Let's talk about how badly dealership service depts suck!

Warning -- This is half rant, half wondering if all Toyota dealerships are this bad.

Dealership service dept 1 -- The place I bought the truck from

Bed extender and tonnnaeu cover included as part of the negotiated deal. Got the bed extender the day I bought truck. Got it home, the bed extender fell apart because at least 3 screws literally weren't tightened at all. 10 days later, the tonneau cover was installed with a broken latch that they didn't tell me about. Don't care if it was broken out of the box or they did it -- They either didn't double-check their work (I saw it in less than 30 seconds), or, worse, did and hoped I wouldn't notice.

So I moved on to dealership service dept 2.

Went in for my 5k service. At about 4500k I did my own oil change. There was an obviously defective bolt (or nut...) on the front skid plate. I got it off, then when putting it back on, it stripped (I kept the torque low based on warnings on Tacomaworld). Dealership told me since I was the one to strip it, they may not be able to cover it under warrenty. Not happy, I made my argument it wasn't really me, it would have been whoever touched it first. Couldn't convince them, so to avoid an argument, I told them to forget about it and I'd deal with it myslef. That's when the problem started. Instead of removing the line item like I asked, the service rep kept explaining it wasn't his fault he couldn't guarantee it'd be a warranty fix. I told him I understood but wasn't going to pay and didn't want it done. He wouldn't remove the line item until I snapped at him and started walking out (which he didn't like, and of course resulted in the argument I tried to avoid). I could unhappily deal with their position on the warranty, but it was ridiculous that he wouldn't remove the line item until I got pissed off. I hadn't even signed the work order yet.

So, there it is. Console me, mock me, blame me, support me, take a side and make your opinion known. And let me know if there are any good Toyota dealerships anywhere, I'm curious. Although at this point I'm not sure free services are worth the headache.

 

I have a good dealership /service department I use. I also ride motorcycles with one of the service techs, so that may have something to do with it.

 

I’m confused, all of this over a stripped bolt?

 

you gotta keep an eye on all of them...if you really want to put them on notice...do a walk around with service manager while taking some phone video so he knows you will know if they screw something up...then do a final walkaround at the end of service with same service manager

 

Haven't been to a good one yet. My dealership recently had to replace all four of my brand new Black Rhyno wheels after taking it in for its first service. They chowdered every hole when they did the rotation. Anyway have you ever walked back to the service bays where the work is being done? I did and I was not surprised to see a group of young ass clowns doing the oil changes and the rotations. Minimum wage millennials who don't give two shits about your vehicle. It was a $900 rotation for the dealership that day but they will never learn.

 

Dealerships don’t install the tonneau covers if it’s factory. It was installed at the port.

I personally would fire you as a client if you came into my shop.

 

Well, the first dealership was two botched accessories on two separate visits. After that I couldn't trust them with anything that would affect the safety or value of the truck. With the second dealership, it really wasn't about the bolt. Like it or not, they had their view on it, and I couldn't change their mind. It was that they wouldn't respect my decision about not doing the work until I got pissed off and literally started walking out. I expect that from a salesperson, not the service dept.

 

Crap it is only Monday can't you wait until Friday for a rant like this?

 

WTF? How can you expect anyone to cover a bolt you touched? How do they know you didn't strip it? Oh wait.... because you told them lol. Yeah, and nobody ever lies.

 

First service done today @10am got out @12pm. I saw my truck sitting in the service lane @11:15. It took them 45 min to do paper work? People that pulled in after me for my scheduled 10am service were helped before me, and people who came in 10 to 15 min after me left before me. So my vote is yes.

 

You stripped a bolt? So run to home depot, use their little thread gauge thing and buy a new one.

 

I wish all I had to worry about was 1 stripped bolt.
But no..not all dealerships suck. It’s about who you know in the service dept

 

What do millennials have to do with it? The baby boomers back there aren’t any better.

 

No, they installed it. It wasn't part of their original package. I negotiated it as part of the sale, they didn't have it in stock, I came back, they installed it, it had a broken latch, they didn't tell me. I understand your view for the second situation, I didn't want to deal with me either, but I'm honestly surprised it's about the first one.

 

I think we all know but that's for another thread

 

Generational differences don’t need to be in any thread.

 

And there you have it lol

 

I use that time to walk around the lot and see what's new. Sometimes I will venture over to the Ford lot which is only separted by a strip of grass.
Also, my local dealership has an ICEE machine, so I don't get upset if I have to wait a little while.

 

Oof, the ignorance is real.