Complaint Review: Muller Toyota - Annandale New Jersey

On July 1, 2010, I called Muller Toyota of Clinton, New Jersey to inquire about a 2005 Toyota Sequoia SR5 (VIN 5TDBT44A25S236504) advertised on Autotrader.com at a price of $17,999.  I was instantly connected to a salesperson by the name of Anthony Muller.  I informed Mr. Muller that I was a serious buyer who already had financing in place who was very interested in the possibility of purchasing the vehicle.  I went on to let Mr. Muller know that I was calling from Atlanta, Georgia but I would not have no problem flying out to New Jersey to pick up the vehicle if we could agree on a price and there were no issues with the condition of the vehicle.  At that time, I made it very clear that I wanted to know everything that was wrong with the vehicle because I didnt want any surprises once I arrived in town.  I was told that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle and there was nothing to worry about and was assured that the vehicle was in excellent condition as it was a Toyota Factory Certified Vehicle that has been through a 160 point inspection.  After researching the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Program and understanding which items were part of the 160 check points required for certification, I developed a great level of comfort with the transaction. 

After agreeing on a purchase price of $17,700 I inquired about extended warranty options outside of the coverage provided under the Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Program.  I asked Mr. Muller to provide me with the best value extended warranty coverage available and he stated there were no extended warranty options available under $3000 for the 2005 Sequoia I was interested in purchasing.  I let Mr. Muller know that I found it odd that I would not even be able to purchase a 2/24 warranty for less than $3000 but he assured me that was the case.

I agreed to allow Muller Toyota to charge a $200 deposit to my card on July 1 and informed Mr. Muller that I would have my credit union send a certified check to the dealership by overnight delivery once I received an acceptable bill of sale.  On July 2, Mr. Muller faxed me a bill of sale for an amount less than expected and stated that they were not going to include my GA Taxes, Registration, and Title fees in the amount to be financed my credit union and were not going to take care of the vehicle title and registration because I live out of state.  I informed Mr. Muller that I had difficulty understanding why they were reluctant to handle these customary tasks internally.  They then stated that the only thing they would agree to would be to increase the purchase price by the amount of the taxes ($1274) and estimated registration fees ($500) and require me to take care of the administrative registration tasks myself once I returned to Atlanta.

Once we agreed to do the deal subject to an inspection and test drive of the vehicle upon my arrival, a certified check in the amount of $19593 was mailed by overnight mail to them on July 2^nd and they received the funds on the morning of July 3^rd before my arrival. 

My plane landed at New York LaGuardia (LGA) at 1 pm on July 3^rd and even though the driver was supposed to have me at the dealership by 2:30pm, the truck was not clean and ready to go by the time we finally arrived at the dealership (4 pm).  In fact, the vehicle was not even on the lot.  Of course, this seemed to be very odd and was a bit disappointing seeing as how I had travel several hours across the country to buy the vehicle.

Mr. Muller met me outside of the front door of the dealership and suggested that we take care of the paperwork while they were cleaning up the vehicle.  I told him that I needed to SEE and TESTDRIVE the vehicle I would be purchasing BEFORE finalizing the deal.  I agreed to begin reviewing the paperwork while the vehicle was being cleaned and stated that I would not be signing any paperwork until I completed my inspection of the vehicle.

Even though Mr. Muller knew that I was to receive a check for $1774 to cover my Georgia taxes and registration fees at the close of the deal, Mr. Muller told me that they did not have a check for me and said that they would send one to me in GA.  Mr. Muller stated that they needed to make sure the certified funds sent from my credit union cleared before providing me with the check they were to issue me.  I responded saying that I am certain that they would not be releasing the vehicle to me if there was any question about the legitimacy of the certified check.  After stepping away to talk to another Muller Toyota associate, Mr. Muller agreed that they would provide me with a check in the amount of $1774 at the close of our deal.

Mr. Muller and I then went outside to examine the 2005 Sequoia in question.  The vehicle had a very clean interior and showed very well in the sunlight with only a few minor nicks, scrapes, dings observed.  The salesperson agreed to take the vehicle around to the service bay to have them touch up a few more items before I took delivery.

After completing the paperwork following my outdoor inspection and test drive, I decided to accompany the salesperson around to the garage while he put the temporary tag in the window.  Under the low lighting conditions of the garage, I quickly realized that the vehicle had no luster with the exception of the hood which had reportedly been painted to correct imperfections Mr. Muller noted prior to my arrival.

I let Mr. Muller know that the poor finish of the vehicle was a BIG problem for me and that this was a MAJOR problem with the vehicle that was never disclosed.  I also stated that they advertised this vehicle as a Toyota Factory Certified vehicle therefore it should not have such an issue according the 6 page Toyota Used Vehicle Certification Program Document I pulled off of the Toyota website.  I then informed Mr. Muller that I would not be interested in going thru with the transaction if they were not going to agree to correct the problem.   I requested to see a manager.

After making James Jim Pesce (General Sales Manager) aware of the un-disclosed vehicle condition, he stated that I should have known something was wrong with the vehicle since it was priced slightly below retail value.  He then went on to say its such a big problem for me then I should not buy the vehicle and that they were not going to do anything to improve the finish of the vehicle.  I stated that he knowingly misrepresented the condition of the vehicle as a Toyota Factory Certified Vehicle and that it clearly does not meet Toyotas requirement that the paint has and even, high luster as described as one of the 160 check points in the Toyota Used Vehicle Certification Program requirements.  I then stated that I was not interested in purchasing a vehicle fraudulently advertised as a Toyota Factory Certified vehicle.  I also informed Jim that I would be following up with Toyota upon my return to Atlanta for travel fees I incurred as a result of my effort to purchase a vehicle that had been misrepresented.  Shortly after we agreed to cancel the transaction, I captured a number of digital photographs documenting the condition of the vehicles exterior. 

While working on my personal laptop in an effort to make last minute travel options, Jim stated that the dealership was closing shortly and that he would have the driver who picked me up from the airport take me to a local train station and stated that I should be able to get to wherever I need to go from there.  The driver took me to the train station in Annandale, NJ only for us to realize that the train was no longer running.

When the driver tried to take me back to the dealership, it had already closed so he agreed to drop me off at a business location on his way home so I could figure out how I was going to get back to Atlanta.

After spending more than 3 hrs in McDonalds trying to set up emergency travel arrangements from Clinton, NJ to Atlanta, GA, my least expensive option was determined to be a $140 taxi ride from Clinton, NJ to Allentown, PA where I would stay in a Holiday Inn Express and catch a 10 AM flight from Allentown, PA to Atlanta, GA.  My total travel expenses from the Clinton to Atlanta totaled $405.04.

I called the dealership on July 5, 2009 and spoke Bob Leonard, General Sales Manager as Jim was away on vacation for the next week.  I let Bob know that I am willing to absorb the cost of my travel expenses to the dealership but I am formally requesting reimbursement of my reasonable travel expenses incurred as a result of the emergency travel plans resulting from the mis-representation of the vehicles condition.  Mr. Leonard stated that Toyota will NOT reimburse me for my travel expenses and we could talk about returning my $200 deposit.  As we talked about it, he stated that only Jim could authorize the return of my deposit and that Jim would be out of town until July 12, 2010.

Muller Toyota knows that I intend to contact Toyotas corporate headquarters in an effort to re-coop my emergency travel expenses. As a warning to anyone who may attempt to purchase this vehicle, I suspect that Muller Toyota will now make a hurried effort to correct the condition of the vehicle in an effort to meet the Toyota Used Vehicle Certification Standards.  Therefore, I would advise any interested in purchasing the 2005 Toyota Sequoia SR5 (VIN 5TDBT44A25S236504) advertised as a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle from Muller Toyota in Clinton, New Jersey to use extreme caution.

In the wake of all of the negative press Toyota has been receiving as of lately, I still had total confidence in the quality of their products.  I purchased a 2002 Toyota Sequoia several years ago from a Toyota dealership in the Atlanta area and had a very pleasant experience with the dealership and the vehicle.  It is a wonder to that Muller Toyota has received the prestigious Presidents Award for excellence in customer service from Toyota given the extremely poor customer service I received and their attempt to pass off a sub-par vehicle as a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle.  I will be certain to inform the Toyota division that identifies Presidents Award recipients of my experience with the dealership and let them decide whether or not Muller Toyota will be worthy of receiving the award this year in light of my extremely negative experience with them. 

Although my request for the return of my $200 deposit and reimbursement of my $405.04 in emergency travel arrangements from Clinton to Atlanta is more than reasonable, Muller Toyota has made no attempt to properly remedy the situation or return the $605.04 due me.  Therefore, Muller Toyota has left me no option but to try to re-coop the $605.04 funds due me by utilizing every resource available to expose them for their poor customer service and fraudulent representation of the vehicle as a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle.  I am committed to sending letters, calling, and emailing every entity who may be able to assist me with exposing Muller Toyotas poor business practices and assisting in the quick resolution of this matter until I receive the $605.04 in compensation I am due.