Toyota Customer (non)Service

[GARHAM]

My Yaris was due for its first service on the Wednesday, On the Monday it wouldn't start so I put the Battery on charge and waited - no joy the smart charger said the Battery was fully charged and it couldn't be charged but the car still wouldn't start! Contacted Toyota and said my Yaris is less than a year old has a faulty Battery and wont start can you help me? The answer came back - 'No - Have you got a service agreement?' No I said its a Toyota less than a year old. OK I said its going in for its first service on Wednesday can you check the battery during the service? 'No - you'll have to book another appointment'!  (takes about 10 minutes to change a battery - obviously Toyota mechanics aren't up to the job!) OK I said when can you service the car and check the battery? 'Friday  - but no courtesy car' OK I said when can you let me have a courtesy car? '2 weeks time' So I'm without a car for 2 weeks? 'Yes' (at last a yes!)

So I took the Friday appointment and used the arduous bus service. I got the AA out and they agreed with me the battery was faulty. They started the car for me and I drove to the garage. After the service I was assured the battery was perfect and they just had to charge it. Without accusing anyone ... Do I detect a reluctance to agree the battery was faulty? I also took my Service Agreement paperwork in and said to one of the staff - It says on the back of the document - 'Includes 2 years roadside Recovery' is the  so? She said she didn't know anything about it and would look into it and call me back'. And I believed her - how could I have been so naive/stupid or what? (Works in a Toyota Service Centre and knows nothing about service agreements and Roadside recovery!) Should have said Well find someone who does! 

Is this typical Toyota after sales service - personally I am reluctant to ever buy another Toyota (I have 2!) And how come the salesmen never mentioned Roadside recovery? This all happened several months ago but I am still angry at being so duped. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

10 minutes ago, GARHAM said:

My Yaris was due for its first service on the Wednesday

So how about changing your profile to show you now have a Yaris.

[forkingabout]

There is an official Toyota document for testing 12 volt batteries - if it passes these tests then it's good to go.

Unless the test procedure shows the Battery is faulty, Toyota won't pay for the replacement.

[Bper]

Hi Grum,Dealerships can be hesitant to replace batteries under warranty without clear fault proof, but the AA confirming it was faulty should have been enough. Not offering to check the Battery during your scheduled service seems rigid, especially for such a simple diagnostic.

A two week wait for a courtesy car is IMO unacceptable. They could have been more flexible or helped arrange alternative options for you.Staff at service counters should understand basic warranty benefits like roadside assistance, and it’s not good that they couldn’t clarify this for you immediately.

You could escalate this to Toyota Customer Service this might get more you more proactive support and could prompt the dealership to address these issues.

Your experience doesn’t reflect the normal service most would expect from Toyota but regrettably it has been highlighted many times on this forum.👍

[Cyker]

24 minutes ago, GARHAM said:

My Yaris was due for its first service on the Wednesday, On the Monday it wouldn't start so I put the battery on charge and waited - no joy the smart charger said the battery was fully charged and it couldn't be charged but the car still wouldn't start! Contacted Toyota and said my Yaris is less than a year old has a faulty battery and wont start can you help me? The answer came back - 'No - Have you got a service agreement?' No I said its a Toyota less than a year old. OK I said its going in for its first service on Wednesday can you check the battery during the service? 'No - you'll have to book another appointment'!  (takes about 10 minutes to change a battery - obviously Toyota mechanics aren't up to the job!) OK I said when can you service the car and check the battery? 'Friday  - but no courtesy car' OK I said when can you let me have a courtesy car? '2 weeks time' So I'm without a car for 2 weeks? 'Yes' (at last a yes!)

So I took the Friday appointment and used the arduous bus service. I got the AA out and they agreed with me the battery was faulty. They started the car for me and I drove to the garage. After the service I was assured the battery was perfect and they just had to charge it. Without accusing anyone ... Do I detect a reluctance to agree the battery was faulty? I also took my Service Agreement paperwork in and said to one of the staff - It says on the back of the document - 'Includes 2 years roadside Recovery' is the  so? She said she didn't know anything about it and would look into it and call me back'. And I believed her - how could I have been so naive/stupid or what? (Works in a Toyota Service Centre and knows nothing about service agreements and Roadside recovery!) Should have said Well find someone who does! 

Is this typical Toyota after sales service - personally I am reluctant to ever buy another Toyota (I have 2!) And how come the salesmen never mentioned Roadside recovery? This all happened several months ago but I am still angry at being so duped. 

The cars are good but a lot of the dealerships leave a lot to be desired in the customer service department.

There are some good dealers, but as far as I can tell not anywhere near London...

 

[Yaris_Cross]

1 hour ago, GARHAM said:

Is this typical Toyota after sales service - personally I am reluctant to ever buy another Toyota

As has been said not all dealers are the same and its the same with all makes of car, my suggestion would be to put a complaint in to Toyota and change dealer, click on the thread below to see  other members   experiences - 

 

[Heidfirst]

You need to differentiate between Toyota (the manufacturer/distributor) & the franchised dealers.

As has been mentioned amongst all franchises you will find a range from good to bad. I would say that in my experience Toyota is amongst the better in terms of having fewer genuinely bad.

Also, & for future info., what you should have done in the first place, given that you had it, is rung up Toyota Roadside Assist (the AA in disguise) & they would have come out & got you going or if necessary transported your car to the dealer ...

[TonyHSD]

Toyota uk like a car manufacturer are ok however some dealers are big let down. 
In the op case simply a joke customer service. Perhaps he should change the dealer and complain to Toyota head office for the poor experience. 
 

[Mojo1010]

New car comes with a year of breakdown service normally. 12v Battery condition dependent on usage. 

[Louie]

To give you some idea how clueless some Toyota dealers can be I am still getting service calls from  a dealer i parted company with last year having disposed of my old corrolla at the same time. The dealer has a bird in his name and has a dealership in Peterborough.

[ThomasL]

What Toyota don't seem to get is that poor dealerships are ruining their brand! They need to hold these guys accountable - take the franchise off them or sack the manager.

It would be nice if manufacturers didn't give a monopoly to one dealer per region - why can't I have a choice of 3 or 4 different Toyota dealers in my town?

I wonder if this is just a UK thing or happens all over Europe...

[Maurice Mynah]

Without mentioning them, there is a dealer (Toyota) where their so-called technicians are so clueless they will drain fluids and then discover there's non in stock. Same dealer, "technician" drains engine oil and then discovers the bonnet will not open.🙄 Change engine oil filter and overtighten the housing cover, not to the 25Nm recommended, which then requires a 600mm breaker bar to release after destroying one removal tool, etc..

[Willss]

My closest dealership lost my custom after their Master Technician took my petrol avensis out and on return told me that the annoying whine I had was the turbo going. I queried which turbo as the petrol avensis doesn't have one! He said he thought it was a diesel......

The same franchise but different dealership put the gearbox right for me a couple of weeks later.  They aren't the quickest or best at communicating but they've been straight and helpful so I continue to travel further and go to them. No complaints about them at all.

[Cyker]

That's the tricky thing - It's the people that matter so you can't even judge them by the franchise as even in the same franchise there are good and bad!

The problem with my locals, and I suspect many others, is the staff turnover has been quite high, esp. in the service bay, so you tend to get new unexperienced people. It's partly why I will use them for servicing, mainly for the warranty, but no longer go there for any kind of diagnostic work as they've proven to be really bad at it!

I would say they did a good job with changing my windscreen, but that was done by a 3rd party contractor on their premises anyway! (And they made them do it outside, wouldn't let them in the service bay, so they were freezing their proverbials off!)

[Paul john]

23 minutes ago, Cyker said:

That's the tricky thing - It's the people that matter so you can't even judge them by the franchise as even in the same franchise there are good and bad!

The problem exists even if said dealership chain run their “customer service” from a central location for all their “branches”

[Dezzer21]

There seems to be a discrepancy in his statement about service agreement on one hand  he says no on the other says yes?               (The answer came back - 'No - Have you got a service agreement?' No I saidI also took my Service Agreement paperwork in)

 

[Eddie G]

18 hours ago, GARHAM said:

My Yaris was due for its first service on the Wednesday, On the Monday it wouldn't start so I put the battery on charge and waited - no joy the smart charger said the battery was fully charged and it couldn't be charged but the car still wouldn't start! Contacted Toyota and said my Yaris is less than a year old has a faulty battery and wont start can you help me? The answer came back - 'No - Have you got a service agreement?' No I said its a Toyota less than a year old. OK I said its going in for its first service on Wednesday can you check the battery during the service? 'No - you'll have to book another appointment'!  (takes about 10 minutes to change a battery - obviously Toyota mechanics aren't up to the job!) OK I said when can you service the car and check the battery? 'Friday  - but no courtesy car' OK I said when can you let me have a courtesy car? '2 weeks time' So I'm without a car for 2 weeks? 'Yes' (at last a yes!)

So I took the Friday appointment and used the arduous bus service. I got the AA out and they agreed with me the battery was faulty. They started the car for me and I drove to the garage. After the service I was assured the battery was perfect and they just had to charge it. Without accusing anyone ... Do I detect a reluctance to agree the battery was faulty? I also took my Service Agreement paperwork in and said to one of the staff - It says on the back of the document - 'Includes 2 years roadside Recovery' is the  so? She said she didn't know anything about it and would look into it and call me back'. And I believed her - how could I have been so naive/stupid or what? (Works in a Toyota Service Centre and knows nothing about service agreements and Roadside recovery!) Should have said Well find someone who does! 

Is this typical Toyota after sales service - personally I am reluctant to ever buy another Toyota (I have 2!) And how come the salesmen never mentioned Roadside recovery? This all happened several months ago but I am still angry at being so duped. 

I've started to use a independent garage for my 2020 Yaris 1.5 I.C.E, far cheaper as well, if i do buy one last car it will be a Suzuki Swift not a Toyota.

[152bobby]

Apart from the obvious (a name in front of Toyota or after it), how do we know what is a "proper" Toyota UK dealer and a franchise ?  I'd be willing to travel further to use a 100% UK Toyota Dealer, because I honestly see the standards dropping at Franchises!!

[Eddie G]

36 minutes ago, 152bobby said:

Apart from the obvious (a name in front of Toyota or after it), how do we know what is a "proper" Toyota UK dealer and a franchise ?  I'd be willing to travel further to use a 100% UK Toyota Dealer, because I honestly see the standards dropping at Franchises!!

Used to be excellent but they are far too busy trying to push extras at service times now also the knowledge and helpfulness is not what it was either at the two most local dealers I've used in the past.

[Paul john]

35 minutes ago, 152bobby said:

Apart from the obvious (a name in front of Toyota or after it), how do we know what is a "proper" Toyota UK dealer and a franchise ?  I'd be willing to travel further to use a 100% UK Toyota Dealer, because I honestly see the standards dropping at Franchises!!

I drive about an hour to the “proper” dealer i found on the south coast. 

[Cyker]

1 hour ago, 152bobby said:

Apart from the obvious (a name in front of Toyota or after it), how do we know what is a "proper" Toyota UK dealer and a franchise ?  I'd be willing to travel further to use a 100% UK Toyota Dealer, because I honestly see the standards dropping at Franchises!!

There aren't actually any Toyota-run dealers as far as I know.

What people (Especially Frosty  ) make the differentiation is with Toyota UK, the company that is at the top of the hierarchy for anything Toyota in the UK, and the Toyota dealers, who are just other companies that pay Toyota UK to be a Toyota franchise and sell cars, do service work, get access to all the technical tools and databases etc.

Toyota UK have been slacking though - They keep making the dealers waste money on stupid things in their premises, like rearranging where everything goes (They are one of the reasons so few dealers have a desk with someone you can talk to and why all the staff are hidden somewhere!) but seem to completely overlook things like staff training and well-being, which is apparently left to the franchisees, but like so many companies, if they're not told to do something they won't do it, so you get this situation where the staff aren't looked after, get grumpy and leave and you're left with all the jobsworths and newbies.

To be fair it feels like this is a problem across all sectors, usually when some new smeghead boss comes in - They immediately want to save costs to put on a good show for the shareholders, so they force out all the oldtimers to bring in cheaper new people who no longer have anyone to show them the ropes, the new boss then leaves on a high just in time to avoid copping the fallout as the company goes under because it's had its heart and brain ripped out by them. It's something I always warn people about when they are in a successful startup - Only sell out if you want to cash out, because as soon as you sell out to the Apples and Microsofts and Google of the world your company won't have long to live no matter what promises they make!

 

[jthspace]

Toyota UK grew out of the first importers of Toyota cars by the South London motorcycle store Pride & Clarke, from whom I often bought parts and clothing from.  One leather jacket I bought (cough) years ago is still in use, although it has moved to France. I had heard them called Snide & Shark, but that wouldn't have been unusual for a North London lad to overhear 😂🤣

Pride & Clarke

A family-owned business that was founded in London by John Pride and Alfred Clarke. They were originally a motorcycle sales and parts company, but became Toyota's official UK importer and distributor after John Pride traveled to Japan to see the developing car industry. Pride & Clarke sold the company to Inchcape in 1979.

Toyota

Toyota began importing vehicles into the UK in 1965 through an agreement with Pride & Clarke. In 1967, the company changed its name to Toyota (GB) Ltd. In 1978, Toyota (GB) Ltd became part of Inchcape, but in 1998, Toyota Motor Corporation took a majority shareholding in the company. In 2000, Toyota Motor Corporation took complete ownership of Toyota (GB) PLC

[Louie]

Dealers/Franchises very much fall into the same mould as estate agents in that they take your money and run having given you a load of bull about how absolutely faultless and brilliant your about to be acquired very expensive "steed" is.

I have been down this road many many times having owned numerous cars/motorcycles/dwellings and over the years nothing has changed. The most weird thing ever happened to me was when I walked into a Merc dealer and offered the salesman a cash sale and was politely shown the door unless I  was willing to enter a HP deal perhaps he though I was a dodgy drug dealer who knows. 

[moggio53]

I worked for a car dealer, picking up cars be had bought, and driving them back to Sussex. I went into an Audi dealer to pick up a car they had taken in p/ex and asked to speak to someone that "I was here as arranged" to take said car. Well, long story short, some spotty herbert appeared and was really rather rude to me. (Remember, he's not getting paid for this terribly onerous task). Somewhat incensed, I told the kid he had no idea who I was, and that I had enough spare cash at home to buy ANY car on his forecourt! That shut him up and the keys to my car quickly appeared. ..... It was the Audi dealer outside Stoke City FC

[PortlandBill]

5 hours ago, Paul john said:

I drive about an hour to the “proper” dealer i found on the south coast. 

Interested to know which one that is, I'm currently driving nearly 2 hours inland to mine.