I've been kicked to the curb at local dealership.

[Steve97365]

The local dealership(actually a salesman), called a few minutes ago after I informed him earlier in the day that I had bought elsewhere, and told me that the owner never wanted to see my truck in their store again. I had dealt with them in the past, but they wouldn't or couldn't meet or beat prices that I could get elsewhere. I'm a retired teacher and he had donated 3 trucks in the past few years to support the schools, and that was mentioned several times in the conversation too. Was I under an obligation to buy from them because he donated to the school district?

I don't think legally they can prevent me from getting warranty work there, but given the fact that I've been told not to darken the door again, I would be afraid of sabatoge or "spitting in my food" if you get the analogy.

I wasn't able to pin the salesman down on a firm price, and they didn't deal at all over the net which given my time constraints I much prefer.

What do you guys think about this? I try to deal locally in all cases except when the outcome might cost several hundreds if not thousands of dollars, then my Scottish heritage takes over and I bargain for the best deal I can make. The next closest dealership is 50 plus miles away

The deal I made on a 2009 Tundra grade 4WD MSRP $32,047 was $26,895 including $3000 rebate, and $12,700 trade in on a 2005 Tundra Double cab 2WD with 35K miles. Was I hosed? Could my local dealer have beaten those numbers easily? Lots of questions. Answers please!! Steve

[OntheRox]

I had a similar situation...couldnt get a firm price, wouldnt give good trades...wouldnt find or order the truck I wanted..so I went elsewhere too. They never said dont come back, but the few times I had any work done there...they really stuck it to me and made me feel very unwelcome, including making me pay for a part that had a TSB...$35 and I installed it in their lot...I refuse to go back. I drive close to 30-40 minutes to another dealer for my work. It is time consuming and extremely inconvienient but gives me some peace of mind.

[bulwaagh]

Originally Posted by Steve97365

I don't think legally they can prevent me from getting warranty work there, but given the fact that I've been told not to darken the door again, I would be afraid of sabatoge or "spitting in my food" if you get the analogy.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure they can legally refuse you service. Now is that against Toyota's business practice, that would be a question for the Toyota reps. Call them up and explain the situation to them. I'm pretty sure they will have a talk with the local dealership and correct their oversight.

Originally Posted by Steve97365

The deal I made on a 2009 Tundra grade 4WD MSRP $32,047 was $26,895 including $3000 rebate, and $12,700 trade in on a 2005 Tundra Double cab 2WD with 35K miles. Was I hosed? Could my local dealer have beaten those numbers easily? Lots of questions. Answers please!! Steve

Seems like thats a fair deal to me. The deals in late '08 were definitely better, but a replacement boiler sucked away my down-payment money. I got about the same relative deal for my '09 4WD SR5/TRD but I didnt have a trade-in I wanted to use. I think you definitely got a good price, but I'll have to say that my local dealer wouldnt even consider meeting me on the price ($2000 difference in quotes, even when waving a cashiers check), so I know your pain. 2 grand is 2 grand, business is business. They need to get their heads out of their rear-ends, IMO.

[tun dra]

I don't think you owed the jerks anything. I think they were taking you as a "lay down " figuring that you would feel somehow compelled to deal with them. Don't give it a second thought and enjoy the drive to your "new" dealer. The deal you got sounds like a a good one to me.

[zpaul]

That is just stupid!
I never could agree on the price with my local dealer, so I had to buy my Toyotas elsewhere. But brought my cars to service with them. One time they kinda mentioned that I should take it where I bought it.
But when I asked them if they were the Toyota Service Center they just got the truck into the shop and I never had any conversations like that again.
Plus the dealership never makes good money on new sales, but they sure do when they service them. It is actually to their advantage to service your truck, especially under warranty.
If they told you such a stupid thing you should call the Toyota's 800 number and get it resolved there. I doubt they want to loose the dealership over you.
Personally I would love to see those people sabotaging your truck. You are in a winning position not them. Just talk to service dept manager and explain him what you would do.

Good luck

[ATEC]

Originally Posted by zpaul

That is just stupid!
I never could agree on the price with my local dealer, so I had to buy my Toyotas elsewhere. But brought my cars to service with them. One time they kinda mentioned that I should take it where I bought it.
But when I asked them if they were the Toyota Service Center they just got the truck into the shop and I never had any conversations like that again.
Plus the dealership never makes good money on new sales, but they sure do when they service them. It is actually to their advantage to service your truck, especially under warranty.
If they told you such a stupid thing you should call the Toyota's 800 number and get it resolved there. I doubt they want to loose the dealership over you.
Personally I would love to see those people sabotaging your truck. You are in a winning position not them. Just talk to service dept manager and explain him what you would do.

Good luck

zpaul is this the same dealer you gave me info on . I still have not got there yet ?

[Onpointtundra]

I have all my work done at a dealership I didn't purchase my truck from. They couldn't be any nicer to me! They actually tell me how to save money with them!! Did I mention they love my truck, and I do act interested in other new vehicles on the lot.

[creggur]

Can they deny you service? Yes. Dealerships are private businesses and if they don't want you on their property, they have that right.. I know this for a fact from years of experience in the auto business. We have told customers that they aren't welcome at our store before..

Never, however, for the situation you've described. The only time we've done this is when people have stolen from us, refused to pay bills on estimates they agreed to, or were belligerent and obtusely disrespectful to staff or other customers.

Having said that - here's a little insider information for you.

The service and parts department couldn't care less where you bought your car. Would they prefer you buy at their dealership? Yes. But, at the same time, as a fixed operations manager my inclination would be to think that the sales department didn't do its job, and I'm not going to lose a good customer over their incompetence.

You see, dealerships are like a number of small businesses rolled into one. New Car, Used Car, Service, Parts, and sometimes a Collision Repair Center. All departments are responsible for the profit of their individual business. Is this efficient? Sometimes it is - sometimes it’s not. It is, however, how dealerships are generally structured.

Just because you've upset the sales department doesn't mean you've done anything nefarious to the service or parts departments - in their eyes. They still want your business - warranty and otherwise. I'd hazard a guess that you would be fine going to the service department and, unless they are just completely crooked, there will be no negative issues. I mean, realistically, the service tech working on your truck will never know you had a problem with the sales department. To them, your truck is a payday, an opportunity to make a living, not a means to promote a senseless grudge extending from the sales department.

Having said that, I must also include this. If the front of the store - especially the owner of the dealership - is willing to say something like this to you, you may want to find someone else to do business with. The sales department's lack of willingness to work with you on your terms (particularly in this economy) speaks volumes about how their operation is run. If they think you are going to pay thousands more for their car simply because you've bought from them in the past, well, they are operating with an antiquated dealership attitude that has clouded all of us in the business with a bad reputation.
Also, if it’s a small dealership, the back of the store could be influenced by the front. The dealer principal may tell the service manager not to allow you in the store any more. Odds are, even if this is the case, five thousand miles from now, when it’s time for your service, they will have forgotten all about it.
Sorry to be so long-winded, to sum this up: Can they deny you service? Yes. Are they likely to do so? No. Are they going to damage your truck in some way because you had a problem with sales? Only if they like being sued. And trust me – they don’t.

[zpaul]

Originally Posted by ATEC

zpaul is this the same dealer you gave me info on . I still have not got there yet ?

Yep!
They were trying to refuse to balance the wheels under the warranty by offering me to take a ride to the place where I bought it, but that was in 2000.
I had a license frame from a rival dealership that everyone hates here for low balling.
But that was the only time.
They are servicing my truck now, they balance the wheels, changed the rotors without any problems and as usual I did not get it from them.
They did ask if I bought it from them or not. If yes than you may get a loaner for free or something. But they did not ask where exactly I got it.
What I can say the service is top notch there.

[Bluto27]

Sorry to hear about your experience, that sucks. I bought my tundra in 07 1,300 miles from home on a hunting trip. I bought mine at Prestige toyota in Billings, MT. and live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. When I got home I went to my local dealer, Bergeron Toyota 65 miles down the road to get work done and they were nice as pie! They have always taken care of my family and myself. Granted we have bought like 9 Toyotas from them and sold many more for them on our name recognition alone. As far as I am concerned i would take tun dra's advice and enjoy your new dealership. People always think you owe them something, for doing a "favor", or in this case they must think Donations are favors. Don't sweat it and enjoy your new ride!

[ThirdHorseman]

Not sure why they even care...the money is in service anyways (at least preventive, not necessarily warranty). I'd go somewhere else simply based on their stupidity

[ootundra]

congrats on your new truck! however you don't owe that dealership anything. doesn't matter if he donated 100 trucks to the school department. they do that stuff as write-offs and advertising. sounds like they just can't handle the truth of other dealerships outselling them. its all games unfortunately

have fun in your new ride

[Steve97365]

Thanks for your responses. Dealership is a small store in a relatively small town. In fact they're able to sell both Toyota and Nissan lines in the same small store.

Service manager is related to owner...you get the picture. I am a nonconfrontational person which is why I'm kind of bummed here, I detest conflict and drama.

I've lived in this town for 36 years, and I've had most of the dealership's employees kids in my classes throughout the years.

I don't want to make waves anyway, so I'll probably drive elsewhere for warranty issues should there be any. I have a trusted mechanic who is good and fair when I'm out of warranty.

I should mention that this is the third time in the past 15 years that I've had to go elsewhere to get a decent deal. In two of the cases, the rigs were bought 55 miles away, but were traded from the local dealer inventory from the local dealer. I gave them first shot, and they lost out. With that said, I may not have given them a fair shake this time based on previous performance.

I guess I'll never know. I did go to several dealerships trying to compare trade-in values. Another dealer refused to give me an appraisal unless I promised to come back to them last. What gives with these folks?

One can find new car prices online, but the dealership makes out on the trades. It seems to me they would be willing to do what it takes to make a potential customer a buyer. Toyota dealerships do not seem to be as eager to make a sale as some of the others who are marking their inventory one third off of MSRP. Maybe they don't have the markup others have.

[creggur]

Originally Posted by ThirdHorseman

Not sure why they even care...the money is in service anyways (at least preventive, not necessarily warranty). I'd go somewhere else simply based on their stupidity

Yep, he said in two sentences what took me 6 paragraphs... Pretty much sums it up.

[creggur]

Originally Posted by Steve97365

Thanks for your responses. Dealership is a small store in a relatively small town. In fact they're able to sell both Toyota and Nissan lines in the same small store.

Service manager is related to owner...you get the picture. I am a nonconfrontational person which is why I'm kind of bummed here, I detest conflict and drama.

I've lived in this town for 36 years, and I've had most of the dealership's employees kids in my classes throughout the years.

I don't want to make waves anyway, so I'll probably drive elsewhere for warranty issues should there be any. I have a trusted mechanic who is good and fair when I'm out of warranty.

I should mention that this is the third time in the past 15 years that I've had to go elsewhere to get a decent deal. In two of the cases, the rigs were bought 55 miles away, but were traded from the local dealer inventory from the local dealer. I gave them first shot, and they lost out. With that said, I may not have given them a fair shake this time based on previous performance.

I guess I'll never know. I did go to several dealerships trying to compare trade-in values. Another dealer refused to give me an appraisal unless I promised to come back to them last. What gives with these folks?

One can find new car prices online, but the dealership makes out on the trades. It seems to me they would be willing to do what it takes to make a potential customer a buyer. Toyota dealerships do not seem to be as eager to make a sale as some of the others who are marking their inventory one third off of MSRP. Maybe they don't have the markup others have.

You did nothing wrong at all!! You gave them a fair shake when you went in there, even one time.. If they didn't do what you thought they should to earn your business, well then you don't owe them one more thing.

I'm sorry for the situation, it's unfortunate that some dealerships act this way... Like I said - gives us all a bad name.