Desert Toyota
Connie Hedgepeth, Tony Zita ripoff

On 11/27/04 I purchased a 2003 Lexus IS300 from Desert Toyota. This car was a used car, but had no cosmetic blemishes or anything that appeared to be wrong with it, with the exception of the trunk latch that was not catching right. It was a minor thing, and when I mentioned this to the salesman a Mr. Eldifonso Paniagua his reply was that this could be taken care of because the car was still under factory warranty, and Lexus should take care of it. With that statement I felt confident that this car had no issues.

When we got to the close of the deal, Desert Toyota presented me with a car fax report, and told me this car had never been in an accident or had any type of incident.

I also had to sign an arbitration agreement that I had an issue with. I asked what would happen if I refused to sign it. Mr. Chris Ditmore the finance manager explained to me that they would not sell me the car. Being foolish after I heard this, I bought the car.

The trunk latch not closing was the only issue I had with this car, and was just a minor inconvenience to me, so I did not rush out to get it fixed. I reasoned that since I had another year or two on the factory warranty, I would wait, and see if I had any other issues and if so, get the trunk lid fixed then.

On 4/19/05 I did have another factory warranty issue with my car, and took my Lexus to Fletcher Jones Lexus, 2 blocks up the street for service. While I was there, the Lexus representive told me he could not fix the trunk latch because the car was involved in a collision/impact and whoever fixed the trunk did a shotty job. It was also determined that the trunk latch was the wrong type, and the trunk cable was run incorrectly.

I said ok, took the car back to Desert Toyota where I had the extreme displeasure of meeting Tony Zita, the Used Car Manager. Mr. Zita swore up and down that my car had not been wrecked, involved in an impact, and said that all cars are looked at for damage upon trade in. With the Carfax report, he stated that my car was not involved in anything, and that someone in my family probably did it.

I went back over to Fletcher Jones Lexus, and told my service manager what Mr. Zita had said, he proceeded to take me to my car, and after we opened the trunk he showed my several signs that there was repair work done. 2 of the most obvious were, the assembly latch was secured with 2 different color screws, and he was able to peel off some masking tape that was used obviously for painting.

I then had the Lexus Service Advisor call Mr. Zita and explain this to him. He also told Mr. Zita he had to deny my claim for warranty work because this car was involved in an impact. Mr. Zita asked me (on the phone) to return to Desert Toyota so we could work it out. My Lexus service advisor gave me the name of a local body shop that specializes in Lexus automobiles (Exoticar Paintworks INC). I made an appointment with them and then went to Desert Toyota.

When I got back to Desert Toyota Mr. Zita said that he would have one of the techs in the back fix it, and all would be good. Mr. Zita issued me a Due Bill, and I returned the next day.

On 4/20/05 I returned to let the tech fix the trunk latch. Long Story short, two hours later, and the tech (Steve Davis) could not fix it. At this point I told Mr. Zita were past the point of fixing it, and we now were at the replacing it point. Mr. Zita denied my claim and basically told me he didn't have to help me, I had waited to long.

At this point I knew I was dealing with a snake, so I decided to file a complaint with Connie Hedgepeth the customer service manager. After speaking with her, and telling her this whole story, all she could offer was $100.00 and basically told me buyer beware. Again I explained that this was told to me that it was a factory warranty issue, and had I known it wasn't, I would not have bought this car. Had I known it was not a factory warranty issue, I would have demanded that Desert Toyota fix the problem the day I bought the car. I was lied to. Mrs. Hedgepeth also told me that this was from the GM, not her. I expressed my extreme displeasure at this solution and left.

I went to my appointment at Exoticar Paintworks INC. The next day, and long story short, The body shop estimator told me this car was involved in a serious rear end collision/impact and whomever fixed it, did a shotty job. The Body shop pointed out to me that the bumper alignment was off, some clips were missing, the rear lights were not even, the trunk latch was the wrong kind, etc... This isnt cheap for a luxury car.

Now I am extremely distressed. Desert Toyota not only engaged in poor business practices, but now I have found out, they are committing fraud, by not disclosing that some of the used cars have been in accidents, and neglecting to tell consumers the truth.

My Attorney has advised me to make this complaint to the BBB first, and then if no action is taken, we will pursue legal action, arbitration agreement or not.

Regardless, I will never, ever in my lifetime, recommend, endorse or say good things about Desert Toyota. All of my family, friends, and even people I meet, I do tell them of this, and they are aware. All of my other cars are Toyotas (Celica, Lexus, and Tacoma) will never, or never again be serviced by Desert Toyota. Shack Findlay gets my business now.

Lloyd
Henderson, Nevada
U.S.A.

Company: Desert Toyota
Country: USA
State: Nevada
City: Las Vegas
Address: 6300 W. Sahara Ave
Phone: 7028714111

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