Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Dealer Causes Problems....
The owner of the local Toyota Dealership of Cape Girardeau, MO - namely "Soskin Cape Toyota" - has refused to perform warranty repair on my car with less that 36K miles on it.
Listen to this - according to him a repair service survey that I had filled out for a "different car" is hurting his reputation! Thus he is refusing to work on any of my 3 Toyota cars!
Now is this not unethical, unbelievable, and out right illegal on the part of the dealer?
Now here is the Best part - I called Toyota National Customer Center at 1-800-331-4331 and filed a complaint. The Customer Service person calls me back a day later to tell me that "THE DEALERSHIP CAN REFUSE WARRANTY SERVICE TO ANYBODY THEY CHOOSE TO."
CAUTION! CAUTION! - NEVER BUY ANOTHER TOYOTA CAR FROM ALAN SOSKIN - OWNER OF "SOSKIN CAPE TOYOTA" OR THEIR SISTER CONCERN - "FELD SOUTHPOINTE TOYOTA OF ST.LOUIS" - ALSO OWNED BY THE SAME GUY.
I would like to hear from all of the other people regarding this issue and how can anyone help me! Any legal advice?
Listen to this - according to him a repair service survey that I had filled out for a "different car" is hurting his reputation! Thus he is refusing to work on any of my 3 Toyota cars!
Now is this not unethical, unbelievable, and out right illegal on the part of the dealer?
Now here is the Best part - I called Toyota National Customer Center at 1-800-331-4331 and filed a complaint. The Customer Service person calls me back a day later to tell me that "THE DEALERSHIP CAN REFUSE WARRANTY SERVICE TO ANYBODY THEY CHOOSE TO."
CAUTION! CAUTION! - NEVER BUY ANOTHER TOYOTA CAR FROM ALAN SOSKIN - OWNER OF "SOSKIN CAPE TOYOTA" OR THEIR SISTER CONCERN - "FELD SOUTHPOINTE TOYOTA OF ST.LOUIS" - ALSO OWNED BY THE SAME GUY.
I would like to hear from all of the other people regarding this issue and how can anyone help me! Any legal advice?
Tagged:
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
What I'd like to know is what you wrote in your survey that pissed 'em off so badly.
Besides, all I remember of that survey was that I took the middle position : between 1 - 5. Surprisingly I even wrote good things about the new service manager they have recently hired! How does one survey for a car have anything to do with another car.
I just think that this dealer is afraid to work on any of my cars as they don't have well trained mechanics, nor do they have well trained service managers. The new service manager even acknowledged that the earlier guy had so many complaints!
But I hope you all realize that today's dealers are more interested in selling the cars, and not in performing service or repairs after the sale.
My experience plays out to the contrary. I have both my cars serviced at their respective dealers (Honda and Volvo) and I've gotten excellent service at both. Their staffs are knowledgeable and honest (The Honda dealer, especially.) I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either dealer for service. Now, the Volvo I bought at that dealer, but the Honda I brought with me when I moved here. Still, I've been treated very well at both dealers.
Used car sales are more profitable. But the bread and butter profit comes from service and parts sales. That's how the bills get paid.
I'm willing to bet there are reasons why that particular dealer doesn't want to service your car. The fact that there aren't too many Toyota dealers in your area only adds to their reluctance. Think about it........
If you honestly think its illegal then hire an attorney and sue the dealer.
He was treatly like royalty from the dealership each time he came in for service. Sometimes you have to go to the top to get the satisfaction you deserve.
Quite frankly, while I can certainly understand your upset, if you posted things like that about my dealership, I'd ask you to leave, too.
Something about this story seems incomplete--was this survey public?
I see your argument, of course, and bottom line you are probably correct that the car itself cannot be barred from service, but I bet the owner can be.
I waited for a couple of months and of course no one called. Then I filed for Toyota arbitration and their arbitrator agreed with me and asked Toyota perform the warranty repairs. Toyota totally ignored the arbitrators ruling. Then I filed for this state's arbitration. The result was: my Camry was declared a lemon and Toyota Motor Sales bought it back (GOOD RIDDANCE!) That was my first and LAST Toyota. I found that even though items such as engine and the 5 speed manual transmission were reliable, everything else on the car was low quality, cheap, ugly and tasteless. By the way, four cylinder engine did not have enough power for passing on the highway and the transmission was clunky and notchy and balked frequently.
Based upon my experience with this particular Toyota, my conlusions are:
- Toyota cars can be reliable, but they are overpriced and assembled with cheap and tasteless plastics and similar items
- I dealt with 3 Toyota dealers, the one that sold me the car was definitely the WORST auto dealer I have dealt with over the last thirty plus years and the other two were not any better
- Toyota could not care less about any particular Toyota owner, if you are not happy and do not plan to buy another Toyota, Toyota knows that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who will be buying Camrys, Corollas, etc. in the future!!!
What a shame!
We're only hearing one side of the story. But I would tend to give the benefit of the doubt to the dealer.
Many people don't realize that the dealer and the factory are often adversaries. They are not in bed together. Often it's war between them....so, crudely put, if the factory shafts the dealer, he then passes the shaft to you---unless he wants to be magnanimous and eat the charges to gain your good faith.
Of course, if you heap abuse on the dealer, he is going to treat just as badly as the factory treats him on a given situation.
I do agree that there is no excuse for delay or carelessness. Probably, the dealer stalled you because you aggravated him...that is NOT justified, but that's probably what happened.
I have rarely seen courtesy and patience fail to relieve a situation....sometimes a dealer is just rotten to the core, but most often patience and persistence pays off. Problem is, a person has spent $30K or whatever ona car and doesn't want to be patient or doesn't feel like he has to beg. Okay, I can see that, but sometimes that is what is required in a busy, stressed-out dealership that might not be all that well-run.
Make no mistake. The car business eats human beings alive, or at least their stomach linings. Everyone is squeezing on everyone else, from the factory on down to the technician on the line. You, as customer, are going to meet up with lots of stress and bad feelings you had nothing to do with initially so it's a good idea to put your best foot forward in dealing in this environment. Don't add to the mess in other words, even if your patience is tested.
Sure, you scream and sue and battle, and after a bloodbath you get your car bought back. But I'm wondering if there were other ways to get to the solution, ways that didn't leave so much bad feeling in its wake?
Arbitration is a very good thing, but it needs to come in EARLY enough, before the damage has escalated. Sounds like your case went too far before intervention.
I hope you are much happier with your high quality, non-plastic, beautiful Daewoo.
HiC
You know, HIC, it's more like this I think...people buy a new car, maybe their first ever, and they expect a lot from it. It's an emotionally charged event rather than just a purchase. I think people feel very disappointed, even if perhaps their expectations were unrealistic.
My first car was a 1974 Plymouth Duster. Got it used for $750. Had minor damage on all corners (last driver was an 80 year old guy with cataracts in both eyes), AC did not work, leaked antifreeze, leaked oil and was impossible to keep alligned. 340 V8 got 12 MPG. I spent more time under the hood than in the driver's seat.
My expectations, from that point forward, have always been rather basic.
My next car was a Fiat. I was dissapointed that it failed to measure up to the lofty standards set by the Dustpan.
HiC
I bought the Camry without seeing it, needed a car (manual transmission) in July 1998 and all manual transmission cars (Camrys) were being sold when they were in transit. I have a 1988 Honda Accord, and to me all Japanese cars (especially Hondas and Toyotas were of high quality and had no concerns about quality-was quite naive, I guess). I probably would not care much about the plastics quality if Toyota did the warranty work.
No, they bought the car back because that was the cheapest way out even though they paid thousands dollars more than the market price (it was a low mileage car). I guess this route was cheaper than repairing the car or fighting me in court.
Yes, I am (or rather my wife-this is her car) quite happy with Nubira. It is a pretty car (I think it is prettier than Camry). Its plastics do not have defects and irregularities. And we like the free scheduled maintenance. So far only warranty work we needed was to realign the passenger side air bag cover, and I did not need to beg factory rep for this warranty work (!)
And after I bought Nubira, I concluded that Camry was overpriced because Camry's cost was about 70% higher than Nubira. If it makes you happy, I will call Nubira "underpriced" instead of vice versa.
I do not know if you compared the interior of your Toyota and a 1998 Camry (Manual transmission=CE),
but I would guess that the quality deteriorated from 1995 to 1998.
By the way, the car I drive now is a hellrot E46, I guess you understand what I mean?!
Before I conclude, a question for Mr. Shiftright: I am just curious, if it is not confidential could you reveal what make cars your dealership sells? Thanks.
One more thing: I am usually quite busy, and I don't think I will be able to entertain anymore "questions" or comments. Sorry.
HiC
Any kind of new car one expects perfection in assembly, parts fail but failure to assemble properly to me is in excusable. Plus, dealer is to inspect and go over each car prior to release. Recently purchased Buick was inspected prior to my pickup. I found all 4 tires with different pressures, plus spare, missing nut on plastic engine cowling, and at 750 miles the oil pan bolts had to be tightened due to oil leaking out all over. Sure work performed but never should have had to go back for this crap!
Sure dealer repaired with a smile but to take any car in for service is a major hassle in time etc., arrange for transportation, mayt not be repaired when promised etc. We all have problems, their job is to deal with theirs and satisfy me, not the other way around. Sorry
I do believe that dealerships actually make out quite well on warranty work,it is what we call in my business T&M(time and materials). The manufacturer pays for the parts and the mechanics time to replace them.
I don't know if the dealership really treated this individual as badly as is made out, but it does sound like he has a legitimate complaint.