Confused by VSA ...

All the Toyota's and Lexus's here are owned by Servco. The sales guy does not talk to you at all about any add ons. You agree on the price of the vehicle with packages then the finance guy shows you the options (extended warranty, ceramic and all that other bs). So not all dealers try to stick it to you. Could just be down here.

They also do not sell above MSRP. So don't have to deal with the BS mark ups.


The 4R we did not get extended warranty. The RX we did since every god damn thing in it is power. Was only $2k to extend it to 10 years 100K miles.

 

To be fair ... the sales guy did not talk add-ons for us either. We agreed on the price (plus market value) and then went to the finance guy for the options. We just got misled (in our opinion) on the need for the options by the finance guy. Basically telling us that we couldn't get our vehicle fully serviced anywhere but a dealer was the main reason we signed up. He confirmed many times that we would be able to do everything fully covered by VSA at any mechanic we wanted. Toyota seems to disagree ...

 

That finance dude probably partied pretty hard that night after you left. Yikes. What a bunch of hogwash.

Cancel it asap.

 

Your assessment of the situation is very generous and kind. Did you get the refund yet?

 

And, do you have to go through the same charlatan (a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud) to get your refund? No telling what he might come up with...

 

@JL-2022

This may possibly help with your decision on whether to cancel the extended warranty/maintenance extension:

Have a friend and an acquaintance (two separate people) in the auto finance and insurance (F & I) business. The friend for 30+ years.

Both receive a percentage of the "sales" they make, which includes financing/extended warranties/maintenance agreements/paint & fabric protection/credit and accident and health insurance. They receive a higher percentage of what they sell if they can sell it at the highest price. The friend's percentage bonus from those "sales" has exceeded his salary (six figures) by a large margin for more than a decade.

Both readily admit they're "selling" just like any salesman and have monthly/quarterly/annual sales goals as well as minimum required sales. They're incentivized to sell as much as they can at as high of a price as possible.

He's well trained on "renegotiating" the sale at a lower price should a buyer balk at the initial price/interest rate quote and even better at convincing a potential cancellation that he's working hard for them by going to bat with management to get a reduced price, so no need to cancel at the "new" price. Last part is a salesman's talent he's particularly proud of.

Do whatever you decide is best. If that is a cancellation, may be in your best interest to take the matter up with someone who doesn't confuse whose interest they're working for.

Best.

 

Interesting bit of information, for sure.

 

Of course they get a cut. They’re not doing it for the consumer. They have no shame selling freaking tire/rim warranties in case you drive over a pothole. Or the spray your interior with a magical coating for only $600-800. And on and on. It’s mostly crap.

I can understand gap insurance for some over extended drivers, or a longer warranty on a Guilia. But this is a 4 Runner. Just change your oil and other fluids as needed and you should be fine.

 

This is why I’ve always used a credit union to get pre approved. Then you can just walk in to the dealership, pick the color you want and pay like a cash deal. Much less paperwork and no BS.

 

We will be calling Toyota tomorrow and trying to get everything cancelled. There is apparently a $50 cancellation fee for the VSA which I will fight. I don't see where we should have to pay it considering the circumstances. The VSA had a "how-to" on cancellation .. the Toyota Care doesn't seem to. I need to search to find out how to dump that agreement.

They want you to cancel thru your dealer but the VSA does give another option for doing it so we are going to call and see what can be done

 

No disagreement. The issue is F & I folks are some of the most highly trained "sales" folks in the auto business. From their appearance, tone, demeanor, it's polished to a higher degree. "Credible", "Authoritative", "Fatherly/Motherly" are all terms he says are drilled in their ongoing training. Car Salesman has already gotten buyer to yes, he's there to capitalize on that state of mind.

Be mindful of deadlines and oral statements should be confirmed in writing prior to the expiration.

It's no coincidence ("through your dealer"). He wants the face-to-face opportunity to keep your money in his and the dealership's pocket. Reducing the price of your warranty by $500 is better than losing the entire sale. As banjos-n-beer alluded, the mark-up for much of this is significant, they have a wide margin of wiggle room on the price. F & I folks count on the fact that many people have difficulty saying no in person. No qualms in making clients feel guilt if still cancelling after all he did to get the price reduced, heck, he counts on it.

There's a reason the F & I people typically have longevity at a dealership while salesman come and go. Well trained. Well paid. Another dealer will pay a premium to poach them.

 

Most all of the above (and sound) advice speaks to one thing - know sales tactics before entering the showroom but don’t allude to your knowledge of finance tactics - make your very best deal then shut the door to finance strategies..

 

When I bought my 2021 4R they told me I was going to get some free goodies and could buy some parts at a discount. When I met with the finance person to pay up she was so friendly. When she saw I was paying cash and finally realized I wasn't buying extended warranties she became a cold efficient fish, and I eventually got sent away without any of the goodies actually offered.

I had previously purchased three Tundras from this dealership and each time was treated like a king. This time treated like a serf. I wonder if it's a sign of the times.

 

Same thing here - Finance guy acted like a friendly next door neighbor till I dropped the “no sale” hammer then it was an entirely different story. It’s just the money game dealers play - they have a tremendous overhead that requires every bit of revenue they can muster up.

 

Exactly. They’re highly skilled salesman whose job is to maximize their paycheck, and dealer profits. That’s it. They have their fancy high-gloss pamphlets with charts and numbers, all horror stories I assure you. They pretend they care. They sell you a ton of stuff. And they earn a great income as you’ve noted.

But when you walk out they’re all shitting on you behind your back. Even if you bought a decent amount of add-ons.

Probably on par with ambulance chasers.

 

I appreciate all the answers on this. I will only say that going in knowing ahead of time what your going to do is great if you can do it. We have never bought a new car in our life and so never had all the options put in our face. Frustrating for sure when you are sitting with them waiting for you to make a decision and sign. Not sure where i would have looked ahead of time for the Care info for example. At the time, the finance guy said that 3 of the big services would total up around $1200 or whatever and led me to believe the Care would take care of it. It wasn't until just now that I got the contract in the mail that I see the very small print that says that none of the is covered even with the Care. I would have needed that small print along with the warranty and maintenance guide to be able to compare what actually was covered. What a joke

But anyway ... thank you all again. With all the comments and views, it is apparent that I am one of the few that fall for this (or at least no one else wants to admit it ) But I learn quick and remember long ...

 

For a little perspective, I’ve bought five new Toyotas (plus a dozen or more used ones). Adding up all the service on all the new cars, I never got close to $3200 in any type of repairs or maintenance in the first 75000 miles each (or a combined 375000 miles for all five vehicles). My current one is a 2019 4Runner that I bought new and has 82,000 miles. The first two oil changes were included, and I’ve had all the rest done by the dealership as well, every 10,000 miles. They charge around $72.00 per oil change/tire rotation, or $432 total to date. If I had bought your warranty, it would have expired already.

 

Based on my friend's lifestyle, home, cars, boat, you're far from being the minority of people who "fall for this". You appear as a good, earnest, honest guy who's a bit naive and found himself in a situation where others were well trained to exploit your good nature. Don't apologize for your good will, you're the kind of guy most of us would welcome as a friend, neighbor or family member. The world has enough cynics.

It's your money here. You owe no one an explanation of why you're cancelling other than you changed your mind. The dealership/vendor will try to lure you into a debate of your reasoning (what made you change your mind/why) in order to find a weak spot, point out some flaw in it, guilt you into defensiveness, and send you out the door with some/most/all of the warranty/extended service intact while making you feel like the heel for even thinking of cancelling anything.

Best

 

I appreciate the kind words and I will still be cancelling today. I still have one question out to everyone though: What is the basic dealership type cost for a 30k scheduled service? It seems that is one of the ones where if "driving on dirt roads" that you would add "replace transfer case oil" to the mix. I guess technically I will also be doing some light towing (kayak or utility trailer at times). Do any of you guys have all the recommended maintenance items done including differentials? It seems that from reading some of the other threads that many seem to skip the 5k and 15k, etc ones and have everything done at 10k, 20k, etc.

This is not a Care related question as I see now that any of the "additional maintance" items aren't covered by Care anyway but rather wondering how other people used their dealers. Traveling an hour for just a few checkup (10k, 20k) might be fine. And basically wondering what the cost of one of those checkups with additional items might cost so I can see where my local mechanic falls in. They might need to be replaced too ...

 

Take this in the spirit of me wanting to help you and not an attack.

If he was able to talk you into those services, he will be able to talk you into keeping them. Avoid a conversation, but if you do have one, do not explain your reasons. ANY EXPLAINATION will allow a counter argument, and he's probably really good at spinning those back on you.

 

Look at the service handbook at what is necessary, not what the dealer tells you.

The first big thing is a diff repack at 30k IF you’re in a harsh environment.

 

Depends on what they do, and what they really do.

In your owners manual there is a maintenance schedule, or you can look it up online.

Personally, I do most of it myself, but I don't do transmission fluid changes which occur at 60,000 miles. That alone can be $400.

However....I'm pretty sure that Toyota Care doesn't do them either, just some oil changes and stuff. At 30k, there's not a lot to do.

 

My question was in direct alignment with the maintenance schedule ... meaning that I have that and am now reading what gets done at each stage. Was just wondering who actually has what done and when. It seems like most everyone has their own ideas. According to the schedule, most of the fluid changes other than the oil come in as "additional" ... but I was assuming that most here do some sort of towing or "dirt roads" as they state in the schedule.

Just looking for the wisdom/experience ... i can't say that i ever put much into my other 4runners and they treated me well. Just anxious as this one cost a LOT more.

 

Manual specifically details special operating conditions.

Dirt roads, dusty roads, cold weather, hauling, or towing.