I was sold a car missing critical features that I was promised and I paid for. Ardmore Toyota refuses to make good on their promise. On December 15 I purchased a Toyota Prius from Ardmore Toyota. My sales person was Stephen Reese. I wanted a leather interior so I was interested in exploring the model IV or V. On Steves recommendation I test drove the IV and was ready to purchase. When I attempted to negotiate the price Steve informed me that price negotiation was not an option, but he could save me $800 if I would accept a model III with a leather upgrade. We carefully studied the differences in features between the two models so I could be sure this trade-off made sense to me. I determined I could live without the features of the IV that would not be on the III. I asked Steve if the leather upgrade would be the same as the factory leather on the IV. He replied that it would be the same or better in every respect except the seats would not have a lumbar adjustment. I asked him if he was absolutely sure that the leather would be at least as good as the factory leather and that every part that was leather from the factory would be leather after the upgrade because this was extremely important to me. He confirmed that it would be so.
On December 19th the car was ready and I picked it up. As Steve was going over the car he pointed out that the seat heat switches were on the sides of the seats rather than on the console as they would be from the factory. I informed Steve that I was not pleased about that news but I was not sure if it was a major problem and drove off. On my way home I realized that the steering wheel was not leather. I immediately informed Steve that this was not acceptable. I refrained from driving the car for almost a week in case Ardmore Toyota would need to exchange it for another vehicle. I offered to return the car and pay the difference to receive the IV. They were not amenable. Once I began to drive and carry passengers I noticed that the seat heat switches were being turned on inadvertently.By that time I was in contact with Steves manager, Ted Daddario, and I informed him that the switches were not as promised and unacceptable. Long story short, Steve could not handle the matter and forwarded it to Ted. Ted acted as if he was trying to solve the problem for over two months during which he made a couple of offers but quickly retracted them. He said they could not install a factory leather steering wheel which was contradicted by his parts and service team (see attached). He said he could move the heat switches by swapping the seats. He asked what dollar amount would satisfy me. Although I really want what I paid for, I offered to accept a refund of $1,800 plus tax representing the charge for the leather upgrade. He declined. He finally told me he refused to do anything for me because I had responded negatively to Toyotas post sale survey. So I took the matter to his manager, Bob Coppock (something Ted declined to do on numerous occasions). Bob made another quickly retracted offer. He said it was not worth it to him to replace the steering wheel which would cost $1,200 or to swap the seats. His boss, Brad Paul, was copied on some of this discussion via email. Bob decided that he would not make things right because he did not like my attitude. That was March 15, 3 months after I paid for the car. Brad Paul did not accept my invitation to get involved. I have spent a great deal of time and energy trying to get what I paid for from Ardmore Toyota. They have never argued the merits of my claim. Ardmore Toyota has demonstrated over the course of 3 months that they feel no compulsion to deliver what they promise or at least pay reasonable compensation when they fail to (if any of their quickly retracted offers was real; the highest being $800). Bob Coppock told me that he did not believe all mistakes need be corrected. He cited as an example that if he had a cashier who short-changed a customer he did not feel obligated to return the money to the customer. Is my circumstance just a mistake?
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