So i have an 05 scion tC, and i purchased an extended warranty, mainly for the program they were running with it "Free Tires for Life" as they call it. I put around 21k on the stock potenzas before they were down to 2/32s tread depth. Always did the tire rotations (at a toyota/scion dealership) and got ALL service except one tire rotation done at the dealership where i purchased the vehicle. Anyways, I askd a lot of questions about the tires for life when i was buying the car and i was told that pretty much regardless of what happened they would pay for tires. Now i go into the dealership and they tell me i am NOT allowed to do the free tires for life because i didnt rotate my tires at 15k and i got ONE tire rotation done at another shop. (the wear on the tires is PERFECTLY even all the way around) I NEVER received any paperwork or "formal" details on the tires for life program so i RAISED HELL for about an hour before i talked them into giving me two of the tires for free. I really wasnt satisfied so i went to finance to talk to the finance guy. The finance supervisor pulled my file and sure enough the guy i bought from the car LIED about the tires for life program, (road hazards NOT covered, 15k alignments, $30 surcharge per tire, Z rated tires not included, 20k minimum btwn tire changes ALL work done at the dealer i bought the car, i was told the opposite on ALL of that) In addition to being lied to, i was also NEVER asked to sign the required paperwork with the tires for life, the finance manager pulled my file. The GSM was unsympathetic and said they are doing me a HUGE favor. Should i bother with corporate or are they going to be equally unsupportive?

 

wow, that's ummmm alot different from my buddies program through toyota of stuart (down here in FL).

he got new 19's and got free nitto 555's put on (twice), went back to his stock wheels, and got new (free) bfg's put on.

 

without documentation, you got nothing.

if you got it in 05, maybe the sales person didn't even know that tc's came with z rated tires.

just remember, the point is that dealerships are run by scam artists. they give their programs nice names and hide the costs with various surcharges. honestly, it is a rip off.

when i needed new tires, my dealership had a buy 3 tires, get the 4th one free with free tire rotations. but the tires they offered, were aweful. they have the crappy stock bridgestons, some decent yokos, but they were a summer only tire, a nice one with extremely low treadlife. and one decent set that was over 200 per tire.

after i crunched the numbers of that deal versus buying my tires online, and paying for the mounting, balancing and a rotation with every oil change, and assuming the tires lasted about 25k miles, it was still more expensive to get my tires from the dealership.

dealerships are full of scams, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and do the math before you make a decision.

 

Yeah, my main gripe really is that i was misled into a program i really didnt want, lied to about what was necessary to keep it, and then had to fight with them to get what i originally signed up for. I'm not quite sure how they can hold me to a contract that i was never shown/never signed.....

 

If you didn't sign it, fight it.

 

No verbal contracts are really ever honored. . . rule of thumb. . . if you have to sign something, make sure you read it! All of it!

 

Dealers get away with this type of thing everyday, i think you got a good deal geting 2 tires from them, most i ever heard them giving was a free oil change for your troubles.

 

dealers will lie straight to your face on just about anything. i used to work at a dealership (thankfully not in sales), and pretty much every salesman i heard was a backstabbing snake. they will say ANYTHING to get you to sign those papers and be out the door that day; true or not. and if they say anything to you thats not signed in writting, they are not liable whatsoever (unless of course, you somehow recorded it on tape with a hidden mic or something). this stuff happened every day, and frankly, the dealer doesnt care about you. you bought a car; they've already got the money out of you. anything else you give them (service, accessories, etc) is money in the pocket.

cliff's notes: they lied to you and theres nothing you can do about it. it happens all the time.

in film, we say "if its not caught on camera, it never happened." in dealerships, "if its not in writting, it never happened."

 

^ There are usually clauses in sales agreements which void any verbal agreements.

It's a rule of thumb, as a consumer, that you should know better than to rely on verbal contracts. With a big purchase, expect EVERYTHING in writing.

 

the only paper i had to sign was the maintenance agreement and it literally just said "free tires for life" for one of the bullets... theres another sheet which i got when i started complaining that i was supposed to sign that was NOT in my file when they pulled it. The same exact thing happened to my dad when he bought his xb a couple of weeks later. I honestly believe the finance guy left it out on purpose.

 

Did you get a copy of all the paperwork?

Sometimes there is a box that you sign that says, "You have seen the 'Additional terms and conditions'" and you really have to scan all the paper work to make sure that everything you signed for was discussed in the paperwork.

They are sort of allowed to do that. . . not show all the terms. . . so long as you sign a part that says you've seen all the terms.

You could make a big fuss. . . you never know. There are things called "hidden warranties" that will pay for this kind of stuff. Litigation is far more expensive than paying out for parts. But they will try their damnedest to get your money from you.

 

Ok i manage a corporate company, and it is ALWAYS WORTH GOING CORPORATE! it is the ONLY WAY TO GET NOTICED. all this stuff about your customer is always right is BS most of the time, people at the dealership could care less most of the time, your just another whining customer to them!

and going corporate is a good way to get some free stuff and promotions alot of the time. talk to corp.

 

thanks guys