Worst dealership/salesman experience?

Kendall Toyota, Fairbanks AK

Got my Tacoma as a certified pre-owned with 7K on it. Within 2 weeks of buying it, I had it back because of the rear suspension silencer pad squeak crap. They diagnosed it, recognized the warranty issue, ordered parts and I got told to wait for the parts to come in. Cool, too easy. 6 months later, I got a call to come in for parts. Went in, got told that the lady who did my stuff was fired and they weren’t gonna honor her warranty requests. Got told to come back, re-diagnose and wait for parts. Brought her back and I got told that they couldn’t duplicate the issue. Ditto at my 30K service (where they told me my truck didn’t have a cabin air filter...it does...). I came back in for some work with my airbag lights and other stuff at 36,8xxx and they said that they diagnosed the suspension squeak but because my truck was 800 miles over warranty they wouldn’t touch it. Needless to say, I was thoroughly displeased with this given the hoops I’d already jumped through.

 

Did all this happen recently?

 

Yeah dude. I just today got word they ordered the parts but I’m leaving AK in October and I’m not sure they’re gonna have the parts in.

 

Anyone used Scott Clark Toyota in Matthews North Carolina? Local to me so jw

 

Not attacking you, but if you are talking about holding value, Chevy is not an option. If you are discussing payments, you are playing into their hands.

 

Get copies of the previous work done and call Toyota Corporate and file a complaint.

 

Me: Do you have any Offroad models on the lot I can swing by to look at?
Salesman: I actually don't, but I have a 2wd sport edition and is actually a tier higher than that one.
Me: Thanks for your time

 

In 1986 I was looking at Nissans in Ventura CA. and the salesman offered a line of coke.

Maybe that wasn't the worst.

 

"How does handle the snow?"
Dealer: Let's find out!

 

You're 100% correct, no doubt. Thus why I went with another Tacoma.

 

I’m going to. If they can’t get the parts in I’m going to sit there while the service manager calls the dealership where I’m going. 10/10 not fucking with this.

 

How about getting all the numbers done. Go to finance. Pull out the certified bank draft from credit union and start filling it out. Finance guy stops me and says we don’t accept those. WTF?!? Why not I ask. He said we have been burned to many times by those. I started laughing. I said sir, this is a 100 percent secured guarantee thing. You have to call and get the verification code and they will fund it right over the phone right now. I told him I’ll stay in here while you call so you know it’s legit. He still refused to accept it. I said ok then, I’m sorry I mistake you guys for a dealer who likes money. Funny thing is they take a personal check from people which could bounce tomorrow but won’t take a 100 percent guaranteed certified bank check. Needless to say I took my business elsewhere and had zero issues dealing with them. There are some idiots in this world.

 

Short:

2019 Taco

I’ve had multiple from dealer to mechanical issues;

1.) Rear diff replacement
2.) High pitched popping and clicking from rear after rear diff replacement.
3.) Squeaky/creaky passenger seat
4.) Low Oil Pressure/Check Engine Light
5.) Multiple TSS issues
6.) Stumbling Transmission
7.) Chattering Leaf Springs
Also dealer personnel issues, and contract issues.

Long from the beginning:

When buying my 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR AC with the SX package. I was trading in a leased Subaru WRX with below 5k miles at the 27 month mark. They said I had negative equity of $995 and the price of my new taco with $0 down and the negative equity rolled in was $425. I said no thank you I can wait, they called me 10 minutes later saying that I now have positive equity of $2,000 after “talking to another wholesaler” and if I put an extra $500 down I could be at $300 a month. I agreed.

Fast forward from November purchase date to January 31st at 960 miles, my rear diff started howling. We dropped it off at the dealer, and after the dealer consulted Toyota Corp with what they found, they told the dealer to replace the rear diff. After that, the rear diff has made a high pitched popping and clicking noise, which they say is a characteristic of the vehicle now.

My truck visited the dealership 7-8 times(my dealer is not close). The one time it sat for an entire week, when I called to ask for an update, the service manager said they had not even looked at it even though I had an appointment for the day we dropped it off. I’ve been given a loaner that looked and smelled like an ash tray(they apparently have a no smoking policy for rentals), and when I made service appointment they told us “what are you here for? Whoever wrote the notes looks like they just threw random words down”.

On one of the repeat times, I realized on my sales contract(6 months after I bought it) that I was given GAP insurance. This is an issue because the person who asked me if I wanted it asked 4 times, and I said no. He said give me a few minutes to finish the deal and I will call you back. He then called back and said that my monthly payment would go up due to a “rate change” by $8. Well, it appears it was the GAP insurance that changed the price and they slid it in(my own dumb fault for not realizing it). Now during this phone call, I said I wanted to speak to a manager because now I’m furious and I was told that the sales manager would try to get me out of my tacoma and into another new one due to all the issues both mechanical and personnel. Him and I were going back and forth, all while the truck is sitting down there for that week and he said that “it will take a couple of days for your credit score and all”. I called back and said “how? Takes 2 minutes or less to come up”. He said it will just take a few days.

When I realized that my truck had been sitting for a week not even looked at, we decided to pick it up. My father had decided to get it for me and while there he had asked to talk to the sales manager, all my dad said was “another dealer said they would do $365 a month, eat the negative equity, and get us into an SR5 double cab long bed.” The Manager then said he had to run to his office and check, the manager called me while in the office loudly stating that since I was working with another dealer and they were trying to get me financing(they weren’t) and doing a deal(they weren’t, I only inquired what they could do) he couldn’t help me because that would block them out and that my credit score was bad. We then exchanged loud conversations and hung up. He walked out to my dad handed him the keys and said goodbye(without an explanation to my father what even happened as he told my dad he was checking prices) and a salesman walked my dad out. He had ZERO idea anything had happened. After I explained it, my dad was furious.

Fast forward to a low oil pressure light/Check Engine light(truck was towed to the dealer) and they said after running a health diagnostics and checking fluid levels they find no issues.

TSS issues arise saying “Forward Facing Camera Unavailable” and turning my TSS FCW/Braking on and off and we take it in and they say “After running a health diagnostics we can not find any issues”. The light will go on and off sporadically but when it shuts itself off it shows the system is working.

I’ve been dealing with corporate since January 31st. I asked corporate if they could do anything and they said “we only cover warranty work, we do not own the dealerships, they are our partners. We will document your personnel complaint.”

Fast Forward to TSS issues I call corporate again saying again this is ridiculous could you make a payment for all this trouble etc. They said they were not in the position to do that as the dealer said there were no issues they could find with the truck.

Fast forward to now, I am severely disappointed, and my rear diff has started howling again. Called and made an appointment. Sorry it was so long y’all.

 

If you are in the USA talk to a lawyer about Lemon Law, In Canada look into arbitration.

 

I agree about Gresham Toyota being horrible. There are MANY Portland metro area Toyota dealerships that handle you much better. I emailed Gresham for the internet price on a 2019 Tacoma TRD OR Quicksand with some accessories. The online vehicle description was generic but from the photos it was clear the truck had a lift, aftermarket wheels/tires, the cheapo OEM Toyota roof rack. Nothing specific. They quoted me $34566 all included. Seemed low for a modded truck but hey, I'm not sure what/how was equipped.

So I made the 45 minute drive out to Gresham Toyota. As soon as I walked in, they were trying to get me to sign off on a credit report check right off the bat and sign papers. I told them to slow down and give me some numbers, etc. (Meanwhile, the truck wss in the showroom with a Yakima bed rack, RTT, bike rack as display (that clearly weren't included but there just for show). They had to disassemble that whole mess so I could test drive.

Got back from drive and was handed an offer with a lowball trade-in on my car and a $51K bottom line to be financed (not including any down payment that was yet to be discussed). Anyway, I wasn't buying a $51K Taco after being emailed an offer of $34.5K. Spent a couple more hours getting ridiculous offers for other trucks and lots of add-ons and other bottom-line padding tactics. Lots of fast-talking. But everything padded with extras. 3-4 guys stepping in at different points and blowing smoke up my ass. Even the GM came to shake hands. They had also mysteriously disappeared with my own car's keys. Finally, I had to to tell they weren't anywhere on the same page as me and I got my keys and left. Seriously really bad experience. That crap may work on some dummies looking for a car, but I was insulted they even tried pulling that crap with me.

Couple days later, I went to Wilsonville Toyota and was treated way better. Chill atmosphere. One dude to deal with. They found a truck at a decent price and gave me a decent trade-in offer $3K over what Gresham was offering.

 

My worst dealership experience was bout 3 weeks ago, exactly a week before I purchased my Tacoma. I was originally in the market for new Nissan Frontier Pro-4X 6MT. The dealership and I had gone over pricing over the phone, but the sales manager assured me to come down and talk in person and we could probably work something out, or maybe include a tow package. I drove down from NJ to Virginia with some friends to check the truck out with money in hand ready to purchase the truck. Once I got there, I was presented with a joke of a salesman who seemed like he was reading the window sticker to me - he even pointed out where the rear-view camera was. I enjoyed the truck so we went inside to do paperwork and discuss numbers. That dealership includes some BS "total loss protection" fee, which is like $600 and non-negotiable. It's in case you ever total your vehicle, they give you $2500 towards another vehicle. The salesman essentially lied to my face when he wrote down a number which we both agreed on, and then when it came to actually paying, he told the manager he never discussed any other number with me. I walked out right after that, and I am glad I did. A couple days later, I came across 2019 Tacoma TRD Off-Road 6MT, premium tech package, OEM bed cover, in cement grey... The truck I had wanted since the end of 2018. For $34,900... Just a little bit more than the Frontier I was looking at. In the end, don't try to rush a car purchase. The right one will always find you!

 

My wife really liked the RAV4 back in 2005 so we went to our local Toyota dealership with a print ad for the one she wanted and were working with the sales person who was actually pretty nice when the sleaziest sales manager with a shit eating grin and gold canine tooth walked up and proceeded to tell us that the print ad was a mistake and the price was ~2K higher. I was ready to walk out but my wife really wanted this RAV4 which was used and it was mentioned that it was an owner trade in so we haggled some and got to a price point we could live with went all the way to financing and started going through the car details on the last page we found out the car was a rental, that was the last straw I stood up told the wife we are out of here and left. They tried to stop us even bringing up the ad price but we had enough and it wasn't worth doing business with them. She ended up getting a new Honda CRV and loved it.

That dealership was sold a few years later and it's where I ended up going for my Tacoma with my Costco deal in hand. It was an entirely different experience and I was ready to walk out at the drop of a hat if they tried any shenanigans or I saw that gold toothed wanker. We ended up getting a decent price on the Tacoma and trade in on my Jeep Liberty the only issue was the finance guy tried to sell us on the extended warranty bullshit and we called him on multiple lies in regards to trying to sell it. So we passed on the warranty, he wasn't pleased but we didn't care. We actually had a good laugh on the way home on how hard he tried to sell that warranty from the lies to fear tactics but that is pretty typical so it wasn't a deal breaker.

So far their service and parts department seem OK but the jury is still out on whether I ever take my truck back their after the warranty runs out.

 

Couldn’t read it. Dude, never mind the story, that is one serious wall of text. Just a little tip for the future. Paragraphs are your friend. Break it up and it would be much easier to read.

 

LMAO! Looks like someone skipped or fell asleep during their writing class in high school.