I posted this mild anti-Toyota rant on my own little website a few weeks back. Because Toyota has refused to relent, I figured I'd pick up the bigger bullhorn, clear my throat and repeat myself.
We bought a Toyota RAV-4 earlier this year. A few weeks later, the dealership sent us a $20 rebate check. “Thanks,” I probably thought. We cashed it.
This past Tuesday, out of the proverbial blue, the dealer called. “The rebate was a mistake.” “Please don’t cash it.” “You already did?” “OK, you must send us a check for $20.”
When my wife balked at mailing them the anti-rebate, the business manager threatened to call our financing company and say our loan is in default. I don’t even know what that means. But I do feel threatened.
Toyota is a $175 billion corporation. The $20 won’t be missed. But that’s not the point. We’ve already bought two in our mid-to-late twenties. Treat us well, and we’ll probably buy thirteen more. I’m shocked at their short-sighted antics — they’ve now called twice and won’t back down.
Look, I know Toyota isn’t a luxury car. But this was the second-largest purchase we’ve ever made. I want to feel proud of that transaction. What a great missed opportunity for the dealer to reach out, acknowledge there was a mistake, and tell me not to worry about it. That’s relationship marketing. Don’t treat me like I swiped a $20 out of the register.
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Uhh... WTF! First of all, I'm just curious about the check itself. Did it come with a letter stating what it was for?
Asides from that, I would contact Toyota Headquarters and complain about the harassment you've been experiencing by this dealership.
Did you ever mention the word "lawyer"? Or the word "publicity"? Those are powerful words! And yes, a letter to headquarters is in order!
Check your local laws. In the state of Florida, if a company sends you something in the mail that you did not personally order or request, you are legally entitled to keep it. They enacted this law when some unscrupulous companies began sending products as if they had ordered them and then refused to accept a return and threatened their credit rating if they didn't pay up.
I also thought that was case. If a company sends you something, it's yours.
On a separate note, I love these anti-big business rants. I've wanted to write one about Citibank for weeks, now. We should start a site devoted specifically to that. (and I know there already are a few, but I want my own)
Ditto on the free shit in the mail.
I can't see how the service manager has anything to do with your financing either, as I imagine the checks you write go to the financing company, not the dealership. Give them a call and find out if he can really do that, and if he can't, call him back and tell him you're keeping the check, never buying a toyota again, and to have a nice day.
Content warning: Mini-rant ahead.
Dealing with car dealerships, regardless of brand, sucks. We bought a car 9/1...
1) The sleazy "I'm on your side" salesman who told us how great the car is and how we'd be stupid not to buy it.
2) The big-boobed receptionist in the too-small shirt trying to sell me, um, Scotch-guarding or something. Yeah, I think that's what she was talking about. OK, I actually enjoyed that part.
3) The F&I (F'ing & Idiot) guy who told us to buy an extended warranty because of how crappy the car is. After keeping us waiting 45 minutes. This idiot kept asking me to sign blank forms and asked "why has this gotten confrontational?"
Long story short: If car manufacturers "care" wouldn't they try to reign in the sleaze?
I thought you were going to say that by cashing the $20 check you signed yourself up for some sort of program that they'd charge you for later. Credit Card companies do that all the time sending those checks for $2.50 and if you cash it you wind up signed up for some credit protection program that they automatically bill you $50 for later on.
Jellio, I'm all for the bad-corporate-experiences site. The complaints will come easy. What we need is a punny name. TheWhinery.com?
Here's what I think happened with the rebate. The Toyota deal was, if you used Toyota financing, they'll give you $20 back, to apply towards the title (so they said).
We didn't use Toyota financing, getting a better rate elsewhere. Months later, someone at the dealership realized their error, and came a knocking.
I'll call Toyota (HQ, not the dealer) later today and give you the full update. Thanks for the conversational ammo.
Feel free to use this space to vent about car dealerships, or any other company. I'm having a good time reading it all.
Yes, I could add a few choice comments about Verizon. After having DSL installed and getting 760k speeds for years, I happend to see on their website that they also offered a "high speed" version at 3MB a second. So after an inteminable wait on the phone, they were like "oh, sure, I can upgrade you, no, you don't have to change anything, I just press a button here, but I'll have to change your billing details as the 3MB per sec speed is $10 A MONTH CHEAPER"
So - in other words, they would have kept on billing me a higher price for an inferior service for just as long as I didn't ask them to change it. Way to go.
Ack! I am looking for a new car and was heading to Toyota & Acura tomorrow.
Looks like I'll just go to Acura instead. ::shrug::
ErosLane - I have to say, I'm really happy with the car itself. Let me chat it up with Toyota HQ before we start a movement.
I drive a Toyota Avalon myself and I love it. Oops didn't mean to turn this anti-corporation rant into a love fest.
Last month, I was looking at a Pontiac Solstice for Scaramouch for our 10th anniversary. I went to the dealership, took a test drive and fell in love with the car. The salesperson had told me on the phone that I could get a deal on the car because the new model was coming out in a few weeks. Guess what..when I got there, they wanted to charge me sticker price. Then some financing guy..a guy from Texas with a really phony smile tells me he doesn't have to lower the price cause these are flying out the door (sure). I took exception to one of the charges on the invoice..called a smoker's package..basically a plastic cup that you put in to the cup holder to use as an ashtray. I told them I didn't want it and didn't want to pay the $40 for it. The creepy guy told me that I had to take it, if I didn't, then I wouldn't get the plug to be able to charge cell phones and Ipods, you know the voltage plug..? The guy was a fucking liar..sat there and lied to my face while the salesperson sat there and said nothing. As if it wasn't threatening enough being a woman ALONE in a car dealership contemplating purchasing a car. Sheesh!
Anyway, Scara got a box of chocolates for our anniversary. And the buttheads at the car dealership called me when I told them not to cause it was going to be a surprise.
Happy Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Scaramouch!
Yeh, those chocolates really give you the same kind of rush as a sports car.
Wow, that story should be its own post.
Send them a check back for $20.01. When/if they cash it, insist on refund. I used to do this on a credit card that called if you were a day late. I would charge something and over pay by a nickle or so. Then let them send me 2-3 statements , and then cut c check to pay me back. Then I'd do it again.