REPOSTED FROM THEIR OTHER YELP SITE.
My Toyota Certified Used Vehicle (TCUV) turned out to be dangerous to drive because it was severely damaged by the previous owner who ran it into a "curve" at 7k miles. It was "certified" anyways by Autonation Toyota Irvine, despite the damage, incomplete repairs done, and their car "shimmying" since the tires were now "cupped and worn" after 26k miles. THIS IS ALL DOCUMENTED IN THE TOYOTA SERVICE RECORDS I LATER OBTAINED, and it was then sold to me as a TCUV. After we signed the papers, they asked if they could keep it one more day to fix a few "little things". We said yes, not knowing they were driving my van out to Paramount to secretly get both bumpers painted! They added 90 miles onto my van and put in a blank receipt from this place into my sales packet. I later called this place and obtained a copy of the real receipt...dated the day AFTER we bought the car, and it was a different receipt # than in my packet. The Carfax was also changed on the day we bought it, from "Vehicle offered for sale" to "Offered for sale as a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle".
*After only driving 19k miles (all tires started at 11/32"), the van started shaking badly at freeway speeds. Was told by the Service Manager that I ONLY needed 4 new tires, despite my protests that something was wrong with the van. Got the new tires despite my doubts. Later found out that all 4 tires were so bald, they measured out at 0/32" and 2/32".
*After 17k miles on these new tires, the sensor said I had a slow leak. Went to Discount Tires and was told all the tires are balding again. They said to take it back to the dealer, "Something is bent in the rear right tires. Can't adjust toe". Drove to Santa Margarita Toyota down the street. They said it now needs $5k+ in repairs (4 new tires, rear axle, struts, etc), and then printed up the entire Toyota Service Records where we found it had been previously damaged.
*Took it to Autonation Toyota Irvine. When we showed the General Manager the previous damage in the records, he said they DON'T look at the past history when certifying a car. Just like when you go to the doctor, they don't look at your past history, they just diagnose you right then!! He also said "someone" should have told us to take it to our own mechanic before we bought it (Then why call it a TCUV?). He also said I should have brought it back in the first 5 days.
*The Service Manager said:
~Some tires only last 20k miles, like it's a normal thing
~I can still drive another 1000 miles on my 4 balding tires, even though the one with the leak has to be filled every 2-3 days
~If I don't want to pay the $5k to fix the car, it would be cheaper to keep changing the 4 tires every 20k miles instead.
~When I showed him the big scrape under the passenger door side (found by another mechanic when up on the skids), he said I should have looked under the car before I bought it.
*The Bureau of Automotive Repair called Autonation. They refused to do anything. The BAR told me since it shows an ongoing problem since the previous owner, they should have replaced the van or refunded us.
*An investigator with the District Attorney said to file a complaint, and if more people come forward they might be able to put together a case.
*Autonation Corporate denied my request for a refund and found nothing wrong with Autonation Irvine's practices. Autonation Irvine's offer of a trade in amount for the van was only contingent on us buying another car with them AND paying the new difference.
*Toyota Corporate said they have nothing to do with the used cars their dealerships sell.
*Had my van not started shaking at freeway speeds or gotten the slow leak, I NEVER would have known I was driving on 4 bald tires, in danger of getting into a bad accident with my family in the car. read more