On October 27, 2018, I purchased a 2018 Camry from Hampton Toyota in Lafayette, LA., with 7,292 miles on it. When I purchased the car, I also purchased a 72-month/100,000 mile extended warranty (from Hampton). On or about June 14, 2022, several electrical issues became apparent. I telephoned Hampton and after discussing the problems with them, was told, as a safety precaution, to immediately discontinue driving the car. Hampton sent a tow truck on June 15, 2022 to bring the car to the dealership. At that time, the vehicle had less than 58,000 miles. Hampton provided what I understood at that time to be a loaner to use while the Camry was being repaired. A few weeks later, I was told that the "loaner" was instead a "rental" and that I would be expected to pay for said rental. I disagreed. I visited the dealership and spoke directly to Tom, the Service Manager. I told him that I no longer felt comfortable with my daughter driving the car. I proposed purchasing another vehicle from Hampton if they would agree to offer a fair trade on the Camry. Tom said he would speak with the Sales Manager the following Monday and would call me afterwards. A few days later, Tom told me that they could not make a trade offer until the Camry was repaired. Tom called me and stated that I would be responsible for paying for the rental. I reminded him that I'd purchased both the car and the extended warranty from Hampton and that even though they claimed that the issues with the car were "not their fault", it certainly wasn't my fault. The Service Adviser, Steven Hollier, called me a couple of days later and said they would only charge $12.50 per day for the rental. I agreed in hopes of expediting the repair of the car and bringing the matter to a head. To correct the problems, Hampton first replaced a sensor. That repair was billed to my insurance company because Hampton said it was the result of a comprehensive claim from December, 2021 that had not been properly corrected. The replacement of the sensor failed to correct the problems. Then they opted to change out the floor wiring harness. This also did not correct the problems. Finally, I was told that the main engine wiring harness needed to be replaced and the car should be ready on Monday, October 24, 2022. On that day, I called the dealership but was unable to reach Steven. I followed-up with another call on October 25, 2022 and again, received no call back. When I called on October 26, 2022 I was told that Tom (not Steven) would return my call, which he in fact later on did. At that time he stated that the car had finally been repaired, this some four months and 11 days after it had been towed to their dealership! When I returned the rental, Tom was in the process of finalizing the necessary paperwork. Approximately one hour later, he showed me a bill for $3,400.00 for the rental, having charged me $25.00 per day after having previously been told that the cost would be $12.50 per day. Steven, who I indicated earlier had been the one who had compromised with me on the cost of the rental, was not there at that time and failed to answer Tom's phone calls when he (Tom) attempted to reach out to him. After discussing it with Tom further, he discounted to $2,636.94. I agreed only as a means of bringing this matter to an end. I consider the insistence that I pay for the use of the rental to be completely unfair. The original cost of $25.00 per day presented to me was adjusted and lowered, having been agreed upon by a representative of the dealership, this to $12.50 per day. To this I agreed, with no realistic expectation whatsoever as to the eventual period of time it would actually take for the car to be repaired, this period of time having been elongated due in part to two separate misdiagnoses by the dealership as to the origin of the problems. Therefore, for the reasons stated herein, it's my position that the full amount paid to Hampton Toyota for the use of the loaner/rental should be reimbursed to me.
Joseph B.
Broussard, LA read more