In addition to the BBB you should definitely contact the Department of Consumer Affairs for your state. Here's the link for Florida:
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have a form for complaints against motor vehicle repair shops. Hope they can help you out with this. I've had little luck getting disputes with companies resolved through BBB. I have nice little letters from the BBB to file and that's it, nothing from the places I complained about, no resolution even after my follow-ups. There's tons of consumer resources out there if you just dig. Dee
You can also spend your Saturday afternoons parked nearby (make sure it's city property and not the Dealerships) with a sign. Something to the effect of "If blakenty-blank changed your oil, you better check their work". You'll have to be careful and not say anything that they can prosecute you for slander. But the truth should be ok. It's a dirty trick, but it's worked more than once.
Jay, I am sorry to hear about your trouble. I have been following this message for a few weeks and have this little bit to say. First the reason you purchased a new truck was for peace of mind. We all think that when we buy something new we expect to have no problem with it. To help us sleep at night we purchase a warranty to cover what might happen. The dealership in its stupidity has dropped the ball and has taken away your peace of mind. To that end I would contact an attorney and discuss contract law. They had a contract with you to change your oil and to deliver your truck to you in a safe and reasonable manner. When they failed to do this than they breached their end of the contract. A GOOD attorney can help you restore your peace of mind by having your MAJOR investment protected (I assume that the truck was over 10 thousand so that would be a major cash investment in my book). Sometimes the threat of legal action is enough to make them notice that they are in the wrong. Toyota Corporation will work with you. The price to fix this problem is small compared to the cost of defending the reputation of the corporation. I wish you luck and hope you get that peace of mind that owning something new should have built into it.
You're right, but they're to cheap to pay for an extended warranty (even though it costs dealers very little) and they obviously don't value me as a customer. I certainly will never recommend the service at Legacy Toyota of Tallahassee to anyone!!! And will share my experiences with that dealership to anyone interested in taking care of their vehicle!
I've sent a letter to Consumer Affairs of Florida and will send a letter to the BBB of Florida tomorrow. I think I'll make an auto sun screen that says, "If you get your oil changed at Legacy Toyota of Tallahassee, you better check their work!" And, make a point of always parking my truck in busy, visible places.... what do u think??
I received a letter from Consumer Affairs of Florida. They said they could not help me and suggested I speak with an attorney. Toyota Corporate office has not responded to my letters. The dealer acknowledged the incident was "unfortunate", but offered no compensation or assurances. Needless to say, I am very disappointed in Toyota and will probably take my future business elsewhere, e.g., Honda.
It wasn't your truck that underfilled its oil, it was an incompatent dealer. Maybe you should meve out of Florida as the Consumer Affairs department refused to help you (The dealer is a buksiness, you, are a consumer, what part of that don't they understand?)
Anyway, don't fall into the trap of condemning Toyota for a bad dealer, as I said before, it wasn't the truck's fault, it was the dealer...
By the way, Honda doesn't make a real good pickup...
Yes, true, but he has made attempts to contact Toyota Motor Co, and they don't seen too responsive either. I picked that up reading the few sentences that he wrote.
About all that TMC-USA can do is forward the letter on to that local dealer with a nasty-gram attached (expressed or implied) that they better at least start talking to the customer.
It sounds like they (TMC) don't want to get in the middle of this one, lest someone try to assign them any responsibility for a dealer's service staff screw-ups.
I would advise the original poster that if the dealer is stonewalling and refusing to reply, spend a hundred bucks on a consultation & retainer, and start sending your letters to the dealership on the letterhead of a local lawyer. That might get the dealer's attention.
I would insist at a minimum on a notarized letter acknowledging that they returned the truck to him very low on oil, and that if any lubrication related problems crop up in the next 250,000 miles (estimated useful life of a Toyota engine) they (or their assigns or whoever buys the dealership in the future) will repair it. That sounds reasonable to me...
(If you want to guard against a 'convenient' dealership sale or bankruptcy, you could come up with something like make them get a
20-year $5000 surety bond to cover the costs in case they go under...)
Or they can be forced to install a new long block now. ($$)
If there is a lubrication problem down the road, say, 200,000 miles down the road, how will anyone be able to prove who's fault it is? The dealer won't be able to prove the owner caused it any more than the owner could prove it was caused by dealer neglect 198,000 miles ago.
Sorry, something like that would probably not be workable. However, I can see lawyers getting rich off the dealer as well as the owner...
I can see it being as easy to prove who did what as a situation where you loan your truck to your brother-in-law and 200,000 miles later your clutch goes out, then you try to make your B-I-L pay for it because it's "his fault." ... :>))
I think I'll just sell or trade-in the truck prior to the 5 year/60K powertrain warranty and NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH LEGACY TOYOTA OF TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA again. I really can't afford an attorney right now, so all I can really do is caulk this one up to experience and share my story with anyone (if interested) who does business with them or is even thinking of doing business with them e.g., work, school, church.
I received my first oil analysis from Blackstone Labs (great folks!), but since the oil only had seven to ten miles on it, results were inconclusive. They suggested an additional analysis within the 1500 to 3000 mile range on this new oil. Of course if nothing really shows after several tests, I think I can rest assured that the engine is okay. However, my feelings toward this dealership and the way they have treated me as a customer will not change. You would think they would have offered something, but all I got was barely an apology, which had to be solicited on my part!
I have documentation from the dealership acknowledging, "almost five quarts low" (invoice), and a letter stating "the incident was unfortunate". WOW... Talk about insensitive and a careless attitude! I've certainly learned a lot from this experience!
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