Warranty

[GeorgeMK09]

On the 18^th May I purchased a new Yaris and on Sunday 27th May, the back plate of the near side wing mirror fell off and broke as I was driving along just after leaving my house. I went to see the local dealer yesterday afternoon to report the matter but the salesman I spoke to went in to see 2 different managers who seemed reluctant to put the matter right. They say this is not covered under their warranty and offered to give me a price for a replacement which I declined of course! I was told that a senior manager would call me but have not heard as yet and hold out very little hope of hearing from the dealer.

A further concern that I have is that the exposed back of the wing mirror might suffer consequential damage if the present warm weather turns and my car is caught in wet weather.

I have emailed Toyota in Surrey and am awaiting their response but in the meantime any suggestions on how best I can get the dealer or Toyota to sort this out would be very welcome.

[Lorna2]

Maybe someone bumped into it in a car park?(with their car) Something like that might have loosened it.

[MikeSh]

I went to see the local dealer yesterday afternoon to report the matter but the salesman I spoke to went in to see 2 different managers who seemed reluctant to put the matter right. They say this is not covered under their warranty and offered to give me a price for a replacement which I declined of course!

What you haven't told us is what reason they are giving for not fixing it under warranty.

As Lorna suggests, maybe they can see signs of impact damage which would indeed suggest it is accidental damage - in which case they are correct, it's an insurance job.

[GeorgeMK09]

My point of contact was a salesman. None of the "managers" came out to see me. He couldn't find signs of any impact damage! He went in to see a "manager" the first time when he came out and offered to give me a quote. When I declined the quote he went in again to see another "manager". The reason they gave was that "it's impossible" and could not be covered under the warranty - I told them that my car was proof that it was possible. The sales guy did say that it might have been loosened during delivery to the showroom or while they were preparing it.

[Raistlin]

Threaten them with Toyota's head office or a small claims court and see what result you get, after all they can only say no.

It might be worth mentioning the club in terms off bad PR, shame your not a paid up member....

Try the Sale of Goods act, goods have to be of merchantable quality, bits falling off for no reason is not acceptable.

14 Implied terms about quality or fitness.E+W+S+N.I.

(1)Except as provided by this section and section 15 below and subject to any other enactment, there is no implied about the quality or fitness for any particular purpose of goods supplied under a contract of sale.

(2)Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality.

(2A)For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

(2B)For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,

(b)appearance and finish,

©freedom from minor defects,

(d)safety, and

(e)durability.

(2C)The term implied by subsection (2) above does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory—

(a)which is specifically drawn to the buyer’s attention before the contract is made,

(b)where the buyer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or

©in the case of a contract for sale by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.]

[GeorgeMK09]

Hi guys,

I'm sorry, I've just noticed that I didn't post the finale to this saga! After examining the cover very closely, they finally agreed that it was a freak occurrence and replaced it without charge.

However, I don't think we will be buying any more Toyotas as I feel let down every time we come away a few days after buying one. I have always had a Toyota Corolla since the first 1967 model I purchased and despite it's reputation for rust corrosion, I have always been a believer in it. Now that the Corolla isn't available any more, I have no interest in Toyotas as the Yaris is too small and the Auris is too expensive!

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota decided to use the Auris name in place of Corolla for European markets - the Auris hatchback and Corolla hatchback are the same car, just different badges.

When I replaced my 2006 Corolla with my 2009 Auris, the Auris was approx 50mm higher, longer and wider than the Corolla. The second generation Auris is a reworking of the first generation (Toyota carried forwards the 2007 Type Approval), and is lower than the first generation. So, in fact, the Auris isn't appreciably larger than the last European Corolla hatchback.

[MikeSh]

Toyota decided to use the Auris name in place of Corolla for European markets - the Auris hatchback and Corolla hatchback are the same car, just different badges.

When I replaced my 2006 Corolla with my 2009 Auris, the Auris was approx 50mm higher, longer and wider than the Corolla. The second generation Auris is a reworking of the first generation (Toyota carried forwards the 2007 Type Approval), and is lower than the first generation. So, in fact, the Auris isn't appreciably larger than the last European Corolla hatchback.

George's problem with the Auris is price not size.

Maybe Toyota changed the Corolla name in Europe so they could jack the price up without us noticing ... so much.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota decided to use the Auris name in place of Corolla for European markets - the Auris hatchback and Corolla hatchback are the same car, just different badges.

When I replaced my 2006 Corolla with my 2009 Auris, the Auris was approx 50mm higher, longer and wider than the Corolla. The second generation Auris is a reworking of the first generation (Toyota carried forwards the 2007 Type Approval), and is lower than the first generation. So, in fact, the Auris isn't appreciably larger than the last European Corolla hatchback.

George's problem with the Auris is price not size.

Maybe Toyota changed the Corolla name in Europe so they could jack the price up without us noticing ... so much.

Car prices rarely stand still - some current list price comparisons:

Toyota Auris from £14,945 to £22890

Citroen C4 from £14645 to £20045

Ford Focus from £17295 to £28580

Honda Civic from £15975 to £32295

Hyundai i30 from £15195 to £22495

Kia Cee'd from £14605 to £22700

Mazda 3 from £16995 to £22545

Nisan Pulsar from £15995 to £22475

Peugeot 308 from £14895 to £25845

Renault Megane from £16750 to £19745

Seat Leon from £16115 to £28870

Skoda Octavia from £16310 to £27990

Vauxhall Astra from £12995 to £24205

VW Golf from £17175 to £30150

Without taking possible discounts into account, the Auris is actually quite competitively priced when compared to other cars in the same market sector.

[Parts-King]

Blimey it took 3 years to decide on that???

Those covers are quite hard pull off, I have never seen one "fall off" without some sort of outside intervention. At least they did replace it for you