Complaint Review: Westbury Toyota

My husband and I purchased a car from Westbury Toyota in Long Island NY that was found on the internet and arranged to pick it up on Friday October 14th. We live in Washington DC.

Once arriving in Long Island, NY at 12:00 PM on 10/14/11 we were picked up from the Long Island Railroad and taken to the dealership by our salesman. Paperwork was prepared in advance and the car was ready to go, clean as a whistle. My husband started the car and there was a very loud sound coming from the engine. After finalizing the deal, my husband inquired with the salesman who would he recommend to look at the vehicle to check out the loud noise. We owned a Toyota Camry in the past and knew that the noise was not customary.

The salesman recommended that we drive around to the Toyota Service area and have the car looked at by Paul. It is now around 1:00 PM,  and Paul has checked in the vehicle for inspection. After the physical inspection of the vehicle by Paul, my husband and I proceed into his office where he prints off service records of the vehicle. It was then discovered that the flex pipe was cracked and needed to be repaired. I ask Paul what is it going to cost to repair and he answers, "Oh no, we will take care of it, we stand behind all our cars". It is now 1:30 PM and my husband and I leave the service shop and go to the story while the car is being fixed. When we return at 3:00 PM , Paul informs us that the General Sales Manager, Russell would not authorize payment of this repair and it is $1,000.00. He recommends that we take the car to the American Muffler repair shop where they would repair the part at Westbury Toyota's referral cost of $150.00. He suggested that we take the deal because the price was so good however; it was my decision, and if I didn't want to pay for the repair, I could take it up with the General Sales Manager, Russell at the dealership.

My husband and I leave and go to speak with the General Sales Manger, Russell. When walking into the showroom, I  and greeted by Joanna at the receptionist desk and explain to her the situation and asked for the General Sales Manager, Russell. Once Joanna intercoms for the General Sales Manager, he answers the intercom by phone to tell her to inform us that he would not be coming out. He is less than 50 feet away from us in a glass office and would not come out. I am in shock! I have a car that I have purchased however; afraid of putting it on the road, in the possession of a 100% parts and 100% labor warranty, 275 miles away from home and the General Sales Manager will not come out to speak with us.

At this time, I call the police to file a report since it looks like I might need an attorney. Once the police arrives, Joanna comes outside to tell me that they are trying their best to get this taken care of. The police officer tells my husband and I that he would not go anywhere until the car was fixed. We are called back into the showroom at 4:00 PM and Joanna tells us that Paul is going to take care of this and have it fixed. My husband and I go back around to the Toyota Service Shop and inform Paul that Joanna told us to come back and see him. He wasn't aware of why Joanna was sending us to him and didn't make any arrangements for us to come back to have the car repaired. My husband and I don't know what to do at this point. Paul calls the American Muffler to see if they can fix the car and now they are closed for the day and can repair it in the morning.

We intended for this to be a day trip and now will have to pay for a hotel or sleep in the car. I return to the Toyota showroom to get in writing that once my car is repaired by American Muffler in the morning and receipt is supplied, I will be reimbursed the total of the repair of $150.00. I call the police officer back that came to the scene a few hours again so that I would have proof of this incident. He provides name, shield number and precinct information and informs me that he will serve as a witness if anything comes of this incident. It is now 5:30 Pm and my husband and I are forced to stay the night from a trip that started at 12 midnight the night before to catch a bus to NY to pick up a car. We have been at Westbury Toyota long enough to have the car fixed twice minus all of the back and forth that we have been subjected to. All this time, the General Sales Manager Russell never comes out to acknowledge us and the salesman that handled the deal came in on his off day so he hasn't been in the office since the deal was done and we left the first time to go the the Toyota Service area.

After sleeping in our car overnight, We returned to American Muffler at 8:30 AM 10/15/11 and had the pipe repaired in 45 minutes. We then returned to Westbury Toyota and received the reimbursement of the $162.39 paid for the pipe. We arrived home in Washington DC at 6:00 PM.

I would like to add that my husband and I are both African-American and the General Sales Manager was not. I also work for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. You never know who you are dealing with so be aware!