I hate stealerships

[pat161]

I had a rock get into the brakes on my 97 Tacoma and start squeeking, I took the wheel off and found nothing so I went to the dealer, had 20k or so. They found the rock and said I owed them $60 as rock removal is not a warranty item. I explained that I didn't see how it should be my responsibility to diagnose the issue to make sure it is under warranty on a vehicle only a year old, they disagreed but when I said I had no money or credit card they let me slide, but they wanted that $60.

 

[007Runner]

... I'm sure there are some lexus dealers with crappy service (relative to other luxury brands) and Toyota dealers who are the best of all the other dealers in the area.

This is so true. Toyota services my Lexus because the local Lexus dealership is a bunch of incompetent blundering fools. First oil change they overfilled the crankcase by a whole quart. They told me that a computer sets the capacity and they don't need to pull the dipstick. I made them flat bed it back to the dealer. Then at 30,000 miles I have the coolant changed. they use prestone coolant instead of Toyota coolant. Lexus refused to get involved telling me that service departments are independently owned. Told them this would be my first and last Lexus. True to my word this time around I purchased a 4Runner. Just because you pay the Lexus premium does not mean it comes with premium service.
I feel lucky to have found a Toyota dealership that treats me the way Lexus should have.

 

[Koz]

Sorry, I would NEVER pay for the stealer to check out a warranty claim, NEVER!

Koz

 

[pipspeak]

Update

As an update, I just took my runner to SF Toyota and they found the belt problem and fixed it for no charge with no hassles.

They still have a "diagnostic fee" but their terms are more reasonable -- if they can't detect the problem, no charge. If they detect the problem and it's covered under warranty, no charge. If they detect the problem and it's NOT covered under warranty, there's a $135 charge but that is refunded if you then have them fix the problem.

Moreover, I could actually talk intelligently with them about the issue so they could find it.

And the final kicker... City "shitty" Toyota did not check the tensioners, but happily told me that was probably the issue. They did, however, visually inspect the drive belt and said it was fine. SF Toyota took one look at the drive belt and said it was "obvious" that was the problem, and they changed it (after checking there were no relevent TSBs). Problem solved.

Needless the say I'll be contacting Shitty Toyota to demand a refund on their miserably inaccurate diagnosis.

 

[Uneek]

Re: Update

As an update, I just took my runner to SF Toyota and they found the belt problem and fixed it for no charge with no hassles.

They still have a "diagnostic fee" but their terms are more reasonable -- if they can't detect the problem, no charge. If they detect the problem and it's covered under warranty, no charge. If they detect the problem and it's NOT covered under warranty, there's a $135 charge but that is refunded if you then have them fix the problem.

Moreover, I could actually talk intelligently with them about the issue so they could find it.

And the final kicker... City "shitty" Toyota did not check the tensioners, but happily told me that was probably the issue. They did, however, visually inspect the drive belt and said it was fine. SF Toyota took one look at the drive belt and said it was "obvious" that was the problem, and they changed it (after checking there were no relevent TSBs). Problem solved.

Needless the say I'll be contacting Shitty Toyota to demand a refund on their miserably inaccurate diagnosis.

Glad to hear SF Toyota was able to resolve your problem. With your experience, I hope anyone reading this thread will know better.

I hope you get your money back, if not file a complaint with BBB. Maybe just file it anyways, so the rest of the Bay Area Toyota owners are aware of their shady practices.

 

[xUSNavy]

I had a rock get into the brakes on my 97 Tacoma and start squeeking, I took the wheel off and found nothing so I went to the dealer, had 20k or so. They found the rock and said I owed them $60 as rock removal is not a warranty item. I explained that I didn't see how it should be my responsibility to diagnose the issue to make sure it is under warranty on a vehicle only a year old, they disagreed but when I said I had no money or credit card they let me slide, but they wanted that $60.

In your case, the dealership had a valid claim to charge you $60 since it wasn't under warranty. It is a fair price since you couldn't find the problem yourself AND the problem is not a warranty related issue.

I think when dealerships deal with people who do not want to pay for fair service, they then become manipulative in charging future customers.

 

[pipspeak]

Re: Re: Update

I hope you get your money back, if not file a complaint with BBB. Maybe just file it anyways, so the rest of the Bay Area Toyota owners are aware of their shady practices.

The customer relations dept at City Toyota was actually very nice about it and refunded the money no problem. They also sounded concerned about how I was treated and about the fact that the service department missed a worn drive belt despite allegedly inspecting it.