For all the whinging about dealers...

I'm at the dealer in Asheville this AM for an oil change, rotation and state inspection. The service advisor is an ex BMW, VW tech and truly an enthusiast. Everybody at the store is competent, careful and transparent. I asked how many dead Tundras they've got- 1 in the shop currently. It's still not a brushfire of Gen3's going bad. They said the process is for them to troubleshoot the problem and then it's handed off to Toyota and assigned a case # and loaner. I'd have zero issues with these guys putting a new motor in. The hang up right now is getting the engine assemblies. They're not doing short blocks. if anything, the mechanics and techs seemed pleased with the way Toyota is stepping up. These are good guys doing good work. Really excited when you want to talk cars.

On line two, they have so many new Tundras and Tacomas it's shocking. The Tacomas are stacked up everywhere. Good looking truck but still too small for what I need.

Hard not to compare to the Ford dealer 400yards away where everyone is numb from getting bitched at.

 

Probably all good until the dealership sells out next week and next time you go in all new faces. Consolidation and profit taking has been a huge big trend the last few years.

Near me just about every dealer except the Ford and GM dealers have sold out. There are groups whose sole mission is buying dealerships, pumping up the books, and then dumping the dealership for a profit in a few years. There are even a few well funded enough to start new dealerships from the ground up and then sell them once they have a few years of sales data established .

It has become the bigger version of the Chinese takeout restaurants by the Publix. Start it, pump it, dump it

 

Some may think this a good thing...

 

There are about 4 Toyota dealers in this group. I actually think it helps. There was a guy sorting a transfer case issue and the dealer had second level tech support that crossed all the stores to help determine the issue.

Agree with you on the Automation thing as an example. They suck. I wouldn't buy a push cart from them.

 

A dealership telling you there is no widespread issue? Color me shocked.

Toyota wouldn’t be forthcoming with over 100k replacements if there wasn’t an issue. There is an issue, but not every issue has or will turn into catastrophic failure. These redundant threads are just brain rot at this point.

 

A lot of the buyers bought out family owned dealerships looking to cash out or retire. The new buyers will be the first in a line of profit first/service last groups to own the dealerships in its future . Maybe some old timey dealerships need modernization will benefit. But as a customer you become a number

Not just a dealership trend. Same trend in apartments. My dad was owned a funeral home before he died. There are groups buying funeral homes regionally or nation wide but keeping the family name to conceal the transfer. Grandma dies and you use the same funeral home as you did with Grandpa. Except this time the people you deal with moved in from cross country last month , they are up selling everything and seem more interested in pre selling your funeral that may not happen for 30 years that giving Ma a good send off

 

Private equity roll up.

 

I didn't say there wasn't an issue. The dealer said they have one in the shop right now. The last time I was in, 7000 miles ago, they had 4 failures. Decent sized store, I would expect more failures.

 

Every business has a website. When in doubt go to their about us page and try to figure out who the ownership actually is. If you can't it is a private equity group who may specialize in the business type or know nothing about it at all

My local Toyo dealer is on its 3rd owner since I have lived here for 8 years. My only clue about ownership is a foreign fellow on the webpage listed as managing partner with no reference to what he is a partner in.

 

Or just ask who owns the place.

 

Try it. I bet you don't get a straight answer if Shanghai Unlimited, LLC or Delhi Enterprises, LLC is the owner behind the scenes.

They know that fact turns off 2/3 of their customers

 

Compare this to buying a Tesla.

Tesla makes it fun.

they treat you like a customer.


The dealership mafia in TX is primary reason car buying sux.

I'm sure it's the same in your area.

when I bought my '20 Tundra, the Houston dealership was staffed by professional finance guys and sleazy sales folks.

nobody cares about the customer, they care about maximizing the individual sales transaction.


This is nothing new - it's always been this way.

that is, until Tesla came along and whooped that ass.

 

Clickbait. Of course people are not satisfied. These companies sell maintenance. They are there to maximize profit and compete. It’s the same with most companies that offer technical maintenance services and products. Every interaction you need to be prepared. Nearly every company that wants to offer services will also naturally want to take advantage of you and is your adversary. Don’t be complacent, the coffee is not that good.

 

I used a broker for the tundra at a time when they were hard to get. 15 minutes in and out of the dealer to pick it up. Never talked to a sales guy or the business office idiot. Got a decent discount too when discounts were hard to get.

 

I used to work for PE. It's easy to tell.
Most people if asked give you a straight answer, they love to talk about themselves.

 

*whining

 

whinge
/(h)winj/
British
verb
gerund or present participle: whinging

1. complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way.
   "stop whingeing and get on with it!"

Similar to whining, but fancier, cuz it's British.

 

I didn't know the "Brits" were buying Tundras... How do they even get them over there?

 

There are whiners, they might whine on a bad day, event or transaction. Then there are whingers, they’re the ones that just bitch, bitch, bitch about most everything and usually have a sense of entitlement.

 

roger that

 

When I lived in Asheville I bought several Camry's from that dealership because we had a retail store in the old indoor Biltmore Square Mall and it was so convenient for service. I never had any problem with the dealership and at that time it was a "Price as marked/no negotiation" dealership.

That was 15 to 20 years ago, I still go to Asheville to visit friends but it sure blew up and changed!

 

I fixed your post (someone had to say it)