Bought a 2005 Toyota Tacoma that had two outstanding and major recalls, yet the dealership claimed to have done a safety and inspection on the vehicle. Unfortunately, I didn't have a mechanic check the vehicle, nor did I do a thorough enough inspection of the undercarriage. However, when inspecting the engine and with the salesman nearby, I commented about the noticeable corrosion on some of the mounts. Shame on me -- this should have caused me to pause. The salesman says, "that's Toyotas for ya, but we had a mechanic say this one of the cleanest Toyotas of this age he's seen." After 60 days, I noticed a welded part break away from the frame, I thought I needed to take in to get looked at. As it turns out, not only did the vehicles have significant recalls, the vehicle needed a total frame replacement with holes as big as 2-3 inches in parts of the frame (related to one of the recalls and if corrosion caught early enough, is treated with a protective coating). Toyota is covering the frame replacement, but I should have never been sold the vehicle. The corrosion on the frame was so bad, Toyota corporate asked that I not drive the vehicle for safety concerns and has comped me a rental while I wait for the frame from Japan due to arrive in what will be 2 months from the time I took the vehicle in for the recall.
When I brought the issue to Valley Motors, I talked with a salesman other than who I bought the truck from (my salesman was not at work the day I called). This salesman was more deflectionary than helpful and didn't take ownership for the inspection when he said, "we didn't do the inspection in house, we have someone we use so we can't vouch for their work". I'm sorry, whether you outsource your inspections and mechanical work or do in-house, the dealer needs to stand by it. This salesman even admitted that a service or sales manager "who was more hands on" in relation to quality "had taken a leave of absence and during that time the quality of vehicles purchased declined significantly". Wow. Since that conversation, we've received a phone call from a sales/service manager who has taken a different approach to our issue and said the diagnosis of the truck was flawed and they have another Toyota dealership (Tony Divino I believe), who has never seen the vehicle, claiming the dealership who is doing the replacement is in error.
Oh, and one minor thing. . . If you are going tell me you've changed the oil and charge me for it in my "dealer fees", actually do one. Both the sticker on the windshield, the engine light, the paperwork in the glove box, and the oil monkey suggest the oil hadn't been done in some time.
At the end of the day, the right thing to do would be buy the truck back after frame replacement and fully disclose what's been done to it to the next buyer if they try and resell it. That won't happen.
I'm sure there's good people at this dealership -- however, they clearly fell down in this instance. It should give anyone looking to buy at Valley Motors pause. At the very least, have a mechanic look over your car before buying. read more