Mike Sweers on 2016 Tacoma

I couldn't agree more with you. And your right. Exactly why I hate working in this business. The customers really get the shaft more than anyone else. However some dealerships are better than others. We normally do whatever it takes to make a customer happy. And while our auto group doesn't have full control over every employee, if someone drops the ball or something, and word gets back to the the owners or corporate, even a manager and they will make sure the customer is fully satisfied, normally whatever the cost. We are no doubt the best in our area and why we sell the most vehicles in the state.

Another thing I absolutely hate is how each department is a separate entity. Basically sales, parts and service are ran like 3 different businesses even though they are under the same roof. Basically sometimes instead of doing their best to take car of a customer they pass blame. Each department main focus is mainly money. Instead of trying to work together, they mainly work against each other, and in the long run its the customers that suffer from that as well. Your right the whole thing is corrupt

 

No offense, but if you believe that those magazines aren't beholden to their corporate overlords then you're kidding yourself. They're fun to read, and some of the testing can provide some analytical data, but at the end of the day when it comes to which one is better than the rest I'll make up my own mind by driving them and comparing them myself. After driving the GM's, ignoring their questionable build quality and long term reliability, I'd still take the Tacoma any day. The seats are more comfortable and I prefer the way it handles/rides. Also, I really think the interior is better quality, and while there have been some bumps with the new Tacoma (drivetrain vibrations meh), it will still likely be a more reliable vehicle than the GM's in the long run ... So yea, those magazines can say what they want, but they're smoking that corporate pipe.

 

Wow, you said it man! bravo.

I think a little transparency and explanation to the customer can go a long way. I recall when I bought my truck, my salesmen said any parts I buy here will i'll get 15% off. I walked over to the parts department (this is the same day I bought my truck mind you, and they were detailing it) so I was excited about my purchase and purchase of parts. The parts counter guy obviously didn't have the same enthusiasm about my new truck purchase and said the fleet manager (whom I worked with directly and was my only point of contact in the whole dealer) was wrong, and I don't get any discounts. Again--they worked against each other, instead of working together to make a new purchase go smoothly.

I wasn't born yesterday - 15% off a part here and there will not hurt sales or even lose money for them. it's the non-transparency that annoyed me. I'm a pretty easy going guy and I know if you brought in a much more demanding customer, they would go from a great buying experience to a terrible one.

 

That's pretty much the honest truth. Most techs hate warranty repairs. The idea of being paid flat rate is to try and turn hours. Turn more hours than your actually in the building for. It my sound like a sham to a normal person but you have to understand is their hourly pay isn't at a high rate. They aren't making 25/30 dollars an hour like some other professionals. A lot of these guys make around $15 and hour. Some are "A" techs. Some do make a little more but not much. Very rarely will you have a guy making $20+ most might be around $18. The "C" techs might make in the $10-13 dollar range. This is the pay scale around my area, it's going to vary around the US.

 

Cripe - you guys should vote for Bernie Sanders. That pay sucks.

 

Yep. Now I have no idea if sales was using that as sales tatic, or if the dealership normally would give that deal away. However the reason the parts guys aren't happy is because it's the parts department that more than likely would of lost that 15%. Not the sales department. Sometimes they find a way to dock the sales department for it or they might divide it between all the departments so the loss isn't as great. Most people in sales, parts and service get bonuses. Parts guys usually get bonuses based off the gross sales. Kinda like sales people. So if they have to knock 15% off some parts. That person selling them to you also loses money in his pay check

 

Lmao. I don't really want to get into politics, but we are blue collar workers. Thats why I'm sharing this information because the better people can understand, maybe they will see why things are the way they are in dealerships. Most people hate it but they have to make a living and provide for their families

If a head tech (A) made $20/he and changed your oil he would get paid $6 for changing your oil. Before taxes. Now most don't make that much but I'm using that number so you can see. Now let's say a lube tech/ (C) made $10 an hour he would get paid $3 to change your oil.

 

Lawfarin - many thanks for your insight. When I was in HS, I worked at a toyota dealer service department parking cars. It was an awesome job. We had random slow hours and I would just walk over and talk to all the techs. A lot of them seemed disgruntled depending on the job they got (which is expected and makes sense) I also recall the service advisers getting spiffs for high dollar jobs. That made them less likely to write up a warranty job, as a high dollar job may have been right around the corner. Wonder if that is still true. If so, That can severely diminish a service advisers credibility as all they want is high dollar out of warranty jobs to write up. Makes me feel like we're wasting their time with warranty work, and they are less likely to be patient with intermittent warranty issues.

 

They get bonuses usually based off the total monthly labor dollars they sold. Off of customer pay stuff. So in a sense yes. They would much rather you be a customer paying for that tranny replacement than getting it under warranty. This is also why a lot of them try to up sell services that you usually don't need. It's usually not the techs recommending these things. Even though they will be paid for doing them they know most customers will deny them. Or that the advisors are going to ask them regardless. you can usually also tell when a tech is slow. Because when he is he will go through your vehicle and find and recommend a lot of different things. When they are busy they don't have the time to go through everything with a fine tooth comb. Most are honest and will tell you really only what needs to be replaced. Others will just recommend almost everything just in hopes they get some sort of work

 

I won`t comment on politics but this has got to be the stupidest comment I have read since joining here.

If the pay gets too high, guess who pays for it, WE the consumer.

 

So going back to videos of seatbelt bracket Mike talking about quality of Tacoma, and how they fixed vibes.... it sounds like there is a case of false advertisement.
Here is on video, Toyota representative assuring you that they fixed driveline and improved quality.
So if your truck broke down, seatbelt bracket Mike simply run false advertisement.
Its no difference than Nissan showing their frontier can climb vertical sand dunes.
So all those people with vibrating trucks, can probably hire lawyers and get their money back.

 

It would cost a fortune to prove where and how the actual vibration is the same. And to fight their legal team. In the end they would probably end up winning.i do think it's funny he's making claims. Perhaps he's writing checks he can't cash. I'd honestly love to know how much of his design and input went into these trucks

 

False advertisement is pretty clearly defined.
On the paid video he is acting on behalf of Toyota (paid and sanctioned aka advertisement )
His statements are clearly talking about fixed vibrations and how in that design they focused on quality.
If I had 2016 with problems I would get lawyer and go after Toyota. Forget lemon law, false advertisement could possible get people money back and extra cash for psychological trauma of broken truck and disappointment.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/media-resources/truth-advertising/protecting-consumers

I think even freshly baked lawyer should have no problem proving seatbelt bracket mike statements are untrue and thus fall into false advertisement.
I am surprised people with problems can't done that.
Get their money back and than some.

 

The plaintiff is going to have to prove, from an engineering standpoint to a judge, against a group of Toyota engineers that the vibration is the exact same vibration and from the exact same parts/issue. Toyota made changes so they already have a huge advantage. If the parts were the same carryovers, then you would have an easy case. I'm telling you, it wouldn't be as easy as you think it would. There is a lot to prove. And that means a long trail, which means a lot of lawyer expenses on your behalf

 

Mike Sweers is an overpaid tool. Marketing tool. Don't believe anything he says.

I really hope there are improvements made before 5 years. Otherwise my next truck won't be a Taco.

 

Meanwhile here i am enjoying my non squeaky non creaky non vibrating manual trans 16...

Carry on

 

all plaintiff has to prove is that what was advertised its not it.
Simplest Example:
You go to the store where there is brand new iPhone on the shelf with price tag of $49.99. You grab the iPhone run to register and when nice lady scans it price comes up to $499.90.
What store has to do ? Simple answer is to remove faulty price tag but still sell you iPhone for $49.99 because selling you for $499.90 would be false advertisement.
All you have to do is prove that price tag was there.
Same here, Seatbelt bracket Mike says there are no vibrations, I can't see that there is more proof needed beyond of that there are vibrations, especially with multiple trucks having that issue.
I am surprised all the people complaining about their 2016 trucks have not figure that out.

 

No:

• You tax the corporations and obnoxiously rich such as Apple who pays next to no taxes in the USA.
  
• You close the huge amounts of tax loopholes so you can't offshore your money (i.e. Panama Papers, Luxembourg Leaks)
• You stop bailing out the banks after they caused a worldwide financial collapse and where not one banker went to jail
• You stop pouring countless billions onto foreign military adventures and "nation building"
• You stop signing "closed door " deals like the Trans-Pacific partnership - negotiated behind closed doors and likely meaning more manufacturing jobs leaving North America
• You limit CEO and BOD pay to a ratio that is sustainable

Lots of money there for the ordinary folk considering how much is wasted like on the bullet points above. I don't enjoy being a serf.

Rant over.

 

Yea, those type of comments certainly have me considering a stick. But I don't really want one. Gave that up about 30 years ago.

 

They wouldn't have to sell you a cellphone if the sticker in the store was 49.99 they can simply claim error and refuse to sell it for that. Sure you could try to take them to court. Would you win? Not sure. I'm not an attorney so I honestly don't know all the ins and outs of the law. However like I said it's going to be hard to prove everything and very costly. Even if you do win, after fees and stuff what really have you won?