just want your thoughts on this post I just made in yahoo bay area group...ill just paste here... anything more I can/could do? This is really disturbing... When I went to the Fremont dealership, they told me Toyota is mandating that all the new Prius' are done up in the leather package... This is not true. They are taking the cars that are arriving at the dealership (that should be allocated to people on the waiting list) and having some local shop re-apolster them with leather. I called Toyota and they have no such policy, and strongly discouraged me from purchasing the car as they will not warranty them...and said it will not hold as well as factory. I filed a registered complaint with Toyota regarding Fremont and plan to follow up on this complaint to ensure something is done. People that are waiting on their cars will get them later from this dealership because they are trying to sell them for $5,995 extra! and the leather is very poor quality (in my opinion). When I called them back, they then said Toyota is not forcing them to do this, and admitted they have made the choice to make these changes to the car and sell them to the public at $5,995 more! I did not want leather, so they offered me a car to be picked up next week with no changes, AT $5,995 more! They claimed other dealerships are doing this as well...I have called 3 on the list and none of them have offered the Prius in leather. One dealership said they would not even offer it to me because they could be sued. he would only tell me where to get it done. Do what you want with this info...here is my registered complaint number and the number to call Toyota if you want any more information. Complaint # 200401290992 Customer assistance # 1-800-331-4331 -don
Don: I agee that's really shabby treatment - I test drove one at Fremont toy in october but was turned off by their attitude. I just took delivery of a silver Pkg 7 from Hayward Toyota at $500 under MSRP I did it all over the internet - The first time I went to meet the dealer was the day I picked up the keys. THe wait was about 1 month Theyre an autonation dealer - which put me off a bit but the salesman Val was straightforward and kept to his word even though all was over the internet with no binding agreements. Even he Finance guy only made a halfhearted attempt to sell me the xtended warranty. ( had outside financing already lined up before I came in to pick up the car) Try Val Kuncheff at Hayward toyota 889-8000 X 272 Mention my name Pete Moss good luck
I test drove a Prius in early January in Berkeley. Their demo had full leather and was $3000 extra. They said they could do any car like that in 3 days AND it was approved by Toyota's since it was up to their standards. I wasn't terribly impressed.
I wouldn't be either since I can't imagine Toyota adopting "standards" for aftermarket products. I could be wrong about that but it sure sounds weird.
IMO, it's a free country and the dealer (this has nothing to do with Toyota Motor Corp.) can sell its cars, add whatever options, etc., that it wants. If you don't like it, go elsewhere or, worst case, don't buy a Prius. Gouging should be prohibited for critcal commodities, but not for cars. I fully embrace, in general, the concepts of open markets, supply & demand, etc., as part of a capitalistic system. That said, it's very shabby and I would not choose to buy my car (even a non-Prius at a good price) from a dealer that has such a policy. I wouldn't file any complaint, although they probably deserve it for outright lying to you about leather aftermarket being required by Toyota.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(onerpm @ Aug 16 2006, 01:42 PM) [snapback]304284[/snapback]</div> What you say is true but, the amont of time it would take a dealer to squeal like a stuck pig if you posted the details and provided their name in a public forum would make your head spin. It's the same reason why BBB reports are useless. Nobody wants to live with the hastle the business can cause you personally.
