Subaru Dealer Sells Sumo Wrestler-Damaged Forester
Subaru of Canada made this ad using sumo wrestlers lounging on the hoods of new Foresters. Funny, but not as much to a customer who bought one of the Foresters and found sumo-related dents after he took it home.
The owner told a Subaru forum that he didn't even know his car had been used as a sumo sofa until he complained:
So I picked up my new 2011 Subaru Forester last weekend. Drove it home, parked in the sun to get a good look, and much to my dismay, noticed small imperfections in the hood... as if someone placed something heavy on the hood. Not really dents... just areas where the light reflections show up shallow imperfections.
At first I wasn't going to complain, thinking "it's not noticeable unless you really look..." but every time I looked
Drove back to the dealer (Don Docksteader in Vancouver), and they said "no problem, we will take care of that for you... must have happened when we shot the latest Sumo Wrestler Ad...
Tomorrow the manager is supposed to phone me, and I am wondering what I should ask for:
1. replace with a new Forester that hasn't been sat on by a huge Japanese man. I can guess that would be a difficult discussion.
2. replace the hood with a new Factory painted hood... not sure this is even possible?
3. repair the hood and re-paint it... I am really not in favor of this option, but that is likely what the dealer will offer. Kind of like paying full price for a new car after it has been in an accident and repaired.
4. ask for money back to compensate for the damage.
The estimates for traditional repair run $2,500, thanks to that magical body-work inflation where one dent ripples across several panels; apparently the dealer had six other vehicles that will need fixing due to the shoot. Maybe Subaru Canada should always try animation first.
Thanks ndo_ndo!
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