blind spot monitor question

Take the Car back talk to the sales manager and tell him the entire issue tell him you don't want to pay a dime and I bet you'll see something happeN. Good luck don't settle

Merged.

Won't pay a dime

 

Go with the small "stick-on" mirrors, (AutoZone, WalMart, Target) - ~$6 per set, easy to set up, and much less expensive than the dealer. Also check out the CarTalk.com web-site, they have a great way of setting up your internal & external mirrors to eliminate any blind-spots!!! - hope this helps

 

Lesson learned, if the car you want is not equipped with what you want, find one that is, this we can add it later is almost always B.S.

 

Here's the magic link: https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.cartalk.com/sites/default/files/features/mirrors/CarTalkMirrors.pdf&sa=U&ved=0CAQQFjAAahUKEwj50u-QrNTIAhXCNT4KHZgXByo&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNGP27zA9nnh2xxIkGvBZoKMJPP_Yw - hope this helps

 

Welcome to the site.

Hold on to that customer satisfaction survey until you are satisfied.

You asked for a feature that is not available on the car. You saw the additional charge on the contract for what has to be an aftermarket system.

A salesman is going to lie like a rug to get you to agree to the sale. If you were told an OEM system was going to be installed then that should have been listed.

If you didn't go through the dealer's Internet Sales Dept. you probably paid extra for the salesman.

Bring this up with the Sales Manager or General Manager. If you didn't sign the contract & pay for the truck tell them that sale is on hold. Best wishes for a reasonable resolution.

 

i've heard about problems with sleazy florid toyota dealers. what did the salesman say when you confronted him?

 

Always get everything in writing before agreeing to pay. Always read what you sign. Always withhold full payment until you are satisfied that the contract was met.

Sorry about your bad experience. It's an upsetting lesson to learn.

 

Caveat emptor

 

WilDavis. Thanks for the CarTalk link. I'll give it a try.

 

From the scant information provided, here's what I see:
Mistake #1 - it looks like you assumed there was a factory blind-spot option for the Prius because there's one for the Camry.
Mistake #2 - when they said they'd provide one, it looks like they didn't volunteer that it would be an after-market accessory.
Mistake #3 - you assumed "throw it in with the package" meant free, or at least reasonable, so you didn't question the cost.
Mistake #4 - you signed the contract or paid for the car without reading it first or noticing the cost.
Mistake #5 - you assumed dealers charge reasonable fees for installations.

That said, I think the dealer is despicable and probably took advantage of you, but it doesn't sound like what they did was illegal and you're not entirely blameless. You made assumptions and didn't question things until after the fact. Yours is an all too typical story, it's what too many dealers do if they can and I feel your pain. Back in 1999 we bought a Pontiac Montana. We made our deal and signed the contract only to find out later that the dealer added a $1,395 extended warranty. Since we were financing, I assumed the payment schedule was the result of finance charges. Only after we got home did I read through it and found what they had done and was able to cancel the warranty. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what legal recourse you have at this point since you've already signed the contract, paid for the car, are past the 72-hr point and probably have no real proof of what was said. As someone else mentioned, you can try to hold the Tacoma purchase hostage and maybe the dealer will offer some kind of discount to keep your business, but in the end, it's a harsh lesson learned.

 

Yvonne, sorry if I struck a nerve, didn't intend to, just trying to figure out how this went down. When I bought my first new car in 1970, the contract included the MSRP base price and options as well as discount, taxes and fees. At the time, they had an agreement to sell cars to military members for $125 above cost, so the amount of the discount reflected that. Like you, I had an option added by the dealer and it was clearly listed, but for the MSRP. I have no idea what it cost them to do the install nor did I care.

Conversely, the contract for my last new car only includes the final price of the car, rebate, taxes and fees. There's no indication on the contract to show how we arrived at the final price of the car, all I know is that it was what I agreed to pay based on our negotiation. I was given a separate sheet showing "their" breakdown. However, since the price I agreed to pay was what I paid, I didn't really care about the prices in their breakdown and they didn't add anything.

Anyway, it just seems to me that you paid the price you negotiated and that price included the blind-spot option. I get that you're not happy with the job they did, I probably wouldn't be either, especially since the Camry option is only $500 MSRP. But I don't see where you questioned beforehand what they were going to do and that's what I meant when I said you "seemed" to assume things. I wasn't there, so I don't know why the salesman didn't tell you the Prius doesn't offer a factory option, maybe he didn't know given how many different cars Toyota makes and how different the options lists are. But didn't you assume they offered the option and that the dealer would simply give you something like you had on your Camry? That's not an accusation, just an observation. I might have made the same assumption based on what the salesman said. However, when Pontiac said they'd add the factory hood tachometer to my 1970 GTO, I questioned exactly what that meant and even talked to the mechanic before I agreed to the deal. Fortunately for me the job was done right.

 

As presented by the OP I think I'd be upset as to how the whole thing unfolded.

At this point what resolution can the OP get to try to gain some satisfaction? Well unfortunately maybe none. The Dealership/Salesman may of been misleading, but without any specifics in writing? Exactly what was agreed upon and for what price becomes a You Say...They Say situation.

It's too bad, because in purchasing not one but two vehicles from them, before signing on the dotted line and handing over large quantities of cash you WOULD OF HAD...lots of leverage to get EXACTLY what you want. But once you've paid and taken delivery, you're kind of stuck with what you have in writing and the vehicle in your driveway.

Also, and I don't mean to sound condescending but I always think in this day and age where information about whatever vehicle you are purchasing is available in mass on the internet from various sources, it really is incumbent on the purchaser to know exactly what they want, what is possible, and make sure that is what they are getting.

It becomes a semantic interpretation when you ask for something The Prius doesn't come with, and the salesman say's they can get it for you. It's up to the purchaser to know what is available from the factory and what is being installed as an after market non-OEM accessory.

At this point, I think the best thing to do would be hopefully enjoy all that is right about the vehicle(s) you have purchased.
Sounds like you got a Prius with some type of blind spot monitor. It may not of been what you were expecting, but it is what you have. And hopefully lesson learned as far as making sure what you are paying for, is what you really want and expect BEFORE paying for it.

 

"At first they couldn't give me a price until they made a contract and I came in and paid and sign, then I said how can I pay if you aren't giving me a breakdown they finally did send it via email."

That has to be the first warning sign of a sleazebag dealer. If they don't know what they are selling it for then my reply would be "when you figure it out email me but don't wait too long. If they persist in their nonsense then I might make an insulting low ball offer. At this point any haggling is more for my amusement and just to waste their time. It's a mass produced car and another one just like can be found somewhere.
Taking the car home can be the closer to a sale. When I was shopping for a car for Mom Burlington Chevy wanted me to drive one to her. Kerbeck will bring one to your home.

 

wow. do you have an ernie botch dealership in florida? i wouldn't wish them on anyone.

 

Get dealer quotes from TrueCar | Never overpay. Hassle-free car buying from TrueCar Certified Dealers. for the Tacoma. If you are paying more than that you aren't getting a bargain.

Misrepresenting state fees and taxes is a popular dealer scam. The inflated registration fee is the first number I cross out on their preprinted form.

Since you bought 2 vehicles make sure you go to 2 new owner parties.

 

Obviously there was more to the story or I just didn't grasp enough of what you were saying. In any event, I'm glad you stuck to your guns and ended up getting the system for free.

FWIW, I also never feel I got a good deal and hate the car buying experience. When I bought my GTO in 1970, the markup was around 17% and the factory kickback was around 10% (verified by a friend's dad who was a dealer in MI at the time). I paid $125 above cost for my first new car, so they still made a good profit, but I didn't have to go through the pain of negotiating and that's worth something in my book. From what I understand, that markup/kickback percentages have now been reversed, so that even if you get a car for dealer cost or below, they still make a nice profit, up to 7% or so compared to back then. And having a trade-in is even worse because they play even more numbers games with those.

When it comes to numbers games, I have to admit I learned a lesson there. When I bought a van in 1999, they estimated the license fee. Turned out the actual fee was something like $23 less. When I asked about it, they said they don't automatically refund anything under $25, someone had to request a refund. How much did they make off customers who didn't notice the price difference when they got their tags in the mail? I got a good deal on the van, but as I said, they also snuck in an extended warranty and I was not happy with them after. Come forward to 2014 and Toyota automatically sent me a check for the difference in fees and the rest of the experience with Toyota here was actually fairly pleasant. Of course, I bought just before gas prices really dropped and so di hybrid prices, so I know I didn't get a good deal after all, but that's water under the bridge.

I'm sure your new vehicles will last a long time, but I'd have an eagle-eye on them if you get them service by this dealer. Maybe the salesman simply screwed up and the manager didn't like having to make things right. My wife still thinks the Pontiac dealer sabotaged the van because we did have some trouble with it and eventually needed a new engine after the warranty expired. So far, my Toyota dealer has been good, but soon we'll find out for sure after I turn down their Blue Service the next time I get the oil changed.