Wow, that looks really bad. There's no way that the dealer should avoid fixing the mess. Be persistent.

 

Here, for your viewing entertainment, is the car I drove all through college (1992-1998). It was a 1986 Ford Taurus. These pics are just before I traded it in (for $100) on a 1996 Eddie Bauer Explorer... my first nice vehicle. Now, if Lexus gave me the "nail polish" paint job on this car, I would not have really cared!!!

 

Are you loving this? How 'bout that Bondo?

 

One more to round out the package. Oh yeah, one of the struts was shot for the last 3 years I had it. You could hear my car squeaking from blocks away.
Side note: I got the Explorer right after I started dating my wife, so she never had to ride in the Taurus (though she did see/hear it!)

 

Now, back to 5/2006...
I brought my car to the dealership after work tonight, and there was no disagreement whatsoever that this touch up was unacceptable. They have to order the correct paint color, then they will fix it. I'm curious to see how it will turn out in the end.
But I'm happy with the response I've gotten so far.

 

ahaha

nice taurus

it got the SVT treatment i see
lol

good to see lexus is doing the right thing and trying to fix up their mistakes
where as other dealers wouldve been trying to sell the taurus back to you by now
lol

 

OMG, I would be so pissed off if they did that to my ride. It does look like nail polish like one of the other posters said. It also doesn't look like they took their time whatsoever. They just smeared it on your fuel door.

WTF????

CV

 

This car makes the 87 Camry I drove through college look like a Lexus! What a POS!

Sorry

CV

 

I think MTV's Pimp My Ride would reject your Taurus.

 

Yeah, pics of that car do not belong on ClubLexus, but I wanted to show what I used to settle for in the paint job department! The day I got rid of the Taurus, I was pulling my $2000 stereo system out (so the car did have some value ) and a 10" piece of rusty metal fell off the left rear door. I thought that was very fitting--a definite sign that it was time to go!
I also had the idea of keeping it to use on first dates to weed out potential gold-diggers
But, as I said above, I began to date my wife at the same time, so no need for a decoy!

 

I'm surprised you were actually able to get trade in value for it. Should have asked them to double their offer!

 

OK, the dealership finally got in the correct color touch-up paint. They offered to have the service dept remove the "nail polish" and apply the touch-up paint for free. The other option was to have a company called "Picasso" do it. They come to the dealership each Friday to do more 'professional' jobs. I was told this would cost me, perhaps, $20-40. I said I want the best they can offer, but did not think I should have to pay for it, considering the circumstances.

So, they loaned me an RX330 Thursday night, I brought it back Saturday morning. That was nice. I did not have time to talk to my sales rep (Oh--BTW, I did not involve the general manager, as someone suggested earlier in this thread... mistake?). The receptionist gave me an envelope with my key and a bill for $45. I took a quick look at my car and headed off to work.

I can probably post pics tomorrow.

HERE IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE CAR: They missed a spot on the hood, and a large spot on the passenger door. The touch-up paint that was applied looks better than before... but DEFINITELY not like the OEM paint job. It looks like a $45 paint job, I suppose. But I'm not an expert. Again, I'd like to point out here that I think it was nice of Lexus to offer free touch-ups in the first place. It is a nice service for anybody who does not care how their paint looks! I am not fanatical about paint finishes, but whenever I take the time to do anything, I tend to be a somewhat of a perfectionist.

The new touch-up paint appears to be the correct color, but there is no 'clear-coat' finish to it. So now my car has little 'matte-finish' paint marks that do not match the overall car.
Will this matte-finish change after it dries a couple of days?
Would I be better off having them remove all of the touch-ups and trying to use Langka, myself?
I wonder if part of the $45 bill is for removal of the first touch-up... What would you say about that bill?

Last but not least, I gave the sales rep a few more reasons why the service dept already "owes" me:
On my 2001 GS, the drivers seat became loose. The bolts on the floor were coming loose at 30K miles! I think that cost about $90 to repair. Soon after that, I noticed that the lumbar support was not working. They charged me over $100 to 'peel' back the leather seat and reconnect the wires in the seat. I thought that was quite a coincidence that the wires came loose right after they worked on the seat... They ignored the coincidence and I paid them. Finally, I have a story from the Twilight Zone. I brought my GS in for routine service (in the winter, if that matters). When I picked it up, the wood on the steering wheel looked cloudy. It was as if they removed it and soaked it in water for a couple days. HOW DOES THE WOOD FINISH ON A STEERING WHEEL GO BAD?!? When I pointed this out, the service rep said, "Well, that just happens sometimes. If you want a new steering wheel, it will cost $940." I said "F" it, and learned to live with it. About a year later, I picked up my car from another service appt, and the wood was back to normal!!!

So, what do you think??
What would you do??
Pics coming soon...

 

change dealers.

 

yeah, i hate dealerships sometimes. i don't mean to hijack your thread but to tell you that you're not alone with getting BS from the dealership.

i just got back from the dealership today with my gf's rav4. they changed the oil earlier this week and after they were done, the check tire pressure light came on but she was in too much of a rush to have them reset it.

so while i'm there, the service guy tells me that the light goes on if they change the tire pressure in the tires. the sensor senses that the tires have different pressures and throws a flag. ok- makes sense..

and then he proceeds to tell me that THE CAR IS SMART ENOUGH TO SENSE THE DIFFERENCE IN WHEEL CIRCUMFRENCE DUE TO THE DIFFERENT TIRE PRESSURE!

I'm thinking... dood... do i look like a f#$%ing idiot?? i begin to call his BS but quickly realize he's going to stick to his story so i just ask for the keys and leave.

i feel almost the same as you when you saw your paint chips... it's like "what kind of moron do you think I am to accept work/BS like this???" it's very insulting.

 

There are only 4 dealers in WI. Luckily, two are in the Milwaukee area. The one I go to is 15 minutes away from home, and on my route to pretty much everywhere I go (and 2 minutes from my wife's workplace). The other place is 30 minutes out of my way. Besides, they are owned by the same people! But I hear you... I have thought about it. I just wonder if it would make any difference.