Three weeks ago (Dec. 28th) I purchased a Toyota Certified 2005 Toyota Tundra from Toyota of Dallas. During the purchase process it was made clear that while I am a permanent resident of Texas, that I am temporarily in Knoxville. It was stressed that I needed a sound vehicle with a warranty that is good in both places. Toyota of Dallas sold me on their "Toyota Certified" vehicles and on their Toyota Comprehensive Warranty for Certified vehicles.
Driving back to Knoxville, I had to call Toyota of Dallas because the extended ride in the truck was not comfortable. The car was pulling to the left and there was a lot of noise coming in from the windshield. I requested service records. The salespeople that had worked with me reassured me that Toyota of Knoxville would fix my problems under warranty and that proper maintenance was performed on the truck.
After arriving in Knoxville, the freezing rain came through my windshield, leaked into my truck, soaked my seats, floors, and headliner, and shorted out my radio and speakers. I called Toyota Dallas, and they again reassured me that everything would be covered. I called Toyota Knoxville, explained what had happened and was told to bring my truck in and that there would not be an issue with my warranty and with my truck not being purchased at their dealership.
When i brought my truck to Toyota Knoxville I was told that there would be an $85 diagnostic charge unless I chose to have the work completed by their dealership. This was highly shocking because I didn't expect to pay to get a truck under comprehensive warranty examined by a Toyota dealership. I was then told that none of the damages are covered under the comprehensive warranty because windshields aren't covered. I was told that the damage to my radio and speakers would not be covered because it was not the original radio. (It was the "toyota certified" upgraded radio that Toyota Dallas had in the truck when I purchased it). I was told that it would be $1200 for my headliner because headliners are cosmetic. I was told that the problem with my window was that it was not sealed when it was installed, and that isn't Toyota's problem (although it was the same window that was "toyota certified" just three weeks ago).
Toyota of Knoxville service center quoted me prices on resealing the window ($150), but the next day it turned out to be $236 before tax. A misquote by more than 50%. I was told that if the window breaks during resealing that it would $506 before tax. Then I was told that the $85 dollars is not applied to fixing the vehicle (like I was told the previous day) because Toyota subcontracts their window installation and repair.
After irrate calls to Toyota of Dallas, they agreed to pay a portion of the of the cost to reseal, but would not cover anything else because it would not be getting brought into to their dealership. Ultimately, just to pick up my truck I had to pay $99 (I wasn't told their was environmental fees and taxes) to Toyota Knoxville. I am still left with a "Toyota Certified" used truck with an unsealed windshield, a disfunctional radio, and a soaking wet saggy headliner, and neither Toyota dealership cares. Toyota of Dallas has sent my plates, but not my copy of all the paperwork from the purchase day that they were supposed to send.
The comprehensive warranty that is sold with "Toyota Certifed" used cars is not what they tell you in the dealership. The excellence in quality and service that Toyota claims to have isn't uniform across dealerships. The service you get is subpar to an almost inhuman level-employees display no understanding or empathy. The "good at every dealership nationwide" spill that the dealerships give you and that is shown in the national commercials is a lie.
I have received service records that show the tires were checked out, but shows nothing about routine maintenance being done on the truck before it was labeled certified. How can you provide a "160 point Toyota Certified" used vehicle with that title, if you don't have service records to back it up (a truck with 77k miles that didn't receive its 75k mile tuneup) and if you don't even bother to check if the windshield has been sealed? After this experience we should all the see the low quality that "Toyota Certified' actually means, and that the nationwide warranty only applies to the dealership that you purchased the vehicle from.
Grad student
Knoxville, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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