For the potential GT86/FRS/BRZ Buyers- MUST READ

[Touge86]

I originally wasn't going to post this around the web, but I would like to raise awareness of my current situation and how it is being handled by TOYOTA. I want to raise awareness of my situation so that other consumers looking to potentially purchase one of these cars, will be aware at the level of production quality, as well as quality of customer service provided by TOYOTA/ SUBARU. I would hope that no one else will make the mistake I did of leaving the lot with a car that has frame damage from the factory.

Cliff Notes: Toyota Sold Me a Lemon FRS with Structural Frame Damage and this thread will follow how they take care of the problem.

Many of you know me and have seen me on this forum for a few years. You probably know my background with the AE86 as well. In addition, you can probably guess, that because of my dedication to this car, I have been wanting to pick up a GT86/BRZ/FRS since it was rumored to be coming back on the market a few years ago.

I purchased a brand new Scion FRS on July 24th, 2012 from KARL MALONE TOYOTA. The car had 6 Miles on it when I looked at it, and 9 miles on the odometer when delivered. The official sales documentation shows 10 miles when delivered.

After taking delivery of the vehicle, I noticed that a part of the frame in the trunk was significantly damaged. I showed the sales person as well as the Scion Sales Manager the damage. The Sales Manager assured me that the damage was minimal and would be easily fixed so that I couldn't tell anything had ever happened. With his assurance, I left the lot with the car (1ST MISTAKE).

The very next day after work, I took the car in to the service department to get an estimate for how long the repair would take so that I could schedule around it. wait on it. They took pictures and told me that they would have to contact Toyota in regards. The dealership did not call me for a week or so, so I called them the next week to see what the hold up was? They told me they had heard back from Toyota and that they were going to need to cut the frame support piece out of the car to replace it. I asked if it could not just be flattened and made to look like new, but they told me the part would never be the same structurally or aesthetically. I told them that cutting a part out of the frame of a brand new vehicle was not an option, and that I would be contacting corporate Toyota.

I sent a detailed email to Scion with images of the damage and the information regarding the case up to that point. I sent this two weekends ago (Roughly August 4th). Monday morning I heard from the Karl Malone Toyota Scion Sales Manager (Jim Clayton). He told me that he understood I was having some issues with the part. I told him about not wanting to cut the part off of the frame of the car and that I was in contact with Scion USA. He told me to let him know if I needed anything else from him and that he would be in contact. Maybe an hour later, the rep from SCION USA in Torrance, CA called to get the full story on the car, and told me that she had seen the images both in my email as well as on a forum (FT86Club). She wanted to know what resolution I expected, and I told her that I would need a vehicle replacement option due to the extent of the damage. I also told her that the car has a full clear bra application that would need to be replaced as well as tax title and licensing fees. She thanked me for my time and told me that we would be in touch.

The next day she called to let me know that the regional Toyota Sales Rep would be contacting me in regards to the issue (I think his name is David, though I honestly can't remember right now). He told me that they needed to schedule for the factory certified body shop to look at the car on Friday (Aug 10) so that they could assess the damage. He told me that the shop could look at it at 4pm.

Friday came around and I headed up to get the car looked at. I was running early, so I called the body shop to see if that would be ok? They told me it was not a problem at all, so I stopped in and had them write up an estimate. While there they told me that the part was unrepairable and would need to be replaced.

Here is what they put on the estimate they gave me:
Replace- Package Tray Reinforcement (so it is in fact structural not aesthetic)
R&I (remove and install)- Trunk Trim/ Weather Stripping
R&I- Package Tray trim and inner quarter trim
R&I- Rear Seat Back
Refn- Rt Quarter/ Trunk Through
Add for Three Stage (Repaint on trunk and fender)
R&I- Trunk Lid
R&I- Rt Tail Lamp
Color Tint

So basically the shop wants to remove everything in the rear of the car in order to replace the part. They said they have to drill the welds and that they will have to repaint the rain gutter above the trunk as well because they are changing the weld type and that the welds will burn through the bottom of the gutter.

The regional rep called me today and mentioned that I had missed my appointment at 4pm. I told him I had been into the shop early and got all of the information from them at 3:30pm. He then told me that he had told me I was supposed to meet with his Toyota estimator as well as the people at their certified techs. I told him he had never mentioned any of that in the previous call, and I wondered why the shop didn't mention it either when I asked if it mattered if I came in 30 minutes early? The rep then told me that the shop told him the brace was repairable without removal (even though they had told me it was not). I told the rep that the only way that this would be acceptable, is if the shop can make the part look OEM brand new, he said that it could be flattened, but could not be returned to new condition. I told him that I did not find that to be satisfactory. He then asked what I wanted, and once again, I told them that the vehicle needed to be replaced. It is a factory structural defect, so even if they do not want to help me with the replacement, I will have to seek legal action and have the vehicle replaced under Utah's Lemon Laws. He told me he would look into it, and that I would hear from them soon.

I will add more updates as I hear them. I hope that Toyota can make this an experience that I can praise them for and not just the opposite.


Here are the pictures of the damage:

Here is what the panel should look like:


Here is what it looks like: