Do not recommend. Unprofessional service, potential misdiagnosis, and price gouging…read more
I am writing to express my deep frustration with the service department regarding recent work on our 2007 Toyota Corolla. Despite its age, this vehicle is exceptionally well-maintained and has been in excellent, reliable condition. As other professionals in the auto industry have said.
Initially, my experience with Service Advisor Kristina Parker was very positive. She actually saved me a significant amount of money on the first job, which I'm thankful for. However, the subsequent service has been incredibly disappointing.
*The Issue
Our car had an old, dried-up leak spot underneath that had never caused any operational issues. During a routine oil change, the technician, Alex, inspected it and advised cleaning it up to check for active leaks. In hindsight, we should have left it alone, because once the area was disturbed, a brand-new leak developed. (They advised cleaning it to trace the source. Against the old wisdom of "if it isn't broken, don't fix it," I agreed. That is when the trouble started.)
We were told the oil pan gasket and tensioner needed replacement. We paid to resolve this immediately. However, by the following Saturday, we discovered fresh oil on our garage floor, which that has never happened.
*Management Response & Pricing Concerns
We brought the car straight back. We were shocked when the department diagnosed yet another "new" leak and quoted us a staggering $2,200 to fix it. Dropping the price to $2,100 felt like an insult. I then spoke with the Service Manager, David Frogger (of whose statements I have an audio recording, as well as text).
* Lack of Expertise: Mr. Frogger claimed the vehicle has multiple seals in that area that could fail, which is factually incorrect for this specific, older Corolla model.
* Failure to Warn: He admitted he didn't know why Alex failed to warn us that disturbing an old, dried area on an older car could trigger a secondary leak. Had their professionals given us a proper, upfront warning, we could have made an informed decision to fix everything at once under a single labor cost, rather than being hit with a massive, separate bill.
*Conclusion
Reducing the price to $1,800 is still entirely unacceptable for a problem that did not exist until your team worked on the car. We have consulted independent research and an experienced former Toyota employee; both confirm that $1,800 is grossly overpriced for this repair and highly indicative of a misdiagnosis on your department's end. Lastly, Mr. Frogger text one last text, "Good morning Judy, this seal does not go bad overnight. Our initial quote was $2400, my offer now is $1800.00 + tax."
I felt taken advantage of because I am a female, which dealerships & auto industries are known to do this. Also, I noticed, noted on the paperwork are things that I didn't say or point out. It's written in a way that makes me as the customer seem like I was the one who pointed out the issues/problems, so they could cover themselves. Toyota employees were the ones that brought it to my attention.
It feels as though your dealership is price-gouging a loyal customer to maximize profit margins. I expect a much higher standard of integrity, accurate diagnostics, and fair pricing from Toyota of Grapevine.
