If I was told I wouldn't have my car for two months I would be getting my money back. In Michigan our lemon law counts anything that is out of service for 30 or more days as a lemon. You might want to to check your local laws and bring this up when they come pick up your car, you will likely be very well taken care of, even if you wont really do it.
Geez. Some people.
For all of it's cuteness and character, it's still just an entry level commuter car; the Chevy Sprint of the 21st Century.
I cannot believe someone can seriously say "You might want to to check your local laws and bring this up when they come pick up your car, you will likely be very well taken care of" and think that it means something. Especially when applied to a car that starts at $12K.
They're coming to get the car. They're giving you a loaner free. They're repairing the car - which may not actually have a defect - and they're returning to you wherever you are when they pick up the loaner car. On a car that starts at $12K.
I think that already qualifies as being "very well taken care of."
Yeah. You should threaten them when they bend over backwards to work around you. That's ... Smart.
And ... just so you internet tuffs know: the remedy for the lemon law is recission of contract. They give you your money back, you give them the car back. Take your tuffguy money and go buy a Yaris and see of far Toyota goes to help you out with an issue that hasn't yet been proven to be a warranty problem. On 850 cars. Worldwide. Yknow: the amount of cars Toyota spews out in four hours.
I love the irony here... Meat, from California (The "I got a lawyer on speed dial" state) is pragmatic while the opposition from Michigan is ready to invoke state lemon law.
I lived in CA for 14 years and also was brought up with a lawyer on speed dial, and learned to exploit the threat of law. Now I realize it doesn't actually help to threaten legal action unless one fully understands the consequences. In this case, you lose the car for not just two months but permanently. The car gets a nice black mark on its title, most likely to be scrapped in its entirety. While the car is technically 90% or so recyclable, that's not an ideal solution. Neither is being without one's toy for 2 months. So, hound the dealer every two days until you get an update or fix. You may threaten the lemon law, but most likely the dealer is fully aware of it. Just make sure they know that you know about it and they'll expedite whatever they can.
Still, Meat's got a point... they picked up your car, proactively, to fix an issue under warranty that could very well affect the safety of your occupants and anyone behind you. 850 out of a million cars delivered worldwide have this problem. I also doubt Toyota would be so proactive.
I'd call my attorney, but I had to take out her phone number because I ran out of speed dial spaces after adding in all my aspiring actresses numbers!
Your pal,
Meat.
Plus, hopefully my 14 years of San Fernando Valley life will get me a free pass or two? Like, totally? Fer sure!
I should add that I was one of those rich kids whose father made it known how important he was to the universe which really should bow before him. Past tense. I discovered Mississippi, then Alabama. Reality check. Totally.
Since life is all about choices, what I plan on doing is accepting Smart's, so far, excellent customer service and allow them to pick-up and repair my Passion Cabriolet while my wife drives their Avis rental car at no cost to us other than gas. Does it bother me that they will have my car that I waited for for more than 10 months? Not even a little bit. What would have bothered me was if they knew about this supposed defect and kept it to themselves, like Ford did with the Pinto (bad design - proximity of rear axle and gas tank) until several people had died. I am confident that Smart will do the right thing by all of us who are affected by this recall without anyone having to threaten legal action.
My point here is that 2 months is ridiculous, They could have 850 brand new cars delivered to these people in 2 months, I'm not saying they should give you a brand new car, but 2 months is absurd, and 1 month is absurd, hence the laws. But in all honesty it sounds like they are going to take it apart, strip and repowdercoat the trident cell, so that's not much different from giving you a new vehicle (although a good body shop could do this in a lot less time). And all they are offering you is an Avis rent-a-car, that gives you what an aveo? or would you prefer the mini-van? The car may be a toy for you, but some of us chose it for our primary mode of transportation for a reason (other then its cute).
My point here is that 2 months is ridiculous, They could have 850 brand new cars delivered to these people in 2 months, I'm not saying they should give you a brand new car, but 2 months is absurd, and 1 month is absurd, hence the laws. But in all honesty it sounds like they are going to take it apart, strip and repowdercoat the trident cell, so that's not much different from giving you a new vehicle (although a good body shop could do this in a lot less time). And all they are offering you is an Avis rent-a-car, that gives you what an aveo? or would you prefer the mini-van? The car may be a toy for you, but some of us chose it for our primary mode of transportation for a reason (other then its cute).
It's OK if it's ridiculous to you. It does not bother me. I guess I should add that I'm a lawyer who has been practicing for 28 years and knows how to handle a situation where I'm being disadvantaged. No, our Passion Cabriolet is not a "toy", I bought it for my wife to replace the GX470 we own as her daily driver. My "toy" is my `07 650i convertible! I think offering to pick-up the Smart and providing a rental is a "big deal", but that's just me; as I said, they could have remained silent about this as some manufacturers would have done (and still do) regarding known problems with their products. Also, as far as I know (I spoke with my salesman yesterday), Smart is still trying to figure out how to address this problem, so they are only providing the "outside date" of the end of September at this point which makes sense. Given that, it strikes me that your recommended "fix" may not be the appropriate solution to this problem. So, to me, the more prudent course of action at this point is to wait and ascertain more facts before deciding on any type of legal action.
They'll have to learn what to do, train others to know how to do it, set up facilities and stock them with the equipment and afterwards, wait for the glue to cure fully and then deliver the cars back to where they came, all while keeping the car off the road to prevent possible failure before the process is ready to go.
It may take two weeks but if it took three and they told you two...
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