Main Stealer story and a couple of Questions

[oneidadan]

Hello everone, I have a little story from today.
I decided a few weeks ago to check to see if my surf needed to go for its recall work, so I got the phone numbers off here and contacted them. They arranged for me to go to a Inchcape Toyota to have the work done (although for some reason they didn't want me to take it to the Toyota dealer in Mansfield that's just down the road instead I had to take it into Nottingham).

Anyhow, it was booked in for 9 this morning so I took it to them and decided to have a nice day out in Nottingham city centre while they were doing it.

I got a phone call at 12 and the guy said they were about to start the work on the Surf but they'd discovered that the passenger front wheel idler arm had excessive play in it, and it needed to be rectified before the recall work was carried out. He said that if I wanted the recall carried out today then he would have to order the part in the next 5 minutes so the part could be fitted in the afternoon and they wanted to charge £250. He also said that it was so bad that it would immediately fail an MOT and that's where I became a little suspicious as it passed its MOT last month. I told him so and he claimed it must have gotten worse since the MOT. So I told him i'd need to ring him back about it.

So, I thought i'd probably be able to get it cheaper if I took it to an independent garage so I decided to pick it up and arrange another day off work and bring it back a different day for the recall. So I rang them back about 12.15 (and got put on hold for 15 minutes), when I got through I spoke to a different guy from before and told him I was picking it up and would bring it back another day. He said that the recall work had already been carried out and that it was only the tracking that couldn't be completed because of the idler arm.


OK

So I picked up th truck and the recall had been done but not the tracking and they refused to do it until the arm was changed, so I took the surf over to a specialist wheel alignment centre that i'd used before and trusted to ask their advice. They had a look for me, said that there was slight play in the idler arm but it wasn't severe and would come to nothing more than an advisory on an MOT. They also gave me the number for Milners and said if I got the idler arm from Milners they would fit it for about £30 and give me a discount on having it tracked and aligned. They also said there was no reason why Toyota couldn't have tracked it.

So there we go, just a couple of little questions; Do you think I should write to Toyota and tell them i'm not happy with their service as I think they deliberately tried to convince me to pay for work which didn't need doing? Also I was kinda hoping they might just give it a little wash or maybe a little valet while it was there I know it's not much but Mitsubishi always did it when I took my car in for any recall work it needed doing.
And the other question is; the wheels haven't had any alignment or tracking done after the recall, do you think it will be OK to drive round for a week or two while I organise replacing the idler arm?

Sorry to go on I just a little bit miffed

[Sancho]

It'll be fine to drive. The worst that can happen is that it might pull to the side a bit and wearthe tyres oddly. Definitely write and complain, it's fun.

[oneidadan]

thanks, i'll get typing up my letter or wait till they ring me for a customer feedback conversation

[POPEYE]

I aggree, it sounds like they were trying to extract money to offset the "free" recall work, ya seem to get different levels of service at different toyota outlets, but there again these places are franchised i think so they wont like doing free work,prob takes forever to recoop the work expence from toyota, i dont trust any of the feckers, the few experiences i've had with main dealers have all been bad ones,
still aint had mine checked or done, and not even sure of which bit is actually suspect, anyone got any pic's of it?,
have a good old moan to toyota UK about em.

[TonyN]

A worn idler will make doing the tracking pointless.

If it is worn, then they are only doing their job telling you (any exaggeration aside), but a genuine part is going to be expensive, but you can't expect a main dealer to fit anything else. on the other hand any small garage will love the chance to bash a main dealer, i'd treat both answers with a pinch of salt, get a new aftermarket idler and have the tyre place fit it and track it and call it done.

[oneidadan]

it wasn't so much the price that irked me, it was the 'we can't do your recall until you pay us £250 and you have to agree in the next 5 minutes' when in reality it had already been done. I feel they tried to sell me something needlessly and altered the truth to try and get me to agree to the repair

[biosurf]

If you do feel you wish to complain you can initially copy it to
customer.relations@tgb.toyota. co.uk

If that gets no joy copy it to
steve.settle@tgb.toyota.co.uk
fonseca.miguel@tgb.toyota.co.u k

Toyota GB CEO and Toyota Europe CEO

[oneidadan]

thanks very much for that
haha I was trying to chase the little bounce smiley to click on it

[MattF]

Hows about just being thankful for the fact that they repaired a 10+ year old vehicle, which has been shipped halfway around the globe since it's initial purchase, for nothing?

Arses exist everywhere. If you had forked that money out, I could see the point. However, you didn't. Just add another salesman to the nob list and let it go.

[oneidadan]

How about if I take my Toyota car to a Toyota dealer I expect to be treated fairly and without issue? How about if a recall has been issued on the basis of safety, then it shouldn't matter about the vehicles origin or its age, if it's a known fault then surely it should be fixed?

I don't think it fair that salesmen are allowed to blatently lie and pressure people into paying excess amounts of money. If they do it to me, the next person might not be as lucky and just say yes to whatever the 'mechanic' suggests.

So no I won't just 'let it go' thanks.

[Brummie]

They sound like the same level of monkey that did my recall. Did a so called safety check with loads of things to tick or fail and told me that it was pulling to the left and would I like them to investigate. It does pull to the left,it also pulls to the right depending on the road camber. Passing as ok an exhaust system with more holes than a cullender and a totaly fcuked wiper blade.
Let them touch my truck? AS IF

[fatfires]

I wouldnt let it go either - brits not complaining is the biggest reason we have such cr@p customer service over here, the facts of whether a job is paid for or free is of no relevence everyone has a right to have work done correctly with a reasonable standard of care applied and be able to expect not to be missled. It sounds as though you were missled...complain.
The other reason I say complain is because I am a miserable, grumpy, Victor M type and proud of it! But my customers are served to the best of my abillity...often to my own detrement and like many on here I susspect, taken advantage of!
rantette on hold

[MattF]

I wouldnt let it go either - brits not complaining is the biggest reason we have such cr@p customer service over here, the facts of whether a job is paid for or free is of no relevence everyone has a right to have work done correctly with a reasonable standard of care applied and be able to expect not to be missled. It sounds as though you were missled...complain.

British people fail to complain and moan? That'll be a first.

Dan, just use that little word, no, in future.

[MattF]

I don't think it fair that salesmen are allowed to blatently lie and pressure people into paying excess amounts of money. If they do it to me, the next person might not be as lucky and just say yes to whatever the 'mechanic' suggests.

So no I won't just 'let it go' thanks.

Well then, do it the good old fashioned way and go and give them a bollocking face to face, instead of sending off a letter about it.

[fatfires]

British people fail to complain and moan? That'll be a first.

Dan, just use that little word, no, in future.

Matt
yet again you managed to show that I commented badly, yes brits do moan and complain endlessly - it seems to all but who they should be complaning to, then they put on their aperthetic heads, dont persue it with comments like 'whats the point' or 'nothing will change' and guess what....nothing does!
When I complain it is untill I get what I concider is an acceptable outcome. I believe if someone has to do something like compensate or go to the trouble of writing a letter of apology then there is generally a recognition that things were not as they should have been.
I also think that 'I am sorry' is used as a throw away remark and all is expected to be hunky dorey afterwards - high ranking police, hospital, social services managers and politicians spring very much to mind, there is a place for I'm sorry (like here for me going on so much) there is a place for when sorry just doesnt cut it, the buck doesnt seem to stop anywhere now!
rantette back on hold