In January I had my car towed to Gainesville while continuing my travels to my grandmother's funeral. The dealership was to rebuild the engine because of an incorrect air filter installed while getting a oil change. The repairs were covered by the warranty. I would expect repair not cause damage to my interior.
After I returned to Tampa I was contacted a week later to drive to Gainesville to retrieve my car. When I arrived at the dealership my mother and I waited 30 minutes just to get someone to bring my car around.
They handed my keys and tried to rush me out of the dealership. Once I got in I noticed several things, oil stains on the carpet, dashboard, steering wheel, gear shift, arm rest, door panel. The interior of my car is leather. There are scratches in the dashboard in the passenger side.
When I realized that the interior hadn't been cleaned prior to calling me and telling me that my car was ready, I went back inside and told the service clerk. A woman came out with orange cleaner and a rag and tried to get the oil out of the carpet and wiped the interior. Anyone that has leather knows that the leather needs to be cleaned properly and a rag will not get oil off of it.
The orange cleaner did nothing for the mat, but she claimed that it must have already been there because the mechanics wouldn't need to go inside my car.
We were on a tight schedule that day so we left. While driving back to Tampa it was apparent that the mechanic never tested the car and did not complete his work properly. The engine was smoking profusely by the time we made it to my home in Tampa.
I immediately called the Courtesy dealership in Tampa. While inspecting my car further it was noted that the wood grain interior along the dashboard was coming up.
I contact Gatorland and let them know about the issues with the car. They stated that I could drive back to Gainesville. I told them that I didn't think the car would safely make it back there. They approved repairs to the vehicle to be done by Courtesy. Courtesy tried to help me by cleaning up the interior, but would not be able to repair the scratches in the dashboard, oil in the carpet and peeling wood grain.
It turns out that we wouldn't have made it back safely because all of the oil leaked out. They never sealed the holes and the dealership in Tampa had to complete Gatorland's job.
I contacted Gainesville and they stated that the repair of the wood grain in my car was out of warranty and they would not cover the damages to the wood grain. The manager stated that the mechanic would have no reason to go into the interior of my car. Unfortunately for them they allowed my father to take our belongings out of the car when they went to pick up my rental car.
When my father went to the car, the dashboard had been removed. They stated that they did some work to the air conditioner.
Well I have contacted Toyota and they stated that they could not make this dealership comply to their errors. The district manager still hasn't contacted me. Gatorland states the mechanic wouldn't have done anything inside my car and that since he was no longer employed at there they couldn't ask him.
Now with all the other errors that Gatorland committed they were still in denial of other errors. Picking up my car in a filthy condition, incomplete work to the engine, they would have reason to question the scratches to my dashboard. Over a year now and I am still fighting the dealership.
The woodgrain is peeling, cracking and breaking off and the scratches are still in the dashboard.
Thanks for ripping me off Gatorland.
0 comments