My God, How Bad Are Toyota Dealers......at Everything!

[Danny_TTE_compressor]

All i have done since i bought my compressor is praise how good the dealer has been when my car screwed up (frequently)

i took it in for the 2yr service today (its done 16k) and they have told me the rear brake pads are almost shot and the fronts are getting there (i would'nt mind but its on its second set of discs and pads at the front already due to them being warped when i bought it!) as if that was'nt bad enough 6 miles down the road the Battery light came on and the lights dimmed and it just managed to make it home where it lies lifeless on the drive! i phoned the dealership and by this time service have gone home, but sales are still there, funny that! kind of cocky really i thought......'our cars are so reliable we dont really need to have the service section available' should be a toyota slogan!

once i finally got through to the dealer principal he told me he doubts it was anything to do with the service.......yeh because some unskilled monkey poking around the engine bay would find it impossible to knock a connection of something would'nt he!!!!

well thats my rant over!

so to summise Vantage Toyota York........your rubbish!

anyone else had problems with either 1) the Battery light coming on, on a corolla compressor, or

2) York toyota being rubbish

[marty32]

i would be asking for the pads n discs to be replaced mate they should be lasting a dam site longer than 16000 miles. ive just had my back discs and pads done under warranty on a 40000 service cos they were corroded 8000 miles after i bought the car

mind you i might have had them over a barrel cos i asked were the safety report was from the service done before i took delivery cos they advised it would have been picked up on there. i only knew this tho cos ive had 3 toyotas

sometimes i do think dealers class us all as thickies who know sweet fa

sorry to hear u having troubles i used minories wearside 3 weeks ago they were first class, i have had 2 calls from them since to check all ok

[Danny_TTE_compressor]

might be worth the drive at this rate!

[marty32]

id be askin some serious questions about those brake pads if i were you

if its had warped discs previously they havent sorted the issue if u ask me, happened to my dad a while back they replaced calipers and allsorts

wasn on a toyota was a vauxhall...urrgh thats a swear word on here aint it lol

[Danny_TTE_compressor]

nah mate, it was the fronts that were replaced, i was just using it as an example, its the backs now, they are original, well 16k anyway. they just said it was wear and tear.....but as the fronts do all the work i asked why the backs are knacked........they put it down to driving style! as they always do with young lads and fast cars!

[marty32]

was my backs that were knackered and i got em done under warranty

as u were sayin york toyota are crap theres one called rmb at stockton within an hours drive they ment to be good too

[215 compressor]

guess we got something in common with yorks toyota dealer now not quite what you originally thought .have you got car running again now then or is it stuck on driveway .ive done 18k in my compressor and it doesn,t need pads yet have got some new front red stuff pads to put in but thats just to improve braking not cos there worn low.

[Jinxed]

I appreciate you may have had a lousy experience or 6 but I can honestly say that RRG Toyota in Bolton are fantastic. Maybe I've been lucky, or maybe not. One guy did all the work needed to my tubby and he is in my estimations a Legend for his efforts. I will remain forever greatful for his care and workmanship. Faultless...

The Bodyshop bit however, can't comment beyond saying I think they have far too much interest in earning ridiculous amounts of money for easy jobs(hence why I never used them), and no interest in doing anything that might mean some hard work. Plus they don't appear to know when a car has 2 functioning wing mirrors, or when a car has a perfectly undamaged numberplate carrier. Oh and they unfairly categorise accidents(hence why it was subsequently changed) due to not looking.

[ae102]

All i have done since i bought my compressor is praise how good the dealer has been when my car screwed up (frequently)

i took it in for the 2yr service today (its done 16k) and they have told me the rear brake pads are almost shot and the fronts are getting there (i would'nt mind but its on its second set of discs and pads at the front already due to them being warped when i bought it!) as if that was'nt bad enough 6 miles down the road the Battery light came on and the lights dimmed and it just managed to make it home where it lies lifeless on the drive! i phoned the dealership and by this time service have gone home, but sales are still there, funny that! kind of cocky really i thought......'our cars are so reliable we dont really need to have the service section available' should be a toyota slogan!

once i finally got through to the dealer principal he told me he doubts it was anything to do with the service.......yeh because some unskilled monkey poking around the engine bay would find it impossible to knock a connection of something would'nt he!!!!

well thats my rant over!

so to summise Vantage Toyota York........your rubbish!

anyone else had problems with either 1) the battery light coming on, on a corolla compressor, or

2) York toyota being rubbish

vantage in colne are crap as well - they are big fans of spraying wd40 on things to hide noises and wont identify common problems that other dealers happily change. the brakes arent the best and dont last. Lindops also *****e!

[marty32]

guys i cant believe how many bad reports im hearing here i think some calls to toyota customer relations are needed here. its obvious some buts need kicking here

ive dealt with minories for 3 years of servicing my car and i cant fault them they even come and collect my car and it is 25 miles from them, id say thats going more than the extra mile pardon the pun

[ae102]

guys i cant believe how many bad reports im hearing here i think some calls to toyota customer relations are needed here. its obvious some buts need kicking here

ive dealt with minories for 3 years of servicing my car and i cant fault them they even come and collect my car and it is 25 miles from them, id say thats going more than the extra mile pardon the pun

toyota's customer service department is a waste of time - the have no influence over the dealer as i found out when lindops damaged my car and refused to repair it as accidents happen!!!!! i will remember that next time i go in - might have a lil accident myself.

[smoftah]

My car went into today to Jemca Sidcup to check for a leak, no leak found but they did manage to puncture my tyre!

They replaced it with a brand new michelin pilot premacy free of cost before I returned to collect my car, which they fit in with less than an hours notice and ahad checked and ready within 2 hours. Great service (even if they did give me a puncture but they were very polite and apologetic) and just want to say a big thanks to sidcup jemca!

[Captain Weirdbeard]

anyone else had problems with either 1) the battery light coming on, on a corolla compressor, or

2) York toyota being rubbish

Hi Danny,

I've no knowledge of the first issue but I do find the Dealerships frustrating to deal with. More so since the move to new premises locally. Now the whole thing with them appears to be about corporate image. Most of the original staff are gone - I'd like to think because they've gone to other jobs rather than follow the MacDonalds theme of making every outlet look identically bland and without substance.

They also have the annoying habit of 'phoning or mailing to a degree which borders on harassment. I have repeatedly asked NOT to be contacted by them, I've even seen where they've written into my customer account the words: "DO NOT CONTACT" not just once but three times. I still get 'phone calls and mail shots occasionally. In fairness though, jack gets on average, about three unsolicited calls for every time he uses them because he hasn't specified the "do not contact" option. I was with him once when he got one of those idiotic customer satisfaction calls. His words were "...stop pestering me with questions after every service!"

The really cheeky thing is that they will sometimes try to contact jack on my land-line, because he lodges with me and so has the same address. Cheapskates! I usually ask them not to do so again because jack has his own mobile 'phone but they'll try it on again after time has passed. !Removed! call centres!

I really hate the "new image". It has made it impossible for me to feel comfortable whenever I visit. The new people there aren't great either. It is now like the dealership in Bournemouth where we bought the Compressor - shallow. These shiny new buildings and showrooms seem to attract a lower quality of staff, in my humble opinion. One sales manager got very stroppy with me when I intervened on behalf of Jack who was having difficulties. He didn't actually swear at me on the 'phone but his aggression clearly showed at being caught out on many little inconsistencies with the deal. I fixed it for him. He won't have so many customers cluttering up his pretty showroom as a result.

Despite having bought two second-hand cars at our local dealer, now that they have been blinged-up, I won't be buying from them again, such is the change in staff and overall attitude. Nor will they get my servicing now that I am out of the warranty period. I'd rather talk to people than suits!

Any recommendations for non-"official" garages servicing Toyotas in the Derby area would be appreciated.

In case you were wondering, the two dealerships I referred to are Westover Toyota in Bournemouth and Inchcape Toyota in Derby. I cannot recommend them in good faith.

In answer to Marty32... life is too short to be complaining to this sort of organisation. It wastes everybody's time and having tried it, I can say that it adds stress rather than takes it away.

I prefer to vote with my feet.

Thanks for indulging me with my little rant guys. It's nice to have it "off my chest".

[captainoats]

Wow you guys have had some bad service there. Northampton dealer are not that much better. When I was looking for a corolla T Sport in a specific colour they had a search for me (good start) and I left it to them to have a look around. I called them back and no luck. No phone calls for a while so I called back again, no luck. Popped in and a rude used car sales rep (think he was Italian or Spanish) said to me that I am being picky about the car I wanted and need to be more open minded and not just think about the colour of a corolla T Sport, "what about this black Yaris T Sport" What the hell?? When I did buy a t sport corolla (from a different dealer) I felt the gear box wasn't selecting the gears as well as it should so the dealer advised to see how I got on but the warranty would cover it. Week later still wasn't happy so they told me to contact my local dealer (Northampton) who would change it under warranty. Northampton response? "Well it won't be covered under warranty as it depends how the previous owner drove it." What? Previous owner? Derby dealer (where I bought it from) thought Northampton were having a laugh and bunch of muppets so I drove back to Derby and they changed it for me on the day (took a while but it was worth it). Northampton dealer has still been difficult for over a year now, the parts department even had the nerve to refuse a return of some car mats for our Yaris which didn't have a T Sport logo on it (they ordered the non T Sport mats), saying that they don't accept returns. Hang on a minute they ordered the incorrect mats! They did eventually admit their mistake. Another time the corolla was in to find out why the A/C was blowing out occasional warm air when it was set to cold, I advised them to re-gas it if it was required. Collected my car and paid for the inspection and repair, they said a hose was slightly loose. Drove it down the road and same problem so I went back and accused them of not actually testing it after (supposedly) fixing the problem. Upon further investigation they found it needed re-gassing. All of this cost me 2 days off work and they wanted to charge me again to fix the A/C, yeah right! They should have done it the first time (they didn't charge me when I had the manager out!), did they really think I wouldn't notice? So I have given up with Northampton dealer, they are a bunch of jokers and really don't give a rat's a** about customers either when you want to buy a car or even when you want it properly serviced. Taking both our Tsports and future car purchases else where!

Milton Keynes are a joke as well. A mate had his car MOT'd, paid and drove off, later he noticed the reg # on the certificate was incorrect, went back and the dealer said that the MOT hadn't even been done (and this was driving around for a week after the MOT expired). That is so stupid!

The Leicester (Ex Toyota, now Nissan) dealer is the best one I have found. They are still Toyota service and repair and they give us discount on anything we want (been there a couple of times and they give loyalty discount) so will travel further and go there.

[marty32]

after reading some of these stories im beginning to think toyota is another brand name of reg vardy cos they were always horrendous

my mates a security guard at a main dealer and the service dept have revenue targets make you wonder how many jobs they are makin up to get money out of unsuspecting mugs i mean customers

[captainoats]

after reading some of these stories im beginning to think toyota is another brand name of reg vardy cos they were always horrendous

my mates a security guard at a main dealer and the service dept have revenue targets make you wonder how many jobs they are makin up to get money out of unsuspecting mugs i mean customers

I have heard that from ex-mechanics in most car dealers. The Vauxhall dealers in Northampton have a reputation for doing that, and half the time they don't even do the jobs they have charged for! They shouldn't feel put out when they get lousy service from other companies as they should be used to it being lousy themselves.

[Captain Weirdbeard]

Update on the "efficiency" of the Inchcape corporate machine:

My mate Trucker jack has just had a postcard from Inchcape (Derby) pencilling him in for his 10,000 mile/one year service at the end of this month. Fair enough you might say... except for one minor thing, they did the service for him in December. That means they are reckoning on him doing 10,000 miles in a month!

Bwahahahah.

You've gotta laff, else you'd cry.

[marty32]

wonder which part of thick describes them

[slarti54]

Captain Weirdbeard, most people speak pretty highly of Ron Brooks Toyota. And I absolutely agree with you about Inchcape Derby. Nowhere near as bad as Inchcape Burton though...