This has been weighing on my mind ever since I was in for a routine maintenance appointment for my 2004 Toyota Camry on July 1 with my local Vanderstyne Toyota dealership in Rochester, NY. Normally, I feel very confident that they are honest and treat me fairly, but I noticed this time that they were way off base and almost cost me an extra $700 for unneeded car repair. Fortunately, I knew enough to walk away and research it and get 3 other opinions.
I went in for the 75,000 checkup and they recommended new front wheel bearings. I immediately questioned it, since I've never had to replace wheel bearings in all the cars I've had over the last 30 years, and this is my 2nd Toyota (my son still has my '99, in fact). I also believed that Toyota was a superior product and they always tout the superiority of Toyota parts. Anyway, I immediately said I'd have to think about it.
When I went home and did a little online research, I was finding that it's not typical and I am a very typical driver (no off-road, unusual driving by any means), so I decided to talk to the Service Manager, Tim Gaspar and asked him to contact Toyota to determine if there was something that would be covered. He called in a few days and left a message on my recorder indicating there was "nothing they would do for me, since it was out of warranty."
In the meantime, I talked to other mechanics and trusted male friends that had more car expertise than me. They all agreed that would be very unusual for a car that only had 75K miles (and a Toyota no less). So I started on my search and made a couple appointments and, in fact, almost had the work done, but they called and said it was not necessary. They discovered that it was the tires (poor wear and possible alignment issue) even though the tires were only 17 mos. old that was causing the noise. I went to have tires checked out and had to have those all replaced and a wheel alignment, and no problem since.
Now, I am a little distressed that I can't even trust the Toyota dealership to give me a good, honest diagnosis. I also realize that times are tough, but that could have cost me not only the tires but an extra $700! I also did not like the way I was treated and pretty much dismissed after my attempts to get any action or response.
Needless to say, I do not feel good about Toyota and may not even consider buying another if this is what it's come to. I just wanted you to be aware that I am a very dissatisfied customer, yet I have been extremely loyal and complimentary all these years.
