Complaint Review: Findlay Toyota

OCTOBER 7th 2008!!!

Toyota's stock closed at $68.54 per share today, 10-7-2008!

Less than two years ago, Toyota's stock was as high as $138 per share. It's LOST over HALF of its VALUE in less than two years!!!!!!

Maybe it'll keep going LOWER, huh?

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!

Go Harvard!!!

Go BusinessWeek!!

Go Ripoff Report!

Go read 'FINANCIAL NUCLEAR OPTION POEM' in the comments section of the BusinessWeek Article- A CREDIT CARD YOU WANT TO TOSS (you can 'Google' it!)

P.S. Go 'Google'!!

Friendly Help
Anderson, South Carolina
U.S.A.

'Aw, gee, Kate, why didn't you just LEAVE that dealership without buying?'

Irrelevant, You weren't there to tell her to leave before the transaction. No help NOW! What does 'Aw, gee' mean? Is that more irrelevant backwoods slang?

'Now let's be honest, Kate..... You have complained a lot about how terrible your misadventure was at Findlay Toyota, but couldn't you have simply gotten up on your own two feet and WALKED OUT? Like within 15 minutes after their B.S. Barrage began?'

Irrelevant, You weren't there to tell her to leave before the transaction. No help NOW!

'FLASH BULLETIN: If you hang around and put up with their B.S. they KNOW they can CONTROL you, and they KNOW that they can push you into doing WHATEVER they want you to do. Because your staying there told them that YOU are GOING TO LET THEM PUSH YOU AROUND!!!'

Irrelevant, You weren't there to tell her to leave before the transaction. No help NOW!

'Next time, grow a spine, demonstrate some self respect, and LEAVE as soon as the B.S. starts!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!! If you do not respect yourself enough to put an immediate end to their shabby treatment of you, why should THEY stop their shabby behavior toward you?'

Irrelevant, You weren't there to tell her to leave before the transaction. No help NOW!

'This is a tough world.'

Yes, for you it is. You cannot EVER seem to give ANY relevant advice. It is always BEFORE the incident happened. You remember, we have gone the rounds on this before! I know that you are NOT CAPABLE of making RELEVANT posts. It is IMPOSSIBLE for you to contemplate the PRESENT! Stop living in the PAST. Better yet see a Doctor who can help you to SEPARATE the PAST from the PRESENT!

'I think you ripped yourself off.'

Irrelevant, You weren't there to tell her to leave before the transaction. No help NOW!

The above is my opinion and my opinion only.

IT WILL KEEP GOING LOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe GODZILLA woke up in Japan and is helping all the PEOPLE, right?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TOYOTA'S STOCK- MOVING DOWNWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Don't forget to 'Google' the NEW words to the Christmas song- 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing', that was posted LAST YEAR!!!! Here they are:

Funo said to Jimmy Press
Too much heat and too much stress
I don't like coming to work
Watanabe is a jerk
Engines sludging
Solaras broke
This job is a
Big fat joke
But the money is so good
Engine sludge under the hood
Call our Lawyers give them cash
The STOCK MARKET is about to CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$70 per share by early 2009!!!

WATCH HOW I DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'KARMA' (definition) - something done; action, work, behavior; also the CONSEQUENCES of action both spiritually & mentally, as well as physically.

THE COLLAPSE HAS BEEBN TRIGGERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friendly Help, somebody going by the name Klerke' (from France) and another user named Cody have all done the exact same thing to me as one of them appears to have done to you.


I agree with your assessment that they are indeed being inflammatory and attacking your intelligence. It's insane that people would respond to your post with absolutely no useful or constructive information whatsoever.


The same statements were made to me; and they even took things a step further and were on occasion more negative. "You will never change the way a dealership does business. That's just the way it goes. (Synopsis of their response.)


WRONG!!!! The last time I checked we still lived in the good old USA where not only can these very same people express their amendment rights of freedom of speech, (as well as you can with your rip off report), but we also have the right to complain, report them to the attorney general, BBB, etc., which in turn, may bring about some positive changes.


Additionally, your posting helps accomplish exactly what you set out to do. You are making other people aware of shady practices by a specific dealership. Did you imply that this dealer applies the same tactics with all potential customers? No, of course not. You simply stated what happened to you.


Thus, advising others that they may encounter similar issues with that particular dealership and should be very wary of their practices. Will it happen again to another potential buyer? Who knows, but I would go with the odds that something negative will happen in some form at some point again.


Therefore, you are not wrong in attempting to help others by stating the facts in your given situation. You are not ignorant because some salesperson underhandedly tried to take advantage of you. It's not a perfect world; but perhaps by posting information such as you have, it may just make it a little better by affecting this dealership's profit margin.


Good luck to you; and just ignore those people that can't help but be rather insulting to another human being. Apparently, they have not learned that it is not proper or considered polite to blame the victim even IF you may have made some mistakes in the process.


By the way, I also wrote to Toyota, contacted Toyota's Customer Care Center and local consumer groups. Toyota did nothing to help me whatsoever. The dealership(s) I have been involved with show a distinct pattern of dishonesty. So, does that mean its ok to behave in that fashion? Absolutely not!!!! Just because someone thinks they can get away with it does not make it ok. Sexual deviants, petty thieves, and in general, common criminals (whether these may be simple misdemeanors or felonies), all started out with the same assumption. They thought that their actions were within the scope of the law (allowable) and that they could get away with their atrocious behavior.


When you get right down to it, a liar and thief of a car salesperson is no different. They try to rip you off in one form or another believing that they are within their rights under the guise of trying to make a profit. This has to be one of the most ludicrous situations that I have ever dealt with. Additionally, I have owned other vehicles besides Toyotas and not encountered the degree of difficulty and issues that I have with this particular company, and it only seems to be getting worse.


God Bless Kate. Keep one thing in mind, that being there is such a thing as Karma. Someday, somewhere and sometime in their lives people who make no attempt except to criticize others will have to face their ultimate judge.

Friendly Help, somebody going by the name Klerke' (from France) and another user named Cody, as well as Steve have all done the exact same thing to me as one of them appears to have done to you.


I agree with your assessment that they are indeed being inflammatory and attacking your intelligence. It's insane that people would respond to your post with absolutely no useful or constructive information whatsoever.


The same statements were made to me; and they even took things a step further and were on occasion more negative. "You will never change the way a dealership does business. That's just the way it goes. (Synopsis of their response.) Wrong!!!!


The last time I checked we still lived in the good old USA where not only can these very same people express their amendment rights of freedom of speech, (as well as you can with your rip off report), but we also have the right to complain, report them to the attorney general, BBB, etc., which in turn, may bring about some positive changes.


Additionally, your posting helps accomplish exactly what you set out to do. You are making other people aware of shady practices by a specific dealership. Did you imply that this dealer applies the same tactics with all potential customers? No, of course not. You simply stated what happened to you.


Thus, advising others that they may encounter similar issues with that particular dealership and should be very wary of their practices. Will it happen again to another potential buyer? Who knows, but I would go with the odds that something negative will happen in some form at some point again.


Therefore, you are not wrong in attempting to help others by stating the facts in your given situation. You are not ignorant because some salesperson underhandedly tried to take advantage of you. It's not a perfect world; but perhaps by posting information such as you have, it may just make it a little better by affecting this dealership's profit margin.


Good luck to you; and just ignore those people that can't help but be rather insulting to another human being. Apparently, they have not learned that it is not proper or considered polite to blame the victim even IF you may have made some mistakes in the process.


By the way, I also wrote to Toyota, contacted Toyota's Customer Care Center and local consumer groups. Toyota did nothing to help me whatsoever. The dealership(s) I have been involved with show a distinct pattern of dishonesty. So, does that mean its ok to behave in that fashion? Absolutely not!!!! Just because someone thinks they can get away with it does not make it ok. Sexual deviants, petty thieves, and in general, common criminals (whether these may be simple misdemeanors or felonies), all started out with the same assumption. They thought that their actions were within the scope of the law (allowable) and that they could get away with their atrocious behavior.


When you get right down to it, a liar and thief of a car salesperson is no different. They try to rip you off in one form or another believing that they are within their rights under the guise of trying to make a profit. This has to be one of the most ludicrous situations that I have ever dealt with. Additionally, I have owned other vehicles besides Toyotas and not encountered the degree of difficulty and issues that I have with this particular company, and it only seems to be getting worse.


God Bless Kate. Keep one thing in mind, that being there is such a thing as Karma. Someday, somewhere and sometime in their lives people who make no attempt except to criticize others will have to face their ultimate judge.

Friendly Help, somebody going by the name Klerke' (from France) and another user named Cody have all done the exact same thing to me as one of them appears to have done to you.

I agree with your assessment that they are indeed being inflammatory and attacking your intelligence. It's insane that people would respond to your post with absolutely no useful or constructive information whatsoever.

The same statements were made to me; and they even took things a step further and were on occasion more negative. "You will never change the way a dealership does business. That's just the way it goes. (Synopsis of their response.)

WRONG!!!! The last time I checked we still lived in the good old USA where not only can these very same people express their amendment rights of freedom of speech, (as well as you can with your rip off report), but we also have the right to complain, report them to the attorney general, BBB, etc., which in turn, may bring about some positive changes.

Additionally, your posting helps accomplish exactly what you set out to do. You are making other people aware of shady practices by a specific dealership. Did you imply that this dealer applies the same tactics with all potential customers? No, of course not. You simply stated what happened to you.

Thus, advising others that they may encounter similar issues with that particular dealership and should be very wary of their practices. Will it happen again to another potential buyer? Who knows, but I would go with the odds that something negative will happen in some form at some point again.

Therefore, you are not wrong in attempting to help others by stating the facts in your given situation. You are not ignorant because some salesperson underhandedly tried to take advantage of you. It's not a perfect world; but perhaps by posting information such as you have, it may just make it a little better by affecting this dealership's profit margin.

Good luck to you; and just ignore those people that can't help but be rather insulting to another human being. Apparently, they have not learned that it is not proper or considered polite to blame the victim even IF you may have made some mistakes in the process.

By the way, I also wrote to Toyota, contacted Toyota's Customer Care Center and local consumer groups. Toyota did nothing to help me whatsoever. The dealership(s) I have been involved with show a distinct pattern of dishonesty. So, does that mean its ok to behave in that fashion? Absolutely not!!!! Just because someone thinks they can get away with it does not make it ok. Sexual deviants, petty thieves, and in general, common criminals (whether these may be simple misdemeanors or felonies), all started out with the same assumption. They thought that their actions were within the scope of the law (allowable) and that they could get away with their atrocious actions.

When you get right down to it, a liar and thief of a car salesperson is no different. They try to rip you off in one form or another believing that they are within their rights under the guise of trying to make a profit. This has to be one of the most ludicrous situations that I have ever dealt with. Additionally, I have owned other vehicles besides Toyotas and not encountered the degree of difficulty and issues that I have with this particular company, and it only seems to be getting worse.

God Bless Kate. Keep one thing in mind, that being there is such a thing as Karma. Someday, somewhere and sometime in their lives people who make no attempt except to criticize others will have to face their ultimate judge.

I have never had to prove anything when it came to buying a car. My 820 fico and a drivers license is all I have ever needed.

Bank statements, and paycheck stubs, are needed for less than par credit. Lets get that straight.

To make this easy:

*No one is flaming you.

*No one is shifting the blame to you.

*You will never change a dealer's behavior by sucumbing to their practices.

*There will always be more warm and gullible bodies for your favorite dealer to feast on, no matter what you do. I have suggested to many people over the years that they should read Consumer Reports, and they poo-poo me because "you can't trust CR". Well, then, whom DO you trust?

*There will always be ANOTHER dealer, with slightly different tricks, waiting to feast on you.

The question, then, is how are YOU going to change YOUR practices so that YOU are not victimized again?

I saw an interview of an auto dealer some years ago, wherein the dealer was asked why the buying process was made so confusing and misleading, with complaints similar to yours being cited by the interviewer.

The dealer's answer?

"Because we make more money this way".

I am really shocked that on a public outlet for people to blow the whistle on scams, horrible customer service, and rip off's, I am being treated like the bad guy.

To Mr Friendly Help, you have claimed you have never been ripped off, that's wonderful to hear, so then your only reason to comment on this board is to flame people who have been ripped off. I'm glad you have so much time on your hands to poke fun at the people here who aren't happy with whatever lousy service they have received.

Again I state to you and the other advisor here...

My actions aren't under question. What is done is done as far as that goes. I am telling the world what happened so that others may not have to deal with this same treatment. Being subject to the lies and hard sales tactics is something I am trying to warn other consumers about.

All of the constant blame shifting only serves to defend the bad customer service and horrible sales staff at this and probably other car dealers around the country. Your blame shifting and flaming me, will most likely make some other poor abused consumer afraid to speak out for fear of being harassed and flamed if they wish to blow the whistle on their own bad experience.

In other words, leave me alone so the focus stays on the rip off and bad customer service from Findlay Toyota.

I am not here to slam you, I am sorry to hear you were not treated fairly. However, I wanted to point out a couple of things.

"I asked the salesman what paperwork I would need to bring to the dealership to begin the finance process. He told me I wouldnt need to bring anything (this is an obvious lie as no one can ever get financing without proof of employment, bank statements, etc..). Another example of bold face lying and misinformation from the salesman. "

This statement you made is false. People get auto financing every day w/o proof of employment or bank statements etc...These documents are called stips and are normally required when the credit is subpar. People with good credit are not required to bring any of this.

As far as being bullied...well, you were dealing with a high pressure salesperson doing everything he can to make a sell, but unless they held a gun to your head and made you sign the loan docs, you were not forced.

If they lied about the warranty, well, that is bullcrap and I agree is wrong. Also, they should have provided the antennae to you, they are jackasses for asking you to pay for that.

You could have called your insurance company to verify what your new rates would be with this company, I'm shocked you trusted the word of the salesman that your insurance would be cheaper.

As for the gas, well, most dealers do not give a full tank of gas for used cars, only new.

In the future, stick to your guns better.

I do my homework and I check everything out very carefully. Which is why I have money, I guess.

And as I noted elsewhere, car sales people do not control me or push me around, because I do not need any favors or help from them. I usually know more about what any salesman is selling than they do.

When I walk into a car dealership, my view is that I am simply there to waste my money, while the people in the car dealership are trying to earn their living. So whom do you thinks needs a completed deal more? Me, or them?

Is it your job to Troll the rip off reports and flame persons who feel they have been ripped off?

You are doing nothing but shifting blame away from the shady car dealership. My actions are not in question here. I am informing the public of an obvious rip off dealership and you are trying your hardest to make me out to be the bad guy.

I'm not sure if you are a car salesman trying to defend the sleaziest of all jobs, or just someone with no life who only gets pleasure from trying to make people feel worse after being ripped off. Which ever it is, your continuing efforts are not needed here. God help you if you ever get ripped off and want to tell someone, they may just throw the rip off in your face and attempt to make you the Jack@$$ as you have attempted to do here.

I will state again. I am telling my story so that future readers may be warned of the shady and underhanded practices of Findlay Toyota. Please be advised and if at all possible, avoid this dealership.

Awww, come on, Kate! So you already had the experience that Findlay was terrible! And you returned!

Yea, this site is to inform others about bad businesses, but one should also AVOID dealing with those bad businesses once one knows they are bad!

You cannot control or change their behavior, you can only control and change YOUR behavior. They made promises that lured you back. Maybe you thought that leopards can change their spots? But then you remained after you should have seen that those leopards still had their same old spots!

Like I said before- you should have simply left (again) and then NOT gone back. You rewarded their bad behavior and then you complain about that behavior here. Well, since you have rewarded their bad behavior, why should they change their behavior? Their bad behavior worked on you, didn't it?

This is a place to report rip off's... I'm reporting how I got ripped off.

To the last poster with the advice of Grow a spine...

Your after-the-fact opinion on my having a spine or not is neither constructive or helpful to future people reading this report when they are considering going to Findlay Toyota.


To assist future readers on what to expect when dealing with Findlay Toyota I will add this.

This whole being lied to and tricked issue lasted almost 2 full weeks. My original visit to this dealership I did walk out and recieved multiple enticing phone calls to return to the dealership. THis particular ripp off report only explains the last encounter after 2 visits and 2 weeks of haggling with the dealer.

Please be advised they do not give up untill they rope you into a sale.

Now let's be honest, Kate..... You have complained a lot about how terrible your misadventure was at Findlay Toyota, but couldn't you have simply gotten up on your own two feet and WALKED OUT? Like within 15 minutes after their B.S. Barrage began?

FLASH BULLETIN: If you hang around and put up with their B.S. they KNOW they can CONTROL you, and they KNOW that they can push you into doing WHATEVER they want you to do. Because your staying there told them that YOU are GOING TO LET THEM PUSH YOU AROUND!!!

Next time, grow a spine, demonstrate some self respect, and LEAVE as soon as the B.S. starts!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!! If you do not respect yourself enough to put an immediate end to their shabby treatment of you, why should THEY stop their shabby behavior toward you?

This is a tough world.

I think you ripped yourself off.

MOST Toyota Dealerships, as well as Toyota Corporation, have one main objective- TO FINANCIALLY INJURE AS MANY HONEST PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

Go to the most recent Toyota Rip-off Reports and read the UPDATES that prove all of this!!!!!!!!!! The Report about the 'loan calculator' is one of them!!!

Also, contact the Bank where your loan was sent by the Dealership. Have the Bank send you COPIES of ALL LOAN PAPERWORK that was sent in by the Dealership!!!!!!!!!!! There is a CHANCE that the Dealer FORGED or ALTERED some of your loan documents!! If they did, DO NOT CONTACT THE DEALERSHIP about it!! CONTACT A LAWYER & the MEDIA in your city & the FBI.

MASSIVE FRAUD is taking place in this country in the Auto Business & in the Mortgage Business. Anything being FINANCED is a place where FRAUD & FORGERY & ALTERING LEGAL DOCUMENTS could be taking place, right? If it happened to YOU ,& you can prove it, you have LEGAL RIGHTS, correct? USE YOUR RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPREAD THE WORD on the WORLDWIDE WEB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TOYOTA'S STOCK WILL GO BELOW $85 IN 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KARMA has taken over!

Since my first report came out garbled, lets see if this works now. The text belwo was also sent via Mail to Findlay Auto Goup management, Findlay Toyota, and the BBB.

I recently purchased a Used 2005 Toyota Matrix from Findlay Toyota, and I am horribly appalled by the outright lies and misinformation I was given by the salesman.

I feel I was bullied into purchasing a car I was not 100% sure I wanted and I was told every lie imaginable to get me to walk back into the dealership to make this purchase after I had originally said No.

I stated what payment terms I was comfortable with and after many rounds back and forth we could not come to an agreement so I left the dealership. Some of my main concerns were not overextending myself with payments I was not comfortable with and making sure I was driving off the lot with a vehicle that had a warranty.

The Salesman would not take no for an answer. He used ploys of lower cost of insurance (which is not true. My insurance is now more expensive since I traded in my Jeep), and extending my payments beyond my comfort zone of 60 months, so that I could afford this vehicle.

He continually wanted me to overextend myself into a loan I was not comfortable with. I tried to explain to your salesman that the basis of good credit is being able to make payments and loan terms that do not overburden an individual.

He would hear none of this and continued his barrage of reasons why I should purchase this vehicle.

Finally after I had put my foot down on the price, the salesman began using a new tactic. He knew the warranty had been an issue causing the payments to rise above what I was comfortable with and he knew that I would not purchase a used vehicle without a warranty.


When I asked him originally about the remainder of the factory warranty, he assured me that the vehicle I was considering purchasing was still covered by at least a year of its original 36000 mile warranty. The 3 year or 36000 mile term was blurred into just a 36000 mile warranty and he used the fact that the vehicle had only 26000 miles on it as his measuring stick. He told me I would still have 1 year or 10000 miles before the factory warranty expired. He told me of the reliability of Toyotas and if I really felt I needed an extended warranty, I could wait out the end of that warranty and purchase a Toyota extended warranty in a year when the 36000 mile warranty expired.


His last assurance and a deliberate lie about the warranty was the only reason I came back to the dealership. I did not want to overextend myself into a loan and if the salesman was correct I would be able to purchase a Toyota extended warranty down the road when my original expired, leaving me with the ability to purchase the vehicle that night with the payment terms I was comfortable with.


I was to find out this was all a lie after 2 hours of waiting at the dealership.

I asked the salesman what paperwork I would need to bring to the dealership to begin the finance process. He told me I wouldnt need to bring anything (this is an obvious lie as no one can ever get financing without proof of employment, bank statements, etc..). Another example of bold face lying and misinformation from the salesman.


As stated, I was made to wait at least 2 hours after arriving at the dealership before I was even seen by the finance department. I was introduced to the finance manager and he was the one to deliver the bad news about the warranty. Not only was the car out of its original factory 3yr/36000 mile warranty, but the Toyota extended warranty that the salesman assured me could be purchased anytime, was not a Toyota warranty at all. If I did not purchase a warranty that night, the car would be driven off the lot with no warranty. I did have the option of an aftermarket warranty, but tge finance manager assured me that it would be a waste as it does not cover the same items that Toyota warranty would cover and I would be paying more out of pocket.

It was unclear if I was now being swindled by the finance manager too, but the fact was this car was not warranted as promised by the salesman.

After all the paperwork was signed I was taken to the vehicle and sent home to await financing approval. The vehicle wasnt even filled with gas and the antenna wasnt on or in the vehicle at all. the salesman gave me a courtesy call a day later and when I informed him of this he told me the antenna must have been stolen and I could purchase another one from Findlay Toyota if I needed it.


I cant believe after all the lies and trickery, I am expected to purchase a part that should have been on the car the moment I drove it away. I wasnt even given a full tank of gas to go home in. I am so unbelievably disappointed with my overall experience with Findlay Toyota.

I feel I was bullied into purchasing this car and, the salesman used lies and trickery to get me to come back in after I had originally decided it was a bad Idea.