What would you do?

Since you had a deposit down on the car, and they then raised the price by $400, I would see if you could take them to small claims court to recover the extra $400. I don't know if that option is available to you, but if it is, it would be a way to pursue it without spending too much on a lawyer.

On the key fob, I would contact Toyota Customer Service and let them know that you didn't get both fobs. I'm not sure I completely understand, but are they insinuating that they will hold the fob until you agree to "forget" the extra amount they charged above the price you originally agreed on? If so, I think Toyota Customer Service would be interested in knowing that.

 

i'd do exactly what you did. bend over and take it like an american. i would also let the dealer know that i will not bring the car to them for service and forget about selling me any extras like warranty etc

 

Two fobs are standard. They owe you a key. Give them a deadline. You get key or they owe you $400.00. (A replacement is less than half of that.)

You had a contract with a specific price, you had a vin number. Money changed hands. That's a contract.

Take them to court. Let them explain their greed to the judge. "I want more money" isn't grounds for canceling a contract.

And then spread the news far and wide what they did.

 

I would
- get the other SmartKey first
- then, take them to small claim court (in CA) (no lawyer - DIY for $3000 and below)
- any survey from Toyota, give the dealer 0-star and 100% not satisfied - and say "will buy Honda next time!"

 

I orderd my car 1st May 500 under MSRP the salesman told me right then if the Mrsp goes up by time I get car my price will go up, so yes my price went up but I was told up front I should have it eand of this week I hope

 

Probably not the smartest idea on my part, but the contract I signed said nothing about price, and the salesman was pretty clear that if Toyota raised the MSRP (which they did last month) we would have to pay the higher price. Of course, given that the wait here in Denver is now 6 months, maybe it was so dumb. I don't like the price increase, but since the Prius replaces a 99 S10 pickup getting 14 mpg, I'll get the $400 back pretty quickly.

That said, I'm sorry your experience was different with your sales rep. If you have another option, I would certainly follow the advice to go elsewhere for service.

 

According to the original poster, this was not a MSRP contract; it specified a specific amount. That makes the price binding. Money changed hands.

Give them a deadline on the fob.

Then take them to court for the $400.00. If they don't hand over the fob, buy one and add that to the amount you are sueing for.

 

I basically did the same thing, only difference was I have all the details on the contract, color, tax, etc etc. If thats what you had I'd take em to court, and definitely send a message off the Toyota rep. Not sure if you have letter to the editor in your local paper, but I'd even mention it there. It's not slander, you had a contract and they are trying not to honor it. The local paper I'd wait till after court though.
I wish you luck in your fiasco. See this is a prime example of why I hate dealing with auto dealerships. Most, not all, are shysters.

Wedge

 

Godiva is right on the money -- no pun intended. You need to be more trouble to the dealership than the $400. Let them know how it is going to cost them. Someone, probably the dealership owner, will have to appear in small claims court or a judgement will be awarded in your favor automatically. That judgement can be filed against the owner or the business depending on the complaint. Either way -- that $400 will not be worth the aggravation you are going to cause them in lost business and ill will. Be polite and calmly let them know their options up front.

Good luck.

 

Pretty much the same thing happened to me. I put down a $500 deposit on May 13 for an 08 Package 2, was given a written quote for the sales price and for my trade-in, and told it would be 2-5 weeks. At five weeks I went in to check on the car, was told that it was expected to be loaded on a delivery truck sometime 6/23-6/30. No mention was made about the $400 increase in MSRP. When they called to tell me that the car was in, on June 30, again no mention about the $400 increase. When I sat down with the salesman to settle things, he said they had a small problem--the MSRP had gone up $400. I indicated that I had a written amount, regardless of the increase in MSRP from Toyota. I went to the sales manager, indicated that I was not quoted "MSRP at the time of delivery," or even "MSRP" but a specific amount. He started in on how my trade-in, a 1997 4Runner for which they had given me a written quote of $4500, was now worth at most $3000, if they could even sell it, and essentially suggested that they could give me back my deposit and go to the next person on the long list. I then suggested that he didn't want to be alienating my husband and I, since we had owned only Toyotas since 1975, two of which were purchased new from this dealership and several of which were maintained there in the 13 years we've lived here. That seemed to jog something in him. I don't think he really cared about our being long-term Toyota customers, but both he and the salesman were very concerned about how I would rate them on the new owner's survey for Toyota. The sales manager hemmed and hawed, fumed a bit about how much they were losing on my trade-in, mentioned again all the people on the waiting list, and finally we agreed to split the $400. I got the Prius, got the original quoted trade-in on the 4Runner, and paid $200 extra. The original amount quoted for the Prius actually was MSRP for a package 2 car, but it was an amount, not "MSRP." I gave in to the extent that I did because I was unsure that the "sheet" I had was an actual contract, and because the possibility of their selling the car to someone else felt real. The quoted price and trade-in were on their deal sheet stationery, but no one had signed it. I came in with my copy--they had mysteriously lost theirs. They claimed the other local Toyota dealer was charging $3000 over MSRP now, while they were sticking with MSRP, just the new MSRP. It was not a pleasant experience, but I don't know why I expected it to be. At least I did get two Smart Key fobs.