First Time Dealer Service Experience

After owning GM vehicles all my life, I bought my first Toyota a couple of months ago. I am really enjoying my Tundra and had a really positive experience with the dealership when purchasing the truck. They went out of their way to find me the truck i wanted and gave me a fair price on it and my trade in.

Last weekend, I started having a slow leak in one of my tires. Just in case it was something with the tire being mounted improperly, and not something in the tire, i decided to go to the dealer to have it checked out. I also wanted to see if the service department was different/better than GM dealer service. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the overall deal.

They tell me I indeed have a nail in my tire and that it is in a place that they aren't able to plug it, so I need a new tire. In hindsight, I should have asked to see it, as now I have my doubts if i really did need a new tire. They quote the new tire at $365, plus installation.

I say okay and go back to the lobby to wait for the install, thinking all the while that these are really expensive tires. I google up prices on the stock Micheline ATX AT2s, and they are $250 all over the internet. I go back to the service desk and service the price. They say "no problem, we'll price match, but let me check with my manager". A few minutes go by, and the come to me and say they can't match wholesale tire prices, only something where i could go to a competitor and get the tire installed. I go back to the lobby, call NTB, and they tell me they'll sell me the tire for $295 out the door, which is about what I'd expect with install and taxes. I tell the service desk this info and again, they'll price match but need to check with the manager. Again, a few minutes later, they come to me and say that they called NTB, and since NTB would have to order the tire and i couldn't get it installed today, they wouldn't price match, but wanted to make me a "deal". They'll sell me the tire for $275, plus install of $22. I've been there for an hour already, so I tell them to go ahead.

They get the tire on and I go to check out, and my total bill includes the prices above, but then adds on a $2 document retention fee, a $4 shop fee, and another $4 environmental fee. As I'm checking out, i tell the cashier that all these add on fees are inappropriate, and she tells me there's nothing she can do. I voice my displeasure, politely, and explain that I was hoping that Toyota dealer service would be different, seeing that I am a first time Owner. She whispers "it isn't worth it" as she hands me my receipt. Total out the door price was $325. Once I'm done with my free service, I am definitely headed back to my old mechanic.

Sorry for the long winded thread, but I wanted to share my experience.

 

Sounds like a frustrating experience. I am on my first Toyota, but have owned numerous Hondas and Nissan's. They have all been reliable vehicles; but it's the rare dealership that didn't try to upsell me on service.

I am taking advantage of the initial 2 year maintenance that came with the truck, but my independent shop will be maintaining it afterwards. I just bought some 18" wheels and new tires that I purchased from TireRack. I did not use the dealer for installation.

Enjoy the new truck!

 

That is not a good way to start a business relationship. Trust is so important.

My truck has 3000 miles on it and I’m already concerned about my free tire rotation at 5000 miles.

 

Sorry you had to deal with that—they don't call them "stealerships" for nothing. I won't go anywhere near a dealer service department except for warranty work. Last time I was in for our Highlander fuel pump recall they tried to sell me tire balancing and a cabin & air filter replacement for $199...

 

If I needed a new tire, I'd get it from a shop that specializes in that, rather than the dealership.

If you're comfortable doing so, you can share the dealership name here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/dealership-experience.45850/

 

Common shady practice.
I worked as a service agent at my local Toyota and I can tell you we turned the **** out of the shady stuff, hell, the shop manager still abides by that code. No more fake repairs, no more fear tactics, in the end, customers save a penny and actually purchase mods or come back to do necessary repairs. Overcharging eats into a customers budget and even if they have the $, it creates mistrust.

A returning customer is worth more than ten one-timers.

 

I will never set foot again into my Toyota service centre. I have a long list of issues ranging from loose oil filter cover (Twice), to damaging 6 wheels on 2 of my new Toyota’s to damaging my painted door handles on the hoist posts. Complete joke. Either do your own work or take it to someone you trust. These large service centres hire kids for these minor service jobs and they don’t give a flying f@ck about your new truck and the prices are highway robbery. Don’t even get me started on what they wanted to charge me for labour for parts during my Tacoma frame swap for items that had to be swapped over to the new frame anyway

 

That sucks - you have way more tolerance than I do. I’d have told them put the f**king spare on and give me my truck back after the first time they refused to price match. There are way more options out there than shitty stealerships!

 

I guess I’m a little lucky that within an hour drive I’ve got access to 6 different dealerships, and another 4 within 1-1/2 hour drive. I’ll pick and choose a little on who gets to do my “Toyota Care” service that I got for “free” (yeah, I paid for it in the sticker price). But after that’s done, I’ll go back to using my local guy (who also happens to be my daughter’s boyfriend).

On my 2008, I used one dealer religiously for several years because the actual mechanic working in my truck was a neighbor of a cousin and I knew he actually took pride in his work, and they were always square with me. Never tried the upsell game (at least with me they didn’t). I stopped using them when that mechanic retired, but at that point I was so far past warranty I figured I couldn’t screw up too bad doing it myself, so I did the basic service for a few years.

I did bring it in to a different dealer for brakes (they had what should have been a good deal going at the time), and I actually had them try to “upsell” me on $11k worth of “repairs” . Unfortunately, one of the rear calipers was hosed, and I had to have them complete the brake job (actually couldn’t drive it if they didn’t... I’m surprised the caliper got me to the dealer when they showed it to me). But they’ll never get my business again. Ever.

The closest dealer to me I used when it was time for a major service interval (including plugs, differentials, transfer case, etc.) and I got them to give me a decent package price up front. I didn’t feel like they tried to squeeze me for anything extra (at 240k miles, I walked in and told them all the things they would find that I wasn’t interested in them trying to sell me). I also didn’t really feel like they took any extra effort either...so meh.

About that time, my daughter started to date a guy who has been turning wrenches probably before he could walk. His dad’s a fleet manager and mechanic for Bonneville Power Administration, and the kid’s a wizard with Subarus (I’ve watched him build one from parts in his drive way in a couple of weekends). He also works at a local independent shop that deals primarily with Land Rover and exotics (says he hates doing oil changes in the Rolls and McLarens, but loves having to go pick them up for service).

So now he does all of our work... if he tells me something’s going to need fixed, I know he’s not blowing smoke. And he’s always fair on hours for anything bigger than an oil change (did the clutch and transmission in my daughter’s Impreza, brakes on all of our cars, and he’s pretty good at detailing too).

Sucks that so many places just don’t have any grasp of what customer service and honest pricing is any more.

 

Best local dealer to me is a Chevy dealership. Bought several vehicles from them over the years and had a lot of service done. Too bad Chevy trucks are so crappy these days...

 

sales will bend over for you to buy the truck, service will bend you over on the other hand

 

I've always believed that if Toyota didn't make such great cars, they would have gone out of business years ago. I have yet to walk into a Toyota dealership and not feel like everyone working there is trying to either rip me off or make me leave.

 

I agree completely, wish I could give you a high 5.

 

I live sandwiched between 2 dealers, and many friends with Toyotas put these two against each other with new car pricing. I have bought from both. That being said, they also have great service departments from my experience. I tend to stick with one of them, and they have done me good with my previous Tacomas, and now my Tundra, and their sister dealer does great with our Honda van. I took my Tacoma in because I found a greenish blue colored leak on the ground in the garage, quite remote from any service with them and after having returned from a trip to Moab, and they told me it would be 75 to look at it, and I agreed. They took a look, did a complete inspection, video walk around, and identified the leak as purely leaking from the AC drain which looked off because the AC hadn't been used all winter up to that point, so it was a non issue. They didn't charge me. I plan on getting service done there for the foreseeable future. Figured I would throw my experience in, because some dealers really are pretty good.