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I can't blame you for feeling uneasy but this was a freak thing that could happen on any new car.
Hard to guess what happened but I would bet on a defective master cylinder from the factory. I'm sure Toyota will be all over this one!
Maybe I'm feeling too skittish. My dealer actually was all over it. When they towed it, they had a "loaner" brought to my house, too. It certainly could have been a lot worse scenario.
Now, the "fear factor" (rightfully or wrongfully) is setting in....I don't know how I'm going to address this when they come back with the repairs and try to soothe my frazzled mind.
I know you're "a Honda guy" but from a dealer perspective, what do you think would happen if I told them I didn't want the "fixed" Tacoma but another one? I'll stick with the dealership, but because I'm skittish, what would be the dealer stance if I requested another vehicle? I don't want to keep a $27K vehicle that I'm afraid to drive.
Any good options here?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Fortunately, I saw 3 open parking spaces and I headed for those and aimed for the concrete barriers in front of them.
You don't realize how much of a hit 10 MPH is. It feels like you're crawling when you're driving. When the wheels hit the concrete, it was quite a jolt, however.
In hindsight (being 20-20), that was probably what I should have done, though....step on the emergency brake.
It sounds like you did a great job!!
Not a dealer, but I doubt the new truck thing will fly.. Unless, of course, they tell you they can't find anything wrong.. :surprise:
regards,
kyfdx
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If they find the problem and fix it, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about although I understand how you might be nervous each time you get behind the wheel of your truck.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
But let me assure you, I was not panicking as much as the Midas shop owner whose window I nearly went through ...
As soon as I got home, the car started overheating and the Check ENGINE light came one. I was furious.
The next day (sat.), I went back and tried to take the car back. They wouldn't take it back and said they could put me in another car. They beat around the bush and tried putting me in old, high milage cars that were not close the the value of the 3000GT.
I went back again yesterday (MOnday), and told them I wanted my down payment back and I wanted to LEAVE THEIR CAR. They said I could not do that. I STOPPED PAYMENT on the check that they had not cashed, and left the car there.
Is there anything I can do to legally undo the contract? Can they do anything to me at this point? PLEASE HELP??? The car price was only $7,900.
Very VERY strange....be sure to let us know what they found. They also need to carefully inspect the truck for any damage from hitting that curb.
Normally cars aren't returnable. Once you drive it off the lot it's yours. No "cooling off" period on cars.
What kind of a lot was it? a dealer or an independent.?
How many miles on the car?
And, it's possible it just blew a hose or something monir happened that the dealer who sold you the car knew nothing about. Maybe it's not a big deal.
Sounds like you got a bad dealer, but did you have a mechanic check out this 9 year-old car before you bought it? Buyer beware. I feel for you, but I doubt that a court would do anything for you. Maybe you could get your deposit back and get the dealer to take the car back, but it's iffy. Talk to a lawyer first.
I have no idea of the legal aspects... but, the fact that you've left the car at the dealership, and they don't have your money is a positive for your situation..
It is almost impossible for someone to make you fulfill a contract... that is, to sue for specific performance... However, they can sue you for monetary damages..
But, they have kind of a tough argument.. they can only sue for actual damages.. So, to say they took a bath on the deal, they'll have to admit the car is a piece of crap... Otherwise, how much damage can their be?
If you want to go down this road, just be sure that if any bank calls, you tell them that you are NOT purchasing the car, and will not be responsible for any monies that they forward to the dealer..
I'm not saying you have a legal leg to stand on, but if you already know the car is a POS, then you are better off stonewalling, than taking the car..
regards,
kyfdx
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I DID have the car inspected by my mechanic. Look it thourougly and said there was nothing wrong with it except the brake pads, and roters.
So THEN....the dealership a big JOE MYERS Toyota, "fixed" these minor details. So I took it home.
When I argued with them that the car is malfunctioning, even the Regional Mgr. said..."maybe when we worked on it, and washed the motor, something happened". So essentially, AFTER they worked on it, is when the car started acting up.
I did not sign loaner papers. But now the car is at their dealership, I left the keys, and stopped payment on the check.
Doesn't sound like the deal was ever consumated...
Of course, they could file a criminal charge of fraud for you stopping payment on the check, but that seems unlikely...
Sounds like a sticky situation..
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I am afriad that my credit will take the hit for all this.
This is a nightmare.
It could be as simple as a thermostat or even low coolant or a broken hose. Don't assume the worst and immediately jump to the conclusion that the head gasket needs to be replaced or the block is cracked. My guess, without knowing more, is that you are leaking coolant water somewhere and once you fix the leak then your problems will go away.
As far as the check engine light going on. I suspect that gets set by the onboard ECM computer when the car overheats.
Maybe the car is still in pretty good condition but needs some minor work.
So - My advice is to find out what is wrong before you take some of the (questionable) advice given previously and ruin a good credit rating.
If you are going to buy and drive 8-9 year old cars then you'll either have to work on em yourself or find a mechanic to do the work for you. After all it's not a new car and stuff will break and have to be worked on.
They wouldn't even take a look at it. They were very difficult about the whole thing from the beginning.
I do see what you are saying. Maybe it's something minor. But what if it's not?? If that Check Engine light is coming on already. I don't think anyone would want to buy the car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
isellhondas....while I'm at best, a shade tree mechanic, I was surprised that the Tacoma, with back-up braking systems and anti-lock (didn't feel any pulse in the brake pedal) seemed to totally fail. After I stopped, I immediately checked to see if the master cylinder had fluid. But, not even a "brake warning light" came on (or if it did, I didn't notice it in my panic).
Based on that, I'm sure the brakes are controlled somewhat by the computer. Computer failure of some sort? I had noticed that the brake pedal seemed to travel pretty far down when I took delivery. But, since I checked under the hood before I bought it, and saw the master cyl was full, I thought little of it, figuring the brakes were self adjusting. Brand new unit, so the disks and pads had to be new, too.
If I had to guess, two things happened simultaneously. First there was some sort of contamination, kink or air in the brake lines, coupled with a computer failure.
One of those very rare circumstances where Murphy's Law prevailed.
Maybe needlessly, but if I end up picking the truck up after they fix it, I'll always be worried about another similar break (brake?) down. If it was something minor, I would just let Toyota take care of it and be done with it. But brake failure? Scary!
Yeah...I would tell them you have NO CONFIDENCE in that particular truck and that you would like another to replace it.
Of course, the chances of a repeat performance would probably be no greater on the truck you have than another, it sounds like you would always have a nagging feeling it could happen again.
By the way, for those who ever find themselves in the situation that Graphic (and I) have been in, get the car stopped and call the tow truck. Do **NOT** drive it to the brake shop even if it is less than a mile. (g)
I put that in my "LESSONS LEARNED" folder.
That depends on how much you value your credit rating. Sure, you could fight tooth and nail to not have to pay for the car and finally win, but in the meantime you have creditors calling, black marks on your credit, late fees, maybe your insurance gets raised, etc. I paid a bogus (but very expensive) traffic ticket just because I knew it had been referred to a collections agency and they couldn't care less if you're in the right or not. They just want money, and will use any means at their disposal to get it. I finally decided to just eat the cost to avoid all the headaches later.
-Jason
Since nobody got hurt in this story, I take a little somewhat sadistic pleasure in seeing that Toyotas have problems too. I get so tired of all of the Big-3 car bashing that goes on in the media.
Some people do get a bit of pleasure, I know, when it happens to Honda or Toyota.
jlawrence.....very good advice. First, I think it just reinforces your idea to follow smart maintenance procedures for your entire car/truck.....including brakes. So often, people fill up with gas and wheel their cars in for oil changes at the local quick lube and think they're done. Or, they notice their tires are bald and buy new ones. In the case of a new vehicle, people make certain that there aren't any "dings" or paint flaws and totally ignore checking for things like fluid levels before they drive off the dealer's lot. I know....the PDI is supposed to find things like this. But, looking back, I should have said something during the test drive when I noticed the brakes felt unusually "spongy". Instead, I was fiddling with the A/C, radio, looking around the cabin, etc. But, at the time, the brakes stopped the truck, so they must have been OK, right (rhetorical question)?
It bears repeating.........DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ANYWHERE WITH FAULTY BRAKES! I was lucky. If I had been on the interstate, or even in town, this scenario could have been disasterous....for me and probably others around me. Hell, it could have been a disaster just being pokey in a parking lot.
Isell....dealer has had the Tacoma going on two days now. My salesperson did call me today after she saw my truck in their service bay. She said they didn't know what went wrong as of yet, but they had the wheels off and it has been on a lift since yesterday. I told her of my "skittishness", particularly given the safety implications of what happened. She said she understood, but they wanted to find out what failed. I floated the idea that I'm entertaining the thought that I may not be satisfied with it, even if it's supposedly fixed. She said she'd talk to her GM about swapping vehicles. Nothing guaranteed, though.
As a side note, the Toyota store also owns a Honda store right next door. The "loaner vehicle" they gave me to use is a Pilot LX. Very nice vehicle, BTW. Why they didn't put me in another Toyota is something of a mystery.
If interested, I'll let you know how the whole thing ends up.
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They've treated me great. The saleslady I dealt with was knowledgeable. She even sent me a package of Mrs Fields cookies with a note thanking me for my business. Negotiations were fair and smooth. The deal was good. The Sales Mgr made certain to tell me how much they appreciated my business. All-in-all, a very pleasant experience up until now. Even the service mgr didn't hesitate to get me a tow truck once I called them about my situation....in less than 20 minutes. They had someone pick me up when the tow truck arrived to take me to the dealership for a loaner vehicle. I live close, so that only took about 15 minutes.
Aside from the actual vehicle problems, I rate Performance one of the best dealership experiences I've ever had. If this is what they do for their Toyota/Honda customers, I can't begin to imagine what they do for their Lexus customers.
From what I understand, Mike Dever still owns the dealerships, but he now lives in FL. I guess he's got his daughter (Shelby) running the OH operations. Must be the woman's touch. She just left a message on my cell phone telling me she was aware of my situation and that she was personally overseeing the progress. Now, she didn't promise anything, but the thought is good.
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I contacted GM customer care and they got a hold of the general manager of the dealership. He said he would look into it and that I might need to bring the car in for his body shop to look at it and make a determination. He said he would look into a repurchase.
Well, I got a call today and the dealership is going to do a repurchase and is going to give me my down payment back.
The GM agreed that part of the problem was the finance company gouging me. Anyway, I think I have learned my lesson and will NEVER, EVER buy a car without reading the contract and I will negotiate in the future.
For anyone else out there, I do want to commend General Motors Customer Care for helping me - they were great and they did what they said they would do which is rare these days.
My brother and his wife bought a new 1980 Buick wagon, wood paneling, etc.. and it had cloth split seats in the front and pleather in the back. They bought it that way because it was perfect for small children and their spills, etc.
I'm not sure if cars will come that way now but is good for some folks.
Mark
for attending the police auctions.
Seiously, one of the engineering interns buys and refurbishes Chevy Caprice police cars ... and does a pretty good job at it.
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Thene,
I'm curious, is it OK to ask for a different salesman at the same dealership? If so, how? Or, would you walk away to another dealership instead?
Thanks for your thoughful advice - it has certainly helped us out this week!
I'm also curious about this. Are all the sales people at a specific dealership going to be the same (w/ regard to the price)? Is there an etiquette to switching sales people if the customer is not happy with the treatment and/or price? I asked a similar question once, and someone jumped on me saying that it was unfair to make salesmen work against each other at the same dealership.
as a 2nd related question, who really sets the selling price? It was my understanding that the salesman got a cut of the profit. so selling at a lower price would mean a smaller commision. Does the sales manager have veto power if the salesman is willing to sell the car so cheap, he only gets a $1 commision on the sale (not that he would- just a hypothetical situation)
Just an FYI, I'm not a 'car person' so forgive me if I use some incorrect terms...
My boyfriend bought a used 2003 Lexus IS300 from a Nissan dealer a few months ago (I guess it was a trade-in). The car worked great and was still under warranty. He bought it and we brought it to a Lexus Service center to be checked out during a "bumper-to-bumper" inspection. It checked out with no problems.
Fast forward to after the warranty ends and to Spring and Spring rains. We go to the car one morning to find its lights flashing and gages jumping. Apparently there is a small leak into the car's junction block and water is getting in and shorting the circuit. My first question here, is the dealer that sold it to us responsible at all? Can we take any action against them since it was a used car?
Unfortunately the story doesn't end there. So, we go back to the Lexus Service center to get it looked at. Suddenly they find all these "obvious" things wrong with the cars - holes in the car's body that were under the hood, corroded circuits, etc! So, we pay the $1000 to fix it and go to pick the car up. Well, right before they give it back to us, they take it for a car wash and guess what? Water is still leaking into the junction block! So, we pay another $250 to apparently fix a leak in the windshield and take it home a couple days later. The next time it rains, the junction block still gets wet and we're back at the Lexus Service center (unforutnately the only one in the area). Now, they're telling us we have to pay at least another $600 to entirely replace the windshield! We had a long and painful talk with the center's manager and he agreed to refund us some $$$ since they weren't doing their job in the first place (I asked the manager to bring in one of the mechanics and ask him what specific items in the $1000 work order went toward fixing the leak and the mechanic said "none of it." Unbelievable.)
My boyfriend now cannot stand the car and wants to sell it once we get it fixed. My question is, if we get it fixed by the Lexus Service center and sell it but the car still has problems, would we be liable? Or can we just give the new owner all the receipts for the work we had done to the car and tell them their beef is with the
Lexus Service center who we already paid to fix the problem? Any advice to try to resolve this nightmare would be greatly appreciated.
with regards to how salespeople get paid, and who sets the prices...every dealer is different. some places work strictly commission (meaning they only get $$$ if they sell cars, and profit is considered anything OVER invoice, not holdback and dealer incentives or doc fees or anything else). some get salary plus commission (percentages range on the commission - mine is 20% of the amount over invoice for example) and some dealers will give "minis" meaning regardless of what they sell the car for, they will at LEAST get $50 (or whatever is set by the dealer)
to be honest, the salesperson really doesn't make the same kind of crazy money that the dealer would make - and when they tell you they arent making money on a deal thats $200 below invoice - its because they don't get paid on holdback, etc.
hopefully that answers your questions - let me know if you have any others!
-thene
with regards to you selling the vehicle on your own - every state has different laws. here in CT, if you sell a car, you can be held liable if things fail within the first 30 days or so. if you sell the car as-is, you may be ok, but you have to be careful. i would also get on this lexus service place's case and let them know you are REALLY unhappy that they charged you $1k for work that didnt pertain to the leak! talk about real ripoff!
good luck with everything!
-thene
As for your second question, the sales manager is almost always the one that determines if the car is going to be sold at a particular price. That being said, how the sales consultant presents the offer to the sales manager makes a difference as well. Coming from someone who's worked both sides of the desk and is back on the sales floor after being a desk manager, trust me, the sales consultants often work the sales managers much harder than or as hard as they work their customers, especially the sales consultants who have a good customer following. The reason I say this is that although I make a commission based on what we sell the car for, I would much rather take a lower commission and keep a customer happy and keep that customer for referrals and repeat business than make more on a commission at the risk of losing that customer and any referrals they may make. That is not necessarily the long-term mentality that all dealers and/or sales consultants share though.
Hope this helps
Ken
What's my next step with a week old Tacoma (that I've only actually driven for 4 days) with the dealer. My confidence is shaken in this truck.