There has to be a better way Toyota

[Grumps21]

Wife’s 2011 Camry was relegated as a backup car when we bought her replacement back in 2019, mainly because it had 200k miles, we wouldn’t get much in trade, and we were the original owners and had the full trouble free history. Anyone who has purchased a Toyota product knows that the Gulf Coast Toyota distributor who imports the brand for the various dealers installs adders, and you have no say in the matter. Well, her Camry had a clear rock guard applied to the leading edge of the hood and to both mirrors. Well, as the car ages, that rock guard, which is essentially a plastic film (vinyl?) which yellows and cracks over time really looks like crap. Is there an easy way of removing it? I spent over an hour with a heat gun on one mirror, and a full afternoon on the hood. I still have one mirror to go, but my thumbs are blistered from heating and push-rolling a 1/4” at a time. I tried picking at it after coating it with WD40, but it’s brittle and just chips off leaving the adhesive behind. Any ideas?

from heating and press-rolling the film off.

 

[Colonel]

try Goo Gone

 

[billtool]

Is it still running well? If you can get 300K out of it, might be worth taking it to a body shop?

 

[toddnjoyce]

Is this a Toyota problem or a dealer or importer problem?

 

[BuzzinSATX]

Buy replacement mirrors and find a handy car geek to install them for $50. Total cost would be less than $130.

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2011/toyota/camry/body_mechanical_-ar-_trim/mirror.html

 

[pronstar]

Is this a Toyota problem or a dealer or importer problem?

The business model for GST, the distributor, is to spec lower-trim cars from TMC, then add high-margin accessories to them.

GST added the film at the port prior to sale.
They have their own little production lines where they accessorize cars they receive from Toyota.

Little known fact:
Gulf States Toyota, and Southeast Toyota Distributors, are lone holdouts in the US...they didn’t sell-out to Toyota Motors North America, who effectively bought every other US distributor over the years.

The families that own each distributorship basically print their own money, and they show up for dealer meetings in their own small fleet of private Gulfstream jets. And they’re renowned as being very good companies to work for.

I basically have three Toyota (and Lexus) customers in the US:
TMNA
GST (they get their allotment from TMNA)
SET (they also get their allotment from TMNA)

 

[pronstar]

Buy replacement mirrors and find a handy car geek to install them for $50. Total cost would be less than $130.

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2011/toyota/camry/body_mechanical_-ar-_trim/mirror.html

This is the way…but is it the entire mirror, or just the cap?

Im thinking just the cap, which would be relatively easy to DIY…I was able to do it on our Suburban without issue.

 

[glenbo]

try Goo Gone

Or, if you can find it, Citri-Strip, which works much better and takes less. It will remove that vinyl cover.

 

[billtool]

The business model for GST, the distributor, is to spec lower-trim cars from TMC, then add high-margin accessories to them.

GST added the film at the port prior to sale.
They have their own little production lines where they accessorize cars they receive from Toyota.

Little known fact:
Gulf States Toyota, and Southeast Toyota Distributors, are lone holdouts in the US...they didn’t sell-out to Toyota Motors North America, who effectively bought every other US distributor over the years.

The families that own each distributorship basically print their own money, and they show up for dealer meetings in their own small fleet of private Gulfstream jets. And they’re renowned as being very good companies to work for.

I basically have three Toyota (and Lexus) customers in the US:
TMNA
GST (they get their allotment from TMNA)
SET (they also get their allotment from TMNA)

Interesting. So what’s the difference between a dealership and a distributor? For example- Fred Haas in Houston is a Dealership. What is Gulf States Toyota?

 

[BuzzinSATX]

This is the way…but is it the entire mirror, or just the cap?

Im thinking just the cap, which would be relatively easy to DIY…I was able to do it on our Suburban without issue.

I’m not sure…not a mechanic. But makes sense to just replace cap if easier and cheaper.

 

[seeker_two]

Interesting. So what’s the difference between a dealership and a distributor? For example- Fred Haas in Houston is a Dealership. What is Gulf States Toyota?

It's like the difference between your local gunshop and Lipsey's/TALO/Davidson's.....

 

[striker55]

Interesting. So what’s the difference between a dealership and a distributor? For example- Fred Haas in Houston is a Dealership. What is Gulf States Toyota?

I worked at GST as a sub contractor moving cars around the yard for shipments to dealers. GST would get the cars and trucks and do all the add-ons and inspections before shipping to the dealers. I drove hundred's of car's and trucks. It was a fun job, fast paced for me. Cars came in on railcars, sometimes 60 railcars stacked two high of cars. Hot sweaty job unloading those tight fit cars. I couldn't do that job you had to be pretty nimble to get in and out of those cars. I moved them after they were unloaded.

 

[Dawico]

try Goo Gone

These glue removers work well after the film is removed to get the glue off but probably wouldn't help much with the film still on there. It can't get to the glue to break it down.

 

[Dawico]

If you already did a mirror and the hood just man up and do the one last mirror. You already did 90% of it.

 

[jetcycles]

3m eraser wheel (or a knockoff wonder wheel from Amazon) would be my suggestion.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Grumps21]

If you already did a mirror and the hood just man up and do the one last mirror. You already did 90% of it.

Probably right on that. I guess in my mind I was hoping for a wonder doohickey that would knock it out in just a few minutes. I suppose if we ever buy another new Toyota product, I’ll have to make it a condition of the sale that it’s removed.

 

[PDiddy]

The business model for GST, the distributor, is to spec lower-trim cars from TMC, then add high-margin accessories to them.

GST added the film at the port prior to sale.
They have their own little production lines where they accessorize cars they receive from Toyota.

Little known fact:
Gulf States Toyota, and Southeast Toyota Distributors, are lone holdouts in the US...they didn’t sell-out to Toyota Motors North America, who effectively bought every other US distributor over the years.

The families that own each distributorship basically print their own money, and they show up for dealer meetings in their own small fleet of private Gulfstream jets. And they’re renowned as being very good companies to work for.

I basically have three Toyota (and Lexus) customers in the US:
TMNA
GST (they get their allotment from TMNA)
SET (they also get their allotment from TMNA)

I met Jim Moran in his office and later on The Gallant Lady when I was in Boca Raton for F&I school in 1997. He has an amazing story to tell about how he came from less than nothing To become something like an 8 billion dollar debt free company. His neighbor on the inter coastal was Wayne Huizenga.

 

[pronstar]

Interesting. So what’s the difference between a dealership and a distributor? For example- Fred Haas in Houston is a Dealership. What is Gulf States Toyota?

Think middle-men.

TMC - Toyota Motor Corp in Japan - is the manufacturer.
They sell to distributors around the world.

TMNA - Toyota Motors North America - is the US Distributor.
They buy the cars from TMC.
They sell the cars to dealerships, which in the US are independent businesses.

Dealerships buy cars from TMNA.
They sell them to you.
They get floorplanning/financing and other assistance from TMNA.

So by the time you buy a Toyota, it has effectively changed hands three times:
Factory to distributor
Distributor to dealer
Dealer to you
(corrected)

Dealers get an allocation from the distributor.
If you own the distributor, and also have your own dealerships like SET and GST, you can steer the allotments to favor your dealerships. So you’re making money on top of money.

 

[jetcycles]

Probably right on that. I guess in my mind I was hoping for a wonder doohickey that would knock it out in just a few minutes. I suppose if we ever buy another new Toyota product, I’ll have to make it a condition of the sale that it’s removed.

See post #15 for the doohickey. I've never used a 3M eraser wheel on old clear film, but it works better than anything I've ever tried for old decals and adhesive, even used it to remove custom pinstripes from vehicles. I understand your current aggravation with the paint protection film, but you could be dealing with 10 years of rock chips instead.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Lonesome Dove]

My Tacoma had the same crap. It's pretty much impossible without damaging the paint. I've painted a few cars and trucks, bikes and helmets a boat and other crap. Leave it or have those parts stripped D.A. sander and repainted.