Dealership Headache!

In September I went in for my 25k complimentary service at Toyota of Glendale. I left the truck there for the service and returned 4 hours later. Everything seem good and I went home. The next morning while washing my truck I notice scratches and chip marks around the area where the lug nuts are and on the face of the wheels. Considering my wheels are black the damage really stood out. I called my service adviser and he told me to bring back the truck and they would inspect them.

I returned to the dealership to meet with the Service Department Manager and he told me he would get their "wheel guy" to do the repairs. I left my truck at the dealership again and returned later that day. When I saw my wheels it looked like they took a Sharpie marker to fill in the chips and scratches and the damage was still very visible. I spoke to the manager again and he agreed that the wheels did not look good and promised to get them repaired again on a later date.

I returned a 3rd time to get my wheels repaired, but this time the manager told me they will sublet the repair to a local shop to get the wheels completely painted. He told me by the end of the day they would be ready. When I got back the wheels were even worse than what they started off with. The paint job was just horrible. There were wrinkles in the paint, bubbling, and drip marks. Did I mention they basically just painted the face of wheel not the entire wheel? Well the paint they used didn't even match the lip of the wheel. Again I complained to the manager and he said he would take care of it again on a later date.

I returned a 4th time in October and this time the manager was being a complete asshole! He blamed me for the wheels condition on the last repair. He told me if I didn't rush him the job would have been done right. First off I never rushed him and I told him to take his time to get it right the 3rd time around. I kept as calm as I could have since he was still doing the repair on my wheels and didn't want him to do some shady shit. The truck was kept overnight and they gave me a rental.

I returned to the dealership two days later at night to pick up my truck. The wheels looked great!. The next morning I go to wash my truck and I felt like my eyes were playing a trick on me. ALL FOUR WHEELS WERE DIFFERENT SHADES OF BLACK!!! Not one wheel matched the other. One had a sparkle flake in the paint, the other was semi glossy, one was matte, and the other was almost a dark charcoal color. I immediately called the manager and gave him an earful. I contacted Toyota's cooperate office and they contacted their public relations manager at Toyota of Glendale. The PR manager at the dealership contacted me right away and I explained this ordeal. She set up a meeting with the head sales manager and the parts department manager.

I returned to the dealership for another inspection and they agreed that the wheels were definitely different colors. They said they would like to repair them a 4th time after Thanksgiving. I pushed for them to just replace the wheels because it would be cheaper, but they didn't budge. I call after Thanksgiving and tell the PR manager that if the repair is to be done I'm bringing it to a local wheel repair shop that has a great reputation and it would cost around $150-$175 a wheel. After further talk we both concluded that it would be cheaper to get the wheels replaced, but she would need the approval of her managers to go ahead with that idea. I get an okay a week later and they order my wheels, but they were back ordered.

Last week I get a phone call from the parts manager stating that the wheels have been damaged during transport and they would have to order two more wheels. I tell him to just cut me a damn check. I called the PR manager and she got approvals from her managers right away to just cut me a check to buy whatever wheels I wanted. After 5 months of this bullshit I finally get some resolution to this ongoing headache.

This past Monday I order me some Method Race The Standard wheels and they should be in this week or next Monday for install. All I'm paying for is the installation =).




END RANT!

 

Congrats!

Sorry for the headache, but it sounds like you're coming out OK in the end.

Not ahead, or screwed, merely par.

 

What size are those wheels? How much do they weigh?

I have the stock TRD Sport alloys, 17 x 7.5 and want to go with lighter wheels in black.

Oh, and sorry about that headache you had to go through...

 

So you got a brand new set of wheels for the cost of tire swap, SCORE.

 

I would be avoiding the dealership in the future, sounds like they hired HS dropouts...

SCORE on the new wheels....

 

Yeah that sucks at least they took care of you in the end though.

 

I definitely only really came out PAR. The trips back and forth from the dealership and having to deal with just about every manager at Toyota definitely evened out the outcome. At least I'm getting some wheels I've been wanting.

Sorry not too sure what the weight are on the wheels.

I'm definitely avoiding this dealership in the future. They have a lot of younger workers there and I'm sure they don't give a fuck about anything except clocking in and out and collecting a check.

 

Somebody got fired.

I am glad you were able to catch them and their sloppy work before more time passed. IF you cannot trust them with just dismounting your wheels imagine what they are doing when they change your oil or other fluids.

Hopefully they used proper torque setting when installing your lug nuts.

When I go to the stealership I tell them don't look at the engine filters or cabin filters. Don't even wash the truck!

Just give me my free oil change and let me be on my way.

 

I always tell them not to wash. I also mark anything they would replace (intake and cabin filter and oil filter) and I check what I can before I leave. I've been to another dealership where they forgot to put my dipstick back and they didn't change my oil filter.

Actually funny you say that...my last visit there they also snapped one of my lugs in half. They offered me free service on my next visit lol.

 

Sucks about the headache you went through. Dealer scratched one of my rims. They wanted to "fix" mine, but I made them just cut me a check for the damage. No stress that way, but I still have the scratch.
Also, on that same complimentary service (25K of free service with truck purchase) they didn't change the oil filter. I had put a mark on the old one just to be sure. I confronted them, and they replaced it. Lesson learned. Just do the maintenance yourself.

 

Maybe I should take my truck to toyota of glendale. I have some black wheels that I might want to change out to a different design...

 

Glad they finally did the right thing. Do the TPS work from the other wheels or do you have to get new ones?

 

You can never be to cautious when dealing with dealerships. It sucks to have to mark up replaceable parts to ensure they were actually replaced.

hahaha go for it man! I'm sure they can help you out

America's Tires had to use a rebuild kit to fit the new wheels.

Here is the final outcome. Got my new wheels installed this past Friday and I can't be happier. Took a while, but finally it's all over!

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Looks Purdy...

 

Thanks

 

and I still cant understand why my service manager is hiring IT tech who don't know shit. 30g for nothing......

 

That sucks they gave you the runaround. I had a similar experience a few weeks ago. During he 10000 mi service I had them flip the white letters in, after I got home and washed it I noticed circular scrapes halfway across the spokes from the machine, gouges in the alloy on all wheels, took it back the next day, service manager said they had a guy that could fix them. I was a asshole and made them buy all new wheels!

 

I wish that's how mine went down and my wheels were replaced right away, but I guess I was too nice. Next time I know what to do. Was all a learning experience for sure. On their end they ended up paying more than what the wheels were worth lol. Three failed repair jobs and in the end they still cut me a check.

 

Sucks you had to go threw all that but you scored a fine set of wheels, how them wild peaks? what size?

 

I love the Wild Peaks. Very good tire! They are 265/70/17.