ComplaintsforGermain Toyota of Columbus

• Initial Complaint

  12/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  • Vehicle was taken to this Toyota location after accident roughly 8 months ago. o Parts were replaced by dealership during the repair of the car after the accident. o Toyota committed under contract to take the car back to original condition before the accident. ? Original condition was not met. o Customer took the car back into business do to excessive tire wear on the front and rear passenger side tires, rattling, and shaking on the front passenger side. ? Toyota worked to review the car. • It was found that there was excessive tire wear on the front passenger side and wear on the rear passenger side that did not match the driver side of the vehicle and the tires should be replaced. • It was found that the rear alignment was out and could not be easily realigned due to corroded bolts. o This was not fixed during the initial realignment. o Alignment was knocked out during the accident. ? Toyota did not take the time to remove the corroded blots and realign the rear. • Tire wear occurred over the 8 months due to the rear alignment issue and worn components that did not match the specifications of a new component. ? Toyota replaced the front driver strut during the initial repair, and placed a new tire on the front left of the vehicle. • It is known industry wide that when a strut or tire is replaced on one side it should be recommended to the customer to replace the other side due to tire and component wear issues. o (You would not replace break pads on one side of the vehicle) • Toyota found that the rotor and pads were worn more on the passenger side • Toyota found that the sway bar linkage was also work on the passenger side • By replacing a single strut can results in limited life of the components and tires on the opposite side. ? Toyota did not recommend any other components to be replaced at the time of service. Service manager did agree that this should have been done and would never recommend replacing one strut. • This resulted in tires and components wearing ? Toyota would not support fixing the issue.

  

  Business response

  12/22/2022

  Customer returned over 8 months later and with over 25,569 more miles after the collision repairs.  
  
  Initially when the car came in the alignment was ok.  See attached pics. 
  
  We had **** our master diagnostic tech, review the customer concerns.  

  I advised the customer that our master diagnostic tech performed an inspection. And revealed both struts were good and did not require replacement.  We did put it on the alignment machine and verified at this time the RIGHT REAR centric.  (Alignment adjusting bolt) is seized up and would require replacement. Customer was given an estimate.  
  
  The vehicle has seen little to no maintenance since being picked up.  We offered at the time to help support the customer by discounting labor and parts as a customer satisfaction gesture.  
  
  We feel that moving forward the customer can pay for 100% of the repair.  

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  **** ******** traded her former car into salesman as down payment and paid $12,000 for 2009 Camry. It needs bodywork done on both sides that should have been before having her pick it up. He said he would do a few things to fix it up. An additional $70 had to be paid for detailing and that was all and he is refusing to do anything else. To resolve: There are creases down both sides in both rear fender wells that need to be repaired and painted to prevent rusting. There is a 6" scrape down into the paint on the passenger rear door that needs the same type of repair and paint protection.

  

  Business response

  11/14/2022

  All  our pre-owned vehicles are sold as is. As a goodwill gesture we have cleaned, buffed and provided dent repairs multiple times on this vehicle that was sold almost a year ago. We are no longer responsible for an further repairs or cleaning to this vehicle. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My concern started back on August 2022, I was looking to get the CVT fluid changed on my 2017 Toyota Corolla, I had before this car also owned a 2016 Toyota Corolla both CVT automatic transaxle. I also had the CVT fluid serviced on my 2016 Corolla and this service cost around $240. When the time came to have the fluid changed on this car I started looking for the best price in the city. This is when I discovered Germain Toyota, I will attach a screenshot of Germain's Website with the listed price as $199.99. Due to the price being much lower than other dealerships i scheduled my appointment. I arrived to Germain and the service was preformed on my car. Upon checking my car into the service bay I was greeted by Cody the Assistant Service Manager. We agreed on my car needing the CVT fluid changed, oil change & a tire rotation. I stayed at the dealership while the service was preformed which was aprox 4:27PM and the service was completed at 6:50PM (roughly 2 hours) Cody offered my a slight discount for my time I had sit in the dealership, The two hours however proved to be much longer than my next service. I pain my bill and left the dealership, I then began to read the bill, my Entire $375.74 bill I was charged $242 for my transmission fluid change. I immediately noticed how much more expensive the transmission fluid change is than what was listed on the website, I called in Germain as a anonymous customer and inquired how much the exact same service cost and the lady informed me this was $289. This is now three different prices I have been told, $199 was listed on the website, $242 is currently on my bill and the lady states its $289. I expressed my concerns with Mahogany a customer service representative and she agreed this was incorrect and I was overcharged and should have had my money refunded. Currently 10/31/2022 and Germain is still falsely listing the service online as costing $199. My one flutile request to cody was they remove this fraudulent Price.

  

  Business response

  11/18/2022

  We apologize for the pricing error. If a customer calls in asking for a price they are given the every day price. Upon arrival to the dealership the customer must present the online coupon to receive the special pricing. Once the customer mentioned our online special we adjusted the price. As far as the coupon being removed from our website, it was a special offered at the time and remained available for our guest to use. 

  Customer response

  11/21/2022

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 18337456
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The price for the CVT fluid change was not a coupon. I had discussed this with Cody that this COULD NOT be a coupon price as it does not state that anywhere on there service.

  Further more when you use a coupon at Germain you download the coupon into your phone on iphones (unsure the process for Android users). For example I DID download a $54 coupon for a oil change that I DID show cody at the time of my CVT Fluid service.  This is an absolutely incorrect statement of how YOUR website is set up.

  Therefore I believe that germain is still being fraudulent. I have attached three screenshots from Germains website where they have this price listed. Absolutely nowhere does it states that "this is a coupon and please show to service advisor"

  This statement is a bold lie, I offended that the first response was to shift blame to ME for not showing a coupon that never existed. When I DID use another coupon. On the coupon I used for the oil change under the terms of the coupon it states "One coupon per customer" If the CVT price was a coupon Why was I not asked if I wanted to use the oil change coupon OR the CVT fluid coupon? Why was I not told that I had tried to use two coupons?

  Well, this is because you guys are lying and this price was NEVER a coupon price.

  The $199 CVT replacement is the price listed online for the service. Period, the statement that this is a coupon is a lie. Germain is trying to shift the blame to the customer. The point of the matter is your dealership is listing a price online that is not correct. Still on this service there is no mention of needing to show this coupon to the service at the time of service? They bamboozled me out of almost $100

  I still have the oil change coupon saved on my phone to show a REAL example of what a coupon looks like at Germain.

   

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ***********

  

  Business response

  11/23/2022

  We apologize for any misunderstanding. For the month of October, we did have a coupon posted on our website. Upon further investigation we found and corrected the pricing for the service the customer was referring to through our online scheduling. Our service manager has also issued a $50 service certificate for ****** as a thank you for helping us to locate and correct this error on our website. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I bought a certified used Camry the end of April. The car had damage on the dash screen, it looked like someone stabbed it with a knife numerous times. **** and his manager promised my husband and I the dash was already on order, and being fixed, regardless of if i decided to purchase the Camry or not. We went back the following day, and again was assured the dash was ordered, and would be replaced when the new dash screen was received. Since i bought the car, i have reached out several times about it. I have messages in writing from **** saying it was ordered, however it i almoast September, i have stopped getting a response, when i call **** he tells me his manager will call, and nothing. The experience after i agreed to purchase was horrible. They promised the car would be cleaned and the guy they used was a "wizard" - this was just another lie. I will never purchase anything from this dealership again. Lying to consumers to make a sale is horrible business practice. They need to make this right.

  

  Business response

  08/29/2022

  We sincerely apologize that the vehicle was not properly cleaned and will be happy to address this by providing a full detail. The screen we are working on finding a replacement, unfortunately there are few to no options. Our hope is to have a remedy in the coming weeks. 

  Customer response

  08/30/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint.
  Regards,
  
  **** ******

  

  Business response

  09/02/2022

  The customer accepted our resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Camry 2020. Just to be clear- its not personal with any of the germain toyota's employees. I think its how germain toyota of columbus train their employees to make their cutomer's life hard. So, I went there through geico to get my wife's car fixed. The car was rear ended in an accident. The worst experience a customer can ever have. The funny part is thay geico advised us to get it fixed from different shops but i thought toyota dealership would be a better option. Now, I am regretting my decision. They promised us 2 weeks but took 4 weeks(not a big issue for me). Also, no cummunication from their side(its has been an issue since I started dealing with them). The main issue was when I finally went to the dealership with my wife on 28th april after 4 weeks to pick up my car and paid the due amount, we instantly noticed that there was a damage under front bumper(both sides). The plastic under the bumper had hole in it. I immediatly went inside to inform them and took some pictures as well. The guy who took the payment on the delivery date told me that he would raise this issue with **** ******(some guy who worked on my car). On the same day after reaching home, I sent all the pictures to **** ******. They took a month just to decide thay it was their fault. Even after more than 60 days since I raised this issue with the management, here I am, still waiting for them to get my car in for repair. They made multiple false promises to me that they would take my car in. They dont even care to reply to their customer's emails. The last promise I remembered was on around 3rd of june when they again stopped replying to my emails and I had to call them, and **** assured me that that they would take my car in on 1st of july. I told them I could wait even for another month if they could keep their promise this time. But, naahh..I reminded them on 29th of june, again.. no reply, had to call them next day only to be told that they had to push my appointment again.

  

  Business response

  07/14/2022

  Our Collision Manager ***** has reached out via email to the customer to schedule their veichle in for a one time only good will repair to the front bumper.. We are awaiting a response from the customer as to when they will be bringing the vehicle back.

• Initial Complaint

  06/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  So I was looking at Toyota Tacoma’s online. I came across one at Germain Toyota of Columbus. It was the truck I wanted. I told them that I wanted to buy it. But the tires looked likes they needed to be replaced . I specifically asked the salesman ****. About this. He flat out lied to me. He said they had 8/32 and 9/32 treads which I knew wasn’t true. But I wanted this truck . It was an as is buy but I specifically asked about the tires. **** is exactly why I’ll never buy from this location ever again. After they delivered my truck I went to get an oil change the very next day . When I was getting my tires checked the worker said I had a nail in my tire. So I went to tire discounters . I have bought tires from this place on multiple occasions. They showed me there was zero tread on the front tires and the back rear had 5 nails in it. So I had to spend $1500 on brand new tires after I just spent $25000 on the truck. I don’t know how many calls I made back to the dealership. Each time I was told another lie. So not only did they lie to me they aren’t even willing to fix the problem.. this is not how this is supposed to work. I want my $1500 and I want everyone to know how AWFUL of experience I had. I am also trying to make sure know one else has to go through this .

  

  Business response

  07/01/2022

  The customer spoke to one of our managers and agreed to a partial refund. The check should be sent out on Tuesday 7/5 since Monday is a holiday.

  Customer response

  07/06/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint.
  Regards,
  
  ******* ****** 

  I am only accepting this because they won’t give me a dime if I don’t. This does not mean everything is ok. They would not return any phone calls. They told me almost 7 weeks ago they would send me a check. It was clear to me they were not going to do anything. That is why I filed the complaint. 

  Customer response

  07/22/2022

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 17496636
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I called and called and called.not one person responded to me. This is why I reported you out to the Better Business Bureau.  I agreed to $500 not $300 again I’m getting the runaround. I did cash the $300 check. Because it took almost 2 months to get any response from anybody from the dealership. I still want my other $200 the album you all told me I was going to get I agreed to $500 not 300.I left another message today with the general manager but I won’t hear back from him either.

  Regards,
  
  ******* ******

  

  Business response

  07/27/2022

  Our General Sales Manager will have another check cut for $200. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I had to wait over a month to get my step pad and I only to got it by going into the office personally to ask for it. To only find out that it had been setting in the office of a parts employee. It has been over a month, going on 2 month waiting for my LEXUS emblems. When I called numbers 614-868-0300 and 614-412-1805 in order to see what in the world is going on, NO ONE could tell me and ******* the person responsible for ordering parts for the collision center, can never be located, never return calls and emails. To tell a customer that NO ONE knows what is going and the person in charge of getting parts for the collision shop, ****** can't be located and has NOTHING in the system about parts that customer has been waiting on for months is very UNPROSSFESSIONAL. Especially when the customer can go online and order the parts needed for a 7 - 10 business days to be ship to their home. Called and left serval messages for Bill at 614-383-5215, with no call back. I have also called and left serval messages for ***** at 614-383-5013, with no call back.

  

  Business response

  06/02/2022

  Our body shop manager Billy reached out this morning to Ms. ****. Unfortunately, the only call he received from her was this morning. He is addressing her concerns and getting her taken care of as soon as possible. We are sincerely sorry for the delay and inconvenience caused. 

  Customer response

  06/10/2022

  [If you do not say why you are rejecting the company's response, BBB must close your complaint.] 
  
  Complaint: 17300663
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Yes, Billy did call, but I'm still waiting on the issue to be resolved.  Since I been waiting since April 20, 2022 for the issue to be resolved and I'm afraid that if I close this complaint, it will never be resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** ****

  

  Business response

  06/24/2022

  The customer has visited the dealership and the part has been installed. 

  Customer response

  06/24/2022

  The part was installed and I'm happy now, so this complaint can be closed.

• Initial Complaint

  03/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been trying to get a direct refund for cancellation of a warranty policy. The refund was sent to the lender and not to me directly as discussed and agreed upon with the dealership. Dealership business office and management are virtually impossible to get ahold of via phone or e-mail as nobody answers their phone, voice mails are inactive or full, and I only get a response to e-mail after multiple e-mail attempts and follow-up. I have copied the general manager on most e-mails and have never received a response from him directly or a phone call with updates or an apology. I would like the refund issued immediately and prompt communication from management. The communication and leadership at this dealership leaves something to be desired. I did not have many choices when it came to new vehicle purchase due to COVID, chip shortages, etc, but I will not be purchasing another vehicle from this dealership in the future and would not recommend them to anyone. Sales staff was excellent and I love my vehicle, but the business office and dealership management does not meet minimal business and customer service expectations.

  

  Business response

  03/15/2022

  We apologize for any misunderstanding. If there is a balance on the loan then any refund for any warranty has to be sent to the financial institution. Our Business Director will be following up with the customer to clairfy. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In July 2021, I gave my 2010 Corolla to Germain Toyota East. I told them the keeps dying & told them it will recharge after dying but we don't think the battery is the issue and neither does Adv Auto Parts where we tested it. This is a spare car that I don't drive much. It's been a while now so I don't remember all the details, but I ended up having to talk to the manager at that time too due to poor response and taking a long time. Anyway, when they told me the battery was the issue, I questioned them. I went over the history with them again. They still claimed it was the batter and offered to keep it extra days to see if it dies and it didn't. When I picked it up I talked to them again and told them I still don't think this is the issue and the guy said Adv. Auto Parts can't test batteries to the level they can and their testing is much more advanced over several hours to read each cell in the battery and they are confident that's the problem. I paid approx $200 at that time I believe to buy the battery and have it installed. The last time I drove the car was Oct. 2021 and it started and ran fine. However, between then and now, it died again. Not only that, this battery won't recharge at all like my old one did. Now I'd need to have it towed to take it back. At 4:22 today I called Toyota, asked for service and the girl took my phone # & problem to look it up and pass me to service. I explained all the above. After holding 15 minutes a different girl came online. She said "service asked if it's a triple A battery and if so to have them tow me in." I said why would it be a AAA battery if I bought it from you guys. The girl said "I don't know, that's what they said and to be honest I don't know why they said that". I said clearly they didn't even look at my service in the system after holding all this time. She said let me see if I can get them on the phone for you. After holding 15 more min I got disconnected. Now this complaint.

  

  Business response

  01/18/2022

  When Ms. ******* vehicle was in our dealership back in July, we tested the battery, and it did fail so we recommended replacing it which we did. We also let Ms. ***** know that if the car was going to be sitting for extended periods of time, that a trickle charger should be used to maintain the battery state of charge and health. We will be reaching out to Ms. ***** to let her know that the battery does have a warranty and roadside assistance will come and tow it if they can’t get it started. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩