DrtRunner

Hay guys there is a couple things to keep in mind about the "stealer"

1. You guys are comparing dealer retail prices to junkyards? How does that even make sense. Of course the dealer is more expensive than a junkyard.

2. You guys did buy Toyotas, which are not cheap to buy, so why would you think parts are cheap for them? Are BMW parts cheap?

3. Remeber that you are buying parts that mostly come from Japan.

4. Supply and demand is also a key factor here, like most companies in business today, the dealer only stocks parts that are frequently used or needed. The over head would cost to much to carry every part for every car Toyota makes.

5. This works both ways, as a technician if you are doing warrenty work you get paid half your normal rate just because its warrenty work, as does the dealership. Which is to the customers advantage because its free to them.

Im not trying to start a big fued here, we all know the dealer is expensive.
I just wanted shed some light on the view of the dealer.
I used to be a Toyota dealer technician and have seen both sides of this debate, and unfortunately I agree with both !!!!

delboy

Quote: I used to be a Toyota dealer technician .......

Come on lads, get him!

DrtRunner

OOOPS ....was that to much information?

HBoss

When I first bought my 4Runner:

Read me

rabidbeaverbaby

I think what most people get pissed about (besides price, cause you are right you can't compare new japanesse parts to old rusty junkyard pieces) is when the dealer trys to screw you with either poor service and then lie abot it or do stuff that you didn't ask for and then try and charge you for it.....

its low down and dirty:pig:

ALBPM

I've been going to Karl Malone Toyota in Albuquerque for over 10 yrs for service. They have always been very good to my wife and I.

For example:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...&threadid=9491

95_4X4Runner

(long)

I know the thread was supposed to be for bitching, but I'm pretty pleased with my local dealer. I also get prices online or elsewhere, and they match it, or a little more which is still better than shipping, I bought my rear wind deflector for $78 from the local dealer, which was way cheaper than online, because of the $$ shipping for the size.

I took my 5 week old (to me) 4Runner to "Tire Plus", to have them re-do my alignment I had done after buying 4 new tires recently. ($99 lifetime alignment). They owed me a free oil change from when I bought the tires, so they drove it on the rack, drained the oil, and re-aligned it. Then, the test drove it--with no oil. The manager thought I'd be pissed, but I wasn't really, it had 125K with an oil leak and a noisy throw out bearing.

So, I got a bitchin' Escort to drive for two weeks while I got to take it to the shop of my choice for repair...the dealer, of course!! The claim rep said they'd have to install a used engine, because a new one would cause "betterment?" of the vehicle, because of the high miles.

So, it went to the dealer. They couldn't locate a used 3V-ZE, so I got a new rebuild from ATK w/ 3yr Unlimited mileage warranty.

I talked with the Service Manager a lot, and he assigned his senior Master Technician (worked there since '78) to the job. I had them install a new radiator, clutch, pressure plate, TOB, pilot bearing, and NWOR headers for me, all for free. Also, since they had solonoid contacts from a local rebuild shop laying around, they replaced those in my starter for free also.

I co-signed the check from the claim people, it was around $4700 for the whole job. About a month later, I had a bad oil leak from the driver side valve cover area, took it in and they fixed it. Then, the passenger side, same thing, they fixed it. ATK had installed the cam seals at the rear of the cams incorrectly, which caused the leak both times.

Both times, I picked it up the same day, no money out of pocket. This amazed me, because I would have thought that I should have paid for the warranty repair, then get re-imbursed from ATK, but the dealer handled it all.

Needless to say, it runs great now, and has no leaks.

But, I still shop around, and get good deals, or junkyard parts when possible.

Has anyone been to those "modern" junkyards? They won't let you pull your own parts, and they look up the price of a new item, and charge between 50-75% of the new cost. I had to use one once, but I really hate those types of junkyards. Part of the fun of pulling it yourself, is learning how it comes apart, so you don't mess it up when you work on your own vehicle. Plus, you get extra nuts and bolts...

We were recently in Florida visiting the out-laws, and I went for a road trip to Bithlow to scout the many, all close-to-each-other junkyards. I couldn't believe it, no 4Runners at all, and only a couple Toy trucks.....

cool rob

Plastic gap guard fasteners
-stealership: $1.49 EACH
-Lowe's: $0.52 for a 2-pack

DuB

I think the main problem I have with Toyota dealers is not the price, but that they are SHADY ba$t@rds!! Stuff that seems to run or work fine mysteriously seem to fail or break when they take the keys from you and bring the car around back.

I'm so sick of dealerships trying to take advantage of their customers...

Does anyone know of any good dealers in Orange County? I know Irvine Toyota is not to be trusted, and SouthCoast is a very shady bunch. If you do a search, you'll find posts of mine about both dealerships. Even the dealership I got my truck and 2 other cars in our family from, Longo, shafted me before.

Tacoma Dude, what dealership do you go to? My gf lives in SD so I might just bring it down there whenever I need service done

Rob, it sounds like you have an INCREDIBLE Toyota dealer! I know JasonB has an awesome dealer as well, but his is a Toyota/Lexus one...

Bob_98SR5

Dub,

Though El Monte might be a bit far from you, I've never gotten screwed at Longo Toyota. I'm surey ou know about them being from So Cal. When i worked at TMS USA, these guys always had the top awards for dealership satisfaction.

I've been to many dealerships all over the country (NY, MA, No Cal, and DC) and these guys are king. No other place came close. Sure they charge dealership prices, but they've never screwed me. They tell me everything they are going to do, what it will cost, etc. If its stuff i can do, they subtract it off my invoice and they do not mark up the other stuff to make up for it.

I can recommend you two service advisors. PM me if you want their names.

Bob

Tacoma Dude

I go to Poway Toyota on
13750 Poway Road
(858) 486-2900

it's a smaller dealership and I think their customer service is a bit higher because of another (Kearny Mesa) Toyota dealership that has a prime location right next to the 15.

The Poway dealership is about 10 min. drive east from the 15 - a bit more hidden.
KM is not as good with their customer service and their salesmen are real hounds to deal with.

If you're not as anal about your paintjob you can even get a free wash with any type of service (even an oil change) if you just ask for it.

Tacoma Dude

That's funny DuB

You're in the Irvine area and have a girlfriend in SD...

I'm in the SD area and have a girlfriedn in Irvine...



I bet you know EXACTLY how long it'll take to get to any given point along the 5 just by looking at the landmarks

DuB

lol, yup. I always end up having to refuel either on the way down, or the way up, so I'm always calculating down the to half gallon the distance to the 76 before or after checkpoint, which is exactly halfway between SD and Irvine I can mostly tell landmarks by how they look at night though, since about 75% of my drives are at night.

Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can check out that dealer.


Bob, actually, my parents live in Arcadia so I've been there once or twice. It's not very convenient for me to drive there now though, because I don't stay there long enough, and I wouldn't have a ride from the dealer. I remember I got some service done by them a long time ago, and I wasn't completely happy, but I had to use my truck so I had no choice. Mostly, I was ticked when they just said no when I questioned about the tsb on the rear suspension, which is now a recall. I recommended my parents get three cars from them, including mine, and they wouldn't even fix my obviously messed up suspension. I mean, I was riding on the bumpstops... And they wanted to charge me something like $60 for a diagnosis which could be done by just peeking underneath my truck No thank you. Well, I had my parents get Benzs to replace their Toyotas. No more of this crappy Toyota customer service crap.

rimpainter.com

Have you tried again at another dealership? I just had my 96's rear coils done in Feb with no hassle. Everything was free, and it wasnt even sagging. They just did it because they could.

DuB

Yeah, I checked all the dealerships I have access to and they all said no. It's all good though. I finally got it done under the recall. Rides like a TOTALLY different truck now