need opinion on shady dealer

P

palooka23

New member
Here is my dilemma:
I purchased an SR5 about a week and a half ago. I have a relative that is the finance mgr at the Toyota dealer so I got a sweet deal.
On the drive home I realized I was experiencing the "wheel vibe" issue...no biggie. So I took the car to a dealer that is close to my work for convenience.
I drop the truck off, explain my problem, service mgr says that he can fix, I leave. About 30 min later I get a call from the mgr asking if someone has tried to balance the tires...of course I said...no..why? He says there were weights all over the rim edge and inside the rim as well.
He says they will fix and go over details with me when I pick up my truck.
Upon pickup, he walks me to the truck to show me his concerns.
I see scratched hubcaps, balancing weight adhesive residue and the inside of rims are FILTHY. More so than a truck with only 500mi. I ask if he believes that the rims came off another truck and were not new. He stopped short of saying yes, but I could tell what he was implying.
Upon arriving at home I inspect the undercarriage...I look at the spare; different brand tire (Bridgestones) the truck is stock with Dunflops.
So of course I make an appt to meet with the service manager for tmo.
Now - I decide I review every inch of the truck. I find the front bumper has been PAINTED. Not a bad job...but some seams are not well done.
At this point my question to you all is: should I fight for a new truck?
My thoughts are that its a truck, you drive it, its gets beat on. I bought my last SR5 with some huge key marks on the side....I loved that truck and could care less. Never got another scratch on it.
On the other side, I also feel like its a NEW truck and should be NEW. I suspect that what happened with the paint is that that truck was damaged during transport, repainted, and put back on the lot.
I am pissed but also wondering....am I making a big deal?
At the very minimum I am getting new rims and tires....but do I fight for a new truck that has not been repaired?
There tons more thoughts in my head and lots of considerations, but in the end, I need to figure what I am going to fight for.

Thanks in advance
 
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Was it sold as new, used, demo or what? If it wasn't sold (on the BOS) as new, it wasn't and you can't except it to be in new condition.
 
Not sure 71miles qualifies it as a demo. Maybe a few test drives or dealer trade....but not a demo. Point is, it was damaged.
 
It's not uncommon for dealers to swap wheels and tires off vehicles for a number of reasons. But I would take it back and get some different ones. Shouldn't be a big deal.
 
palooka23 said:
Not sure 71miles qualifies it as a demo. Maybe a few test drives or dealer trade....but not a demo. Point is, it was damaged.
Click to expand...
Exactly. 71 miles could easily be a dealer trade.

Definitely fight for a new truck. Give a call to Toyota HQ as well and explain the situation to them.
 
Do you feel like the price you paid is what the truck is worth? You got 1800 under invoice for a truck that other than a repaired bumper is brand new. That's pretty good. If you don't think so, take it back, but be ready to pay full price for another truck.

It might be worth hassling them for properly new rims, or to replace the damaged bumper, but I wouldn't make too big a stink.
 
Even though I hate my dealer's service department, the salesman did a great pre-delivery inspection right alongside me in a well-lighted, enclosed garage area. Hell, he even pointed out some minor surface scratches that a tech immediately took care of.
Don't all dealers do this?
 
1000MPH said:
Don't all dealers do this?
Click to expand...

It was raining the day I picked mine up so hard to see any exterior issues. The rep did use my remote to pre-program my homelink system for me though so I would not have to deal with it. I did find one small light scratch on the passenger fender which they took care of during the state inspection the following week. I actually like my dealership. They have been great about most things. Even gave me a huge discount on a tail light that one idiot backed into and took off on. Quick and easy to replace but nice not to take the big hit.
 
palooka23 said:
Here is my dilemma:
I purchased an SR5 about a week and a half ago. I have a relative that is the finance mgr at the Toyota dealer so I got a sweet deal.
On the drive home I realized I was experiencing the "wheel vibe" issue...no biggie. So I took the car to a dealer that is close to my work for convenience.
I drop the truck off, explain my problem, service mgr says that he can fix, I leave. About 30 min later I get a call from the mgr asking if someone has tried to balance the tires...of course I said...no..why? He says there were weights all over the rim edge and inside the rim as well.
He says they will fix and go over details with me when I pick up my truck.
Upon pickup, he walks me to the truck to show me his concerns.
I see scratched hubcaps, balancing weight adhesive residue and the inside of rims are FILTHY. More so than a truck with only 500mi. I ask if he believes that the rims came off another truck and were not new. He stopped short of saying yes, but I could tell what he was implying.




Upon arriving at home I inspect the undercarriage...I look at the spare; different brand tire (Bridgestones) the truck is stock with Dunflops.
So of course I make an appt to meet with the service manager for tmo.
Now - I decide I review every inch of the truck. I find the front bumper has been PAINTED. Not a bad job...but some seams are not well done.
At this point my question to you all is: should I fight for a new truck?
My thoughts are that its a truck, you drive it, its gets beat on. I bought my last SR5 with some huge key marks on the side....I loved that truck and could care less. Never got another scratch on it.
On the other side, I also feel like its a NEW truck and should be NEW. I suspect that what happened with the paint is that that truck was damaged during transport, repainted, and put back on the lot.
I am pissed but also wondering....am I making a big deal?
At the very minimum I am getting new rims and tires....but do I fight for a new truck that has not been repaired?
There tons more thoughts in my head and lots of considerations, but in the end, I need to figure what I am going to fight for.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...


Tires have unique DOT serial numbers. There is a record of the five DOT numbers linked to your VIN. I would imagine the service department can pull this up. Im sure they will swap em for you...they were obviously willing to do it for someone else.

Paintwork is the biggest issue for buyers of used cars. If you dont have plans to sell it in 10 years it shouldn't be an issue. If it was me i would tell them you would like another "true new" 4runner or you will be contacting the local news to share your findings about their dealership.

A $35k purchase should be EXCTLY as expected. You have a right to be pi$$ed. My main concern is: what else has been done to this vehicle that you are unaware of?

Scratches here and there don't bother me on a new vehicle, but you've got to draw the line somewhere.
 
Last edited:
1000MPH said:
Even though I hate my dealer's service department, the salesman did a great pre-delivery inspection right alongside me in a well-lighted, enclosed garage area. Hell, he even pointed out some minor surface scratches that a tech immediately took care of.
Don't all dealers do this?
Click to expand...

It was snowing and 40 MPH gusts when I picked up my car from the dealership, but luckily they have a Pre-Departure area which was inside a glass walled garage, lots of natural light to check the vehicle, my sales guy was not too up to speed on the nav and setting up bluetooth but luckily I was.
Mine had 65 miles on and was in fact a dealer trade, I actually followed my truck (not known at the time) from the freeway to the dealership.
If you think you got a good deal and you feel that you can live with what has happened just keep it.
IF it's going to naw away at your inside thinking "what if" etc....then take it back to the dealer speak to your relative who "Helped" you out and express your concerns. If you get no joy from them, contact Toyota HQ and file a complaint with them.
Good luck and keep us posted
Me personally I'd take it back, and at least see if they will help you out.
 
palooka23 said:
....
...... He says there were weights all over the rim edge and inside the rim as well.
..... I see scratched hubcaps, balancing weight adhesive residue and the inside of rims are FILTHY.
......but I could tell what he was implying.
...I look at the spare; different brand tire (Bridgestones) the truck is stock with Dunflops.
....I find the front bumper has been PAINTED. Not a bad job...but some seams are not well done.
Click to expand...

It's obvious your tires/wheels were swapped - my guess is that some other customer had issues, and his problems got moved to your truck.

Go back to your relative and present him with your findings, and demand new ones (all they'll do is move the problem to another truck).
Plus I'd demand to know why the front bumper was repainted. It could be minimal, perhaps not. Decide what to do after you find out. At a minimum, I'd want it noted in my service records, in the event the paint job peels 2 years from now.

I'd have some thoughts together on what to request from them, should they actually offer some restitution.
 
Have a peek behind that bumper, and take a good look at the engine bay.

Anything bent? The bumper is no big deal, but if someone wrecked that truck and tried to hide the fact, your new truck could be downright dangerous.
I'd take it back to the dealer and at the very least make him acknowledge and preferably explain the damage to the front of your brand new 35+ thousand dollar Toyota truck.

Then make them give you a set of Rock Warrior wheels for your suffering.
 
In addition to looking for things that are bent, check the bolt heads on the bumper for signs they have been wrenched on indicating it's been changed or realigned. Installing them at the factory might put a nick on one edge of the bolt/nut but loosening will put a mark on them since they are held in with both Loctite and the full torque setting (and maybe a little more).
 
I bought my 4R off the lot and the first thing I did when we took it for a test ride was check the mileage. The truck had 4 miles on it. Last year when I bought my 2012 5.0 Mustang it had 4 miles on it when they rolled it off the truck. In the case of the Mustang I told the dealer to touch and move it as little as possible. Personally when buying a new car I would not be thrilled to see 71 miles on the odometer but that shouldn’t cause the truck to have issues. As ATLR mentioned when paying for a new vehicle that’s what you should expect.
Good luck,
Joel
 
The repainted bumper is more than likely due to on-site damage, i.e. a porter/salesperson/technician bumped into another vehicle,wall, or other obstacle and the vehicle was repainted to correct that rather than report "Lot Damage" happens a lot at dealerships and most people never know, rather shady IMHO. As for the wheels, chances are it was swapped with another vehicle for any number of reasons.

If you bought the vehicle as "New" then your expectations are perfectly valid, the dealership should provide you with a "New" 4Runner not one with old bits and damage on it, I would go back and tell them to either charge you the money for a "used" 4Runner or to fix your vehicle so its "New." Either way dealer dropped the ball.
 
That really sucks, I'd be pretty upset. Schedule a meeting with the general manager of the dealership, and see what he has to say.

Since I purchased mine a couple weeks ago, I've received THREE customer satisfaction calls. The first was about the dealer, the second about the truck, and the third about the satisfaction calls. While there are some shady dealerships, I think Toyota is doing things right.
 
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