Let's hear your dealership BS

Not Toyota related, but...

Back in 2002, I was shopping for a '02 Camaro SS with a 6 speed. A M6 was almost impossible to find at the time. One salesman told me he'd locate one and call me when he does. He started calling me non stop at home and even at work trying to push an automatic he had. He then told me he found a wrecked 6 speed car and said that if I do the swap, the warranty wouldn't be voided in any way. Right.

I later found a 6 speed car at a different dealer. The car is long gone, but missed dearly.

 

The dealer closest to me (not the dealer I bought it from) is useless as tits on a bull. My first dealings with them was the recall for the cable in the steering column. The replaced the cable & then gave a list of $2K worth of stuff that needed fixing so my truck wouldn't explode in 5 minutes.....like $400 to do the front brakes, $1400 to "reseal" the front of the motor, etc. The estimate was handwritten like someone would write it on a cocktail napkin. My wife actually took the truck in when I was at work so I went back there and asked for a computer generated list that detailed all of the "necessary" work they thought my truck needed and they couldn't produce it. I still get calls once or twice a quarter from them saying that they have some service "deals" and would I like to sell my truck to them.....oh yeah and buy a new one while I'm at it. The last time they called I told them that when I do buy a new one, it will NOT be from them.

 

I have nothing bad to say besides when I accompanied my dad to a Toyota dealership when we were looking for a prius v the guy kept going back to the manager. It went down like this.

My father and I went to the dealership.
The guy greeted us and showed us to a red prius v with beige interior.
We took it for a test drive. Nothing bad so far.
We went in for the paperwork. This is when the fun starts.
My father and I tried to tell him that we were just looking right now and we have to go.
The dealer guy said to let him talk to his manager to give us a deal we wont refuse.
My dad and I said we really had to go now.
The dealer guy said to let him talk to his manager to give us a deal we wont refuse.
My dad and I said we really had to go now.
The dealer guy said to let him talk to his manager to give us a deal we wont refuse.
My dad and I said we really had to go now.
The dealer guy said to let him talk to his manager to give us a deal we wont refuse.
Eventually my dad and I just got up and left.

The reason I typed the same thing over and over again was that if it is annoying through typing it was really annoying in real life.

 

This has been my experience with all dealers. Salesmen make a really low base wage and need to sell vehicles to make any sort of decent wage. A test drive takes up an hour of his time. He has to at least try to sell you the car. Some do a better job of acting at ease and will leave you alone but in my experience most won't.

I know it's annoying, but hey that's what we get for having a culture that revolves around the sale and not the service. If we all keep asking for the lowest price on everything, that's where you end up.

BTW to the former VW guy, if that story is totally true and I was you I wouldn't touch another Toyota with a 10 foot pole. I probably would of made sure to have a buddy drop my Toyota off in front of the dealership every day with a lemon sign on it until I got CASH back. I mean there's two sides to every story but from your end it sounds like they bent you over at every turn and found creative ways to fuck you over.

 

Yeah, I saw that you bought a new Ford. We don't have any superduty's in our fleet anymore, but the last FX4 we had was a great truck. We do have 6 F150's and all of them have held up to commercial abuse extremely well.

My local dealership is just plain shitty when it comes to servicing vehicles. There sales staff is great but it's really annoying to get a flyer every few months ranting and raving about there high customer service rating on this website and all the while I know the exact opposite is true after they hand you the keys. I know the service manager tries but they need to reevaluate there shop training because it shouldn't take 4 tries to reseal a windshield and technicians should not leave a bunch of crap in the engine bay or on the sill in front of the windshield after a service.

 

I get what you are saying about the low wages. My dad and I did not buy from that dealership. We bought from a different one. The prius V was t replace out old 1999 Chevrolet prizm

And we went back to the dealer we bought the prius v (about a year apart)and bought a blue regular prius to replace our 2004 Pontiac vibe


Note that these were not the real cars that we had. I just found ones similar off the internets

 

Not only the wage, but management constantly on them. "What have you done for me lately"?

 

Bad experience..

June 2012, my engine light on my 06 Chevy Colorado is on. Head is junk. First dealer (Desantis Chevy in Brockton MA) says it's $5k between that and a timing chain.

Somehow in 5 minutes I find the extended warranty online that he swears he didn't know about. 4 wks later they won't fix it unless I pay cash, even though they entered it with GM and were approved to do under warranty.

Second dealer (McLaughlin Chevy in Whitman MA) is where the initial fellow works now. He fixed it but charged me $2k for the cam, timing chain, etc and told me GM reimburses it. Corporate said no he could have gotten approval to do it free but tough crap buddy. He then sends me back and says he's replaced many heads under this warranty over the years..same guy who said 2 mos ago he never heard of it!

GM agrees the dealer lied but won't do anything. Nice..

Oddly the first dealer (who the owner also lied to me about the $100 diagnostic fee I was charged and never reimbursed per the warranty)was bought out recently by a Toyota dealer..

 

Good experience..

Copeland Toyota in Brockton MA. My wife has bought several vehicles there, so I tried it with my 2010. Zero pressure, minimal pushing of warranty by finance but I get he's trying to sell it so no worries. Got a great quote on my Colorado and 1.9% on my current ride.

2 months after buying I got the Weathertech liners and saw my truck didn't have the hooks, so I called the parts dept. Upon hearing my story the gentleman told me to come in and gave me 3 packs free of charge, even refused a tip.

 

After telling me they found a Taco with "everything I wanted" - SR5, DCSB 4x4, tow package I showed up to find an SR. Really wanted the back up camera. Price included dealer installed back up cam and sensors - based on research price sounded OK but not great so I bought it 20 Jan 15. For the price and being "dealer installed option" I expected OEM camera and sensors. Nope. After market gear they can't get to work right. Been back and forth three times (100 miles r/t). Drove truck 6 days and their loaner car for 9 (so far). Went three days with no word from SM. Sent him email asking for progress report with no answer. Sent him OEM part number for camera; no answer. Called him late on third day. "Gee, no one called you?" Tried to talk with accessories manager and was told all inquires about my Taco would have to go through Sales Manager. Nice. Family has owned Toys since 1968. Bought the second in 1969. My first car was four year old Corona wagon in '74. Sold Mom's 1989 Camery wagon last year. Latest was 1998 RAV4 - wrecked -which is why I went for the Taco. Never had an issue with a Toy dealer like this. Now I'm so disgusted I don't even want the truck. Watch this space. Story continues . . . BTW they dented the trail gate installing the camera. They are having trouble understanding why I'm upset. Will be my last Toyota.

 

I brought in my 2011 Tacoma DCSB TRD Off Road w/ 50,000 mi on it last week to the Wyatt Johnson Toyota dealership in Clarksville, Tn because my rear brakes were squealing at very low speed braking. I have an extended warranty thru USAA. I thought I should be able to get my brake shoes, drums, and gasket replaced w/ no cost to me under the rear brake TSB (T-SB-0236-12, applies to some 2011 & 2012 Tacomas).
After a small initial misunderstanding the service dept manager said all the parts have been ordered and all the above mentioned parts will be replaced free of charge! I am very happy and pleased w/ the customer service of their service dept, and that truly does go a long way in keeping me a loyal Toyota customer.

 

What does any of that have to do with Toyota?
Maybe if you decided to not buy from that dealer anymore, you'd be better off.

 

My story is much simpler than some above, but speaks to why so many of us do our own maint. work.

Took my wifes '14 4Runner in for the 10K ToyotaCare service on Wed. Tire rotation, oil/filter change, and a slew of check-this-check-that.

I never take any of my vehicles to any service department, but she insisted that we take advantage of the 10K freebie. The 5K tire rotation freebie took 2.5 hrs. at the dealer we purchased from and that was with an appointment. She dealt with that one.

I scheduled her 10K service with a different dealer. So in I go, feeling like someone who's just walked into an oral surgeons office for an imbedded wisdom tooth removal.

40 min. later I'm told vehicle is ready. Pull dipstick to ensure engine actually has oil in it. Color looks good - appears to have been changed - level OK.

Get home - check torque on lug nuts - 2 to 3 lugs on each wheel are considerably looser than the other. Not falling-off loose, but definitely nowhere close to the 81 ft. lb. spec owners manual calls for. Get the torque wrench out and get it right.

Did they change oil filter? This would be very easy for a dealer to brush aside. 5th Gen 4Runner 1GR-FE engines have an oil filter housing with paper insert down below. No more spin-on cartridge. One plastic panel and one 15 lb. metal under cover plate have to come off to access oil filter housing. Pull 'um off. Looks like filter was changed because the index mark on the housing is not in the same spot I left it when I did an oil change myself at 5K. I'm not the sort that would run a new engine on the same oil for 10K regardless of it's composition, conventional or synthetic.

Toyota switched to a plastic oil filter housing vs. metal used on earlier models when they came out with 5th Gen 4Runners. There is an index mark on the oil filter housing and one on the upper metal portion that you line up when reinstalling oil filter housing. Go past this mark and you can possibly breaking the plastic housing. The oil filter housing was a good inch and a half past where it should have been. Pulled it back and ran engine to check for leaks before buttoning up. I will switch to a metal housing used on other models after the drive train warranty expires. You merely swap the housing guts.

Looks like I'll be checking torque on the lugs again at the 15K service and lugs and oil/filter work at the 20K service. Same recheck for the final 25K service.

I could call or email the service mgr., but what good would that do. I'd get to listen to a bunch of "we're so sorry....". I'm also 30+ miles away from this dealership, most of which is highway going through revamp.

My 2015 Tacoma will soon go through the not-so-free 5K OwnerCare service. All work done right the first time.

 

1st oil change/tire rotation on my brand new, 1st ever purchased, brand new, friggin brand new Tacoma. On the drive home it feels like I'm driving on ice. Get home and check the wheels and one side has 3 lug bolts left and they're not even hand tightened. Was I pissed? Called the dealership (6PM) and told them what happened and they had the audacity to tell me to drive it back and they'd wait until 7PM for me. Now I'm a raging maniac on the phone. Insisted on a wrecker, wrecker towed it back on a flat bed. Mechanic nearly started crying and said they get worked overtime all the time and he was tired and had been there 125 years and never made that mistake before basically begging for his job. I had him document what happened on a memo and he signed it. I never reported the incident to the dealership (anyone can make a mistake) but needless to say I've never gone back there again either. I like to vote with my wallet. Now I drive 30 miles out of the way to get to a dealership I trust when I need a Toyota mechanic. UNBELEIVABLE.

 

You would think after 125 years the guy would learn how to use a torque wrench.

 

I've had pretty good luck with my dealer...

First Trip for a Warranty Issue:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/202936-first-trip-dealer-repair-warranty.html

Rear Diff. Replaced (Warranty):
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/38939-tw-live-10707.html#post6192282

Free Tools after Dealer oil change:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...care-apparently-techs-do-not.html#post6181605

 

I have had trouble with dealer financing. It seems when they offer 1% financing they expect you to pick up all the other odds and ends since you are basically financing for nothing and then they get real mad when you don't bite.

 

I've seen the massive financing numbers come up before. I know the local GM dealer uses 18% yearly when they put the stickers on there used cars. One of my moms friends had almost signed when he noticed the interest rate. It's almost murder.

I got 0.9% financing on my truck and negotiated a sweet deal on the overall price of the truck. I felt the finance guy also tried hard to get me to bite on all of his packages but in the end it was a good experience overall.

 

Toyota of Apex has been very kind to me the few times I've had to go

 

Well, the thread is about Dealer BS, so it is about a Toyota Dealer. Yes, I know they are like a McDonald's franchise, but they represent the Toyota name and the reputation of the company at large. Anyway the story has an ending . . . picked up the truck this afternoon beepers function as they should. Solution to installing an OEM Toyota backup camera in an SR is to remove the tail gate from an SR5 on the lot and install it on the SR - yes, the same color. Took about 10 minutes. 18 days from purchase to final delivery. And no, they wouldn't throw in a free car wash with the included oil changes. It will be the last Toyota only cause I'm too old to buy another.