Prius T3 2008 Question

[yvonnej]

Dear all

I just picked up a used Prius T3 2008 from a Toyota dealer. On all the

used T3 adverts it clearly says the standard equipment include a space

saver spare wheel. However the dealer is now telling us there isn't one

because the old T3 does't come with one anyway, only the new T3 does. In

that case why is this adversied as standard equipment on Toyota

website? Is what he is saying true or is he just fobbing us off? In addition,

one of the fob keys does not lock and unlock the doors (but can start the car).

Do we have the right to request the dealer to supply us with a new fob key? I

have heard they are expensive to replace. (Does anyone know by any chance how much

the fob key and spare wheel would cost to buy seperately?)

Any information gratefully received. Many thanks.

[Ancient Nerd]

I have a PDF copy of the 2008 booklet for the Prius. It includes space saver spare wheel for all three models. So you should have a spare.

Also, you need the spare key. Although it might just be that the Battery is low. Four years is getting towards a reasonable lifetime for a lithium button cell. They are quite easy to replace.

I suggest you contact your dealer again, and explain that without a spare wheel and without a fully working spare key, the car is not fit for purpose. And ask for your money back

If the salesman won't do anything, insist on seeing the sales manager. And if that fails, the dealer principal. Make sure they know you are not giving up.

Talk to your local Trading Standards if they still won't provide the missing items. But I doubt that it will be necessary.

After this is sorted, ask yourself if another dealer might be a better option for getting the car serviced.

Good luck.

[Chris Dance]

Yvonne, Your dealer is fobbing you off. I agree with ancient Nerd your car is not fit for purpose. You do require two working key fobs and it is essential you have a space saver wheel. Let us know how you get on do not be put off; you are very much in the right and the dealer should be named and shamed.

[yvonnej]

hi Ancient Nerd and Chris Dance: Thank you very much for your feedback. Will follow this up with the dealer. The person we are dealing with was actually the branch manager, (his title is Sales Execituve) and I get the impression he'd just say anything that's convenient. When I first enquired about another car which was already sold (2007 T4), in order to make the one that I eventually bought more attractive, he said that the one which was sold had only 3 month warranty instead of one year. When I asked why then the website said it has a one year warranty, he just said oh it shouldn't say that; any car from 2007 would only get the 3 month warranty. (which is not true as I have seen many other 2007 cars with 12 month warranty). Will report back the result after I chase it up. Many thanks for your help.

[yvonnej]

Have been to the local Toyota dealer and was told the key jammed and cannot be repaired. I would need to have a replacement key made, the cost of which would be £300. To get a replacement key I would have to drive the car back to the original dealer to be reprogrammed and they also need the other functioning master key to do it. The whole process will take 3-4 days. The space saver spare wheel which should have come with the car would cost £100+. As the dealer that sold the car is 150 miles away from me, I am not prepared to waste more time/fuel/energy to drive it back to be reprogrammed when the whole point of buying from the Toyota dealer for me was that there would be the least hassle involved and that if there were problems I could go to the nearest Toyota dealer to sort it out. Have written to the dealer to request that they pay for the cost of my sorting things out at my local dealer, Have also phoned Toyota GB who said if I can't get the matter resolved I could refer the case back to them. So will be waiting to see what the dealer says. Anyway lesson learned. I had better buy a cal from a local dealer next time in case things go wrong.

[Chris Dance]

I cannot believe the hassle you are having. Surely your local dealer should get the problems sorted and put all charges onto the dealer who sold you a car that is unfit for purpose. I would suggest you take this up with your local trading standards and also get Toyota GB to sort the dealer you bought the car from out as that dealer is not fit to have the Toyota franchise in my opinion. I do hope you get the problem sorted. The car you have bought could be returned and your money refunded I think. The car should never have been sold with these issues outstanding. From waht you have said the dealer has lied to you.

[wass]

The response on the key issue seems a bit doubtful to me. I would still go ahead with changing the keyfob Battery because this "jammed" explanation seems to show a certain lack of significant detail. The car handbook will detail how to change the Battery.

Its worth a try since changing a Battery will not cost £300.

[johalareewi]

Also, on the warranty front, a 2008 prius will have a 5 year factory warranty so there will be at least a year of that left to run.

You need to name your Toyota dealer so we can put them on the naughty dealers list.

[sushd]

All 0-5 years old "Toyota Approved Used Cars" come with a 12 month comprehensive warranty. It's the 5-10 years old "Toyota Approved Used Cars" that may come with a 3 month comprehensive warranty.

When I first enquired about another car which was already sold (2007 T4), in order to make the one that I eventually bought more attractive, he said that the one which was sold had only 3 month warranty instead of one year. When I asked why then the website said it has a one year warranty, he just said oh it shouldn't say that; any car from 2007 would only get the 3 month warranty. (which is not true as I have seen many other 2007 cars with 12 month warranty).

If the 2007 T4 was (first) registered more than 5 years before the date of its most recent resale (in 2012), then the dealer may be probably right in telling you that the car in question carried only 3 months comprehensive warranty.. dependant on factors such as mileage etc.

[twohats]

Has the warranty changed over the last couple of years? My document said the car must be less than seven years old to qualify for a 12 month warranty.

Yvonne, I hope you get this sorted out soon. I agree with the posts above, both those items are required and you shouldn't be asked to pay for them.

[Parts-King]

I cannot believe the hassle you are having. Surely your local dealer should get the problems sorted and put all charges onto the dealer who sold you a car

It doesnt work like that. Your local dealer COULD do the work for you BUT it would have to be authorised by the selling dealer, and the local dealer would want to be paid

The selling dealer is the person you have the contract with, he is responsible for selling you the car which must "conform to contract" as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality, free from inherrant faults. It is not up to your local dealer to put it right. This is one of the problems buying goods from somebody the other end of the country, fine if all goes well and you get what you want but a bit tricky if it comes to sorting out faults.

A strongly worded, polite letter, detailing the problems and with an estimate of cost should be sent, recorded delivery, to the selling Dealer Principle, stating what you want sorting out and a reasonable timeline to do it in (say 30 days) It might mean a trip going back to him, ask him to pay your costs to travel back to him

Kingo

[sushd]

Has the warranty changed over the last couple of years? My document said the car must be less than seven years old to qualify for a 12 month warranty.

Perhaps! The information on Toyota website suggests differently. See under 5+ Warranty.

That said, I would believe the Toyota document than the information published on Mr T's website.

[driverandrews]

Just a quick comment about the cost of a spare key for your T3. I also have a 2008 T3 and recently paid £126 for a spare key. I had to supply proof of ownership, the car and the old key. Took about 30mins to program. £300?......daylight robbery.

[MLW2233]

Dear me, this sounds like a shifty secondhand car dealer not an authorised Toyota dealer.

I bought a T3 2008 last year from a Toyota dealer. If came with 2 working keys, and a get you home spare. I was told it had had the Toyota 147 (or whatever) mechanical checks etc, with documentation to proove it. It also had a years tax, and MOT, and 2 HPI checks, and a full years guarentee. The dealer did surprisingly put new number plates on it as the originals did not have their name on it!

The idea that I had any relationship by law or morality with the original selling dealer is crazy. My relationship is with the dealer that sold it. What if the dealer is in Aberdeen?

I would have walked away. You can buy a good car privately,. You pay top dollar at Toyotas for the full deal and service. You can change/reject the car if not happy, and I would. See from Toyota website......

Should you have reasonable cause to not be satisfied with your car, you can return it within 30 days (with no more than 500 miles covered since collection/delivery) and exchange it for another of at least equal value exclusive of any accessories.

[yvonnej]

Dear all

Thank you for your helpful replies. The local dealer did try to change the Battery, however the problem was also that the lock and unlock buttons don't depress at all (there were no clicks). I had also hoped it would just be a Battery problem. I wish all Toyota dealers would just work as if they worked for Toyota JP and the service were seamless. (I am in Japan part of the year and know this could never have happened with Toyota dealers there.) However we were told by the local dealer anything we do they need to be paid upfront and it is left for us to sort out things with original dealer.

Expect to give birth in a week's time (only bought the car to fit baby seat in time to have transport going to/from hospital) so no way I am driving up. Anyway I guess my timing for purchase couldn't have been worse. Thought it would save trouble buying from a Toyota dealer and never thought authorised dealer would say anything so irresponsible (T3 never had a spare wheel, etc. would have been better if explained that the previous owner just lost it or this particular car didn't have it, etc if it were the case). The sold T4 they had from 07 might have only 3 month warranty but then they should not have advertised it as having 12 month if it didn't. If he's not making things up then maybe it is just too much to expect that at least Toyota listings on their own website should be correct.

Another thing that annoyed me was that he tried to sell me the GAP insurance. When I asked who the insurance provider was he couldn’t answer, and when I asked him to email me the terms and conditions for me to look into he didn’t. Instead he automatically added £509 to my bill without my consent to purchase the insurance and emailed the bill to me. When I said I don’t want it as he hadn’t provided me with any information he just said that it’s a standard insurance which all their customers take out. If it were true it could only be that all their customers had it forced upon them.

Have written to dealer principal as well so just need to see if there's any response. Thanks all for your help.

[Parts-King]

Adding things to your bill without your consent is called assumptive selling and is illegal!! Perhaps the Dealer Principle needs reminding

Sorry you have had such a bad time with this sale, not all dealers are like this

Kingo

[yvonnej]

Keith: was the key you got from a Toyota dealer? If so it is crazy there's such difference among Toyota dealers. I was told the prices for services are all standardised among dealers now. apparently they try to make money ouf of other things.

Yes Michael I would have loved to walk away from the whole thing but problem is I am not local (perhaps it wasn't clear from previous post: the original dealer my local meant was the Toyota dealer that sold it to me, which is miles away) and for exchange you can only exchange from the same dealer. They don't have a comparable one available now. They might do in future but that wouldn't suit my needs at the moment as my old car is already gone and I need transport now and unlikely to drive the car back or go up to test drive another one and then up again to pick up with stitches after birth and a newborn. Plus would rather not deal with them re another car if I can help it. would need to wait and see and might need to test how helpful Toyota GB can be.

Kingo: I hope you are right. but then i wouldn't know in advance which dealer is good. had thought the Toyota name alone were enough to guarantee the quality of service.

[Opifex]

Oh dear, they are giving you a lot of hassle, and just at the time when you have lots of other things to think about and need life to be calm and peaceful.

As regards Gap insurance fwiw I declined it when I bought my then 6 month old Prius. The salesman made a second feeble effort to sell it when we collected the car but realised he wasn't going to get anywhere and gave up. I can't remember the price exactly but it was less than £400 pound, £509 sounds like a rip-off.

Good luck.

[Chris Dance]

Yvonne. I really feel for you with regard to your situation with the car and the rogue Toyota dealer. That dealer should be named and shamed. I hope Toyota UK come to your asistance.

Have you contacted Trading Standards yet?

In this area we have a the Three Counties Radio radio consumer programme which sorts out problems such as yours. That programme goes out 11AM -12 Monday to Friday. Do you have such a programme in your area? Three Counties Radio is on the internet you could send the consumer team an E-mail and ask if they can help. ( They may only help folk in the local radio area.) The presenter of the consumer programme is Jonathon Vernon Smith. They are excellent at sorting all sorts of problems out.

I do hope you get this matter sorted.

[kithmo]

My dealer tried to sell me gap insurance at around £400 for three years, I pointed out that the first year was covered by my insurer as a new for old in the case of a total write off, so I didn't need it. Also if you must have GAP insurance search the web, policies are about a third of what the dealer charges.

[Chris Dance]

Yvonne, If you did not get a spare wheel with your car; did you get the tools that come with the car? You should have a car jack with winding handle. Wheel nut spanner. Very important you should have a special "socket" for unlocking the locked wheel nuts fitted on each wheel. The special "socket" is essential for removing a wheel if you get a puncture and for having the brakes serviced at service intervals which necessitates removing wheels. I just hope you did get these items. You should find them in the boot under the floor in the wheel well.

[driverandrews]

Yvonne, I can't believe the way you are being treated by this dealer, he really should be named.

Yes, the key I got was from Toyota World at Brislington in Bristol and the service was superb especially since I didn't buy the car from them

but from a Kia dealer who could only supply one key (they did, however, pay half the cost).

I feel so sorry for you and I really hope you get things sorted out to your satisfaction.

[yvonnej]

Kithmo: while he couldn't send me the terms and conditions the dealer did tell me to google Gap insurance as i didn't know what that was for. So i searched the net and as you said everyone said don't buy it from the dealer and some even said it is hard to get them to payout so wasn't really useful.

Chris: Thanks for the reminder. So there should be two tools? The wheel well under the boot is empty, but there's one tool in the storage in front. I will have to find out what that is.

Keith: too bad I can't go to Bristol to have the key made. I gave them a week to write back to me. if I hear nothing back I am going to leave them a review on Google and tell people here to stay away from them.

Many thanks to you all

[Chris Dance]

Yvonne, I strongly recommend you get the problem sorted as fast as you can. If you get a puncture you have no means of jacking the car or changing the wheel. Even if you had a jack etc the AA or RAC still could not change the wheel because you have not got the wheel lock nut socket. The car is really not fit for the road. The tools should all be in a "tidy" under the floor in the boot. The car should be returned to the rogue dealer and you should be given a full refund in my opinion. Please ring Toyota UK and tell the rotten situation you have been put in by one of their dealers.

[Carltona123]

Hi Yvonne

Reading this thread in absolute horror! Remind me never to have anything to do with this garage. What should have been a really fun and exciting experience has been ruined by their dodginess. I'm surprised the stress hasn't sent you into labour.

I'm sure once all this is sorted out you'll fall in love with your new baby (the Prius that is) and wonder how you ever got by without it.

My wife thinks this website is sooo sad but I love it - people will always give you good advice. I bought a very late model 57 plate T3 18 months ago and adore it.

I would definitely have a hunt for the locking wheelnut adaptor - mine was in the glovebox. If you have a flat you could be really stuck - would it be worth getting one of those emergency aerosol sealant things to get you home in an emergency?

Take care and watch the blood pressure.