Passenger Door Not Fully Flush - Normal?

[SeventhLevel]

Hi guys,

Picked up our Auris Touring Sports tonight and it's brilliant.

There are only delivery miles on the clock but I noticed just now that the drivers side rear passenger door doesn't shut as tightly as the other side. There's a very small gap where the door isn't perfectly flush with the body of the car, like it is on the other side. You can also tell because the silver trim around the bottom of that window and the very back window don't quite line up.

I'll probably call the dealer tomorrow but I wanted to see if anyone else has this issue?

Cheers!

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[mrpj]

Probably just needs adjusting. I would be wondering why though on a new car.

Has it been damaged in transit and poorly repaired? Would be a question I'd be asking myself.

Did you not notice during inspecting the car when you picked it up?

[SeventhLevel]

No, I didn't notice it but this is the first time I've bought a car myself. My previous car was bought over 10 years ago as my first car and my Dad knew what to look out for.

I'll try and make the image I have small enough to post on here.

It has 14 miles on the clock so that's why I was checking whether or not this kind of thing can happen at the factory or whether, as you say, it's been repaired for some reason. Surely if the dealer knew it was damaged in transit they'd have to tell me?

[SeventhLevel]

This is the door in question and below is the other door, which seems to have a smaller gap down the door and the window lines up better with the back window

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[SeventhLevel]

Starting to wonder if there is something bigger going on here, the rear bumper on the side of the misaligned door also looks slightly misaligned

Left side (looks normal)

Right side (not flush)

Any advice on how to approach this with the dealership?

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[FROSTYBALLS]

Think the door probably needs some adjustment.

I wouldn't be happy with the bumper, think this is the worst of the two faults and I would be asking the dealer whether there has been a repair done in that area.

Go back to the dealer and highlight the two issues - but remember to keep the conversation polite and even handed. If you're not happy with the response, say so, and escalate it to either the sales manager or the dealer principal.

[SeventhLevel]

Thanks - agree that the bumper is a bigger concern than the door. I'll go after work and post something later.

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[SeventhLevel]

Went to the dealership after work and after having a quick look one of the sales guys got the manager. He had a look, saw that the door and bumper are both very slightly out and said they'd be taking it in next week to sort it out. They're also going to clean the dark smudges off the dash too.

While he was looking at the car I told him I thought it was strange that the bumper and door were both on the same side. He knew what I was getting at and said they always guarantee that none of their cars have had any form of accident.

While buying this car hasn't been the smoothest process I do think that how a business deals with a problem is often more important than the problem itself so I can't fault them on that.

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[mrpj]

The right hand side of my Yaris's rear bumper plastic moulding doesn't line up perfectly where it joins the steel quarter panel. The gap is not equal. I just put this down to poor quality fit.

"He knew what I was getting at and said they always guarantee that none of their cars have had any form of accident."

He would say that though! Many cars are damaged in transit, repaired and sold on to unsuspecting customers.

However, good to hear they are sorting it out with no arguments. That's the experience I've had in the past with my Toyota dealership.

[TomdeGuerre]

It's not the easiest call to judge from photographs but as Pete says, many cars are damaged in transit, repaired and sold on to unsuspecting customers. During my time in the motor trade i saw a few cases.

Pity you didn't get a paint thiickness meter onto that rear quarter panel joint with the bumper to see if it had already been painted, that might have given you a guide. My guess is they'll they'll adjust the door then seal up that gap and apply some fresh paint. Not a lot you can do about it.

[SeventhLevel]

Just an update if anyone's interested:

Picked the car up this afternoon and the door and bumper now look how they should, so that's good.

I thought they'd managed to remove the dark smudges from the dash at first but the light caught it as I drove it back and they're still there, but now in different places. They've obviously tried to clean it, I think that light blue plastic dash is just prone to smudges and marks. I'll get into the cleaning threads on here and see what I can try for myself.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Have a look at the Armorall Protectorant spray range - just be aware that it comes in glossy, semi matt, and, I think, matt, so choose whichever suits the finish of the problem area. One can buy it from Halfords, etc. Might have to treat an area wider than the smudges.

[SeventhLevel]

Cheers, I'll have a look. I think the semi matt sounds like it could work but I'll look into it and test anything I buy on a very small area.

[bruce e]

My experience is that it's unusual to buy a new car from dealership stock.

Usually they order it from the factory & it arrives a few weeks later.

This sounds like it has been dinged at some point. Was this car in the showroom or outside with the used cars?