Chipped Paint + Rusted Chrome = Unhappy Owner

[SWheat]

I bought my IS350 on 5/31/2007 - today is 4/4/2009 so I've had it for 22 months. I paid almost 50k for this car. From the way it looks today you would think this car is 20 years old. I am really unhappy with the paint, and have been for several months. I posted about it a while back but I've been too busy to follow up. Today when I washed the car I noticed the chrome on the wheels is starting to rust off at an accelerated rate. I'm going to call the dealer and let them have a look at it. I have never had this car washed by a machine. I wash and maintain this car myself. I don't garage it but it has never been exposed to harsh weather (I live in So. Cal.). This car only has about 24k miles on it. Yes those big white dots on the pics are chips in the paint.

[IS_Willie]

Wow... that really sucks.

You must drive the freeway daily, huh?

I took mine to Vegas last weekend, went through a sand storm, and it still didn't come out looking like that!

[SWheat]

Yeah I'm really disappointed. I have a Tacoma truck that is over ten years old, has 140k miles on it, and it looks much better than this.

[bguy688]

Try buff off with the meguires product.

Perform in the following order:

1. Medium cut

2. Swirl Remover or Scratx 2.0

3. Polish

4. Next Gent 2.0 Wax.

These products will restore the brilliant high gloss of your car. Give it a try....

I used to have lots of swirl and scratch on my car and now the it has all disappeared.

[SW03ES]

I actually don't think the chipping looks bad...

Couple reasons why your Tacoma's paint has held up better

1. The IS's nose is much lower to the ground where rocks are spit up by vehicles in front of you.

2. The Tacoma's lower bumper is not painted unlike the Lexus

3. The Tacoma doesn't have the new EPA mandated low VOC paints like the IS does, they chip more easily.

Try taking it to a professional detailer and have them clay, polish, and wax the vehicle. It will look a lot better.

As for the wheels, they are probably aftermarket chrome. Lexus actually doesn't make chrome wheels anymore, dealers have companies that chrome the wheels aftermarket and aftermarket chromed wheels aren't very long lasting. The dealer may very well have them rechromed for you.

When you wash the car, the pictures don't look like you really get in all the openings and clean them well, you need to do that because the chrome finish is very susceptible to corrosion caused by corrosive brake dust.

[SWheat]

.........I actually don't think the chipping looks bad...

Sounds like the captain of the Titanic. "What iceburg??" Oh that one.

There's an element of truth to what you said (except the above) but a friend of mine has a black BMW that is about four years old. It looks great compared to the Lexus and has roughly the same body style.

>Try taking it to a professional detailer and have them clay, polish, and wax the vehicle. It will look a lot better.

I'm sure it will. It will look like a clean polished IS350 with big nicks and scratches all over the front end. I appreciate what you suggest (and bguy688) but you have to understand that car polish is not a replacement for paint and this is a black IS350 with big, white nicks and scratches all over the front end.

I spoke with the service manager at Longo Toyota and the parts manager at Longo Toyota. They were openly dismissive. The service manager at Longo Toyota told me the problem with the chrome was that I didn't polish it. While in the presence of the service manager, the parts manager at Longo Toyota told me I had put some chemical on the rims that damaged them and that the only chemicals that should come in contact with the rims are soap and water. What I heard from the both of them: "Next time, take your business to BMW and tell all your friends to do the same." In fairness to Longo Toyota they offered to let me leave the car there at Longo Toyota while the Toyota factory rep looked at the paint and the wheel vendor looked at the rims. However the service manager at Longo Toyota was very explicit that Longo Toyota would do nothing - only Toyota or the wheel vendor. So Longo Toyota may save three or four hundred bucks on paint and chrome but at Longo Toyota will loose four times that to a competitor on my next purchase.

OK now here's the cool thing. I create web sites for a living. I'm not a graphic artist. I'm a programmer. My current project for one of my clients involves search engine optimization. I'm going to use Longo Toyota and Longo Lexus as a case study to hone my search engine optimization skills. I'm just getting started with this and I've got things to say about the quality of service there at Longo Toyota and Longo Lexus. I've got things to say that involve keywords like unhappy customer and poor customer service. When you type Longo Lexus or Longo Toytoa in your google search box, you are going to get a page full of opportunities to read about how Longo Toyota shot themselves in the foot to save four or five hundred bucks. Stay tuned. There's lots more to read about Longo Lexus and Longo Toyota.

Longo Longo Longo

Bad customer service

Bad customer service

Bad customer service

:rolleyes:

[1990LS400]

SWheat,

I'm not understanding. Longo Lexus is not responsible for the paint on your car. Lexus Corporate is. If Lexus Corporate refuses to repaint your car, I don't see how you can expect Longo to do it at their cost. I've had a lot of paint work done on cars and it sure looks to me like it would cost a lot more than "three or four hundred bucks" to repaint the front end of your car properly.

It takes only a few minutes driving in adverse conditions (e.g. windblown sandy soil) to make a car look like yours. Maybe your BMW owning friend hasn't encountered the same conditions you have. About 30 years ago, I once polished ALL the paint off the front of a car (and trashed the headlights and windshield) by driving in windblown soil in Wyoming for a couple of hours -- until that time, I had no idea that could happen. One reason we now buy only white cars is that they don't show nicks and scratches like dark color cars. The damage is still there but at least it is harder to see. I go through a lot of touch-up paint. My wife drove her white Camry between Kansas City and Omaha the last two weekends and now I have another 100 paint nicks to touch up.

Some of my friends love black cars -- their black cars don't look any better than yours after two or three years.

I am more surprised that the dealer wouldn't try to have the wheels replaced if the chrome is coming off. My 00 LS came with Lexus wheels that had been chromed by an aftermarket company. My Lexus dealer had no problem getting the chrome company to pay for their replacement while my car was under the original 4yr/50K warranty. Since the dealer put them on the car before it was sold new, the chrome wheels had the same warranty as the car. I suggest making another try at getting the dealer to see if the wheel chrome company will replace the wheels.

I agree it is tough buying a new car and seeing it deteriorate before your eyes. After 43 years of driving, I guess I've just gotten used to it.

[SW03ES]

I'm sure it will. It will look like a clean polished IS350 with big nicks and scratches all over the front end. I appreciate what you suggest (and bguy688) but you have to understand that car polish is not a replacement for paint and this is a black IS350 with big, white nicks and scratches all over the front end.

I started, built, owned, and sold a successful detailing business and I know what polish can and can't do.

I am telling you that if you have the vehicle thoroughly detailed it will look much better. Will the chips be gone? No, but they will be reduced in size and overall the vehicle will look much better. Lexus clearcoat black responds extremely well to detailing.

Do you want to be more satisfied with your situation other than having the front end repainted? Try our suggestion.

There's an element of truth to what you said (except the above) but a friend of mine has a black BMW that is about four years old. It looks great compared to the Lexus and has roughly the same body style.

Lexus black is very soft, its single stage (no clearcoat). Like I said...have it detailed.

However the service manager at Longo Toyota was very explicit that Longo Toyota would do nothing - only Toyota or the wheel vendor.

Well yeah. The wheel vendor was the one who chromed the wheels for you aftermarket, its their responsibility not Longos. Why didn't you leave it there and see if the wheel vendor would rechrome them?

The service manager at Longo Toyota told me the problem with the chrome was that I didn't polish it.

From your pictures I would agree. Chrome is bare metal, there is no clearcoat over it and it needs to be regularly polished and maintained. The pitting in the windows of your wheels is from corrosive brake dust not being adequately cleaned off of the chrome.

With claying and polishing they might look okay...again I'd have a detailer look at it.

I'm not sure what you want Longo to do about it, at some point you have to take responsibility for keeping the car clean and in good condition yourself. Try our suggestion, have the vehicle well detailed or visit the detailing forum for advice on what tools and techniques you need to use to recondition the car yourself.

I'm going to use Longo Toyota and Longo Lexus as a case study to hone my search engine optimization skills. I'm just getting started with this and I've got things to say about the quality of service there at Longo Toyota and Longo Lexus. I've got things to say that involve keywords like unhappy customer and poor customer service. When you type Longo Lexus or Longo Toytoa in your google search box, you are going to get a page full of opportunities to read about how Longo Toyota shot themselves in the foot to save four or five hundred bucks. Stay tuned. There's lots more to read about Longo Lexus and Longo Toyota.

Do you want your car to be in good condition or do you want to spend your free time trying to "get" Longo? Seems kind of childish to me.

[SWheat]

Jim you are right – Longo has no obligation to me. However, with regard to the paint, I expect them to go to bat for me with Toyota. They are (at this time) unwilling or at a minimum, dragging their feet, about doing that.

I expect more from them (Longo) with regard to the wheels. The company that chromed them is their vendor and they need to control the quality. When I spoke of four or five hundred bucks I was referring to the wheels. Sorry I was not clear on that.

I’m still not buying any part of the notion that the condition of this car is even close to what should be considered normal. People, this is a FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR vehicle! It is used and stored in Southern California, one of the most MODERATE CLIMATES in the world!

I owned a black Ford Escort when I was younger, I don’t recall every nick and scratch but I remember when I traded it in I was pleased with the way it looked and I drove a hard bargain for it.

I also had a black Toyota Mark IV Supra (God bless it). I loved that car, drove the heck out of it, and it looked fantastic when I sold it. Not even close to what the Lexus looks like!

Please refer to the above post from IS Willie.

[SW03ES]

Lexus is not going to do anything with you on the paint. I think it looks like I would expect it to look after riding highways for 22 months. The issue is not weather or climate, its rocks from the road hitting the hood. The issue with the wheels is brake dust corroding on the exposed metal surface of the chrome without being effectively cleaned off in a timely manner or being polished regularly.

Trust me...have it detailed or detail it yourself and it will look a whole lot better. The paint surface needs to be clayed, machine polished, and topped off with a nice deep wax. The wheels need to be clayed, polished with a metal polish, and topped off with a nice polymer sealant.

If you want a referral for a good detailer in SoCal I can give you one.

Your Escort and your Supra had old laquer based paint, carmakers can't use that paint anymore. I'd reccomend in the future you have a clearbra applied to the front end of the vehicle when you buy it.

You can try to get Lexus to cover the paint, but they wont. The vehicle is not warrantied for road wear and thats what that chipping is.