Ask the Toyota dealer and maybe you can get a different perspective??

Hi. I have been with Toyota for ten years and see a lot of negative comments about Toyota dealers some of which I'm sure are true.

If you have a question and want a direct honest response from a dealer please ask. I will only give my opinion based on my experience with Toyota so take it for what its worth.

Please keep in mind most dealers are owned and operated by different individuals.

PLEASE REMEMBER THE SALES DEPT GOES OVER THE RADIO, NAVIGATION, VEHICLE CONTROLS WITH THE CUSTOMER. THE SERVICE DEPT REPLACES THOSE ITEMS WHEN THERE BROKE.

The car dealership business is three businesses in one location. Sales, service parts are independent of each other accordingly.

"The best price on a vehicle is one the customer and dealer can agree on the second the deal is made".

 

This could be a cool thread.

I have a question about a 2019 tundra I just got. Does the steering wheel control (right side, diamond keypad with center button for enter) only do menu items located in the gauge cluster? On my 14 4Runner I was able to use those same controls to search through stereo menus.

 

@RUBICON4RUNNER

Thanks, and I hope to never need to take you up on your offer.

 

You should be able to go into the mid display (gauge cluster) and move to the audio menu section where you can then adjust the audio controls.

 

Why are we yelling

 

Cool. I’ll try that angle of attack. Thanks

 

To get our attention? If so.........it worked

 

Tis' true.

 

CRM THE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE WE USE AT WORK REQUIRES CAP'S I'll try to remember to unlock it. Thank you..

 

Still doesn’t seem to work like the 4Runner. In it, I was able to browse through phone music/play lists. Not so much in the tundra.

 

I can tell you that i have got a lot of help from people on this Forum,
Thank you for your offer i appreciate it in advance

 

Any insight on why Toyota is still using the same failure prone needle bearings in the front diffs of Tacomas and 4Runners?

Has been a problem for many people since about 2005.

ECGS came up with a fix, but Toyota keeps on keepin' on with the same poor design.


Please don't take this question as snarky... I'm genuinely curious.

 

1. Have you ever seen a torque wrench used on an oil drain bolt? What about on lug nuts?
2. When purchasing, is the haggle process still worth it in terms of commission or is the requirement to be all weird about prices just a holdover from older sales days?
3. Have you ever heard of the Toyota Dealership disabling TSS when servicing a modified vehicle? I read somewhere of a guy who had TSS disabled on his dealer-lifted 4Runner (normal?), but what if a modified one comes in?
   
4. Is any part of the buying process where the customer is waiting around strategically planned? Or is all of it just waiting on credit and financing and stuff. Always seems to take forever when buying a car even if you had showed up with cash.
5. Would you say a dealer alignment is better? Equipment, familiarity with vehicle, etc? Or is it basically the same if you go somewhere else?
6. Have you ever heard of sheet metal fatigue/damage due to a 2nd battery being installed in the engine compartment?

Just some random questions. Thanks!

 

Do the body panels on the 3rd gen Tacoma’s move so much that a customer should believe the 1 inch difference in wheel clearance from the drives side front to the passenger side front is just from driving less than 30k miles?

was seriously told this, after I was told my tires must be causing the issue.

so my real question is, why do folks at the dealerships think everyone is dumb and will eat up the crap they are slinging?

my other question, are the service managers trained to call up customers and lie to them to get good scores on the survey? Or more like make false promises to convince you to up their score?

if some one is financing a vehicle, does that get them a better price?

 

Why are the finance rates for the 4Runner higher than other Toyota vehicles? 0% for a Camry but never on a 4Runner & this wasn't a credit issue or anything on our end...
Do they just expect all 4Runner owners to pay outright?
Thanks,
Ryan.

 

this should be good. Our local dealership is a mixed bag. Got bought out a while back by Morgan Auto Group. Service and Parts dept are still ok, sometimes really good, but the sales people have gone back to the 1970's sales tactics...I refuse to buy there.

 

You said "10 years with Toyota" and "if need honest dealer response". Are you salesman, manager or the dealer owner? Nice Jeep avatar:

 

I knew this would get nasty fast. Calling out no one in particular; let the man make his case.
He is not the salesperson that got you or the service tech that stripped your drain plug (I hope).
He was here offering advice for the inside. We should have real questions like;
How do you turn on all interior lights @ once without opening the rear hatch or door?
Or
How do you open the hatch if you are installing a dog barrier & end up like this...

The guy is just trying to help. Why crucify him or his intentions?
I try & give people the benefit of the doubt.
Ryan.

 

Amen

 

LMAO Good Luck with this bunch OP. I do respect your intentions though.

 

Thank you. I will try to answer each question to the best of my ability as time permits. I'm super laid back so will take nothing personal.. I have worked in Sales and am currently in service. Some questions in regards to the design of the (needle bearings) vehicle are above my pay grade.

Financing question 0% or 2.99% is not up to the dealer its Toyota financial services and your credit score. I f your credit is 750 plus you should always get the best offered rate ON THAT PARTICULAR VEHICLE.

Economics supply and demand more than likely for the rate difference between the Camry ( number one selling sedan in America) and the 4runner. I have only seen 0% on a 4runner once, it was for like 30 day in 2016.

I always lease vehicles 24 to 36 months. I do own two vehicles outright.

Your lift should NEVER Void your warranty but might void a warranty claim. Example articulation of wheel tore brake line/mount because lift/tire size didn't account for increased distance traveled over stock design.
I have seen motors and trans replaced under warranty with Tacoma's lifted running 295/70/17 tires wheels at my current dealership. I know some dealerships would have said no.. Not all dealers are the same. Get Toyota involved quick is my best advise.

 

1. In my current dealership a tq wrench is used on every lug and the oil drain plug or you can find another job..

2. Anyone who does any type of research before they decide to buy is probably under invoice already so the salesman is getting a mini commission. It doesn't hurt to ask for more off just be prepared to buy if you do is my 2 cents. If your not buying why waste every ones time?
3. Yes I have heard of a dealer disabling TSS typically the adaptive radar cruise on lifted vehicles, they can be adjusted on the newer TSS system.
4. Credit is the biggest waiting game. If a customer makes a cash deal that is just a big loser for the dealership they will wait longer. You get what you pay for cash is a loser for most legitimate businesses. If its a fair deal with cash it should be super quick but rarely do cash buyers have fair offers.
5. I believe Toyota techs who work on Toyota's everyday would do a better job Aligning a Toyota. I would NEVER let my Toyota Techs touch my Jeep alignment.
6. Yes in multiple types of vehicles. My wrangler battery box had to be modified for my two battery set up. Your doubling the weight and how its distributed in that area so I could totally understand how it could happen.

 

Can I get clarification on this? Someone came in for service (oil change, or maybe something bigger) with a lift and Toyota then disabled their TSS? Or the vehicle was lifted by the dealer and when they did that they disabled TSS before selling?

Like many, I bought a stock vehicle and then lifted it. It has not been to the dealership since, but were I to for a TSB or something, would they against my will via orders from corporate disable TSS? Or is it up to the dealer?

I had heard about this, but I really don't hear about it enough based on how many people I see chucking secondary batteries in to wherever they can fit them in the engine compartment. It's been a concern of mine.

 

No Toyota would not disable TSS without the customer signing off on the procedure. Yes it can be done. If a dealer did a lift on a Tacoma and disabled TSS it was the dealers choice 100% not a directive from Toyota. I have seen multiple letters from toyota not to lift 4runner's and Tacoma's in the past because of TSS. Toyota did just come out with a dealer installed lift that will residualize with the lease two months ago. (about $1300).

My 4runner is 4 inches higher than stock (Tires and lift) and I have had no issues with any of the safety systems

 

Ok I'd like some perspective on this:

How does Toyota justify not covering maintenance required for off-roading under their highly-touted "ToyotaCare" service, claiming off-roading activities to not be "normal," when practically every single piece of marketing that Toyota releases surrounding the 4Runner shows two folks.. you guessed it.. driving their 4Runner off-road? I mean, click the damn link and tell me what you see at the very top! https://www.toyota.com/4runner/

Sometimes I really wish I had gone to law school so I could make all these ass-holes pay for their greed. What they are doing there is just plain wrong in my book.

 

Roger, thank you for the clarification. So long as there's paperwork involved that a customer can back out of services to avoid then that's enough peace of mind for me. I also have a 3-3.5" lift and so far have had no issues with any of the TSS systems.

 

When you give something away you get to decide what your giving away. In regards to the offroading comment- I recently did a 3 day trip offroading and it was a Whole 82 miles on the Odo from the time I came off the trailer to the time it went back on. I doubt 99% of the miles even week warriors do are offroad.

Remember this is YOUR VEHICLE and your responsibility to take care of it.. Vehicles that last a very long time have owners who manage their vehicles based off their particular usage..

 

Source Knowledge: Friend owns GM Dealership. I don't work for one, I once worked in fleet, but never sales. Father was car salesman for 25 years, was great at it. Just learned business through the years.

This is a Toyota engineering and is wayyyyy above dealerships, even for a guy in service or parts.

Statistically most customers are. They want something and don't know the details of what they want. They don't know what it's worth, and don't know why they can't offer $15,000 off. Occassionally, they get us. At that point we know more about the vehicle than the salesperson who is responsible for knowing stuff about 30 vehicles models on the lot. The best salespeople are very knowledgeable, but the average just needs to close.

Banks compete for the best interest rate, Toyota doesn't. Many people view buying from Toyota as a "premium" feature. However, most finance guys shop banks too to beat that rate.

--
About cash:
Finance departments make commissions too (separate from sales people) on upselling services such as warranties and financing. Cash makes them zero dollars, or maybe a few bucks for on doc fees. That's about it.

The consumer thinks cash is king. It's crap and holds no leverage. Financing (interest really) is king. Walk in with a 800+ credit score and people know you're gonna buy if they can close.

 

Bonus advice in my opinion about when you want to buy a car:

1. Vet the salesperson. Is the first question they ask, "what are you hoping to do with this vehicle?"...or is it a statement like, "let me show you this feature!". If they start with trying to determine your needs vs telling you what you want should give you an idea of what experience you're about to have.

2. When talking to finance they will all throw the fear tactic in there. That's the hard sell. You think you're done, you got past the salesperson, you got your price. Now comes the second sale. Tire warranty, windshield warranty, that CVT transmission....Just research the issues with your vehicle and what people say negatively about it before you get to finance so you can make your decision.

3. Warranty prices are negotiate and lots of people offer Costco discounts.

4. Be honest with your salespeople and finance people. Trying to "get one over on them" sabotages your ability to deliver your needs to them, therefore sabotaging their ability to get you what you want, for the price you can afford. Later, you'll blame them for it, but you were likely at fault to. Own that crap.

 

I would like to add if you lease you should ALWAYS buy Gap insurance or get it via your insurance company.