Well, I was expecting the write this update last week, and needles to say I didn’t get that chance. And now you get to find out why:
As I mentioned before I got the struts all installed without too much issue over a weekend. And I then I took the car to a local Toyota dealership on the Monday. I took it there because they gave me the best quote for doing the heater core work. I was told that it would take a couple days to get the job done, and therefore I should have it on Thursday. I then went and looked at cars since we are planning to replace our ford with something else and I wanted to see the Camry while I was there.
The Camry was nice, but not great, and then I had heard about the Crown but they didn’t have one on the lot for me to see. So I left with some paperwork about both cars to talk to “B” about later. I had brought my bicycle with me for the car drop off and then rode home.
The week progressed, and on Thursday morning I hadn’t heard anything so I called and left a message with the service person I was dealing with, Alan. He texted me back and said he hadn’t heard from the tech and would get back to me. At 4pm I hadn’t heard anything back so I called again and talked the Alan. He informed me that there had been technician issues that week and that my car was just getting started, and that the cost has gone up. It had gone up by a lot. I asked why, and he said that the tech said the job takes longer than he quoted me. I asked how that was possible, and he tried to explain that he used a generic website to estimate time, and his tech told him how long it would really take and it was different by 4.5 hours, and there was an additional job that had to be done at the same time and that added cost and time. I was a bit irritated since it brought the cost up to where everyone else had quoted me on the job. We went back and forth and he agreed to lower the hourly rate so that it came closer to the original quote, but that I still had to pay for the new job (taking the condenser out and therefore the AC system had to be discharged and recharged). With respect to not having a car I informed him that I needed the car back since we were down to one car as a family and I was going to need a second car starting Sunday. He said I could come down and get a loaner car but that it would be a corolla and therefore my bike wouldn’t fit in the car. So I had to wait until “B” got home from her work trip on Saturday to pick it up. He said that the car was supposed to be done Friday, but couldn’t promise that.
Grumble
Late Friday I got a call and was told that the job was completed. Great – BUT he told me that while they were putting in the antifreeze/coolant the system wasn’t taking nearly enough according to the specs. The tech stated that the radiator must have a significant plug in it. He asked me what I wanted to do about it. I decided just to let them replace the radiator since they had it there. If I did it then I would have to have someone do a good vacuum test on the system and fill the coolant anyways so why not. Oh, and with the radiator they have to do the thermostat as well (another added cost).
Saturday I picked up “B” from the airport (yeah she was home) and we headed to Toyota so I could get the loaner car. We looked at cars while we were there. The camry was a no but they had a crown signia on the lot and we looked closely at that and that looks pretty nice. More on that as time goes on. I got the loaner and Alan showed me a couple cell phone pictures he took of the dashboard all torn apart.
I was told I would have to car by Tuesday, and Tuesday came and went. Wednesday is my busy day and I didn’t hear anything anyways. So, on Thursday morning I called, and Alan said they were just finishing it up and he would call me when it was done. That call came during my class. After class I decided to drive to Toyota and get the 4runner.
I got there and dropped the loaner car off then proceeded inside. Alan got the keys to a person to bring the 4runner around and I paid the bill. It was about where I expected it to be, but more than I was hoping for. It was around $3400. While I was waiting for the car I looked over the detailed report and realized that there were 2 things not on the report – the front end alignment and the recall. So, I went to Alan and asked, and he was like, “What alignment and recall?” I politely told him that when I had first dropped off the car that we discussed the heater core, the alignment and the recall. He finally was like, “Oh yeah I remember that, but we spent so much time talking about the heater core I left it off the service order. Can you bring it back on Monday?” I told him that I was going to leave the car and I wanted to loaner back since I didn’t want to drive the 4runner without the alignment job completed. He then had to find the loaner car. It had been taken to get washed and so it took about 15 minutes before that was back. Then I returned home a bit irritated about it all (not impressed with Alan). Alan did say he would give me a deal on the alignment job, but didn’t tell me what that meant exactly and I just wanted to head out at that point. But that meant still no 4runner until the next week.
So the next week came, and Alan had told me a day or two (Monday or Tuesday of course) to get the car done and back to me. Well, Monday and Tuesday passed and no call from Toyota. I called late Tuesday and got the machine and no return call. Wednesday came and finally, at about 2 something in the afternoon I had a text stating that the car was ready for pickup. Of course Wednesday is my no free time day so I had to wait until Thursday afternoon to go and get it. I got there and they pulled the 4runner around (I made sure this time to not drop off the loaner with anyone until I was done, just in case). I asked about the actual Toyota multi-point inspection since I wasn’t given that the last time, but they claimed to have done it. Alan had said he was going to give me a deal on the alignment because of the issues we had been having, but then he charged me the full price. I was about to say something when he said, that the tech noticed that the upper and lower radiator hoses were leaking after they did all the work so the replaced those at no cost. So, I didn’t say anything about the alignment cost (the quote on the tube replacements was $500+ which seems WAY too expensive, but it was free so I am fine with that). They did do the recall as well so that is a good thing. I did a look through on the car and it looked good. And then I left.
The car seems fine and the heat is working on both sides VERY well. I even think it might be blowing slightly harder than it was before (that may just be mental though). I did look over the multipoint inspection and I am not convinced they ever did it because they “passed” everything. This is odd to me because the following were marked as passed, but I know there are issues:
- Inspect instrument panel warning lamps – I have one that is flashing all the time. One of my tire sensor batteries is going dead. They said it passed.
- Windshield washer operation – My front washer motor doesn’t work and hasn’t for a while. It is my next planned job. They said it passed.
- Overall tire wear and condition – I am pretty sure my tires are getting close to needing replacing – They said it passed
So, did they check any of the other things they say were ok and passed? I know the rest of the things on the list are fine, but for a multi-point inspection there are only 13 things on the list and they all passed. I would have expected something to have come backed as failed on a car with 170013 miles on it. They didn’t mention the classic air filter or cabin filter needing to be replaced (that shocked me).
Overall, not impressed with the service person and possibly the service center. I felt I was just another customer to get in and out. And if you lost count of the time that was 17 days they had it for a job they said would originally take 2-3 days. I will give them a little grace for the added radiator job of 2 more days, but that is only 5 days, not 17.
But I have my car back. I am happy about that. I hope for another 170000+ miles.