It's nice to read a good post about dealerships. I know they are not all rip-offs and this may prove it if just a little. I wish I had a Toyota dealership in the town I live in...
True, they are not all rip offs and put their customers first at some dealerships. Now when I lived on the east coast I had a local Toyota dealership that I would not even think about going too. They were always so rude, stuck up and pretended as if they were selling a damn Maybach or something. I went once for a bulb replacement and just the attitude and ugly personalities I never went back.
Now this dealership where I live now has gone an extra step each time and a couple examples listed below.
- Transmission fluid was leaking, they came out to the parking lot and crawled underneath and told me the issue. I came in the parts guy said they did not have the part but stated they could get have it by Monday since it was Friday. My issue was my transmission cooler lines had rusted holes and were leaking transmission fluid. I told them I couldnt wait that long and the parts guy and mechanic told me a work around that will work just as good and a long term fix. Plus the Toyota part would be $75 and not including taxes. They told me to go to my local parts store and get two break lines, four clamps and zip ties. They told me to use a pipe bender and carefully shape the brake lines to the bend of the transmission cooler lines. Next slip the rubber hoses over the new brake lines and use a clamp on each hose to secure the rubber hose on the nipple end of the brake line. Next after completing all four, I should zip tie the two brake lines to where the previous tansmission cooler lines were attached onto the frame. Check the level of the transmission fluid and fill up or drain and refill with clean transmission fluid. I chose the method of draining my transmission fluid and filling up with new transmission fluid. So in all the parts costed me under $20 and about $45 mins to replace. Saving me money and wait for the new part.
Another time was when I went in for the gas pedal issue. They told me my pedals and mats were fine but due to having to bring my car in and problem that they would give me $10 off my next service and plus offered to replace the floor mats with nicer mats if I would like. I asked what they had in stock and the guy comes out with TRD mats. They were not rubber but a really nice hard carpet kind and I accepted the new mats and using them still today.
When my center climate control knob lights went out I went to the dealership to buy new bulbs. They service guy jumped up and helped get the bulbs and once paid for he came outside and installed the new bulbs himself.
I noticed I had a lot of rust build up on the rear tailgate in the upper right hand corner. At this time my 4Runner was around 7 years old and the rust spot was getting worse. I went to my dealership to show them and prayed they could help me. Once I got to the dealership the front desk service guy came out to look and told me this was not acceptable for Toyota and this is what I wanted to hear. He pulled up on the car's history that a rust repair had been done on the rear tailgate and it was the same spot as before. He told me I should first start with the 1-800 Toyota number and so I did. They told me to contact the dealership who performed the service. I told them that dealership was where the car was originally from with the previous owner and it was over 800 miles away. So I went back to my Toyota dealer and told them what they were telling me. My dealership called the 1-800 Toyota number and talked to them for about an hour and came back with this news. They would cover the cost of the new rear gate and any parts within the gate that become rusted due to the rust spot and water/moisture over time BUT I would have to cover the labor cost. So this included paint, install, removing what was salvageable and everything. I think this costed around $500 something. I couldnt beat this ether.
And now my most recent experience.
Someone on here said they see no reason to go to the dealership other than warranty issues. And another person or maybe the same person said they are just the same as a Jiffy Lube or whatever. Well I honestly dont think they are the same as a Jiffy Lube but who knows. Plus if anything goes wrong or does not get done correctly I would rather argue with Toyota or my local Toyota dealership than a darn Jiffy Lube.
