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Subject: Toyota screws customers too
Bart, you said,
> I've found that most American companies are
willing to break the law
> to screw their customers out of an extra
nickel and Toyota isn't like that.
BS! In 1990 I bought a Toyota pickup truck.
It would suddenly stop running under some acceleration conditions.
I took it in to the dealer and they said it was
the fuel filter...then the fuel pump. They claimed they replaced
the fuel pump
six times...and, in spite of the fact that it
was under warranty, made me pay for the fuel pump four of the six times.
The dealer gave me a loaner car each time, then
refused to pay the rental agency -- making me responsible for
$45/day for a car I could have rented for less
than $20/day (remember, this was 1990; double these costs for 2010 dollars).
I called the Toyota Customer Care line and was
told, "In cases like this we stand behind our dealers." They didn't
care
that I had been forced to pay for something that
was covered by warranty. Then I sued the dealer, and he pulled a
cool trick
you can only do if you're a corporation.
He declared bankruptcy, eliminating all the debts, then bought the dealership
at the
asset sale. So for a little bit of effort,
he got rid of all his debts (including the couple grand he owed me) and
went back
to business as usual. But Toyota "stands
behind its dealers" when they do this.
To top it off, when a friend of mine who worked
in Toyota Customer Care brought up the problem, they fired him.
They don't only screw their customers, they screw
their employees.
I have to say, though, that I did more to hurt
them than they did to hurt me. I was a professional speaker at that
point.
Guess what I talked about? Judging by both
family and audience response, over the years 1992-2000, I got about
200 people to buy Honda or Nissan instead of
Toyota. Still, I would have rather just had my car fixed right and
under warranty.
Russ
Russ, I doubt your dealer filed bankruptcy to
prevent you from suing him.
Sounds like the dealer had a whole lot of problems.
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