Buyer beware: this dealership is shady, dishonest, and - jbird83
Buyer beware: this dealership is shady, dishonest, and their shop is not thorough.
Trip & condition at pickup
-My wife and I drove 3.5 hours to purchase the vehicle.
-At pickup it was not detailed well (visible dirt stains), and the engine bay was extremely dirty/dusty.
-The shop did a subpar engine bay “cleaning” and only addressed the interior spots we pointed out (I found more when I got home, along with a sticky substance on the dash behind the screen)
Drive home & problems discovered
-We rented a one-way car to pick it up, so my wife drove the first leg home and I drove once it got dark.
-On a straight highway I noticed a clear pull to the left.
-Tire pressure was not at Toyota’s recommended PSI. I corrected it, but the pull continued.
Dealership response
-I contacted the dealership and spoke with Sales Manager Will. He initially didn’t want to help.
-I explained this should have been caught during the 160-point inspection for Toyota Gold Certification.
-Will eventually said they would reimburse an alignment up to $200 if done at a local dealer.
Local dealer visit & tire damage
-The local dealer confirmed the alignment was significantly off (they didn’t print the measurements for me).
-After that visit, my wife immediately noticed a loud noise.
-I later found feathering on the outer edge of a tire that still has 9/32 of its original 10.1/32 tread depth (fairly new).
-The feathering was likely caused by bad alignment and/or driving with low tire pressure—something I would have noticed during the test drive if the alignment and pressure had been correct from the start.
Escalation
-When I contacted Will again, he said my only option was to bring the vehicle back and trade it in.
-I told him I planned to post an honest review of my experience. He said that if I posted a review, he wouldn’t send the reimbursement he had already promised for the alignment.
-I told him I would only be stating the truth about my experience. I lied and said I wouldn’t post so I could receive the promised reimbursement. Now that I have it, I want others to know what to expect.
Warranty misrepresented
-My sales rep Jeff told me the vehicle had:
~Toyota Gold Certified 7-year/100,000-mile drivetrain warranty, and
~1-year/12,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, starting on my purchase date.
-After receiving the Toyota warranty card, I learned the coverage is only up to 100,000 total vehicle miles—something I missed in the contract—so I have nothing to fall back on for this issue.
Bottom line
-I will never do business with this dealership again.
-If you buy a car here, be thorough and take your time making sure that it is in the condition that is expected.
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