1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Bad Dealer - Toyota of Longview

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by enerjazz, Sep 5, 2004.

  1. enerjazz

    enerjazz Energy+Jazz=EnerJazz

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2004
    256
    144
    4
    Location:
    Fairview, TX
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Here's the semi resolution of the missing $300 rebate I posted on another thread. Bottom line is that Toyota of Longview (Texas) has extremely poor customer service.

    I ordered before the 3/10/04 price increase and my credit card was charged on 3/8/04 for the deposit. AFTER I bought the car Toyota told me I wasn't eligible for the rebate because my order wasn't placed in time. When I called the dealer he finally told me there was an order entry error so they canceled my initial order and entered it a few days later. Their error, my loss.

    I've been on the e-mail and phone with the dealer and Toyota. Toyota says to work with the dealer. The dealer says it's not their issue.

    The dealer already hacked me off by adding a port package that I repeatedly said I didn't want. I was stuck having to take the package (under the assumption that I would at least get my $300 from Toyota) or get on another wait list.

    I took the car and I love the car, but the dealer really made me angry. When I called for the 10th time to see if they had any update the salesman told me his manager was tired of hearing about it and I could bring the car back for a refund (so they can turn around and mark it up and sell it again)! The Toyota help line kept telling me to work with the dealer.

    I finally found a number for the distributor - Gulf States Toyota and amazingly they had a customer service department. I spoke to a very helpful guy who asked that I fax him the copy of the credit card charge and the info about what happened.

    He called a couple of hours later and sincerely apologized. Gulf States cut me a check for $300 and sent it overnight.

    Toyota of Longview took no ownership of the issue and made no attempt to rectify the issue. Poor customer service. Thanks to Gulf States for stepping up and doing the right thing.

    A friend of mine was on the Toyota of Longview list right behind me and I got a call from another dealer just after I got my car. I sent my friend to the other dealer and he escaped from Toyota of Longview. He had a good experience with Toyota of Marshall.
     
    #1 enerjazz, Sep 5, 2004
  2. DrAce2005

    DrAce2005 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2005
    18
    4
    0
    Location:
    IL
    Where do you go for service? (or plan to go). I am moving to Longview next month and will need a good dealer to do all the routine stuff eventually.
     
    #2 DrAce2005, Jun 17, 2005
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2004
    14,816
    2,498
    66
    Location:
    Far-North Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Sorry to hear of the troubles, Paul, but thanks for sharing it.

    When I was in Libertyville Toyota the other day, I was talking to a dealer about PriusChat and telling him that we post good and bad experiences all the time. We tell Prius owners to avoid stealerships and patronize dealerships. I could tell he was immediately interested in seeing what was being said about them.

    Glad to hear that you got your check. The sad part, however, is that I'm sure the amount of time and effort you put into it was worth more than the $300.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Jun 17, 2005
  4. enerjazz

    enerjazz Energy+Jazz=EnerJazz

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2004
    256
    144
    4
    Location:
    Fairview, TX
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I live in the Dallas area, but the stealerships here were even worse with their $3000 markups. I at least got a car in Longview.

    I don't know how their service department is - they might be great. Since I live near Dallas I used Toyota of Richardson. At the 5,000 mile point I was visiting relatives in Lubbock and used a Toyota dealer there. Both did a good job with one exception - they both overfilled the oil!

    Coming up on 11 months of ownership and the bad dealer experience continues to fade in the great performance of the vehicle.

    Paul
     
    #4 enerjazz, Jun 17, 2005
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)