Palm Beach Toyota Warning

Since I'm not sure the moderators and owner of this site would want me going into detail on my problems with this dealer. I'll just put out a general warning and invite anyone thinking of doing business with them to contact me.
If it's okay to post my probems in detail please let me know and I shall do so.

Ken

 

Okay, here we go...sorry about the length

1/12: I visit Palm Beach Toyota (PBT) to take a test drive in a Solara Convertible. They are not the closest dealer to my house, but advertise no additonal dealer markup on their cars. They tell you that they can't do this because they are owned by United Auto which is a publically traded company (I don't get the connection, but don't care). I was looking to replace my 2001 Saab SE Convertible and liked the Solara. While I was coming back from the test drive I see a Prius and ask a few quests about it. The car was fully loaded (just about every option, including some that I didn't care much about like 17" wheels and Pirelli tires), but the leather seats, Option Package 6 would have been musts for me. They tell me there is a eight month minimum wait on the Prius, but the one I saw had come in for another buyer who had decided not to purchase the vehicle.

1/13: I call the dealership after doing a night's worth of research on the Prius and ask if it's still available, it is. My wife and I (Spousal approval of this purchase is mandatory in my household) drive back up to PBT take test drives and decide to purchase the car. Unfortunately for me between the 12th and 13th the Toyota dealer had decided to add tinting a pin strip and a door-edge guards to the package for the tidy sum of $695. They also added a $795 LoJack system. Not thrilled with this little gotcha we decide to go ahead with the deal anyway. Before I had left the car I had perused the owners manuals to read up a bit on the car.

An hour later we're waiting to complete the deal and the fun starts.

First, the offer for my used Saab is $11,500. This is roughly $6,000 below wholesale on the car as judged by Kellys and a couple of other sources. When I asked whether they could do better...I was told that would be the best I would ever get for a car like that. I decided to go ahead with the deal and sell the Saab myself. (I sold it 2 days later privately for $20,000 after running a single day's newspaper ad). I wanted to sell the car quickly and wasn't looking to squeak every dollar out of it...but had I tried harder I'm sure I could have gotten $22K - $23K which would be still well under what car dealers in the area are selling the same year/mileage model for). But, hey used cars are used car...and while their actions and hard-sell didn't thrill me...I just expect that from car sales people.

Now, while I'm going through the purchase documents I notice a couple of things:
1. a $3,000 dealer markup - I complain and tell them I had been assured no such markup would happen - after a few minutes they removed it (it didn't appear on the sticker or the car)
2. They charged me $695 document preparation fee and $250 for registration, tags, etc. They would not remove the $695 and told me any excess over the actual cost of the registration, tax, tags would be returned. I offered to just get the car registered myself (pretty painless in Florida, but was refused).

My wife who like me hates purchasing cars told me to go ahead and pay the $700 fee to just get this process over with. I reluctantly agree.

We are now sitting with the dealership's management who begins the hard-sell on the extended warranty. He tells us we have to purchase it that day if we ever want it and the cost for the 7 year/100K is $1700. We decline. I later found the great deal offered through this site and get the warranty for significantly less. I also learn that the extended warranty does not have to be purchased at the time of purchase (which I kind of already knew).

While looking through the options I elect to get the Glass Break Sensor added. Car thefts in Delray Beach are insane...and even for the bloated price of $250. I go ahead with the option.

I'm given a bit of a lecture on how important the purchaser's survey is that I'll be getting...and they show me how to fill it out (with everything being excellen). I kind of chuckle at this.

We purchase the car, take it home with an appointment for the next day to get the GBS installed and the tinting completed (they had neglected to tint the small rear window (understandable) and the contrast in colors made that view even tougher. They told me the GBS was in stock and this wouldn't be a problem. Strangely, when we go back out to the car the owner's manuals are missing. I'm told that they'll have replacements in 2 days. Now, I'm concerned as I don't know what else is missing.

1/14 Bring the car in and leave it for the fix on the tinting and the installation of the GBS. Pick it up and hope to just enjoy a new vehicle.

1/19 Call to ask if my owner's manuals are in and am told that NO one would have ever told me 2 days...it's a minimum of two weeks to get them.

1/26 I get a call that my manuals have now come in. I ask if they can be sent to me (the dealership is about 1.5 hours roundtrip for me. I'm told no...I have to come in and sign for them. I make the drive get the manuals...still no apology of any sort.

1/28 While reading PC I find some reference to the GBS and a link to the Toyota documents on installation and testing. So, I run the test - no alarm. Try a few different times with no luck

1/31 Call the dealership to make an appointment to have the GBS fixed. Told to bring it in on 2/2 and it would be done.

2/2 I bring the car in and sit with it in the drop-off line. Twenty minutes go by and no one offers to help me. Now, I'm new to the dealership so I figure I don't know the routine here. Just so happens the guy that had introduced himself to me as the Prius Tech is walking by. I wave him down and he tests the GBS as well and also says it doesn't seem to be working...probably caused because they always turn the sensitivity way down to stop false alarms. I'm a bit peeved because I would assume they would test the thing after install... but that obviously isn't the case. He then tells me he'll get me a service writer and they'll adjust it properly.
Twenty minutes later I have to go chase down a service writer because none will come to me (I'm still sitting in the drop off lane right by their booths.
The Service writer says... no problems, writes up a sheet and tells me to wait while they make the adjustments. He couldn't give me an estimate on how long it would take. After waiting for about 45 minutes I tell the service guy I'm going to take a walk around the neighborhood and get some lunch (this all started at 9:45AM. I give him my cell number and take off. Around 1:30 after not hearing anything I get back to the dealer...track down the service writer and ask how much longer - he then informs me that the techs there are no comfortable working on a Prius and that the only Prius guy there has gone to school for the day. When I asked why it took over three hours to figure this out...he shrugged and told to make another appointment. I wasn't happy...but I'm not a yeller...and since I still didn't have a working GBS I figured any real negative action on my part could only lead to more problems for me.

2/08 I receive a call from the dealership asking if I had received the survey and if I would need any help in filling it out. I asked about my registration and tags and was told that normally it takes the state 6 weeks minimum to do that. This is absolutely not true. A quick trip to any of the county offices and you can get it done in under 30 minutes. I ask what I'm supposed to do when the temporary tags run out in 5 days and I'm told I'll just have to come down to the dealership to get new temporary tags. This doesn't make me happy.

2/11 I call again and amazingly my tags have appeared. I drive to the dealer again to pick them up and find out that I've been charged a fee of roughly $50 for the service. Leaving a refund balance owed to me of about $50. When I ask for the refund, I'm told a check will be mailed to me in a week or so.

2/21 I get my refund check, but instead of $50 it's for $33.00. When I call to ask I'm told there is a fee for cutting me the refund check.


2/22 I get a call from PBT's parts department telling me the special order parts I had ordered had come in. When I return the call no one there has any idea of what parts that might be (I didn't have any idea either as I hadn't ordered anything). But, I'm beginning to get an idea of what is going on with the GBS.

2/28 I finally get through to someone in the service department (messages to return my calls are basically ignored) and talk to the "Prius" tech and make an appointment to have it adjusted. He tells me that he won't be there that day but any tech can handle the job. I say...No, I've been told otherwise and I'd prefer to bring it in on a day when he is there. So he makes an appointment for 3/3

3/3 I bring the car in...leave it with the "Prius" tech. Later that afternoon I get a call and am told it's ready. I drive back to PBT and sitting on my front seat is a package about the GBS. I ask the tech what is going on and he explains that there had been some confusion about whether the GBS option had already been included in the car or installed at the port. I asked if that was the case why was I charged for the part again and for installation...and why had I been told it was installed on 1/14 when I brought it back. He shrugged and said that I would have to get past that and that it was in now. I asked him to show that it worked to me. He did by getting in and clapping his hands loudly - the alarm worked.

I drove off knowing that it would be a very, very, very cold day in Miami before I ever set foot on that dealership's property again.

Now, I know this may not be all that horrid an experience, but it did show me that every department at this dealership is willing to lie, steal and basically treat the customer as an pigeon.

So...should you wish to do business with Palm Beach Toyota be forwarned of what you're dealing with in advance.

 

Actually, I did call Toyota and was curtly informed by the customer service representative that the dealers are in business to make money and that Toyota has no control over them.
I did fill out the survey appropriately a couple of weeks back...for what that's worth.

 

The Prius has been a very good car. I'm happy with it. There is a dealer much closer than PBT to me...the only reason I didn't buy from them in the first place was their little $5,000 markup on both the Prius and the Solara. I will, however, be trying them for service.

I'm not going to start a campaign against PBT only because I have wasted enough time on them. I did want to warn others here about my experience so as to possibly save someone the same headache. I've gotten a great deal of assistance here and will try to return the favor whenever I can.

Thanks all for the kind comments.
Ken

 

jrsicks,

I haven't heard anything bad about Delray Toyota, but they will charge a premium. Expect 3,000 - 5,000 over list on hot cars like the Prius and Solara rag top.

 

Bob,

I filled out the survey accurately, I called Toyota and I posted a warning to others. Best of all I'm done with that dealership as I'll not have another reason to go back there. That's enough for me.

Ken

 

They never charged me double for the GBS. They just didn't install it when they said they did...and then, never told the truth about having not installed it.