Issues with the paint work on a new Corolla

[TT nut]

Hi All, thanks for letting me join your forum. I purchased a Corolla Touring in March 2024 and paid for a metallic colour ( red ). After owning the car for a week I decided to wash it by hand. Then I noticed there were paint sags on both sides of the bonnet. These are not only noticeable by eye but also by feel. It was returned to the dealer, photos taken and a warranty claim submitted. Here we are now at the end of AUGUST and still no reply from Toyota. I might add I have been in the motor trade all my life, working for dealers as a mechanic and owning my own company. Very ooor customer relations Toyota. Here is one dissatisfied customer who will certainly not be purchasing another Toyota. 

[Tommy X]

16 minutes ago, TT nut said:

Hi All, thanks for letting me join your forum. I purchased a Corolla Touring in March 2024 and paid for a metallic colour ( red ). After owning the car for a week I decided to wash it by hand. Then I noticed there were paint sags on both sides of the bonnet. These are not only noticeable by eye but also by feel. It was returned to the dealer, photos taken and a warranty claim submitted. Here we are now at the end of AUGUST and still no reply from Toyota. I might add I have been in the motor trade all my life, working for dealers as a mechanic and owning my own company. Very ooor customer relations Toyota. Here is one dissatisfied customer who will certainly not be purchasing another Toyota. 

I purchased a new Silver Yaris Cross, after a week I washed and waxed it, whilst waxing I noticed two tiny raised blemishes on the drivers door which looked like weld spatter which had been painted over. I took the car back to the dealer for inspection, they said they could arrange for their bodyshop to buff them out, on returning home I gave the car a thorough inspection and found the panels had more of these imperfections, 17 in all, I returned to the dealer armed with a letter rejecting the car, long story short, the imperfections couldn't be buffed out so they arranged for a replacement car in Red which also had the same imperfections on the inner sills and the A pillars covered by the black vinyl wrap, the rest of the body was thankfully OK      

[Corolly Poly]

1 hour ago, TT nut said:

Hi All, thanks for letting me join your forum. I purchased a Corolla Touring in March 2024 and paid for a metallic colour ( red ). After owning the car for a week I decided to wash it by hand. Then I noticed there were paint sags on both sides of the bonnet. These are not only noticeable by eye but also by feel. It was returned to the dealer, photos taken and a warranty claim submitted. Here we are now at the end of AUGUST and still no reply from Toyota. I might add I have been in the motor trade all my life, working for dealers as a mechanic and owning my own company. Very ooor customer relations Toyota. Here is one dissatisfied customer who will certainly not be purchasing another Toyota. 

Mine is the same. Looked at other Corolla's at dealers and they are all the same down the sides of the bonnet. Seems to be a feature on Corollas. 

Almost no paint on inside of doors.

Rear seat 'vegan' leather panels are also creased.

Coincidence they are made in 'Great' Britain?

[TonyHSD]

These aren’t any huge things to moan about as Toyota aren’t the only cars with those imperfections. I know you have paid crazy high prices for those cars when new but this is not because they are any premium cars, it’s because the money has no value like before and everything is so much more expensive and not of a great standards like before. The car industry particularly suffer from forced production, where time -volumes are most important. Recent visit to Mercedes world and I didn’t like even one model of the latest showroom displays, but the old ones , oh boy, they were a proper cars back then. 

[Corolly Poly]

38 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

These aren’t any huge things to moan about as Toyota aren’t the only cars with those imperfections. I know you have paid crazy high prices for those cars when new but this is not because they are any premium cars, it’s because the money has no value like before and everything is so much more expensive and not of a great standards like before. The car industry particularly suffer from forced production, where time -volumes are most important. Recent visit to Mercedes world and I didn’t like even one model of the latest showroom displays, but the old ones , oh boy, they were a proper cars back then. 

I'm a bit disappointed with the finish on a £40k car but I can live with it if I get the 'legendary' reliability to compensate. If it starts to let me down I will be having a rant😂

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Corolly Poly said:

I'm a bit disappointed with the finish on a £40k car but I can live with it if I get the 'legendary' reliability to compensate. If it starts to let me down I will be having a rant😂

Exactly, because  £40k todays means £28k pre pandemic money 💰 

[Red_Corolla]

3 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Exactly, because  £40k todays means £28k pre pandemic money 💰 

Mine is late 21, so not quite pre-pandemic, but before the economy tanked. Mid-range estate model with red paint, & towbar was 27k, I think.

The numbers have changed, but Corollas are, and always have been, a budget vehicle. I intend to keep that in mind and not fall into that most loathsome of all society groups: the ten-bob millionaire! 😂 Doesn't excuse poor build quality issues, though. Mine is OK with the paint, apart from having very little chip resistance, same as all modern paint. Biggest negative with mine is the chasmic panel gap around the top of the tailgate.

[Heidfirst]

17 hours ago, Red_Corolla said:

The numbers have changed, but Corollas are, and always have been, a budget vehicle.

You can tell the difference in market placing between the Avensis that will be going & the Corolla that will be coming e.g. even an Excel Corolla can't be specced with electric seats as an option, even just for the driver (not that I care, really ) but it was standard on an Excel Avensis for driver & front passenger.