Approved used 145 point inspection not given

[Immysl]

Hi everyone,

I finally managed to buy another approved used Yaris after a disastrous purchase of one last month as you might have already seen in this forum. This car has a lot less rust so I am complaining less now lol. 

So on collection day when I looked at the car, it did seem nicely washed and polished from the outside. However, the interior wasn't cleaned properly even though the dealer claimed to have done a valet. Was the same under the bonnet too with some cobwebs and leaves, but do they even clean it nowadays?

There was also the issue of tyres in the MOT. Three tyres were supposed to be changed, so they did just that and left the remaining one, which is of a different brand and treadwear. I mentioned that even the Toyota site itself does not recommend this. The dealer in turn said that's not an issue since they have checked the tread depth of all tyres to be above 3mm. Shouldn't approved used cars have matching tyres for all four? Also, is it acceptable for them to be summer tyres?

After this I requested for a copy of the 145 point inspection they've done and all they gave me is the visual safety report saying they don't usually give the former to anyone. I am still chasing them to give it to me, but seems like it's an uphill task lol.

Besides this, I checked if they've actually done a major service as claimed. They did provide me an invoice of it, but it still doesn't appear in the MyToyota site.

Sorry for my long post. Just wanted to share yet another not-so-great experience with buying an approved used car from a Toyota dealer. I am not sure if even Toyota bothers about it other than the money they get from the certifications, as all I get when I check with them is talk to the dealer.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Immysl
Added the bit about under the bonnet

[ISL]

I’m sorry to hear of your bad experience again. On the whole most Toyota dealers are fairly good, let down by one or two.  I now have to travel 50 miles to my nearest decent dealer because my local dealer is useless.  Even though I complete Toyota customer surveys truthfully I never get any feedback or apologies. Out of interest which dealer is this? Same as before?

Regarding the tyres I would not accept different brands on the same axle.  It is better to have two tyres of a budget brand rather than one new and the other worn with different rubber compound.  It is likely that the car will pull to one side especially under braking.

[bathtub tom]

I never part with my money until I'm completely satisfied with what I'm buying. I've walked away from several "We'll put that right after you've bought it". My response: put it right and give me a bell when you have - never received a call.

[Immysl]

47 minutes ago, ISL said:

I’m sorry to hear of your bad experience again. On the whole most Toyota dealers are fairly good, let down by one or two.  I now have to travel 50 miles to my nearest decent dealer because my local dealer is useless.  Even though I complete Toyota customer surveys truthfully I never get any feedback or apologies. Out of interest which dealer is this? Same as before?

Regarding the tyres I would not accept different brands on the same axle.  It is better to have two tyres of a budget brand rather than one new and the other worn with different rubber compound.  It is likely that the car will pull to one side especially under braking.

Toyota surveys probably are for the good testimonials they want to put in their ads perhaps? 😅 I can't help but wonder what kind of a scam these surveys have become.

This is a different dealer based locally called Steven Eagell. They've got branches in other parts of England too. 

As for the tyres, thinking of replacing the remaining one. But also contemplating on whether I instead should replace all four with all season tyres when winter is close by.

9 minutes ago, bathtub tom said:

I never part with my money until I'm completely satisfied with what I'm buying. I've walked away from several "We'll put that right after you've bought it". My response: put it right and give me a bell when you have - never received a call.

I probably should've done that too. Still in my early stages of buying cars, so this has been a big learning curve so far.

[ISL]

Steven Eagell you mention 😂

Steven Eagell group have just taken over  my two nearest dealerships that used to be Marshall’s.  Always had exemplary service from Marshall’s and bought cars from them until Steven Eagell took over.  After one experience with them, I will never use them again. After ordering a new GR86 it was destined to be delivered to be delivered to Steven Eagell in Hereford, but no way have diverted it to WR Davies in Telford on good recommendation from fellow GR Yaris owner who has always received 1st class over and beyond.

This is of course just my opinion and sure there are many out there that have received a great customer experience.

BTW have received good feedback from all season tyres although I have always been inclined to use summer and winter tyres something I will now be looking at on the GR86.

[Rhymes with Paris]

43 minutes ago, bathtub tom said:

I never part with my money until I'm completely satisfied with what I'm buying. I've walked away from several "We'll put that right after you've bought it". My response: put it right and give me a bell when you have - never received a call.

A steep learning curve indeed for Immysl,as Tom says once you hand the money over all negotiation power is handed to the dealer.

I know things are different now with shortages etc, but as we used to say, there is always another one.

If the dealer or seller refuses to get all their ducks in a row before the money changing hands, then look elsewhere.

Things like paperwork, physical sight of that is,2 or more keys if the car was originally supplied with them,a good inspection of the car, take someone more experienced,or even pay a trusted mechanic or professional inspection service.

The cost of this is tiny compared with buying someone else's trouble.

Good luck with getting a good one soon I hope.

[bathtub tom]

Steven Eagell have two of my local dealerships. When I was looking for a Yaris I found their prices eye watering (I could've bought a new one for less than what they were asking for one year olds). One of them just weren't interested and I got better service from a cleaner working there. The other had a few I would've been interested in, but they were very poorly presented, dirty, bits missing etc. I ended up buying from Motorpoint at Peterborough for £2K less than Eagell's prices.

I had it serviced at the nearest Eagell's for the first few years so there could be no argument in the event of a warranty claim. They scratched it and stuff went missing.

[AndyN01]

Very sadly "Del Boy" dealers seem to be properly back in business. And it's really, really difficult if you're only on the first bit of the learning curve. Dealers have a myriad of ways to draw you in and can be exceptionally skilful at it. It's their job 😏.

My advice, for what it's worth, if it feels "wrong" just walk away.

If the paperwork/documentation is not there - walk away. I'll hold my hands up here and say we were recently conned with the tale that the service records were held electronically, so there wasn't any "paperwork" as such. It was a lie. Fortunately we got a full refund in the end, but it's grief you can well do without.

There IS, ALWAYS, another always car out there.

As has already been said, don't sign and pay on the back of.... "Ah, yes, sir...that'll all be sorted before you pick up the car...."

Beware being "rushed" into the deal towards the end of your visit. It's a classic ploy after they've "spent the time with you" and "been your friend" (they're not) and have carefully side stepped or come up with a plausible (not necessarily truthful) answer to any awkward/difficult/probing questions you might have.

And finally.

Keep your money in your pocket until absolutely everything is OK.

All the very best with your search.

Andy.

[TonyHSD]

Toyota used to says- “There is always a better way” , not anymore sadly, not from the dealers. 
Used approved these days means nothing, or same as bought from copart or bca, a car full of surprises. 
Tyres best is to have all 4 same make and model , type. Mixing tyres is like you are walking with differential shoes. You paid them already and so they won’t give you another one., unless you want to return the car again. 
No need to have all season tyres by law or by need for most of the uk with few areas as exceptions. Your personal needs and use will dictate that. All season has benefits but also a negatives too. 
145 point check it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. 
What I can suggest to you is to take pictures of the car or even walk around video, inside, outside, under bonnet, wheels and tyres , everything and share with us. We will look at and give you more tips what to do next. 
With the dealer you only make sure that the car is mechanically sound , been serviced, has all the relevant documentation, two keys etc. 
Then if you happy with your purchase you can book a professional valet whole car including engine bay wash, buy a new tyres to match yours, or new sets of tyres all 4 corners , do some extra bits and you will have your car as good as new , you will learn more about cars and care for them and happy days. 👍

[Big_D]

5 hours ago, ISL said:

I now have to travel 50 miles to my nearest decent dealer because my local dealer is useless.

I flatly refuse to deal with my local dealership and travel twice the distance.

[ISL]

6 minutes ago, Big_D said:

I flatly refuse to deal with my local dealership and travel twice the distance.

It does seem a shame when you can’t trust your local dealer. When I visited my local Toyota dealer (I won’t mention their name but rhymes with Reliant Regal) for a service recently I visited the Hyundai dealer next door who offered me coffee and allowed me to take one of their demo cars for a test drive. On the other hand back at Toyota, no coffee and they wanted to charge me £9.95 to cover insurance for a loan car which I refused to pay on principle. One of the smarmy shiney suit brigade, complete with waistcoat then proceeded to give me a long lecture at which point I grabbed my keys and said I won’t be returning.

[Big_D]

Trust has nothing to do with my local dealer.

I find them rude and arrogant. I was told not to be rude for an appointment with one of their sales staff. I arrived early and ended up waiting 20 minutes past the appointment time for a salesperson. I could see into the office and they were having a laugh and a chat. I am also still waiting for him to send me a quote for the car (now more than two years ago. Prior to that, my daughter went in to buy a car. I was with her. Their sales staff were so unhelpful. It was such an effort for the salesman to get a key to a car so she could have a look inside. We walked away and bought elsewhere on both occasions. These are two examples of the poor service they offer.

I had an issue with my new C-HR and called them to make an appointment to have the issue resolved under warranty. during the course of the booking, I was told there may be a £75.00 cost for diagnosing the issue. I objected to this and was told it was company policy.

The dealer I currently use don't charge for diagnosing warranty issues and I get offered a loan car.

[Bper]

5 minutes ago, Big_D said:

Trust has nothing to do with my local dealer.

I find them rude and arrogant. I was told not to be rude for an appointment with one of their sales staff. I arrived early and ended up waiting 20 minutes past the appointment time for a salesperson. I could see into the office and they were having a laugh and a chat. I am also still waiting for him to send me a quote for the car (now more than two years ago. Prior to that, my daughter went in to buy a car. I was with her. Their sales staff were so unhelpful. It was such an effort for the salesman to get a key to a car so she could have a look inside. We walked away and bought elsewhere on both occasions. These are two examples of the poor service they offer.

I had an issue with my new C-HR and called them to make an appointment to have the issue resolved under warranty. during the course of the booking, I was told there may be a £75.00 cost for diagnosing the issue. I objected to this and was told it was company policy.

The dealer I currently use don't charge for diagnosing warranty issues and I get offered a loan car.

Don't want to hurty feelings by raising our voices or wanting service that we pay for do we.😢

[Big_D]

I did speak to their management about the sales issues, but got nowhere. I've since bought four Toyotas, none from them. Their loss, not mine. 

[ISL]

On the other hand there are good dealers out there. One dealer that I use (not Toyota) reserves a parking place for me then welcome me personally by opening the door, then sitting me down with a coffee and a plate of biscuits. They also provide a loan car FOC. Full video of my car’s health check is emailed to me while I’m enjoying some lunch in between ragging the loan car 😁

[TonyHSD]

Well I only once had dealt with dealer buying a car and experience itself started very well, But:

It was from the Shakespeare’s town main dealer Toyota, the guys seemed good chaps but unfortunately the car was a total lemon. Had to return it on the same day of collection. What a horrible situation but lesson learned. Don’t accept pick ups from train station and free coffee. Focus on the car instead and what you are getting for your money, coffee and taxis are cheap but cars and repairs aren’t.

[Stevie J]

6 hours ago, ISL said:

After ordering a new GR86 it was destined to be delivered to be delivered to Steven Eagell in Hereford, but no way have diverted it to WR Davies in Telford on good recommendation from fellow GR Yaris owner who has always received 1st class over and beyond.

 

WR Davies in Telford is the dealer that our family have bought their last 2 Toyotas from. The first of which is the one I own now, and the second one my mother bought from there in January this year. We needed to get another Yaris quite quickly following my last one getting badly damaged, and I was looking around on my mother's behalf on Auto Trader, eBay, etc for Yaris's local to Telford. I found one at WR Davies Stafford, and showed the advert to my mother, who said she liked that one, but she didnt want to go to Stafford to see it, so we went down to the local dealer to her in Telford, also WR Davies (they have another branch in Shrewsbury as well) to look at what Telford had in stock, which were mainly Hybrids or other mk3's but with higher mileages, so we went in and talked to the salesman about the one I had seen at Stafford - they were only too happy to help, and said they could get it brought down to Telford at their expense, and for my mother to go back and test drive it when they got it in (I was with mother on this visit but as I live in Stoke on Trent, I couldnt always be there). 

They rang her up I think 2 days later to say the car was now there and she asked how she could pay for it - they said they wanted a bank transfer, but mother wasnt happy to do it that way, she wanted to pay on her debit card as she had done for the last car she bought from them in 2016, so they said just come down and they would see what they could do, seeing as she was paying £12500 for the car outright and not having it on finance. Anyway, she went down there and had a drive of the car, and said she would have it. Initially the salesman wanted her to go online and log into her bank account to transfer the money, and when she said she didnt have a smartphone, they said she could use their computer, but she really complained and said she wanted to pay by card - eventually the dealer said that would be OK, and she did it that way. 

At that time they were being a bit pushy about selling her extended warranties and all the usual stuff dealers want you to take out, but she said she just wanted to buy the car and nothing else at this time - the dealer was fine about it - no more pushing. So she went home and a few days later they delivered the car to her house in immaculate condition, and on time. No problems at all. They had been more than accomodating, by fetching the car down from Stafford, allowing her to pay using a method they dont usually use any more, and delivering it to her, no hassle, within a week of first going in the door.

As dealers go, yes some are pretty bad and the only thing they see when you walk through the door is how much money they can get out of you, and offer poor service, some are better - its luck of the draw really.

 

[Bper]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

Well I only once had dealt with dealer buying a car and experience itself started very well, But:

It was from the Shakespeare’s town main dealer Toyota, the guys seemed good chaps but unfortunately the car was a total lemon. Had to return it on the same day of collection. What a horrible situation but lesson learned. Don’t accept pick ups from train station and free coffee. Focus on the car instead and what you are getting for your money, coffee and taxis are cheap but cars and repairs aren’t.

The comedy of errors.😂

[Puglet]

I had similar issue with tyres many years ago, not from Toyota, but Ford, car had 3 makes of tyre of varying quality and wear. I mentioned this before purchase the response was it will go thru our service department and if they need changing they will be, they weren't. I expected as much and factored this in, but the overall car was good condition and model and spec I wanted, so I just had buy some new tyres. 

The pickup up sales experience was just as chaotic, I did my part and remembered cheque to pay for the car, unfortunately they forgot their job to tax the car for the road. So my 2nd test drive was to the post office to get the tax!, stopping on the way to get some petrol cos the car was running on fumes! 

Thankfully the car was much more reliable and enjoyable to drive and own than the initial sales experience, my only further dealings with dealership was the parts department guys who were always top notch thankfully as I did my own servicing. Unsurprisingly that dealership closed a few years later.

[Stevie J]

When my mother had her car, we did pick up on advisories it had on its last MOT 7 months prior to WR Davies selling it to her, and the car still had the same tyres fitted - they were the originals to the car, fitted in 2019 according to the date stamps on the sidewalls. But with the car only being 3 and a half years old at the time, we were surprised to see it had advisories for cracking tyres. I checked them and sure enough, on all 4 tyres there was slight cracking to the rubber between the tread pattern. Mother phoned the dealer about it, saying should they have sold her a car with perishing tyres, and they said that with the car being stood over covid and hardly being used, it was a common issue for tyres to crack slightly, and not really a serious issue - the car passed their checks and was sold with good tread depth remaining. Dealers dont always resolve MOT advisories when selling a used car, and they dont always give a full 12 month MOT either, as my mother had to MOT the car 5 months later in June this year, but very oddly, the car did not get advisories for the tyres on this MOT. So they cant have been a serious safety issue.

It was just really surprising to see tyres that were only 3 and a half years old getting cracking between the treads - I would only really expect that on tyres over about 7 years old. Nevertheless, it goes to show that dealers selling approved used cars do not always resolve all advisory items on the MOT.

This was the advert for the car as posted in January 2023, and its MOT history:

 

 

[Bper]

Doesn't Toyota offer a 30 Day money back.

You can return your Approved Used Toyota within 30 days or 500 miles of the day of purchase if you're not happy with it..?

 

[androbinuk]

13 hours ago, Bper said:

Doesn't Toyota offer a 30 Day money back.

You can return your Approved Used Toyota within 30 days or 500 miles of the day of purchase if you're not happy with it..?

 

Is this a thing?

[Mojo1010]

Put in down to experience again with regards to the one odd tyre, needed to get them agree to replace all four before parting money. Best to get the odd tyre change to match the others. This thread is also a good read for others in the future. 

As said, all season tyres are not a legal requirement. Imo not needed on most southern part of the country. From Derbyshire upwards all season would be a good option. 100 or 145 points check is just a marketing gimmick. 

[ISL]

1 hour ago, androbinuk said:

Is this a thing?

For exchange I believe 30 days is correct. For full refund it is 14 days. Might be certain dealers worth checking the small print.

[Mushu84]

The 145 point check is a sale gimmick amd a bad joke for me

 

Just bought my MK4 Yaris 2 years old 11k miles with full service one owner

After sale I’ve discovered that the wheels are not balanced and the wheel’s alignment was not done. I’ve emailed them but the answer was they were done and confirmed including an email by the service Manager and they are not responsible for anything after that.

I will keep the car as I like it a lot and the discount received makes up for any other issues for me.

For anyone else buying second hand check the car like crazy as they don’t!

Valet and cleaning was a joke, I did it at home as I did it better then them. 

Sorry to be grumpy but realistically you buy a second hand car and you need to check. And make sure if 100%.