Fuck you Dealership, I bought a Toyota, not a "Dealership" Toyota.

The BBQ Pit
1

I leased a 2011 Toyota Corrola from a dealership in a big city. I received excellent service and was quite pleased with my experience. I bought in a big city about 60 miles away to have more selection and better pricing. Also, I had a friend at the dealership which doesn’t hurt.

I started getting my car serviced at my local dealership for convenience - I didn’t want to have to drive 60 miles just to get my oil changed.

Foolish me, because I was too naive. I actually thought a Toyota was a Toyota everywhere I went. I was wrong. If you got your car at “Great Place” Toyota, and you bring it to “Douchebag” Toyota, you get screwed. Hard!

The first problem - I brought my car in to get serviced because the light came on. That is how it works - light comes on, get free service. (I say free fully knowing my car purchase paid for it) I brought my car in and they made a few snide, but seemingly insignificant comments about “Great Place” Toyota. Two days afterwards my service light came back on. Being nervous, I took it back as soon as possible. They took a look and explained that they forgot to hit the reset button when the serviced it last. :confused: I explained I wouldn’t have left with the service light on as that is what prompted me to come in the first place. They squirm, but don’t offer me any real explanation. (They basically write it off as me being an incompetent witness)

The second problem is that my check engine light went on. I grew up broke and I know how quickly low oil can kill a car, so I immediately checked the oil - it was fine. I called the dealership, and they told me it would be $96 to look into it. I calmly explained I have a bumper to bumper warranty on the car - the woman plays dumb. Finally I demand the manager speak to me. After collecting my information he explains that “Great Place” Toyota has dubious warranties and I should have read my fine print. Through gritted teeth I remind him that I have a MANUFACTURER’S warranty, which he should know since he has my file pulled up. I say that I’m going to file a complaint and he changes his tune, tells me to come right in.

I come in with the car (big mistake, but I was worried I’d ruin the car) and the woman at the front desk is extremely rude. She asks “are you aware of the fee?”. I reply “are you aware that I just spoke to your manager, and he understands it is covered by warranty?”. She says “Look, I’m just making sure you know.” and stomps off. Twenty minutes later she walks up and says with a vile attitude “Anthony, you might want to take a look at this.”

I walk in back and they have my car in the garage with the gas tank door open. She explains I left the cap open and proceeds to scold me for causing such a ruckus. At this point my face is nearly purple. I explain “NOW I’VE GOT YOU! That light came on BEFORE the last time I gassed up. You know you’re wrong and now you are doing this to make me look foolish!”. I say fine, I’ll pay the fee, cause Toyota is going to give it back when I file this complaint.

I call Toyota care line and they seem quite concerned and tell me I will hear back from them on Friday. This morning, almost a week past when they said they would call, I call them and ask why they haven’t called. They offer no explanation and they offer that since it was a dealership fee there is nothing they can do.

So FUCK YOU Toyota, I know living well is the best revenge but I’ll be on the lookout for any way to fuck over that dealership and welcome any LEGAL ideas. I won’t stoop to their level, so don’t waste your breath on that.

2

I’m sorry you have problems.

What does the fine print in your Warranty actually say?

3

For the future, Checker Auto will plug in their computer and check that engine light for free.

4

It details that anything that makes the car move forward (bumper to bumper) is covered until the end of my lease. This includes diagnosing issues. However, if the customer is at fault for the issue, and the part isn’t defective, the diagnostic and repairs come out of your pocket. As an example, a head gasket leaking would be their problem, diagnostic and all. My hitting a jersey barrier would by my problem, diagnostic and all.

My issue is that I believe something was wrong with the vehicle, but rather than admit fault, they set me up to humiliate me. While I realize this seems far-fetched, in the context of the dealership heavily insulting the other dealership, as well as treating me quite poorly, along with the fact that the light came on before I had refueled my vehicle (which would require me to have left the gas cap off twice, when I haven’t done so at all in the previous 20,000 miles of the car’s life) it seems none-the-less true to me.

I am unfamiliar with Checker Auto. Unfortunately it looks like they are not in my area, the Southeast US. Thanks for the suggestion though!

5

So, the manager said he’d waive the fee and then you paid it anyway?

Edit: Advance Auto or Autozone will also connect their diagnostic tool and read your engine codes for free.

6

File a complaint with the State. Copy Toyota. Hit them on Twitter, using Toyota hashtags. Nail them on Yelp.

Basically, make some noise.

I have gone through this before. The dealership went out of business (burn in hell Reggie Jackson Nissan of Palo Alto). Other times I have made enough of a nuisance - brought the car back, asked for the service manager to determine why they were trying to kill my son with poor service.

7

I was thinking of doing that - giving them a bit of negative media.

My dad always suggests “Go to the local paper”. He is so out of touch - what is paper? You have to do facebook, yelp, twitter, etc etc.

It can’t hurt and it might help. Of course, I won’t be going back to the dealership anytime soon.

It just frustrates me because I leased a car with a warranty for peace of mind…if I can’t have that then why didn’t I just buy a beater for $2,000 and run it into the ground? UGH

Again, Fuck You Toyota

8

Please name the lousy dealership.

9

These two things are not automatically causally related. Recommendation - next time the check engine light comes on, go to Auto-Zone and have them pull the code. Then record that code. No more dealership arguing. Auto-Zone pulls the code for FREE.

It’s possible for the gas-cap code to come on, and stay on, if the cap isn’t tightened fully. 3 clicks is what you need. It could have been leftover from the first time you ever filled it up, maybe? ETA: I see you’ve had it for 20k miles, so this is unlikely.

They can apply pressure to the dealership to refund the fee. Depends on the amount of stink you want to make, and how hard you press.

Next time, contact the dealership where you purchased the vehicle, and have them recommend a local dealership to you, and have them contact that dealership’s service department to inform them that you’ll be coming in. The original dealership is MUCH more invested in your satisfaction that anyone else.

10

I agree; the OP ought to name the dealer, because many companies monitor the internet for complaints and will respond. (They especially look for stuff on Twitter and Facebook but I think people have gotten companies to respond to complaints here.) The OP might also want to mention his experience on Yelp, and if he gets a survey call about the dealership experience, he can complain there as well.

TLDR version: If you’re going to complain about a company on the internet, don’t be shy about naming it.

11

For everyone who has car issues and who owns a laptop computer (which is just about everyone) I recommend you buy a OBD-2 USB scan tool w/ programming, available on Amazon for less than $30. Then you can plug into your car anytime the light comes on and find out why.

I have had several issues where once I discovered my problem was minor, and possibly just a hiccup, I cleared the code and the warning didn’t return. No visits to the shop, no worries. Total cost $30 (once) and 5 minutes every time I had a question.

This is the one I bought. Between friends & myself it’s been used at least a dozen times for real questions.

12

And for about $50 you can buy your own OBD II hand held scanner and read, and clear the codes yourself. Look under your dash, in the area on the driver’s side where the gas pedal is. Do you see something that looks and old computer printer port? That is where it plugs it.

These scan tools work on all models, by law. You do not need a Honda one or a GM one, they all will read the code. The code may be specific for the vehicle.

Most of the issues that will set a “check engine light”, or a “service engine soon” are related to emission controls that are not vital to the operation of your vehicle.

Don’t Panic! If the check engine light is flashing then you have a misfire or other urgent need, but a steady light is something to be concerned and look into, but is not an emergency.

And I would second the idea to name the dealership, it not here, then somewhere else.

Customer service uses Google Alerts as one of the tools to track satisfaction and complaints. I know that if I were to name the company I work for, a Google Alert will be sent directly to the marketing/community relations officer.

Not blaming the victim of really bad customer service, but the gas cap not being on is a common source of an evaporative emissions code. It sounds like they used that to shame you into only dealing with them.

13

I second this. Having your own OBDII scan tool can be very handy and can save you some serious money if you are willing to some of your own research. They are very easy to use, you don’t have to be mechanically inclined or a computer expert.

In addition to the above model, you can also get ones designed to connect wirelessly (via Bluetooth) to your smartphone. I bought this one and have been using it for about a year now, with good success. You can get a free app on your phone (I use Torque on Android, and I bet there’s something similar for iPhone) and read codes, reset the codes, log data, all kinds of stuff. So, choose either a USB or Bluetooth model, whichever is more convenient, but look into getting one.

14

Yes, tell the dealership where you bought it (preferably the person you know) and tell them what’s being said about them behind their back. Who knows, they may have some internal way to respond to them forcefully?

Also, while living well is the best revenge, when you eventually buy another vehicle, don’t buy Toyota.

15

I would’ve given up on the local dealership after they started acting so passive-aggressive about servicing. People that childish and idiotic are not to be trusted.

16

Absolutely. What they did was very unprofessional. My car is really old (193k miles) and my dealership is more than happy to look at a code for free, or reattach a proprietary clip or something for free. They had an opportunity to get a repair customer for life, and shit all over that opportunity.

17

Yup - do all that, making sure that you send it to them as well as hashtagging. My husband did that with the poor service he has received at Universal Ford in Calgary with his brand-new Mustang, and got responses from the dealership almost instantly. With the second bout of terrible service there, they actually fought with him on Twitter about the bad service - another data point. (They’re on Strike Two with us - one more Strike, and we’re done with them forever.)

18

Next time buy American.

19

You really think that will help? Our problems have been with a Ford dealership - technically they’re Canadian, not US American, but still.

20

That’s like saying you’re no longer going to eat steak because one of the Longhorn Steakhouses you went to had pisspoor service.

:dubious: