So I picked my 88 up after getting the head gaskets and a few other things replaced as some of you know. I went out a while ago to take a look around and see how things under the hood look. Well the first thing that caught my eye was the CarQuest spark plug wires!!! Then the radiator was down a about a half gallon...The thing that pisses me off is on my bill they charged me $70 with a Toyota PN for plug wires, I called CarQuest, the ones they used are $40!! They removed my NGK blue wires for this crap. I called the dealer and talked to the service manager, he was pissed but come on. The tech manager isnt back in till Monday but will be hearing from me first thing in the AM. I will be PISSED if they used CarQuest parts for other things on this job, that was the whole reason I spent the extra $$ and took it to the dealer in the first place, I wanted trained Toyota mechanics using genuine parts on my truck, a head gasket job is quite serious in my opinion and was far far from cheap at a total of $1,700...

 

I don't think there is a good "Stealership" out there, Toyota or otherwise. A lot of OEM trained mechanics are book guys. They just follow what the "book" tells them to do. This does make them any better at what they do then a good mechanic elsewhere. It makes them worse in my opinion. I do all my own work so I don't have any advice as to where to take your truck but you will be just as well off to find a good private garage with a guy that knows Toyota trucks. Make sure you hold them accountable for that crap. If they will not help talk to Toyota directly.
Toyota is one of the companies that sells there service on the fact that you get OEM parts and they will not be happy with your situation.

 

Wow, unbelievable. I'd be pissed too.

I stopped used dealer service departments after they did my headgasket recall in 96 (Wichita Falls TX). I found out they used tap water to mix with the coolant (yes they admitted they always use tap water). So I had to reflush the cooling system after I got home.

There is a local dealership near me now that I trust one of the Master Techs (Jasond).

 

Unless they seriously make it up to you and can the tech, post the name of the dealership up on YT.com. That is really shoddy service, I'd be super pissed. That's bloody dishonest.

 

Just a question,Would you like it if you were the one that provided poor service, and someone bad mouth your place of employment and you? No matter what you do, or what has been done, no one needs to be bad mouthed! To pose it another way - Would you cry and yell fier, if you got your Happy Meal wrong? No you would do it discreatly... Not bad mouth the fast food establishment... Think about it! Yes I agree that action should be taken, but not at the expense of the others that aren't involved - ie. reception, janitor, cleaning staff and so on...

 

I would agree IF they had forgotten to change the oil and charged for that, or forgot something else, BUT this is a clear case of misrepresentation- lying in other words. Not only did they do shoddy work, but they lied about the plug wires in order to make more of a profit. So, to answer your question. If I lied to someone at work, not only would I get fired, I would deserve to have my name tagged as dishonest.

 

id think tis illegal for a yota dealership to use anything other than toyota unless a owner specified..no?

 

if you paid for Toyota parts at a Toyota dealership, yeah, you have the right to be pissed and raise the issue up to the regional manager.
I mean, unless Toyota can prove that CarQuest is their wire supplier...?

And the fact it went in for a HG replacement and came out with low coolant? c'mon peeps....

 

On the other hand... if the coolant was full when you picked it up, and now it's low...?

Still enough to make me wonder.

 

Wow. Time to talk to the higher ups. Thanks for the crappy quality parts at the toyota price.. Worst of both worlds.

I would like to see the dealers name posted. Help fellow yotatechers from getting into the same mess..

 

Thats a pain in the ass man, i'd be super pissed.

You just dont go to the dealership and get something major done and to get lower end parts when you payed full price.

 

I LOVE CARQUEST PARTS. Cheaper than dealer, but the best quality. Plus I have a parts guy. I can't believe they charged you for "TOYOTA" parts when they installed carquest parts. That's dishonest. "duh, he's not gonna look under the hood" I can't trust anyone to work on my vehicles anymore. I have a hard time with friends even helping me.... The stealership is supposed to be the most COMPETENT techs. Obviously you encountered a bad apple. I'm hoping it's one person, and not the whole repair department.

 

This post is another reminder that the "stealership" wasn't a notion constructed out of thin air, and, that a good mechanic (if you are unable to do the work yourself) is as valuable as a good tax accountant or lawyer.

 

Just another dealership story- a few years ago took the 94 4-runner in for the head gasket recall - when I did the total rebuild recently it didn't look to like it ever had the heads off, looked like everything was factory assembled,by the way had to tear it down because of failed head gasket

 

If you want it done right then do it yourself...

 

1(800)331-4331. Toyota HQ wont like that. If they used CarQuest parts for the rest they need to do it over agian.

 

Sounds like one of the employees got a Toyota plug wire set for the price of a CarQuest set. Afterall, I'm sure someone in the shop has an old pickup/4runner.

 

Ilovemountains,
You have the best avatar ever! Too bad I didn't read your post as I don't either.

 

x2, and I figure this applies to more than repair work for your vehicle.

 

But really. If you are driving a 20 year old vehicle and you can't change your own wires then go lease a new truck and suck it up...... I know that you think "just throw them on while you are in there" but that is how these crooks nickel and dime you. I guess you have learned a lesson out of this.

Also be sure that the wires are carquest. Do they say that on them? I didn't think that they stuck there name on things like that. I do know that the stock wires for these trucks look like stereo wire, tiny.

Also you give the dealer a chance to fix the problem. If not then tell everyone you know that, that dealer is crap. They deserve it.