I was in the market for a midsize suv after my last vehichle failed on me. Some Internet research and expert opinions later, I decided that a Toyota 4runner was the best bet for my family's needs. I shopped online until I found a dealership that had what I wanted. I called ahead of time and told them that my last vehicle was a lemon and that I wanted to make an investment in something that will last a long time. After having my truck fail on vacation a week earlier, I was very animate about this. At first I was reluctant to buy a vehicle with 100k miles on it. The sales staff reassured me that because it is a Toyota, I had nothing to worry about and that it is in immaculate condition. I will skip ahead a bit here and say that once all of these problems I am about to describe started appearing, sales and management both asked, "what did you expect out of such a high mileage vehicle?". That is the polar opposite of what I was being fed before they took my money.
I will start with the lie from Internet sales. I first emailed and told them my story and that I had money in hand and was interested in a Toyota 4Runner they had in stock. Internet sales responded by saying they would hand me off to their "4Runner expert". I thanked them and moved on to calling their "expert". He heard my story, I reiterated many times that I am only coming if they can guarantee this vehicle is not a lemon. He swore on it. Upon arriving and speaking with this sales agent, I quickly realized he was no expert. He could not describe the vehicles features very well, nor could he properly operate it. It was without an operators manual, so this sales person attempted to show me how it all works. When I asked him how to switch between 4H and 4L, his response was "oh you'll never need that, don't even touch it". At this point I should have left the dealership, I admit my naivety there. I didn't though, for some high pressure sales reason. Later on in this adventure, while hanging around the dealership waiting for service, I asked a few employees if they had any 4Runner experts in house. One of these employees was none other than the general manager himself. They all answered no, no 4Runner experts here...
The test drive was during daylight hours. My wife and I left the dealership after nightfall. I immediately noticed that I could see nothing through the windshield if there was any source of light ahead of me. I carefully drove it 1.5 hours home and parked it. The next morning I washed the windshield inside and out, which did not solve the visibility issue. (This same issue, during a rainy drive home one night, forced me to pull off of the road whenever a car would pass due to near zero visibility.) Also, on the way home from the dealership, I noticed an exhaust leak sound and smell in the cabin and the tire pressure light turned on. In the days to follow, I noticed other problems. A bad brake hop and drag and a burning smell. Cracked and rotted headlight assemblies. Dry rotted tires. Torn and rotted cv joint boots. It was also obvious once I got it home, that it had never been cleaned out. I found sticky stuff all over and inside of the center console and shifter assembly, french fries, chip crumbs, salt, grease, candy wrappers, and other various trash and gunk strewn about the interior.
I made my first of five trips back to the dealership shortly there after and gave them a list of things to work on. They seemed more interested in detailing it for me that acknowledging the mechanical issues, and still didn't detail it. When they came and got me, I asked about the exhaust leak and other issues. It was obvious that they had neglected or forgot about the other issues. Instead of saying so, they told me that all 4runners have loud ticking sounds from the engine and refused to put it back on a lift. They also dismissed the windshield visibility safety issue.
I still couldn't see through my windshield. Still smelled exhaust and the leak was getting louder. Still had brake hop and drag and the tire sensor light came back on. Even under warranty they refused to fix the torn cv joint boots because "it's not a safety issue". It is an important part of the drivetrain though and should have been covered and fixed.
I returned again to have the tire sensor fixed, again. I listed the same complaints and was dismissed again. They would not put it on a lift and inspect it.
I returned again, after too many near misses due to the visibility issue. I told them the windshield has to be replaced. I also told them that they need to replace the tires because they were terribly dry rotted. They sent a tech out with me for a drive to as any issues. The tech acknowledged the leaking exhaust but the dealership sent me on my way saying that it's just part of the 4Runner personality. They still refused to put it on a lift to look at the leak. All the time it was getting louder and smelled worse.
I returned yet again after speaking with the general manager and explaining the entire fiasco. He finally got it on a lift and was told by a tech that the leak was far too bad to not be repaired. At this point, he was more willing to oblige my complaints. He offered to replace the windshield and the leaking exhaust manifold. He also mailed me a check for half of the cost of the new tires. Unfortunately the check was sent to the wrong address. Regardless, I felt we were finally getting things taken care of. They even loaned me a different vehicle for the few days the 4Runner was being worked on.
This loaner vehicle proceeded to break down and left my wife and I stranded. I had to be at work (nights) in a few hours and now have gotten no sleep prior. We finally catch a ride home so I could nap and my phone rings, it is the general manager saying his driver was on his way to drop off the 4Runner and retrieve the broken down loaner.
We found another ride back to where the loaner died on us. Upon arriving and before the driver even stepped out of the 4Runner, I could smell something burning and hear the brakes dragging. The driver got the loaner started and left. I headed home in the 4Runner to finally catch a short nap before work. I immediately noticed a new and bad vibration in the steering wheel. About half way home, 4 miles or so, the wheel was jerking so violently that I had to pull it off of the road. It felt like one of the front wheels was going to fly off. I was at this point stranded again and heading towards missing work. I it limped it to a safe spot to park it. The next day I took it upon myself to look around underneath the 4Runner and noticed that the skid plates that they had to remove in order to replace the leaking exhaust manifold were hanging on by one single bolt. They did repair that.
It turned out that both front brakes, pads, calipers and rotors needed to be replaced. They told me that all of these parts would be brand new, from Toyota. They did make the repairs. When we test drove it I agreed that it felt as it should. When I got home, something told me to take the front wheels off and check their work. I immediately noticed "refurbished" stamped on the calipers. It made my stomach drop to be duped again. As I sat there in front of the empty wheel well, I looked up and noticed gouges in the bumper and fender and fresh scratches on the hood. It is very apparent that these gouges are from some sort of misused prying tool, used to remove the bumper while they were replacing the exhaust manifold on my previous visit. It looks like some sort of violent act was performed. I can only assume that they were tired of seeing my vehicle in there and decided to spite me. I have photos of the vehicle from when I bought it and now, showing the difference. I am honestly scared for my safety while driving this vehicle now, knowing that somebody in their service department was acting maliciously towards me. What else could have been done that I can't see?
It is all too obvious that this auto group only cares about one thing, and that one thing is not or providing a quality product. I can not recommend this dealership to anyone.
I was in the market for a midsize suv after my last vehichle failed on me. Some Internet research and expert opinions later, I decided that a Toyota 4runner was the best bet for my family's needs. I shopped online until I found a dealership that had what I wanted. I called ahead of time and told them that my last vehicle was a lemon and that I wanted to make an investment in something that will last a long time. After having my truck fail on vacation a week earlier, I was very animate about this. At first I was reluctant to buy a vehicle with 100k miles on it. The sales staff reassured me that because it is a Toyota, I had nothing to worry about and that it is in immaculate condition. I will skip ahead a bit here and say that once all of these problems I am about to describe started appearing, sales and management both asked, "what did you expect out of such a high mileage vehicle?". That is the polar opposite of what I was being fed before they took my money.
s any issues. The tech acknowledged the leaking exhaust but the dealership sent me on my way saying that it's just part of the 4Runner personality. They still refused to put it on a lift to look at the leak. All the time it was getting louder and smelled worse.
I will start with the lie from Internet sales. I first emailed and told them my story and that I had money in hand and was interested in a Toyota 4Runner they had in stock. Internet sales responded by saying they would hand me off to their "4Runner expert". I thanked them and moved on to calling their "expert". He heard my story, I reiterated many times that I am only coming if they can guarantee this vehicle is not a lemon. He swore on it. Upon arriving and speaking with this sales agent, I quickly realized he was no expert. He could not describe the vehicles features very well, nor could he properly operate it. It was without an operators manual, so this sales person attempted to show me how it all works. When I asked him how to switch between 4H and 4L, his response was "oh you'll never need that, don't even touch it". At this point I should have left the dealership, I admit my naivety there. I didn't though, for some high pressure sales reason. Later on in this adventure, while hanging around the dealership waiting for service, I asked a few employees if they had any 4Runner experts in house. One of these employees was none other than the general manager himself. They all answered no, no 4Runner experts here...
The test drive was during daylight hours. My wife and I left the dealership after nightfall. I immediately noticed that I could see nothing through the windshield if there was any source of light ahead of me. I carefully drove it 1.5 hours home and parked it. The next morning I washed the windshield inside and out, which did not solve the visibility issue. (This same issue, during a rainy drive home one night, forced me to pull off of the road whenever a car would pass due to near zero visibility.) Also, on the way home from the dealership, I noticed an exhaust leak sound and smell in the cabin and the tire pressure light turned on. In the days to follow, I noticed other problems. A bad brake hop and drag and a burning smell. Cracked and rotted headlight assemblies. Dry rotted tires. Torn and rotted cv joint boots. It was also obvious once I got it home, that it had never been cleaned out. I found sticky stuff all over and inside of the center console and shifter assembly, french fries, chip crumbs, salt, grease, candy wrappers, and other various trash and gunk strewn about the interior.
I made my first of five trips back to the dealership shortly there after and gave them a list of things to work on. They seemed more interested in detailing it for me that acknowledging the mechanical issues, and still didn't detail it. When they came and got me, I asked about the exhaust leak and other issues. It was obvious that they had neglected or forgot about the other issues. Instead of saying so, they told me that all 4runners have loud ticking sounds from the engine and refused to put it back on a lift. They also dismissed the windshield visibility safety issue.
I still couldn't see through my windshield. Still smelled exhaust and the leak was getting louder. Still had brake hop and drag and the tire sensor light came back on. Even under warranty they refused to fix the torn cv joint boots because "it's not a safety issue". It is an important part of the drivetrain though and should have been covered and fixed.
I returned again to have the tire sensor fixed, again. I listed the same complaints and was dismissed again. They would not put it on a lift and inspect it.
I returned again, after too many near misses due to the visibility issue. I told them the windshield has to be replaced. I also told them that they need to replace the tires because they were terribly dry rotted. They sent a tech out with me for a drive to a
I returned yet again after speaking with the general manager and explaining the entire fiasco. He finally got it on a lift and was told by a tech that the leak was far too bad to not be repaired. At this point, he was more willing to oblige my complaints. He offered to replace the windshield and the leaking exhaust manifold. He also mailed me a check for half of the cost of the new tires. Unfortunately the check was sent to the wrong address. Regardless, I felt we were finally getting things taken care of. They even loaned me a different vehicle for the few days the 4Runner was being worked on.
This loaner vehicle proceeded to break down and left my wife and I stranded. I had to be at work (nights) in a few hours and now have gotten no sleep prior. We finally catch a ride home so I could nap and my phone rings, it is the general manager saying his driver was on his way to drop off the 4Runner and retrieve the broken down loaner.
We found another ride back to where the loaner died on us. Upon arriving and before the driver even stepped out of the 4Runner, I could smell something burning and hear the brakes dragging. The driver got the loaner started and left. I headed home in the 4Runner to finally catch a short nap before work. I immediately noticed a new and bad vibration in the steering wheel. About half way home, 4 miles or so, the wheel was jerking so violently that I had to pull it off of the road. It felt like one of the front wheels was going to fly off. I was at this point stranded again and heading towards missing work. I it limped it to a safe spot to park it. The next day I took it upon myself to look around underneath the 4Runner and noticed that the skid plates that they had to remove in order to replace the leaking exhaust manifold were hanging on by one single bolt. They did repair that.
It turned out that both front brakes, pads, calipers and rotors needed to be replaced. They told me that all of these parts would be brand new, from Toyota. They did make the repairs. When we test drove it I agreed that it felt as it should. When I got home, something told me to take the front wheels off and check their work. I immediately noticed "refurbished" stamped on the calipers. It made my stomach drop to be duped again. As I sat there in front of the empty wheel well, I looked up and noticed gouges in the bumper and fender and fresh scratches on the hood. It is very apparent that these gouges are from some sort of misused prying tool, used to remove the bumper while they were replacing the exhaust manifold on my previous visit. It looks like some sort of violent act was performed. I can only assume that they were tired of seeing my vehicle in there and decided to spite me. I have photos of the vehicle from when I bought it and now, showing the difference. I am honestly scared for my safety while driving this vehicle now, knowing that somebody in their service department was acting maliciously towards me. What else could have been done that I can't see?
It is all too obvious that this auto group only cares about one thing, and that one thing is not or providing a quality product. I can not recommend this dealership to anyone.