I bought my Toyota 4Runner from this dealership in May. As part of my "incentive" package I received free lifetime service and inspection for the truck.in November I took the truck in for it's annual PA State safety inspection and emissions. I scheduled my appointment for 08:30AM knowing that I had a lunch engagement and allowing ample time for them to perform the work (inspections take an average of less than 60 minutes).
I arrived at 08:15 (approx) and checked in, advising the service manager that I had a lunch engagement with clients at 12:30 and needed to be out by then. I was assured that the truck would be done in less than an hour. The truck was taken back into the service department by 08:30.
At 10:00 I began to get nervous because I'd heard nothing about my truck. I asked the man at the service counter and after talking on his phone for a few seconds he advised me that they were finishing up and would be done shortly. At 10:40 I again approached the counter and the man walked into the service department, returning after 2-3 minutes and told me that they were "roadtesting" and washing the truck and that it was done. I stood by the counter for another 15-20 minutes waiting for the truck. At 11:08 I was paged to the "service counter". I met with what I thought was a mechanic (I later learned he was a lot attendant) who then advised me that there were "a few problems with my truck". I asked what could possibly be wrong with a new truck and he proceeded to tell me that my third brake light was burned out and that the left front wheel had a "stripped wheel stud". When I told him that the truck was new and that the wheels had never been removed he stuttered and walked away for a few seconds to talk to another mechanic and returned to advise me that the truck wouldn't pass inspection unless the parts were replaced. Being 11:15 and knowing that I had a lunch engagement I asked if the work could be performed in less than an hour and he stated "Yeah, I can have it done in 10-15 minutes". I authorized the repairs and returned to the waiting area. Approximately 30 minutes later I was paged back to the service counter where I was met by the service manager. She advised me that my truck was done and inspected, but nervously told me that there was "a problem that they would take care of". She then escorted me to my truck to show me "the problem".
At that point I was infuriated not only because a 40-60 minute inspection had taken 3 1/2 hours, but because they had then allowed a lot attendant to service my vehicle.in doing so he badly damaged the third brake light, cracking the cover and scratching/denting the metal around the light. Apparently he was inexperienced at removing the light assembly and decided to pry it out with a large screwdriver to save time, damaging my truck in the process. Because I had less than 30 minutes to meet with my clients I agreed to take the truck and return it at a later date to be "repaired" in their contracted body shop.
The long and short of the story... SPITZER TOYOTA will cut corners where-ever and however they can to save a few bucks and get things done quickly. If that includes damaging their customers vehicles intentionally and knowingly so be it. Do not take your vehicle here for service unless you can dedicate an entire day for a 15 minute repair.
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