Buying parts from a stealership rant

[HiLife]

I do 90% of my Toyota parts online. Trying to get away from the holier than thou attitude treatment from the parts guys. And the retail/walk in maxtrix pricing that Toyota taxes on with the buying experience.

So when I walked into my local near to me stealership, I now can't buy any parts with cash or credit without declaring my phone number and name to go along with the parts.
Stealership says it's for returns, exchanges or warranties. They say sales reciept is no good for enacting recourse.
Did I miss something that happened which resulted in this policy?

I order strickly from part numbers hoping to make it easier for the parts guys, and having the confidence Im getting the correct parts. And result is I have never returned wrong parts or warrantied parts. True I can add my name along with a phone number and be done with it but, how does that benefit me as I dont return or ask for a warranty part.

Are you guy experiencing this with your local stealership?
I'm guessing not. Maybe it's just my local.
No choice now, 100% online orders from now on. Or drive 45 min to the next stealership.

 

[AuSeeker]

On another forum the poster is complaining about after buying ta new T4R he's now getting emails/correspondence from the other dealerships he was looking at T4Rs for possible purchase.

I have a 4th Gen and when I got my cracked dash replaced under the extended warranty program and few years back I started getting texts/email and actual mail from other semi-local Toyota dealerships want to do maintenance and other work on my 13 year old T4R, I just guessing that these dealerships are like all other businesses and selling people info for another source of income!!

SO that being said maybe they're "mining" you for your contact info to sell, or they have a new return policy that requires the info like they're telling you, but it's beyond me as to why they would need it, a receipt shows you bought it from them and when!!

 

[rwh963]

i wouldn't be worried. when i order online, i'm supplying all that info, and more. ask to be put on a no contact list, if necessary.

 

[HiLife]

On another forum the poster is complaining about after buying ta new T4R he's now getting emails/correspondence from the other dealerships he was looking at T4Rs for possible purchase.

I have a 4th Gen and when I got my cracked dash replaced under the extended warranty program and few years back I started getting texts/email and actual mail from other semi-local Toyota dealerships want to do maintenance and other work on my 13 year old T4R, I just guessing that these dealerships are like all other businesses and selling people info for another source of income!!

SO that being said maybe they're "mining" you for your contact info to sell, or they have a new return policy that requires the info like they're telling you, but it's beyond me as to why they would need it, a receipt shows you bought it from them and when!!

Mining is a very real scenario especially these days of more data. The funny thing is if a business did a great job they don't really have to conjure up foot traffic. Word of mouth would spread on how great the business is, and they would have lots of possibilities without even trying. All that effort and $$ to steer your into buying from them. All to waste with bad policies in the end that make the buying experience sour.
That was my whole object with the parts dept. How is it when the receipt with transaction info and proof of payment is all of a sudden not enough proof you bought from them.

i wouldn't be worried. when i order online, i'm supplying all that info, and more. ask to be put on a no contact list, if necessary.

True. There's a trade off for getting cheap prices with ordering online with your info. No discount with walk in's, you are paying list prices +matrix. And I asked if I could be on an opt out clause with the stealership. The parts guy simply said there no button to click on to opt out when processing the order.

 

[TK-422]

i wouldn't be worried. when i order online, i'm supplying all that info, and more. ask to be put on a no contact list, if necessary.

Not me. I usually order from Amazon (or in this case Ebay as a guest) who holds the info and only passes on the money to the stealership I am buying from. I get a way better price than I could get locally.

Right now I have a set of heavy rubber TRD Offroad floor mats on their way to me. Shipped FedEx.

If the dealer should try and send me an email they would instantly be added to the blocked list.

When they arrive the weathertech ones will go in the trash.

 

[ArthurKotb]

You can get a Google phone number. I have one and it records any voice mails and sends me an email to my Google email account. You have to keep it active by texting it about once a month if you don't get any other calls or texts. You can also have it forwarded to your regular phone number if you're just trying to hide your actual number, but a gmail is good enough for me. In 2 years the only thing I get are wrong numbers for previous owners of the number.

We have received snail mail from GM and Ford dealerships. I haven't owned a GM vehicle since 1977 and I've never owned a Ford. They get your name, address, email from many different sources. I have an old email address that still gets email and I haven't used that account for decades. I get email on email accounts that I've never used, never sent or received email on it. All of a sudden, after about 10 years the emails started pouring in.

I had to go to a dealership in Florida once, for an oil change. That was 7 years ago and i still get snail mail from them occasionally. I went to one in Oregon 2 years ago and I've never heard from them. The local dealership where I've bought all my Toyotas except one sends me something about once a year.

They're going to find you no matter what. It's the age we live in. Blocking texts and emails is your weapon.

 

[HiLife]

You can get a Google phone number. I have one and it records any voice mails and sends me an email to my Google email account. You have to keep it active by texting it about once a month if you don't get any other calls or texts. You can also have it forwarded to your regular phone number if you're just trying to hide your actual number, but a gmail is good enough for me. In 2 years the only thing I get are wrong numbers for previous owners of the number.

We have received snail mail from GM and Ford dealerships. I haven't owned a GM vehicle since 1977 and I've never owned a Ford. They get your name, address, email from many different sources. I have an old email address that still gets email and I haven't used that account for decades. I get email on email accounts that I've never used, never sent or received email on it. All of a sudden, after about 10 years the emails started pouring in.

I had to go to a dealership in Florida once, for an oil change. That was 7 years ago and i still get snail mail from them occasionally. I went to one in Oregon 2 years ago and I've never heard from them. The local dealership where I've bought all my Toyotas except one sends me something about once a year.

They're going to find you no matter what. It's the age we live in. Blocking texts and emails is your weapon.

True, the one with the most data wins! It's the IT's mantra.
You figure the stealerships would save thousands of dollars on not doing useless mail outs and calls/texts. To people who already has better treatment from their preferred shop or preferred Toyota parts store.

All that savings would help their bottom line profit. Thus, maybe making that local stealership more competitive on parts prices. Instead on tacking on "Matrix" pricing to walk in's to people who just wants a good deal on parts and not get robbed.

Im a brick and mortar guy. Life would be hard if we had to wait for deliveries from online stores all the time. But, if brick and mortar stealerships gonna make it hard for consumers, I would be going out of the way to getting my parts.

Another one less guy supporting stealership part departments.

 

[Mark4runnar]

You can get a Google phone number. I have one and it records any voice mails and sends me an email to my Google email account. You have to keep it active by texting it about once a month if you don't get any other calls or texts. You can also have it forwarded to your regular phone number if you're just trying to hide your actual number, but a gmail is good enough for me. In 2 years the only thing I get are wrong numbers for previous owners of the number.

We have received snail mail from GM and Ford dealerships. I haven't owned a GM vehicle since 1977 and I've never owned a Ford. They get your name, address, email from many different sources. I have an old email address that still gets email and I haven't used that account for decades. I get email on email accounts that I've never used, never sent or received email on it. All of a sudden, after about 10 years the emails started pouring in.

I had to go to a dealership in Florida once, for an oil change. That was 7 years ago and i still get snail mail from them occasionally. I went to one in Oregon 2 years ago and I've never heard from them. The local dealership where I've bought all my Toyotas except one sends me something about once a year.

They're going to find you no matter what. It's the age we live in. Blocking texts and emails is your weapon.

I had the same "cram down" when I bought my 23 PRO in march. The dealer forced me to sign a form that allowed them to sell my info. I tried to opt out they refused to process the paperwork --- (WHAT?)

So I gave them a google voice # and a DUCK.COM email.

Google voice is great because it screens all incoming calls.....caller has to state name, and then you get a ring that tells you who is holding and you can accept/ or send to voicemail... it also anonymizes your Tel #, just like the robo callers - HA ---- & voice mails are converted to TxT and sent to your Gmail - Brilliant

The DUCK email address when used "filters / scrubs" all replies or messages sent to that address strip off "tracking" and there is a banner to tell you how many trackers were attempted to follow you. (you can FWD to your Gmail account.)

Highly recommend setting up both- takes less than 5 mins
Here are the links to both

Get Email Protection: More Privacy, Same Inbox

Set up Google Voice - Computer - Google Voice Help

 

[Jetboy]

I'd normally prefer to support my local dealer, but the one near me right now is just not worth dealing with. I'm in Alaska ATM - only one Toyota dealer within a day's drive. It took 6 phone calls every other day or so before I even got an answer from anyone at the parts counter. I'm guessing they have no staff there much of the time. And I was buying new rotors and pads for my Tundra.

OEM Rotors MSRP are $100ea. Local dealer was $135 ea for rotors and $120 for pads. I called a dealer in Seattle and asked if they ship to AK. They answered the phone, so that's a big plus. "no problem, we do it every day and free shipping right now" I said "You sure - it's Tundra brake rotors to Alaska, they're heavy and expensive to ship." "Yeah, no problem." So at Foothill Toyota in Washington it was $65.08 for rotors and $73 for pads. $203 for new rotors and pads for the front shipped to my door. Arrived in 4 days. Local dealer would have been $390. Almost double the price.

As far as giving up the info on your phone number - easy to just use a fake number. Would be pretty hilarious to grab a business card on the way in from one of the salespeople and then use that number for your order. I've never received any solicitations from Toyota or Lexus other than periodic postcard ads in the mail regarding service center discounts or "we want your trade." But the DMV sells your info already, so they can get it easily from other sources. If you ever buy a commercial background check service - you'll be terrified how much info anyone can buy about you. Buying habits for auto parts at a Toyota dealer are low on my list of concerns. Toyota already knows what car you drive, what your phone number is, where you live, and has a pretty good idea about how often you service it.

 

[ArthurKotb]

Getting your personal info is not difficult nor is it something that came along with the Internet. I worked for UPS in the 70s, trying to locate people when an address was missing, smeared or incorrect. We had access to a series of books, a subscription based tool, that was something like a reverse phone lookup. You could find people by street, name, phone, job, earlings and many other pieces of information. Skip tracers used it. You could see who lived in the house, marriage status, ages, where they worked...tons of information. You could look up all your neighbors on your street and find out all of this personal information. I can't remember the name of those books, but it was fascinating.

None of us gave these people permission to mine our information, but they did it. Selling your personal data is big business. They will find you

 

[Boort]

So when I walked into my local near to me stealership, I now can't buy any parts with cash or credit without declaring my phone number and name to go along with the parts.
Stealership says it's for returns, exchanges or warranties. They say sales reciept is no good for enacting recourse.
Did I miss something that happened which resulted in this policy?

Jenny Tutone
(Local Area Code) - 867-5309

Been doing that for years with Tandy/Radio Shack, Kroger, Autozone, and anyone else who wants to get nosy. Pay in cash and save receipt.

 

[mrk00k]

Buying parts from the stealership? y tho?
Just don't do it.

I dont think they asked for this last time I did, but that was probably 10 years ago, haha

 

[bob3dsf]

It's your dealer, and it's highly dependent on the individual one. I have one nearby my work that I've used for years. they are great, one guy in particular. They give me discount pricing, though they also have an online store that usually has even better prices. Now the place local to my home, not so much. They are just ok, and I only go there if I'm not near work since it's a long commute. The local place used to be better but it sold to a new owner, or something. Most of the place was totally rebuilt. All the "new" people there don't know me and when I've asked if they can give better pricing, they usually say they can't. However, they have been cool on some little stuff, just not enough to do regular business if I can help it. I can always order on line and pick up near work if it's not time critical.

 

[TK-422]

I am in So Cal so I will be keeping my 4Runner for as long as I can keep it running.

They are hell bent on only selling golf carts in the near future but I will have to get my wife a new car in the next year or two. The problem right now is how much over MSRP they are jacking up the prices and that the local owner which my wife who is a nurse and took care of the previous owner also took care of us on her last purchase has now sold the location so we no longer have the connection.

I hate working with dealerships so the next purchase will be a PITA.

 

[Roncu]

Dealership is only 3mi away and I saw on their web parts site I could get a gallon of the Toyota pink anti-freeze for $20. Price is higher on Amazon. I drive there, see the parts guy and he rings me up at $28. I say WTH? he says for the $20 price you have to order it online then you can pick it up here. I go home, order it, and within seconds get an e-mail saying my order is ready for pick up. What a great system!

 

[fourwd1]

Jenny Tutone
(Local Area Code) - 867-5309

Been doing that for years with Tandy/Radio Shack, Kroger, Autozone, and anyone else who wants to get nosy. Pay in cash and save receipt.

LOL

I got your number ...

 

[repo]

Dread the car salesman who gets my parts orders as a sales lead.

 

[repo]

Jenny Tutone
(Local Area Code) - 867-5309

Been doing that for years with Tandy/Radio Shack, Kroger, Autozone, and anyone else who wants to get nosy. Pay in cash and save receipt.

Gets more interesting with some creative cross-referencing of linked in profiles and employee manual pdfs. Doxing 4 duscounts . This is a joke, of course.

 

[repo]

Mining is a very real scenario especially these days of more data. The funny thing is if a business did a great job they don't really have to conjure up foot traffic. Word of mouth would spread on how great the business is, and they would have lots of possibilities without even trying. All that effort and $$ to steer your into buying from them. All to waste with bad policies in the end that make the buying experience sour.
That was my whole object with the parts dept. How is it when the receipt with transaction info and proof of payment is all of a sudden not enough proof you bought from them.

True. There's a trade off for getting cheap prices with ordering online with your info. No discount with walk in's, you are paying list prices +matrix. And I asked if I could be on an opt out clause with the stealership. The parts guy simply said there no button to click on to opt out when processing the order.

Yeah it aint that bad OP, especially if you not taking that confrontational energy to deals. There's good dealer's that are easy to work with. Depends on inventory of course.

OP next time the parts desk ask for your number joke that you'll only give it if you can get the shop price. They may well give you it.

 

[Hungryhawk]

On line purchasing

I usually purchase the few parts I need from 2 local dealership parts counter.
A few years ago I bought on line counterfit Honda brake pads that wore out in 17,000 miles. Packaging seemed good but a later detailed inspection revealed flaws as I had saved the box with my old pads in it.
There are warnings by on line you tube repair mechanics addressing this very issue. Since most parts costs are small compared to the time to install costs, I do not mind.
I nearly always hire mechanics if I can observe my vehicle while work is performed.