bit steep, I'm going to phone around some other dealers tomorrow to see if I can find out more.

[Cord77]

Well I picked up my Auris HSD T-Spirit yesterday, and am extremely pleased. I ended up getting just the DAB and mud flaps as dealer fitted extras after I tested the standard stereo again and was happy with the sound. There was just too little information on the JBL upgrade, plus it was almost £1000 to fit and would probably mean marks/rattles after fitting.

I do have a complaint with my dealer as they have managed to quite badly mark part of the dash (just to the left of the start button) with what looks like screwdriver marks (pressure indents on one side, scratches on the other). I've let them know and am waiting to hear what they are going to do about it.

The car is really nice though, the brakes are a bit snatchy so I'm having to be very delicate with my foot. The equipment is working very nicely, I paired up my iPhone as a single device that supports both BT Phone and BT audio, I was amused when my super mario ring tone started playing over the stereo when I got a call.

I'm not even going to monitor the MPG while breaking it in, I'd love to floor it but have to baby it for 1200 miles.

Had some trouble getting our ISOFix child seat installed, the slits for the ISOBars are not long/wide enough for the ISOfix plastic guides that you install before you slot the seat in place, so I actually had to snip some of the stitches holding the leather/alcantara trim together to lengthen the slit. Its not a big deal though since once you take the plastic guides out again the 2 trim parts overlap and hide the slit completely.

I think my sucker mounted iPhone 4 holder will attach to the tiny window to the right of the steering wheel, I was going to try it this morning but forgot to bring the mount to work. This would be perfect as there is a nice amount of space in that area for using the iPhone as a GPS, the only issue is having a long cable trailing around the dash and all the way back to the handbrake to supply power. It doesn't help the 2m iPhone power cable I have is the typical white which stands out. I'm going to see if I can find a black 2m one.

The car struggled a bit reversing up my sloped driveway which probably was because it was in eco mode (I needed to press the pedal much further than expected), will try again in normal mode tomorrow.

The metallic black with tinted windows looks very good, the rear spoiler really helps finish off the good looks.

So far people looking at the car for the first time are always saying "whats the blue logo about?" is it does stand out especially against the black.

I'll post pictures on Monday after I've had the G-Techniq treatment applied, I had to collect the car in the rain so couldn't take any nice pictures.

I have a question for those that might know, when in the car with accessory or ignition ON does the stereo and AC use the hybrid Battery for power? Or does it use the 12v Battery like in other cars? I'm hoping it uses the hybrid one so I can lounge in the car with the stereo on (during breaks at work etc).

[jw67]

Sounds very nice.Can't wait to see those pictures

[Cord77]

Crappy PDI by Toyota Dealer

Well I'm not a happy bunny right now. I have taken my car to a professional detailer so that it can be sealed with G-Techniq to protect the painwork, wheels, interior and glass. However it seems the dealer has already damaged the paintwork on the car during the initial rushed PDI (I had to wait an hour later than I had booked to collect the car as the person doing the clean and wax was in late). Today is the first day its stopped raining down here since I picked up the car on Wednesday, and the pictures above were taken in this mornings sunshine.

Either he has used shoddy cloths/sponges or he has simply swirled around the dirt on the car during the clean/wax. Lots of the wax residue is still left on the car (not a big problem), but its the swirls which now need light machine work which are now going to cost me another £150 before any treatment can be applied. So I'm going to be without the car for another week at least.

You don't expect this on a brand new car, I'm very upset with my dealer right now and am waiting for their response. I bet if I had asked for Supagard they would have just slapped it ontop of this damage, making it even harder to rectify (and charged me £295 for the privilage).

[jw67]

:ffs: .That is shocking but,unfortunately all too common.These dealer staff are just car cleaners at the end of the day,not professional valetors so their cleaning methods leave a lot to be desired.

There are forums such as detailing World which show this sort of damage but thankfully it is repairable.I would be billing the dealer for the rectification work.Hope you get to enjoy the car again soon

[Cord77]

Well I collected the car today from the detailer who hasn't worked on the car at all yet so that I could show the damage to my dealer. So after phoning my dealer and him asking to see the damage for himself, I then had to travel 50 miles by train to collect the car and drive it back to the dealer.

While I was at the detailer they showed me the marred paintwork using a lamp/torch because the damage would only show up under bright light because it was such a cloudy day today. When the sun is out the whirls all show up and look like a holographic christmas tree.

However when I got to the dealer I explained that they would need to examine the paintwork under showroom or torch lighting, but the manager refused saying they are not equiped to inspect car paintwork. He even went as far as saying the lighting in the showroom is artificial so couldn't be used as a test. So basically he'd wasted my time and was just playing awkward.

So now I've agreed to leave the car with them so they can get it to their bodyshop to fix anything that needs fixing. I've told them I want a call after the inspection before any repair work is undertaken as I want them to confirm the issue, and then I want a breakdown of what methods and products they are going to use to repair it. I'm not going to be satisfied with anything less than an immaculate car, and not by using fillers/wax that just cover up the damage.

[jw67]

Blimey mate,this goes from bad to worse.Good for you on standing your ground and insisting on knowing how they are going to rectify the damage.Good luck and keep us posted.

[Cord77]

Time for another update. The bodyshop that took my car (some outsourced place not linked to Toyota) confirmed the "light swirls" in the paintwork via my salesman. My salesman asked me if I would like them to do the "mopping" on the car to correct it and I asked if I could know who they were and perhaps even talk to the technician who would work on the car, but the dealer wasn't happy to do this. So I decided to just get it all sorted myself by someone I trust. I asked for the car back, and luckily they even got the 2 replacement interior panels in time to fit them before I collected it.

I then took the car straight to KDS in Gillingham (see detailing world forums for stories/pics of his work). Him and his guys worked on my car all day Friday and Saturday doing a "bronze" service on the paintwork to even it all back out, then they applied all the different types of G-Techniq protection (paintwork, windows, wheels, leather/cloth, interior plastics). It cost me just shy of £500 but now I have the new car I want and I know a lot of care and attention has been put into applying the protection.

Was a nice sunny day yesterday so I got to see the car in all its glory and I'm very happy. I just need to decide now if I want to spite my dealer and not go back to them for any warranty/service work, but it would mean me driving twice as far to the next nearest Toyota dealer. One thing is for sure, I'm going to get some "do not courtesy clean this car" stickers wherever I take it, I'm not having any dealer ruin my paintwork again.

Supagard/A-Glaze/G-Techniq, whichever protection you go with, the products are 5% of the equation, 95% is the prep/care/technique used when applying it, so I believe its been £500 well spent. I can recommend KDS if you live in Kent.

[jw67]

A sort of happy ending,just a shame you are 500.00 out of pocket :ffs: .Are we going to see some piccies of the car now ?