Advise on debadging

Spitfire666

there is nothing illegal about debadging. most new cars come without badges aswell as with badges from new. also ya see alot of a4's/a6's with rs kits and rs4/rs6 badges. thats not illegal either.

Sonnenblumen

prospect wrote:

I have driven alot of different SUVs, and only the MOST comfortable have been better (in comfort terms) than some particularly bad saloon cars.

On average, a saloon car is far more comfortable than an SUV.....

You must drive some real junk.

Well if you sit on your brains, perhaps SUV's might be cumbersome. What SUV's are you referring to. Ignorance is a killer! I've plenty of driving behind me but more in front, so far I've driven VW, Mercedes, BMW, but currently Subaru. BTW all cars were new, I hope my experience doesn't cause you piles!

Volvoboy

think that when you buy a new merc you're given a choice weater you want the model no. on the left hand side of the boot e.g if you want a E200 badge on the rear of the car, also they charge ya!

Spitfire666

its the sme with all VAG group cars Volvoboy and more makes aswell.

Big Balls

VAG group (and I'm sure every other manufacturer out there) do not charge you for not putting badges on the back of your car :rolleyes:

Do-more

G Luxel wrote:

There are some second-hand Japanese Import Toyota models rebadged as Lexus? Is this legal?
And Why? It looks like snobbery to me.

Nothing illegal in changing the badges, but it is illegal to sell a car without stating it's true origin. There was a case taken five or six years ago by a customer who bought an imported Toyota Soarer which was described as a "Lexus Coupe" the name which the model is sold as in the USA. The customer was sucessful in getting damages from the garage. (The garage in question was selling with huge mark ups and the customer had suffered diabolical depreciation, the reason I remember this is that I imported a Soarer myself about the time of the original sale which cost me ir£11,200 and I think the customer in question had paid something like ir£22,000 for his!)

colm_mcm

Do-more wrote:

Nothing illegal in changing the badges, but it is illegal to sell a car without stating it's true origin. There was a case taken five or six years ago by a customer who bought an imported Toyota Soarer which was described as a "Lexus Coupe" the name which the model is sold as in the USA. The customer was sucessful in getting damages from the garage. (The garage in question was selling with huge mark ups and the customer had suffered diabolical depreciation, the reason I remember this is that I imported a Soarer myself about the time of the original sale which cost me ir£11,200 and I think the customer in question had paid something like ir£22,000 for his!)

I can't believe buyers didn't twig that the Soarers they were buying were right-hand drive, and that they weren't available in Europe...........

More common were Toyota Celcior Altezza and Harrier models being rebadged, but it's easy to spot the kilometre clocks and different spec

Do-more

Found this report in the Indo about the case, sorry it's a bit long, but good for a few laughs!

TOYOTA Soarer 2.5 litre turbo coupes are being wrongly traded in Ireland as Lexus cars which they are not, the Circuit Civil Court has been told.

Judge Joseph Matthews heard that the Soarer is not sold anywhere else in the world as a Lexus, but unfortunately in Ireland it was being wrongly traded as such.

This evidence emerged in a case in which former Government Press Officer Eoin Neeson is suing Aston Cars Ltd and Brian Tobin for up to £30,000 damages for alleged misrepresentation.

The court heard that an allegedly re-badged Toyota Soarer "Lexus'' Neeson had bought from Aston Cars lost 50pc in depreciation in a year.

Motor assessor Frank Maguire said such a depreciation for a real Lexus would be enormous. Lexus cars would depreciate by about 20pc in a year.

He said the only Lexus models traded in Ireland were the 200, 300 and 400 models. There was no 2.5 litre Lexus retailed in Ireland. It was sold as a Toyota and not a Lexus. Nowhere in the world did the Toyota motor company sell a Toyota 2.5 as a Lexus.

Mr Maguire said Toyota Soarers were secondhand imports into Ireland and, while he was aware that they were being re-badged as Lexus cars, he did not know who was re-badging them. Such cars should be sold as the much cheaper Toyota Soarer.

There was no Lexus properly retailed in Ireland which looked remotely like a Soarer. He said there had been a marked drop in the value of large Japanese cars imported to Ireland.

He would not buy a Toyota Soarer unless he was forced to because of the large drop in value when it came to selling it again. People only bought a Toyota Soarer once, due to the huge drop in value they would experience on trading it in again.

Neeson (73), of Cuanog, Stradbrook, Blackrock, Co Dublin, said he had wanted a Lexus and when he saw an advertisement in The Irish Times for a Lexus coupe in 1998 he phoned Aston Cars and spoke to Mr Tobin.

Tobin had told him he had a beautiful 1994 car and drove it to his Blackrock home, where they did a deal on a trade-in involving his 1991 Mercedes coupe along with a payment of £8,450 for what he believed was a Lexus.

Tobin had told him it was one of the first coupes to be imported to Ireland. He had been told by Tobin it was a Lexus and he assumed it was.

The car bore the names Lexus and Soarer with a symbol which he did not realise until later was the Toyota symbol. When he questioned Tobin about that, he had told him both Lexus and Toyotas were built by the same company and he had not got around to changing the badge, which he later did.

Neeson said Tobin wanted £29,700 for the car and they eventually agreed on a £21,000 trade-in for his Mercedes, along with £8,450 cash. He did not understand why the receipt he received showed the overall deal for £24,450 showing a trade-in allowance of£17,000 and £8,450 cash.

When Judge Matthews intimated he had a personal experience of a similar nature relating to a car purchase receipt, Ronan Murphy, counsel for Aston Cars, and Barra Faughnan, counsel for Neeson, indicated there would be a major issue on credibility relating to evidence of the actual deal.

Judge Matthews agreed with submissions by both counsel that the case should proceed anew before another judge on another date.

By RAY MANAGH

unkel

Yeah I remember the Toyota Soarer / Lexus rebadging alright

Do-more wrote:

his 1991 Mercedes coupe along with a payment of £8,450 for what he believed was a Lexus

What a complete eejit that buyer! He should have received at least £8,450 for downgrading from his Merc to the Toyota

prospect

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Well if you sit on your brains......... Ignorance is a killer!................. I hope my experience doesn't cause you piles!

Sonnenblumen wrote:

What SUV's are you referring to.

Anyway,
Nissan Patrol, Terrano, X-Trail
Toyota Landcruiser, RAV 4
Volvo XC90
Hyundai Santa Fe
Mazda Tribute
Kia Sportage, Sorrento
Range Rover (previous version to current)
Volkswagon Touareg
Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Shogun
BMW X5

And I cant be bothered listing the cars.
However I did own a MK1 1.6 petrol Toyota Carina (in the early 90's), and it was (without any doubt) more comfortable than all of the above, on the straight, in town and especially on the twist back roads. Its all about centre of gravity.

Do-more

Never mind de-badging, what about re-badging! Now that Audi have the A8 and Q7 in the model line-up, I can predict lots of Kuwati's driving around in Audi Q8's !:D