Final disaster with dealer

update to my on-going disaster with Fairfiled Toyota in California. I originally purchased a red III on July 31st, that the dealer said would be arriving from another dealer in a couple of hours - they gave me a loaner to drive in the mean-time. I returned to the dealer after work and they said the car would not arrive until the next day Saturday morning. I get a call Saturday morning saying that the other dealers business office is closed (strange since most car dealers do lots of business on the weekends) they were sorry but the car would be delivered by the latest on Tuesday. No calls on Tuesday - after a number of calls to the dealer they said it was on the truck but it would not arrive until late so I said I would call in the morning (wednesday). You may have guessed by now, no call backs on Wednesday, the receptionist finally tracks down my sales guy who tells her to tell me that he has information on the car and will call me when he finishes with the custormers he is with. Can you guess? No call!

Thursday August 6, I finally get hold of a sales manager who says the other dealer did not deliver and they have no more cars coming in. I ask if they will eventually get cars in and that they should look for an equivalent - also whey didn't they tell me Saturday before when I probably still could have located a car. He said they would look. After numerous follow up calls from me - never a call back the sales manager finally called today to say come get me money (yes they cashed the check) my clunker and give them back their loaner - no cars for me. So now I'm totally you know what because this dealer could not deliver, not tell me there was a problem and apparently is never getting any more Prius' in.

I'm hoping one of my inquiries to other dealers might pan out this weekend otherwise I may have to go for a Honda.

I would love to get a prius but have had with Toyota dealers. If anyone knows of a Pruis III in the SF BAy area let me know.

Time to get a concession. Free rental, service credit, credit for accessories.

Sounds like a small claim court date waiting to happen

I would have told them to come pick up their loaner and when they arrived told them it was at a friends house and your friend would be dropping it off in "a couple of hours." After 2 hours I would have told them your friend would bring it back tomorrow...and so on and so on.

Move on...bad business experience no different than going to a restaurant with bad service. Go find another dealership and another car...end of story.

Concession for what...free rental from where...you really want to have a credit for service/accessories at a dealership that did not provide excellent service?

There are plenty of car dealers out there...some good and some not so good. Trying to "teach them a lesson" in court is lame...small claim court...haha...for what...not selling you a car that isn't on their lot...pain and suffering about a car?

Everybody wants to sue someone because they didn't get what they wanted...turn the page!

Out of curiosity, what paperwork did you fill out when you bought the Prius on July 31? And did you give them money?

TangaRed, I had a very positive experience with Sunnyvale Toyota (ask for Greg Sivertson). Sunnyvale has been getting the largest allocations in the SF Bay Area. Greg kept me updated every step of the way. You should also ask for Costco pricing.

Yes Sunnyvale has a good reputation and I called and put down a deposit with them. It seems like some Priuses are being delivered in the area.

As far as small claims - I can and will only file a claim if because of thier inability to follow through on a binding contract I can not find a Prius and miss out on the C4C program and possibly any price difference. You can only sue for real damages and need to show you tried to remedy. Not the best - I would just rather have my car. And yes they cashed my check for about 20K.

If Toyota ever goes down as a car company, I say it over and over, it will be because of the horrible dealers they have, the only thing that will stop me from ever buying another Toyota, is the thought of having to deal with a Toyota dealer.

I'd like to give the dealer a letter when we make the car money trade back - is there a Toyota CEO that I should copy?

This is so similar to my experience at a dealership in Utah. I wanted to do a C4C deal with a 1992 Isuzu Trooper that was rated at 15MPG but getting 10MPG. I went to the Toyota dealership, made a deal, they took $5,000 of my money, my clunker, the title, the proof of insurance, and the proof of registration. I was told the car would be there that night. That night, nothing. I was told to come back tomorrow. Tomorrow at noon, nothing. The salesmen that did the deal would not talk to me! That was frustrating. At 6:00pm I went to the dealership again and they said there was a "problem." They would not explain but I got someone to say that my car was not coming. I asked for my clunker, my money, my insurance and my registration. They could give me everything but the $5,000 since they had already sent the check to the bank. I asked for a check and they said that they needed 10 days to make sure I wasn't going to rip them off. Holy crap! So I went online and did a stop payment on the check since it hadn't cleared. That cost me $20 but I kept the $5,000 away from those jerks. Later they sent me a check for $20.

That same night my wife and I called all the dealerships in the area and found about a dozen Priuses on the lots. We found a black with dark gray interior that was a level III with the JBL 6 CD changer. Sweet! We stayed and did the deal until 11:00pm!

I had all the paperwork in perfect order for the C4C deal. The dealership told me that only about 50% of the people who were doing the C4C deal were providing all the necessary paperwork. I asked my salesman to give my paperwork to the paper-pusher and show them that everything was there so it could be completed. Now we know that the C4C deal was extended. But my friend tried to do the same deal a week later and there simply were no more Priuses to be found. I am glad I did the deal when and how I did.

Getting great mileage. Nice car. Lots of power. Very happy. Sweeeeeeeeeet! The only negative is that it is my wife's car.

--Kent

You've just got a bad dealer there, and it's hard to sell cars that are just not in supply.

Fremont Toyota, a place with a huge lot, is really low on cars now. They have only 3 Corollas and 3 Prius on the lot now. There is a 1/4 mile long by 4 rows section of clunker trade ins.

And +1 for Sunnyvale Toyota. No BS there. Likely one of the most professional dealerships around.

1/4 mile long by 4 rows section of clunker trade ins...

All required, BY LAW, to be made undriveable and destroyed.

So, those vehicles don't even count as "used cars".

Based on a couple of recommendations I remember here somewhere, I would call the Toyota in Hemet. Yes, it is a trek for you, but doable if they have one and you still want to look.

Not sure if they have any either, but it is not a high traffic area.

I think Cash for Clunkers put stress on inventory and dealers. But what happened to the OP is ridiculous.

At the very least they should be working to get the OP the automobile they want. You don't just give up and say you aren't capable!

The most telling thing is the running problem of no communication. Horrible customer service.

It might not do any good but I'd complain to Toyota directly. I'm sure that is not how Toyota want's their dealerships representing them.

Well, this is a thread I didn't need to read.

Our Prius is supposed to show up at the dealer on the 28th, while I'm out of town, and by the time I get back chances are the C4C program will be closed.

I agree. Toyota dealers was the single issue that made me delay and question getting my 2010 Prius. Plus they add all those dealer fees, etc.

Best dealer experience ever was getting my Smart, those guys have stress-free drama-free down pat.

I'll add that while I like Toyota vehicles Toyota financial services is a nightmare! Unauthorized double payments, illegal repo, you name it we've had a hell of a time with TFS with my wife's Rav4. Lot's of calls to CT Dept of Banking and the AG's office what a headache. On the other hand Honda Finance is totally the opposite with my Element You'd better believe that if we get the Prius we won't be going through TFS.

It really depends on where you are and who you deal with. As we have all read these forums to find that there are good and reliable dealers out there. Along with a good TFS. We even have a few dealers that participate in the forums, because they know that we talk to each other, via the forum. And it is better when we talk positively about them then negatively.

That reminds me of the Linux forums where people post a problem and then end with: 'If this problem doesn't get fixed, I'll have to install Windows', hoping the Linux fanboys will run a little harder...

Concessions for breaking a contract. Not everyone wants to roll over and play dead