Dealership service department seems a bit sketchy....

Doesn't sound right to me. That's crazy.

 

Seems like you got your answer already by the service manager at Sunny King Toyota.

 

If you can provide the paperwork stating that a new battery was in fact installed, I believe you have a case. There is usually an 8 year/100,000 miles warranty in most states on the replacement battery and some states even go up to 150,000 miles. If you can in fact prove the battery was recently replaced with a "new", then I would be on the phone contacting the state Attorney General. Dealerships are quick to respond to legal trouble.

 

replacement batteries only come with 1 year /12,000 miles warranty

I too think the battery probably wasn't replaced but simply repaired. All Toyota repairs should be logged into their system before it's printed. If there's a printed receipt that shows replacement, there should be an online record as well. Can't have 1 and not the other.

If there was an agreement to install a salvage battery and not new, there's no reason the dealership won't do it if that's what was agreed upon. But if they were charged for a "new" battery and received a junkyard battery, then that would be a big issue.

 

how much did your friend pay for the new battery, parts and labor?

 

Was it made clear to you when you purchased the vehicle that the "New" hybrid battery was actually a -new- salvaged battery?

If it was presented as being a "Dealer Installed" brand new hybrid battery, that IS very misleading.

This wasn't a "Certified" used Toyota, and so I suppose a dealership can refurbish, repair and invest into a used vehicle they wish to sell at any level they want or choose. I don't really have a problem with the battery being replaced with a salvaged battery. BUT...the knowledge that the battery was a salvaged battery should be presented upfront.

It also does seem like a questionable conflict of interest if the dealership service manager is buying salvaged batteries from himself, and installing them in Prius obtained at the dealership he works at. But I don't know if there is anything intrinsically illegal about it, as long as the dealership ownership knows it is happening, and as long at when these same Prius get sold, they are sold with the admission that the "New" Hybrid battery, is actually a "New" salvaged hybrid battery.

There also isn't necessarily anything wrong with a salvaged battery, BUT also in this case it sounds like the salvaged battery is a piece of crap.

Whatever happens, I probably wouldn't use that original dealership again.

I hope they can and do resolve your issue.

 

Bought the car from a "good friend" who evidently had documentation on the repairs IE: Paperwork. But the "Good Friend" did not do the repairs, or buy the battery.

 

The Toyota dealer I deal with in general warranties all repairs for 1 year. They also allow the consumer to decide on new replacement parts or refurbished to save money. If refurbished, the dealer is not responsible for defects on the part. I also had non functioning AC after having it repaired the previous summer and never using it. The dealer repaired it at no cost. Something about a leak they didn't notice the year before.

C6916 ?

 

$3,000. minus blower motor, tyres and brakes might not equal a new hybrid battery. if it did, it was probably a very good deal. depends on the amount of brake work i suppose. seems to me, most quotes we see here for dealer installed new hybrid batteries are $3-4,000.

 

Hmm....now the Atlanta Dealership is claiming a "new" Battery was never installed?

Well if you bought it with that reality being presented as fact, I'd call that misrepresentation of the product being sold, whether they accidently did it or not.

 

BEWARE! I bought my Prius in 2008 with "Free Tire Offer" but in 2010 I took it in for the 30,ooo mile service, I was told it would cost more than $400. I asked what they serviced, the answer was no more than the basic checks and oil change ONLY! I know it was a scam and didn't pay the $400. Recently, I took the Prius in for tire rotation. The Toyota Service Department took off the oil change sticker from a different business and stuck on their own showing service needed 5000 miles from when I took it to them for the tire rotation NOT FOR AN OIL CHANGE. They DID NOT show the mileage for the next service from when I had the oil change four months and 3000 miles earlier, extending the oil and filter usage to 8000 +- miles. The two Utah Toyota dealers will not see me again!!

 

I'm surprised they let you have your car back when you refused to pay the $400, I wouldn't want to see you again either.

You can change the oil at any time, the sticker on the windshield does not control you.