Findlay Toyota, Henderson, NV
As a result of the service done on my Toyota Camry, I almost lost my car.
Don't use this Dealer if you care about your life and your wallet Description of the nightmare occurred last month:
On Tuesday, May 2, I took my Toyota Camry 1996 to Findlay Toyota, to check for a noise coming from the engine in cold start.
Next day, The Service Rep called me and said: they checked the car and found out it was a loose timing belt and a partially torn tire. He said that needs a change of timing belt and replace a front tire. Then he started with a long list of parts that needed to be replaced (he mentioned that the car still had a low mileage to be junked! Only 55000 miles, my car was kept on tip top shape and never had any problem), but he insisted to make it safe we have to do all what he suggested:
Now comes the rip off:
Replaced all the 3 motor mounts, belts, gaskets on the engine and distributor that are leaking (The car never leaked, underneath was always dry!), also the CV rubber boots, he said were torn, of course they weren't, and on and on... The final bill came out $ 1800, instead of a reasonable $ 300 for changing the timing belt, the only part needed to be replaced, and of course the damaged tire, that later on was replaced by a new tire.
I never got a written job order, neither I signed up anything, they went ahead and did all those extra change of parts, they claim, because after getting the car back, I got the car inspected by another mechanic, and he found out that many of the items charged in my bill weren't done.
Also, because the unnecessary change of the motor mounts and the sloppy mechanics, they left the motor mounts bolts loose, one bolt was missing altogether in the rear motor mounts. This is pretty bad.
1. Disregard for the customer, once the repair was done, we picked up our car headed for home, we almost lost the car and have a collision, because dense smoke was coming from under the hood, we had no visibility to drive, of course risk of fire also, oil was leaking fast under the car, we rush and made 2 phone calls for help with no results. The service rep said that no towing available now. He left us stranded, 25 miles from home, but only 3 miles from their location.
Trying to get help from the service rep. Is like he was telling us: we busted your car, robbed you with an over inflated bill and now you are in your own! Sorry... Bye. We got your money, case closed.
Finally we restarted the car and took the risk of driving back to the Dealer, we had to leave the car again overnight to be serviced again, and they gave us all type of excuses for damaging our car.
Finally we got our car next day, it was running again, with no leaks, but more excuses about what happened. We can not trust anymore their service. 3 days wasted lots of money and aggravation describes our experience with Findlay Toyota.
It was really disgusting and upsetting. A good car being trashed likes that.
This was the result of their shoddy, unwanted and unnecessary service (call it rip-off) done on the car.
Our Camry never leaked any fluids; the underneath was always totally dry. No need to change any gaskets and belts or motor mounts.
Also they changed the motor mounts, telling fake stories about the motor dropping on the suspension, another lie.
6/4/01 We found after a thorough mechanical check something more critical: the front motor mounts, had only one bolt tightened, the other 2 were left totally loose, we are waiting the final report, before taking action.
This is a very unsafe situation, you trust your life in the hands of the dealer to keep your car in safe and sound condition and our case is not the only one, probably lots of Toyota owners are driving unsafe cars without knowing it, just screwed a car without problems, due to unwanted repairs, like changing the motor mounts.
Because the unnecessary repairs, the Dealer overcharged and inflated the bill to almost $1800; we call this a total rip-off. We lost over $ 1400 Needed only to change the timing belt, a service done for about $ 300 at the most. We found out that they didn't even change some of the gaskets, that shows in the bill and on and on.
Can not trust anymore the dealer's service, not qualified at all, and on top you get robbed big time. It is only once in a lifetime and you learn the lesson. This also damages the reputation and name of Toyota: YOU CAN MANUFACTURE THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD BUT IF THE DEALERS MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE ARE BAD YOU LOSE THE CUSTOMER FOR LIFETIME.
This is our case and many of other Toyota owners that have been exposed to this type of harassment, that's why Toyota Dealers are at the bottom of the list on dealers satisfaction, in the survey conducted by Consumer's Report.
It was the most disgusting episode to happen to us in years, a huge bill, and total disregard for the customer and a shoddy repair job. Can not trust driving this car anymore after they screwed up big time.
I tried to get in touch with the General Manager at the Dealer or Toyota headquarters; so far I got the typical lip service.
I requested a refund for $1300 from the Dealer, the answer was No
What are my choices, and if they don't want to settle and give me a refund for all the aggravations we suffered?
THE POOR TREATMENT BY TOYOTA DEALERS AND SERVICE PERSONNEL IS A BIG PROBLEM AND DISREGARDING A DECENT AND FAIR TREATMENT OF THE CUSTOMER AND ABUSING THE TRUST WE DEPOSITED ON THEM IS GOING TO TARNISH THE NAME OF TOYOTA IN THE CAR MARKET FOR EVER.
My advice to Toyota: get rid of this dealer and make lots of Toyota owners happy, also you will improve your rating in the Market.
No wonder Toyota Dealers are at the bottom of the list on customer satisfaction!
Art Melkessetian, Boulder City, NV - 6/10/01
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