Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:30/06/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a used 2015 ** ***** TDI from Kelowna Toyota in Dec of 2021 and they said it was inspected and there were no issues with the vehicle. It is lowered so the tires wear mostly on the inside and not even 1 month after purchasing 1 of the rear tires wore through so they sold it to me with bald tires on the rear putting not only my health and safety at risk but also other drivers health and safety at risk as it was winter time when I got the car. They rectified that issue and upon doing so told me they never wanted to see me again. To get this matter resolved was extremely difficult and the used car manager ***** was extremely rude over the phone he even swore at me and then hung up on me. I had to deal with his boss to get the matter solved. On June 27 2023 I took the car to a ********** dealership because it was time for an oil change & inspection. For all of my previous oil changes I took the car to various drive through oil change places. At the ********* dealership on June 27 2023 they informed me that my rad support was broken and that my radiator was being held in with zap-straps and that it looked like it had been for quite some time. On June 30 2023 I spoke to **** at Kelowna Toyota about the Issue and he told me that they told him when they fixed the issue with the tires that they took me under the vehicle with a mechanic present doing another inspection so I could see for myself everything was good. This is not true as they made me take the car somewhere else to have the replacement tires put on and I had to pay for that out of my own pocket. I asked him for the inspection report and they haven't provided me with 1 showing they didn't do 1 in the 1st place. Given the fact I have babied this car since I purchased it and based off of what the ********** dealership told me about the broken radiator support I would appreciate it if Kelowna Toyota would pay the bill to have it replaced as it was purchased this way and a proper inspection was never done.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/07/2023

  I am afraid that the complaint does not reflect what has actually happened in this case. The vehicle was inspected prior to sale; and the radiator condition is one of the items we inspect and was found to be in normal condition. Please see the attached copy of the inspection performed December 06 2021. This inspection was shown to ********************, and he was given a copy of it along with a copy of the Car Proof.  Looking at the Car Proof there is no damage recorded that would explain damage to the radiator as the vehicle has not been in any frontal collision that might explain damage to a radiator. The tires had 6mm in the front at the lowest spot and 4mm at the rear at the lowest spot. Both those numbers pass our safety inspection but the irregular wear was noted on the inspection.   ******************** went out with the pre owned sales manager (*****) and the salesperson (******) and they looked at the tires. It was explained to the customer that the inside of the tires are wearing more rapidly due to the vehicle having a lowering kit on it. The vehicle alignment cannot be made to ************ specs due to the lowering kit. The customer both acknowledged the issue and the condition of the tires at time of delivery and stated that he was going to burn off the all weather tires on the car; and then purchase all season tires.
  Shortly after delivery the customer complained of an intermittent sound coming from one of the speakers, although we were unable to replicate the issue we agreed to replace the speaker at no charge. Please see attached invoice for that repair. We also replaced the battery in the key fob.
  ******************** had a check engine light come on in January and Kelowna Toyota scanned it and sent the vehicle to *************** who replaced some emissions equipment. The battery was showing low and was replaced at the same time. ******************** was not charged anything once again.
  Two months after purchase ******************** complained of a clicking noise coming from the front end of the vehicle when turning the wheel. The car was inspected by our Shop ******* who is a Red Seal Mechanic. He found that the power steering boots were rubbing due to the vehicle being lowered. He cut away some of the plastic trim and made what adjustments he could but we could not make it perfect. The pre owned sales manager walked ******************** into the shop where his car was ************. The mechanic showed him where the rubbing sound was coming from and what we were able to do to improve but not completely fix the issue. At this time all of the lower covers were removed to access the steering rack. If the radiator was damaged and held together by zap straps it would have been very apparent. Our most experienced Technician was looking all over the front end of the vehicle for anything that could have been causing a noise. In our opinion there no chance he missed a radiator held together by Zap straps.
  The customer was not satisfied that the noise was still there but to a lower degree. ***** offered to remove the lowering kit and return the vehicle to it's standard height as this was causing all of the concerns. ******************** expressed that he loved the lowered look and not want it changed. He was reminded to expect tire wear and noise from the front end. Not long afterwards he complained that he needed to put new tires on the vehicle and could not afford it. *****, our used manager said it would not be fair to pay for new tires based on the previous information. The customer then complained to the General manager of the dealership who agreed to purchase a good set of used all season tires and the customer was to pay the install himself.
  ******************** did not pay anything towards any of the issues in any of these cases.  In his complaint he states that he only used quick oil change places so it was not found sooner. He has indeed had 4 oil changes done at Great ************ Change but neglects to mention that he has had the vehicle serviced at Kat tire 3 times. They are a qualified repair shop and would have had the vehicle up on a hoist each time. The most important thing though is that the vehicle had a coolant system service done and antifreeze/coolant checked on December 02 2022 at Great ************ Change (see attached car proof, page 4). They would surely have seen the damage had it existed at the time. The vehicle also had emissions equipment changed at *************** who would have had the vehicle on a hoist to perform those repairs and did not note any radiator issues. Our most qualified technician spent several hours finding and repairing noise coming from the front end and did not note any radiator issues. 
  Each time the customer came in he was provided with a free loaner vehicle. Unfortunately the vehicles were brought back in poor condition and needed a full detail each time.
  Based on this information we find it highly unlikely that the damage was there when he purchased the vehicle, and that we have gone above and beyond to try to satisfy ********************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/07/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Unfortunately a majority of the response given from Kelowna Toyota is a lie. I will go into further detail about what truths there are as well as what parts they made up and are untrue.

  
  I never saw the inspection report or the carproof until they submitted it on their reply to my complaint to the BBB because if I did see it I likely would not have purchased the vehicle as it was involved in an collision in Oct of 2016. The service technicians at *************** asked me if it had been in a collision as they also informed me the sub frame was bent and I told them that not to my knowledge it hadnt. If it got rear ended hard enough to bend the sub frame it is highly possible that it could have also broken part of the radiator support.

  I never went out to look at the tires with ***** and ****** nor did they inform me the tires were wearing abnormally until after the fact that I completely wore through 1 of the rear tires roughly 2 months after purchasing the vehicle. I also never stated that I was going to burn off the tires provided on the car. To the best of my knowledge the tires were in good condition when I purchased the vehicle as they appeared to be on the outer section of the tires which they do not wear as much on due to the car being lowered. Wearing through the rear tire was an unpleasant surprise to me and also a big inconvenience. 

  I never complained about 1 of the speakers making any noise and it was never replaced as there has never been any issues with the speakers. There is also nothing mentioned of a speaker being replaced in any of the invoices provided.
  The check engine light was on before I even took full ownership of the vehicle and I never even got to test drive the car because of that fact. They said the dpf issue was a fire hazard so that is why I couldnt test drive it or take it home on the date I signed the paperwork on Dec 27 2021. The reason I purchased it and signed the papers without a test drive is because my previous vehicle I traded in was a 2006 ** ***** TDI, I am a ********** lover and I knew I would be happy with the car. I didnt actually take full possession of the car until Jan 13 2022 which is when the service for the dpf was completed by *********************** which is the date they released it back to Kelowna Toyota and is the date shown on the service record from them. I was provided a loaner vehicle to drive until the problems with the car were rectified. However the vehicle I was provided with was not detailed prior to me receiving it because I informed Kelowna Toyota that my bulldog travelled with me from ****** to Kelowna daily for work and he sheds so it was not necessary for the vehicle to be detailed. I was provided a vehicle they had just received and it was not detailed.

  I did complain of a clicking noise coming from the front end and did take the vehicle in to Kelowna Toyota to have the issue rectified. However I was supplied with a loaner vehicle until they solved the problem which should be enough evidence to prove that I was never under the vehicle with a mechanic as no shop is going to wait until a client is done work in order for them to come underneath the hoist while the car is being worked on. Not to mention it would have been a liability issue having me in the shop because if anything went wrong and I hurt myself the dealership would be liable. I have tried in the past to go look at my vehicle while it was ************ at different mechanics and they refused to let me stating that it was a liability issue for them so theres no difference with it being at a dealership. I again informed them that my dog was still travelling to work with me and to provide me with a vehicle that had not been detailed so that is what happened. The loaner vehicle was already dirty when I received it. The issue with the noise was completely rectified and I was fully satisfied with the results. ***** never offered to have the suspension replaced with stock suspension and informed me that the suspension kit was fully adjustable so I could take it somewhere else to have it raised up if I chose to. It was never offered to be done at their shop or I would have had them do it.

  One of the rear tires completely wore through which caused it to go flat so I called Manny to talk to him to have the issue rectified where I was swore at and then hung up on. I believe the general managers name is *** and I had to deal with him about the issue and was provided with a used set of tires from in their warehouse they never had to purchase anything. I was also told to take the car elsewhere to have them installed and that they never wanted to see me or hear from me again and that they were done with me. 

  The vehicle was in *** **** for tire changes and there would have been absolutely no need for them to remove the belly pan to check under there as they were only replacing tires.

  When I was in ********* at the Great ******** oil change for the coolant service the employees were very young and inexperienced and likely overlooked the broken radiator support.

  Given the facts that none of the workers at Great ************ changes are licensed mechanics and are all inexperienced young adults, the fact the subframe is bent from the previous accident and also the fact that it is not the radiator that is damaged but the radiator support itself I believe it was overlooked until my most recent visit to *************** where I had them remove the front bumper in order to remove a portion of an LED fog light I had installed that fell into the lens and the bumper had to be removed to take it out.

  Also with what I have mentioned above and the evidence of Kelowna Toyota lying I am also lead to believe that the car was purchased with a damaged radiator support and would like them to pay the bill to have it fixed. 
  

  Sincerely,
  

  ***************************