Another Dealor Bait and Switch

Whats going on with Toyota dealors. I put Money down for a Prius 5 and was told I had an allocation. Per the sales agreement I ordered it and will pay for it in Boston but will pick it up in California as I wish to drive it cross country. The dealorship has dealors in both states.

I was to go in tomorrow and pay for the vehicle but will not pick it up for a few weeks. After many phone calls not returned today I was told that I could not pick it up in CA as previously promished but instead they would have it delivered to MA and I could pick it up here.

This after I purchased AIrline tickets (with their prior approval as to the date)

A real classical bait and switch.

This is my first Toyota purchase but I have never had such problems with a dealorship before.

I will not name the dealor yet but I intend to as no one should purchase from them.

Stan

 

More background. We ordered the car when the dealor was empty and wanted business. With the CARS program they are no busy and my bet it they simply want to make more money and ignore a signed contrace

Latest update

The told me that Toyota prohibited them from me buying the car in MA and picking it up in CA and further Toyots prohibited them from shipping the car aqfter sale.

I was rather uphappy to day the least. I called back and notified them that if they did not resolve this by noon tomorrow I would file a compliant with the Attorney Generals office, the BBB and the local radio help line as a start and would likey seek damages. (the forms are all filled out and ready to submit.)

In the phone call which I initiated to inform them of what I was going to do they said they changed their mind and they would now ship the car to CA but it would cost me $1200 extra for the shipment.

I told them that was their cost not mine. Heck I will compromise but they know what was in store as they mentioned the need to ship the car at their expense when I went back to the dealor to confirm everything before I purchased the airline tickets..

I also have a call into the complain line for the dealor group.

I will wait till noon as promised. Then I will name the dealor and file the complaints.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is a clasical bait and switch to get me to pay more money for the car. They knew what I wanted, agreed to it, and later confirmed the agreement after the allocation. A contract is a contract.

Frankly Toyato should pull their dealorship.

Stan

 

Nope. Talked to CA and MA registration in advance. I pay sales tax in MA, register it in MA and take the plates with me to CA. ALternatively I could pay sales tax in CA but register it in MA and again bring the plates with me. The MA dealor decided that he wanted me to pay for the car in full in advance pay MA sales tax and then it was their responsibility to get it to their CA group dealor.

Initially I thought they owuld simply have it delivered by Toyota to their CA dealor and work our some sort of agreement. It was the local dealor that decided that they would have it come to MA and then they woulod ship it to CA. I checked with both the sales guy and sales manager before I purchased the tickets.

That of course was before their dealorship got busy because of the CARS program. You make a deal you honor it.

In my opinion this reflects negatively in the entire Toyota program.

Stan

 

An update

First my apologies to the fine dealers who monitor this forum. It is really clear to me that there are indeed Toyota dealers who are honest and care for their customers.

Unfortunately there are also apparently more than a few bad dealers who can and do undermine the entire Toyota program and frankly Toyota needs to do a better job of ferreting them out.

As to my situation I contacted the state Attorney Generals office who helped me understand the contract and the rules which are apparently quite clear.

I called the dealer group consumer person and provided the factual information of the situation.

He looked into it and just called back and confirmed it with an email.

The good news is that they will honor all the existing agreements. The even better news is that someone cares at the group headquarters on customer care.

I did indicate my disappointment at the way I have been treated and they fully agreed and apologized which is the best that could be expected.

Unfortunately the CARS program will likely not work out due to a paperwork misunderstanding. Hopefully there will still be funds available when the car arrives and the paperwork can be submitted.

In reading the forum I find that there are several very good dealers and a few rotten apples.

Perhaps the forum moderators would allow two sticky threads. One a listing of dealers we had good results with and one a rotten apple list. This would help others avoid similar problems.

Stan Ames
Hopefully a new Prius 5 owner soon