Dealer Shenanigans

[TourVan]

Hello,

I'm supposed to pick my new Corolla TS up on Monday. The car has been with the dealer since Wednesday 29th September and according to the MyT app, apart from moving from the storage compound and around the dealership, it looks as though it has been to somebody's home, parked overnight and then driven back to the dealership the following morning.

I have to say this has taken the excitement out of collecting a "new"? car knowing that it has been used as a runaround, particularly since the trips included  harsh braking and acceleration.

I am just wondering if anybody else has any similar experiences and if so what was the outcome?

My initial thoughts were that the dealership was trying to circumvent benefit-in-kind taxation for their employees 

[Catlover]

The dealer may have loaned a car to a customer having repairs and so used yours by the staff member whose car was loaned. 

[forkingabout]

Certainly worth asking why it has left the dealership & been parked overnight away from it.

My current car has a tracker on it which caught the main dealer out when it went of site " to be washed "

[bewA]

Your new car should not ever be used as a runabout for someone regardless of whether it's for a staff member or another customer.

I would ensure you have screenshots of the journeys and make a complaint.

If they hadn't already registered the car in MyT then perhaps you wouldn't have known however it's pretty stupid/niave of them to not realise that this gets recorded.

[GBgraham]

11 hours ago, Catlover said:

The dealer may have loaned a car to a customer having repairs and so used yours by the staff member whose car was loaned. 

This is a very strange comment to make. If you buy something new, you expect it to be new or it becomes used. For me, I would either refuse the car or get a price reduction, also I would report this situation to Toyota UK because the dealer is bang out of order. 

[Catlover]

44 minutes ago, GBgraham said:

This is a very strange comment to make. If you buy something new, you expect it to be new or it becomes used. For me, I would either refuse the car or get a price reduction, also I would report this situation to Toyota UK because the dealer is bang out of order. 

I was not condoning it, I was merely putting a different point fto the oriposter that was stating he thought the dealer was cicumventing tax provisions.

[Bozz]

To be honest if my dealer chose to use my new car as a run about before delivery and I could prove it, I'd be extremely upset to the point where I'd probably reject it.

[Swanthecat]

I don’t think I would be happy at all about that either particularly as whoever has driven it seems to have been driving somewhat enthusiastically. Was it new new or pre-registered? Assuming new new I would be interested to hear how they explained the mileage discrepancy and driving stats but, just playing Devil’s advocate currently there is a fuel crisis in some places in the country but ‘what if’ it was done as the most convenient way to get some fuel into it? Just one scenario but I would want a full explanation to the point of breaking the deal.

[frizzbee30]

If the staff are using new customer cars as 'runarounds', I'd certainly report it..

That is in no way acceptable,  and utterly arrogant. 

Certainly a dealership not worthy of business!

[clix]

13 hours ago, Catlover said:

The dealer may have loaned a car to a customer having repairs and so used yours by the staff member whose car was loaned. 

I don't think they can do this. In this case, you are knowingly buying test vehicle, with a discount.

@TourVan I would backup data that you have in the app, In case they somehow try to delete it later. Kindly ask them about it. And if they deny everything, show them the data. Then I would check the car, and if everything is in order, I would try to negotiate a discount.

[bewA]

I would be definitely interested to know the outcome of this.

[Roy124]

Although the Dealership, by definition, are the Toyota specialists I suspect that not all of them are Technically savvy.  They possibly forget the inbuilt tracker and data recorder.  If they fit a dash cam they forget that spy too. 

No mischief, but when my car was picked up for a Service I could check how it was driven and where it went for its road test.  When I drive to the garage my mpg is in the region of 60+.  When they drive it it is less than 50.

There was a case a few years ago with a Lamborghini, the mechanic took it for a spin and was doing 100+.  He was instantly dismissed when the owner showed the data to the garage. 

[Rambler56]

My car sat in the compound from the beginning of the first lockdown until lifted in the June, so sat there for 3 months.  The tracker app showed exactly where the car was and when the dash cam was fitted during the PDI prior to collection it gave me the footage of the inside of the workshops/staff and being driven carefully back out to the compound.  If my car was identified as being  taken off site for any reason I would have had more than strong words with the dealership, especially given your evidence, and be asking them what they are going to do to make this right.  Personally I would threaten to refuse the car and see what they do.

[AndrueC]

5 hours ago, Bozz said:

To be honest if my dealer chose to use my new car as a run about before delivery and I could prove it, I'd be extremely upset to the point where I'd probably reject it.

I think I'd angle for a discount first, but it's pretty crappy behaviour by the dealer.

[Gray86]

Are you sure they didn’t just nip for some petrol? 

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, Gray86 said:

Are you sure they didn’t just nip for some petrol? 

On the way home?  Stayed overnight, how far from the garage? 

[Cyker]

I saw a video a while ago which this thread reminds me of  

 

 

 

[forkingabout]

The tale of Bill & Ben the painting men 🤣

 

[Devon Aygo]

21 hours ago, TourVan said:

Hello,

I'm supposed to pick my new Corolla TS up on Monday. The car has been with the dealer since Wednesday 29th September and according to the MyT app, apart from moving from the storage compound and around the dealership, it looks as though it has been to somebody's home, parked overnight and then driven back to the dealership the following morning.

I have to say this has taken the excitement out of collecting a "new"? car knowing that it has been used as a runaround, particularly since the trips included  harsh braking and acceleration.

I am just wondering if anybody else has any similar experiences and if so what was the outcome?

My initial thoughts were that the dealership was trying to circumvent benefit-in-kind taxation for their employees 

How far away from the dealer did MyT report the car? I ask because my dealer had been accused of this and when we looked we noticed our dealer car park is unmapped so depending on where onsite a car was parked MyT actually located the car off site on the nearest mapped street 

[Gray86]

On 10/3/2021 at 5:51 PM, Roy124 said:

On the way home?  Stayed overnight, how far from the garage? 

Yeah, I’d be mad if that was the case

[bewA]

On 10/3/2021 at 7:13 PM, Devon Aygo said:

How far away from the dealer did MyT report the car? I ask because my dealer had been accused of this and when we looked we noticed our dealer car park is unmapped so depending on where onsite a car was parked MyT actually located the car off site on the nearest mapped street 

So it's not done on pure GPS l, e.g. dropping a marker regardless of what the map says, it drops it on the closest street to the marker?

I'd rather know the exact location, closest road isn't really helpful unless there it loses GPS signal in which case the last known good/heartbeat is useful.

[Roy124]

bewA, mine drops the marker where the car is. 

When I got the car my road was not on the map.  It is now but while it says the car is 0 yards away, the address given is the house next door in the next street a quarter mile away by road.