Dealership Mishap

T

tamerunner

New member
So I took my runner in on Saturday to have the 5k service done. Was kind of a waste of time because I have synthetic oil and they only change it on the 10k. I know some of you want it changed earlier that's not the topic here. So they rotated my tires. I could've done it myself but I'm trying to establish with the local dealer for future work if needed. When they lifted the runner to rotate the sneaks the young re****s didn't use any height extensions for the arms. I saw this and was gonna wait to see what happened when they lowered it back down, and got distracted inquiring of other things and left without looking and mentioning it to the service department. Got home and a couple hours later noticed they managed to bend both running boards, not much, but enough you could see distortion in the chrome. Called em, service closed, had to call back Monday(yesterday) and told them, they said bring it by. Did this morning and it took all of 5 minutes for them to look at it, admit they messed up and ordered me brand new oem replacements. Just thought I'd share the story of the occasional good dealership. Didn't even have to fight for it or anything.
 
Register to hide this ad
That's good! Glad to hear there are some good customer service stories out there instead of horror stories involving stealerships.
 
tamerunner said:
So I took my runner in on Saturday to have the 5k service done. Was kind of a waste of time because I have synthetic oil and they only change it on the 10k. I know some of you want it changed earlier that's not the topic here. So they rotated my tires. I could've done it myself but I'm trying to establish with the local dealer for future work if needed. When they lifted the runner to rotate the sneaks the young re****s didn't use any height extensions for the arms. I saw this and was gonna wait to see what happened when they lowered it back down, and got distracted inquiring of other things and left without looking and mentioning it to the service department. Got home and a couple hours later noticed they managed to bend both running boards, not much, but enough you could see distortion in the chrome. Called em, service closed, had to call back Monday(yesterday) and told them, they said bring it by. Did this morning and it took all of 5 minutes for them to look at it, admit they messed up and ordered me brand new oem replacements. Just thought I'd share the story of the occasional good dealership. Didn't even have to fight for it or anything.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up - I'm taking mine in for the 5K service tomorrow - as you said basically it's just a tire rotation. I too have the alum RB's and will make sure they are not f'd up. BTW, did they mess up your wheels with the power tool taking the lug nuts off? I've heard others on the board say this has happened to them. I am planning to take pictures of my wheels with the SM as a witness before I sign off on the service order just in case.
 
Good to hear! You should tell people which dealership and even which service writer.
It's good to hear nice things about people. The industry is full of hate.
 
A "walk around" with an initialed agreement is never a bad idea and it shows the dealer they have "one of those" on their hands.
I have no problem at all being known as "picky" at my dealership, one reason why I do not haggle over every penny - way I look at it, I bought "picky"
They don't get sloppy with my rigs.
 
I was walking around a shop one day going to my truck with a service manager, saw an SUV on the lift, running boards were being mangled by it. I stopped and did the 'polite' laugh and said you might want to fix that before the customer sees it. He was not happy, went right over to the guy working on it said a few things closely then thanked me for the heads-up and said he has never seen that happen before (more like never was caught before).
 
NHinAK said:
Thought this was going to be a "my 4Runner fell off the lift" thread.
Click to expand...
Ha, I think I just got one of those stories for my 10K service on Monday. I swear this 4runner is like a bad luck magnet or something.

Normally, I always do my own maintenance, but I have Toyota care, don't have a garage readily available at the moment, and didn't really feel like adjusting my parking brake. So, I took it to the dealer...

Now a little back story, last week, I got my 4runner back from the latest round of repairs and parts replacements, and they actually got it all right this time - alignment is in spec, no steering wheel shake or other imbalance vibes. They replaced the bent LCA, torn diff seal, a wheel bearing, and a few other odds and ends the last couple of shops f-ed up.

I picked it up after the service department closed, and immediately noticed the steering wheel shaking violently by 4-5 degrees at 45mph (I didn't even know this was possible at this speed), the truck was tracking WAY right, and the steering wheel was off by about 8-10 degrees. Of course, the truck was also shaking like a wet dog.

Stopped, on the side of GA400, looking around for a wheel about to fall off or something, I notice that they didn't bother to remove my skid plates when they changed the oil filter, so the entire bottom of the truck is covered in oil, plus about a half quart still contained in the front skid (ARB). They also only rotated one side of the truck's tires, which I know, because I know which ones were new from the repairs last week, and my new TPMS sensors.

Now, this was supposed to be a tire rotation and oil change, but after looking at the invoice, they were replacing brake parts... hmm, interesting, as there was nothing at all wrong with my brakes previously, and I am the type to notice things like that.

Took it back today. They degreased the bottom of the truck and emptied the skid plate, made the steering shake a little better, and now the truck goes straight (but the steering wheel is still off a few degrees, and shakes above 55). They mentioned to me that my toe was off by 17 degrees, which I am sure they really meant 0.17 degrees, but they didn't give me the alignment specs, unfortunately.

Not sure what happened, but I suspect they dropped it, ran it into a curb on the check ride, drove it into the oil pit, or likely all of these things. They aren't forthcoming, and have no idea what happened, but lots of "We'll take care of that under warranty for you" BS.

</vent>
 
I don't know if it's just a 4Runner thing with the RB's but my mechanic has to be very even when lifting my 3rd gen for the same reasons. That's why I would rather use the drive up lift with my new truck when it's oil change time.
 
1000MPH said:
That'll come with the install.
Click to expand...

Hey Hey Hey, I'm already worried about taking it back to have them install them. That does not help.

Sounds like time for some BudBuilts!

Believe me that would go on insted but unfortunately this is my wifes daily driver and "her" runner, and shes not a fan. But the lift and tires will come when the stockers wear out. I unlike some on here can wait till they wear out. No dig to you guys that didn't, to each his own.

And thats why I shared this story, that at least sometimes there is a glimmer of hope for some dearlerships. The dealer is Cloniger Toyota in Salisbury, NC.
 
jfdallas said:
Thanks for the heads up - I'm taking mine in for the 5K service tomorrow - as you said basically it's just a tire rotation. I too have the alum RB's and will make sure they are not f'd up. BTW, did they mess up your wheels with the power tool taking the lug nuts off? I've heard others on the board say this has happened to them. I am planning to take pictures of my wheels with the SM as a witness before I sign off on the service order just in case.
Click to expand...

Just an update...took my LE in for the 5K visit today. They rotated the tires, checked the fluids, and re-programmed my smart key to roll down all windows and the sunroof at one push plus checked a couple other things for me. Very painless visit -took about an hour. No issues with scratched wheels or bent running boards.
 
tamerunner said:
Hey Hey Hey, I'm already worried about taking it back to have them install them. That does not help.

Sounds like time for some BudBuilts!

Believe me that would go on insted but unfortunately this is my wifes daily driver and "her" runner, and shes not a fan. But the lift and tires will come when the stockers wear out. I unlike some on here can wait till they wear out. No dig to you guys that didn't, to each his own.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding. This is my truck and the wife has a hard time getting in it with the RB and stock height as it is. When the time come's I'm just going to go for the bigger tires.
 
Dealership damaged one week old 4Runner

Didn't want to bring up this old thread, but I don't have enough posts to start a new thread.

Bought a new 2015 TEP on 8/22. Brought it into the dealership on 8/29 for them to install the accessories that they threw in as part of the deal, but had to order (exhaust tip and cargo cover). After waiting for about 45 minutes, they call me into the back and show me what happened.

Apparently one of their employees backed my car into something and damaged the lift-gate / hatch. I was absolutely furious. Taking excellent care of my vehicles and driving cautiously is something I have always done, and now some reckless young kid who could care less about my 40k vehicle purchase smashed it up.

The thought of having them do body work and having to worry about having non-factory paint and the possibility of the repair resurfacing after a number of years is making me sick. I told them it is simply unacceptable. They claim they looked into taking the vehicle back, but that the registration was already processed by NYS DMV, so they would have to buy the vehicle back, which they said they can't do (i'm sure they can - they just are choosing not to).

My options at this point seem to be the following:

1)Keep insisting they buy the car back from me / replace it. I'm at the point now where i'm considering contacting an attorney. Is this reasonable? Or are my emotions getting the best of me?

2)They have a 2015 new TE that I actually test drove before buying the TEP. The shop manager originally said that they could swap the hatch from this vehicle. I talked with the service manager today, and he said he would look into this. If I go this route, anything in particular I need to know? Obviously the key cylinder would need to be swapped, and i'm assuming the speakers as well, since the TEP has a different audio system than the TE (are the speakers different or just the head unit?).

Thanks for the feedback

Also, if any mod can split this into a new thread, it would be appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • damage.jpg
    damage.jpg
    106.4 KB · Views: 635
1000MPH said:
You can't swap liftgates, there's a vin tag on the major components including this one.
Click to expand...


So that was actually my first concern when they suggested it. But at this point I'm not sure what to do.

Does this mean the dealership can't legally swap it?

Also if they were to do this, how would it effect my warranty in the future? I was planning on purchasing the 8 year 125k warranty.
 
Sorry, I don't really have any other advise for you. Maybe talk to your insurance co?
Worst case I would ask the dealer to find you another truck and give you their best offer incl trade-in. See what it'll cost you. You can most likely get your registration fees back on the old one, they do that in my state.
 
Well you now have a new vehicle with a damage history which will follow it forever through no fault of your own. Seeing how it's only a few days old - I'd say they owe you a new truck. They screwed up big time. I'd accept nothing less than a new vehicle - the same as you had or better. Threaten to go to an attorney and the local TV stations if necessary. If it takes a while to locate a replacement, demand a loaner. You don't want to have an accident by driving that and give them a way out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 384 (members: 2, guests: 382)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,066
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top