Need Your Suggestions! How Can I Get My Money Back from Toyota Car Dealer?

Well, I had something similar happen when I bought a car from a dealer back in the day. Mine kept having problems, they would supposedly fix it and it would happen again and again. Finally I came up with a solution.

I took white shoe polish and wrote in big letters on the back of the window: "Want a lemon? Buy it at Mike McCarthy Buick"

And I drove it up to the service department like that. I told them if it wasn't fixed this time, I was going to do some "free advertising" for them.

Funny how quickly they took the car back and fixed it right. Maybe something like that will work for you? Good luck.

in your owners manual theres a number to report the dealer and any issues to toyota and get a resolution about the situation. i suggest you call them and tell them whats going on.

All you can do is keep bugging them. The attorney general and any other authority will take a report but they aren't going to do anything for 200 dollars. Lawyers will cost you more than that as well.

Nag nag nag that is all you can do.

If it were me, I'd put it all in writing and send them a letter or email - some paper trail. Include all this in it, with names. CC the boss.

If that doesn't help, then I'd go to the Toyota website and see if you can't make a complaint there somehow about how you were treated at your local sales dealer. Maybe there is a customer concern section. I have no idea if such a thing exists but worth a shot. I agree if you lodged a complaint or involved lawyers, it either wouldn't be worth the $200 or you probably wouldn't get any where.

We had a bad experience with our local dealership. I did the paper trail thing and escalated it. They did fix the problem in the end (service job). But we share our experience with everyone who asks - and we took our business to another dealer.

Good luck

Contact your state Attorney General's office, and ask for the Bureau of Consumer Frauds. File a complaint.

http://www.ag.ny.gov/bureau/consumer-frauds-bureau

Also report them to the Better Business Bureau:
http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city

One or the other office will advise you on how to file a complaint and whether to notify the car dealer that you have done so. That's often enough to get them scared enough to refund the money.

Another option is to call the consumer protection reporter at a local TV station. I would think that the story of someone coming to the US only to be defrauded by a car dealer would be of interest. Sometimes a reporter calling to get "their side of the story" makes them realize that the bad publicity isn't with the $200.

Meantime, keep ALL of your papers together, and make some notes of the details (as much as you remember) of what days you called, when you went to visit, etc. If you don't remember exactly, that's okay, but write down as much as you can remember about how many visits/calls you made, the names of the people you spoke with, and so on. It's very helpful to have this information in front of you when you talk to others.

DO NOT say that the US is lawless! That will hurt your case. Just say that this particular business is not responsive to you, not keeping promises, not dealing honestly with you. Do tell the investigators/reporters that you have to take your children to the dealership every time and what that involves (the expense of a cab, dragging kids on the bus or subway, or whatever else you had to do). But make the main point of your complaint the issue of the money and the promises.

Have you called the boss? He seems to be the one to approve sending the check. In a calm polite way say you've been waiting 3 months and have not yet received the check. Ask him why.

If that doesn't work, ask to speak to the highest authority that makes decisions about checks. Tell him, in a calm respectful way, that you want to know why you haven't been sent the check.

You seen to think "they" are purposely defrauding you. Of this is a large company doing business for years, it's more likely that there hasn't been effective communication up the line of responsibility. So you move up the line to be sure the person who signs the check knows what's happening.

The salesmen is only responsible for selling the car and making you happy to buy from him. Once you've bought the car, he moves on to the next possible buyer. He only makes money when he sells a car. Salesmen are just ordinary people. Some are conscientious and some not. It's possible they are saying what they want you to hear without following through to see if it happened. Salesmen have very little, maybe no control over what happens in the dealership. If the dealership is large, it's likely they don't even know who to call. The papers you received has a customer service number to call for help. Start with that person. Ask why the check hasn't been sent. If that person says it should've been sent, ask them what they can do to make this happen. Ask if you should talk to someone else. Customer service people are usually more knowledgeable than salesmen or their supervisor.

You do not need to go to the dealership. It's a waste of time and money. The check will likeky be sent from somewhere else.I doubt anyone in that building can write checks. You want to talk to the person who authorizes signing checks and then the office who actually signs and sends checks.

I suggest you decide how much time, effort, and money you're willing to spend to get $200. There have been times in my life that I settled for less or nothing at all so that I could have peace. Peace, being free of anger or irritation and having my life back was worth more than the money owed me.

Pack up the kids and go to dealer!

You got screwed. For me... Time = $$$

Is it worth all your time to fight for $200?

Personally, I'd be a thorn on their side reminding them, reviewing them, etc but I would not let that time take away from me being productive in real life.

You might be better off to just write it off to inexperience!

print out your paper trail, put your children in the car and go in to 'visit' them. calmly and courteously demand to see the finance manager. park yourself and your kids there until the matter is resolved.
they don't want you and your kids there, especially if you're discussing the matter with shoppers in the showroom.
we all have (had in my case) kids to take care of. taking care of kids does not preclude taking care of real life issues. if this $200 is important to you, and it seems to be, then i don't buy that you cannot go the dealership. i mean, you went there to buy the car, right?
the police won't get involved with this. but if the dealership really truly ignores your receipt and your list of communications delineating your attempts to resolve this, take it higher up the toyota chain of command, and contact the NY attorney general.
i'm not sure $200 is worth all of this trouble, but on the other hand, i'd probably be pissed enough that i'd pursue it on principle.
but i'm not sure 'i'm worried and angry' but 'do not have time to visit their shop because i have to take care of my children' are really compatible, KWIM?
khairete
S.

Keep calling them, or do what Osohapi did. You will get your money back if you persevere. It's too bad that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but that's the way the world works.

Go on facebook and find a business review page, tell your story there.

Go on their google page, the one that comes up when you look for their business. Write a bad review, tell your story.

But in all honesty...you paid cash for your car. I would think that $200 isn't worth what you're doing to yourself. I'd write it off and consider it a lesson learned. And $200 is more than I get to spend on groceries a month. So it's a HUGE amount to me.

You can always file a small claims court thing against them and ask that they be fined late fees and for all court costs. If you know an attorney you could talk to them to see if it's worth it.

File in small claims court. You don't need a lawyer and they have a help center contact if you need it.
https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/smallclaims/locations...

and the forms are online too, so it is easy to get started.
https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/smallclaims/forms.shtml

Those are REALLY straight numbers for a car - no tax, gap insurance, maintenance plans, nothing? I wish I could buy a car for a simple flat fee...but I would at LEAST expect to see tax and plates rolled in there.

You could go on their social media and threaten them with a lawyer. My friend just did that and got a brand new car to replace the hail damaged one they gave her.

Calling the police will not get you anywhere - this is a civil issue, not a criminal matter. I would look into filing a small claims action.