Recommendation for a good dealer in BC

West Coast Toyota, salesman had recently moved from Langley Toyota. He was super helpful and really knew Tacomas, a very relaxed man and not pushy

 

Hello fellow BC members.

i bought my 22 MT access cab from Sun Country in Kamloops.
dealer was able to get the taco to me after 1-1/2 mo or so. one month earlier than promised.
no $ negotiation due to supply chain etc.
i dont have strong feelings about the dealership yet, either way.

 

They just charge msrp so no mark up, and doc fees so that’s not bad.
You add anything on to your truck ?

 

added block heater only.
sourcing GY Duratrac Lt 265 tires through Fountain Tire.
you?

 

I bought from Kelowna in 2013 and had a good experience, Toyota oil filters and stuff I get from Sun Country in Kamloops.
Sportsman or Baja North are great if you do suspension stuff or other offroad stuff, you probably already know about them.

 

have not visited those shops.
not yet!

 

Not sure if you are aware, but just a heads up on that OEM block heater. They can fail and cause a fire. Toyota Canada has issued a bulletin. They are now required to check them on an annual basis when the truck goes in for service. I'm a little disappointed that I spent money for the supposedly quality OEM version that connects nicely via a receptacle in the front grille only to find out that they can fail.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-block-heater-recall.665044/

 

im disappointed too.
nobody at dealership said a word

 

I haven't gotten a bulletin on my 2021 with block heater. Either did my wife for her 2021 Rav4 block heater.

Last set of Duratracs I got was through Fountain in Kelowna, prior two sets were from Fountain in Quesnel. Both had great service 235/85/16

both my truck and the wife's Rav were msrp + block heater. dealer fee was discounted off.

 

From my experience new west Toyota were a bunch of lying sacks of shit. Sorry for harsh words but they really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I left a nice long review on google if you are interested…

 

I will plug West coast Toyota again, they were #1 dealer for I believe the last 3 years. The salesman that I had left Langley Toyota after several years and went to WCT because they don't mark up their vehicles

 

Man.. I was lucky enough to buy my Taco there. Just got help from them again after JP North Shore were unbelievably vague and almost unhelpful.

soft open hinge broke. Like… doesn’t exist anymore… so tailgate “falls out”. I have dogs,
Toddlers, and work, that means I open it several times a day…. Everyday.



Above is what it looked like yesterday… today the plastic has all come out.

I took it to the dealer so that they could
Come out and look at it… no one would come out and look…. What? Next, they couldn’t get me in for the replacement for a week and a half.

A call to the service manager’s cellphone didn’t do much more as they are “backed-up” but, he said he’d order the parts ahead.

I know what goes into this install, I’d be fine with a “drop it in the morning, we will get it done by the end of the day”. I even asked for this… they said “no”.

So my year and a half old truck with 24K kilometres will limp around.

I know everywhere and everyone is hurting. Just seems that in the city… no dealers are working that hard anymore.

And of course, this leaves all of the customers even less happy as if the dealer services were ever that good to start.

 

So glad I have the ability to repair my own....

 

I do too. It’s just that I don’t want to pay for something that could instead be an ARB awning. Sigh.

 

This is why I don't go to dealer for anything. Only reason to go-to a dealer is to buy a truck and or parts.
I can repair lots of things. But when I need something done out of my comfort zone there I's a privately owned shop I trust.

 

I used to be able to recommend Prince George Toyota but my favourite salesman has just left and I don't think anyone can top his level of detail, service, excitement, genuine honesty and commitment to his customers' needs vs throwing them into debt they can't handle just for a sale. A number of other favourite staff left and their turnover can be so extreme that you get people who don't know anything (admitted to me by numerous staff lol) about any of the vehicles or parts they see every day. Coordinators are clueless and don't record information accurately, which is one of the most important part of retaining a customer, imo. Only one service manager is on their a-game every day.

Huge issues with their fixed op manager too, guy's a treat.

edit: the shuttle driver is a blast though, talkative and friendly guy, likes to BS about life. Always a fun drive back home or to work lol.

 

British Columbia had something like 11,000 jobs opening for technicians and auto professionals by 2033 listed a year and a half ago, with the economic downturn it's looking like about 7,000 at the present time. I would wager that 99% of shops are hiring at some level of re/re or maintenance (lube techs), it's not just dealerships. Everyone is hurting for staff, but many shops don't want to invest in new technicians if they aren't an example of the perfect-ly non-existent, not realistic- employee.

 

Interesting. I just had my truck at West coast Toyota in Pitt Meadows for my service and they even installed my Fumoto drain plug when doing the oil change

 

In the past I have taken my truck to Vernon, but I live in Kelowna. Since they moved the dealership in Kelowna to the new building, and some changes in upper management, I am happy with the service I get there now.

 

yah I wish I lived closer to Ridge for taco things.
But pretty glad to live on the North Shore for all of the other things.