Toyota of North Austin - Service Center

After completing a request for an appointment on-line (which asks for specific detail as to what is ailing your vehicle) you meet with a “service advisor” (and I use that term loosely) who wastes your ti (which asks for specific detail as to what is ailing your vehicle) you meet with a “service advisor” (and I use that term loosely) who wastes your time by asking you the same questions in person. I drop my car off for its scheduled appointment at 9:40 a.m. The advisor pecks at a keyboard for more than 5 minutes. No small talk, no “it won’t be much longer”, no smile, nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting this to be a particularly fun experience but it appears that this guy would have to have weeks of training to reach any semblance of “friendly.” When I’d not heard back from him by 2:30 p.m. I call. Over 20 rings before someone answers. I ask for the service department. Rings to voice mail. I hang up and call back. Another 15 or so rings. I ask for the service department. I’m finally connected to my service advisor. They’ve not even gotten my car in a service bay yet. I get a call at 5:00 that tells me there’s a problem with the (SURPRISE!) issues I’ve detailed online and in person. I’m “advised” not to call until “mid to late afternoon” the following day. At 4:30 p.m. the following day I call for an update. I’m no longer surprised at the routine 20 rings and transfer to voice mail. I hang up and call back and get my service advisor’s voice mail. To his credit, he actually returns my call at 5:00 p.m. Tells me the car is terminal. (I’m not faulting him for this; just his incredible insensitivity. I’ve had bad news before but it was handled professionally) “It’ll be $12,000 (yes folks, TWELVE LARGE) to fix.” For the record, my car is currently worth about $6500) I chuckle and tell him not to fix the car and am quite proud of myself for not saying anything about his dreadful “car-side manner.” I show up the next afternoon to pick up my car and walk to his desk. I’m able to get out “Hi, I’m here to pick . . . “ before he interrupts me while gesturing to an area across from his office and says “You pick up your car over there.” More warm fuzzies! (Hey, at least he’s consistent . . .consistently rude.) To their credit, check-out was quick and efficient and my terminally-ill vehicle was returned within minutes in drive-away condition. I wouldn’t recommend this outfit to ANYONE. More

I recently brought my 3 day old 2009 highlander in for warranty on a warped running board. Service manager Danny Smith was an absolute [violative content deleted]. At first he stated he wouldn't warrant warranty on a warped running board. Service manager Danny Smith was an absolute [violative content deleted]. At first he stated he wouldn't warranty the running board since it was put on by Gulf States Toyota (Central US Toyota dealership). When asked repeatedly about warranty coverage he first stated he would get messed over by GST if he took care of it. He kept telling me to go to the dealer I bought the car from. At the end of the day he said he would not warranty the running board. I explained that although I attempted to buy the car from CMT they were so difficult I ended up buying from a dealer 3 hours away. I asked him why he was being so difficult as I was trying to let CMT earn my service business. His statement "well we failed you here so why would you want to do that, you should just back to the dealership where you bought it'. When I asked him to clarify what he said "you heard me". I felt like the guy literaly wanted to throw down. Toyota national and the dealer that I bought the vehicle from both confirmed that CMT should be performing the warranty work. The vehicle is completely covered whether it it factory or GST installed. The selling dealer originally inspected the vehicle and stated that this was absolutely covered under warranty and allowed me to decide if I wanted to get the work done closer to Austin or in Dallas. It seemed like a good idea to try and have the business done locally. The technician that attempted to adjust the board seemed pretty good and new what he was doing. He manage to make some improvement but at the end of the day he could not get them adjusted appropriately. When I asked for a copy of the work performed (or attempted work) the service manager refused. When I spoke to the GM Robert Walker, he basically said "I spoke to my service manager and whatever he said I agree with". When I asked him to come outside and look at the defect he refused. Basically this a very buyer beware situation. I wouldn't recommend CMT to purchase a vehicle or do work on your vehicle. More

Took my Sienna in due to a squealing belt. When I went to pick it up the same afternoon I was shocked to see the front bumper was all scuffed up on the driver side and the end was sticking out about 1/4 to 1 pick it up the same afternoon I was shocked to see the front bumper was all scuffed up on the driver side and the end was sticking out about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch where the bumper meets the wheel well which evidently was dented. Went back the next day to talk to the service manager and he insisted that the damage couldn't have been caused in the dealership and went on giving me some xx about how certain damage is not their responsibility anyway when they have to test drive a vehicle. The bottom line is that he said he would rather let the relationship with a loyal customer go sour than to take responsibility. The damage in my view is just cosmetic (I hope) and I can't believe TOYOTA management would spend all the money pushing customer satisfaction and fail to train their people (department head, no less) how to treat customers right. I have been going to Charles Maund for years and I have never had anything negative to say about them until now. I guess you can never learn the true character of a person or company until he is put under a test. It is sad that this guy fails in such a simple test. This has been a very negative experience for me and I will share it with as many people as I can. More

Terrible experience - I wouldn't believe them if they tell you something is not covered under warranty. I took my vehicle in before the extended warranty was going to expire. I told service that the key tell you something is not covered under warranty. I took my vehicle in before the extended warranty was going to expire. I told service that the keyless remote would work only intermittently. They insisted that it was not covered even when I gave them a copy of my warranty paperwork (which was a Toyota warranty through Gulf States Toyota). They asked for $275 for remote and programming. I then talked with service mgr (very, very rude man) who still denied my claim. He also said I should go to dealer I purchased vehicle from (in another city) and that I didn't have real Toyota warranty. I insisted he call the Toyota Ext Warranty. I had already spoken with the the extended warranty co and they had set up a record for my claim - they were very helpful and pleasant). The Charles Maund service mgr finally called and guess what? He had their service guy call me back to say that they had a remote waiting for me and could get me in and out in 20 minutes. Why didn't they just check with Toyota warranty and avoid a very ugly situation? Not smart business since they have definitely lost a customer and may have profited from doing the covered warranty work. More

I will preface this documentation with the following; I have bought a VW Passat from Charles Maund in 2006. I bought my Toyota 4Runner in September, 2004 in Tucson, AZ and I moved to Austin in November 200 have bought a VW Passat from Charles Maund in 2006. I bought my Toyota 4Runner in September, 2004 in Tucson, AZ and I moved to Austin in November 2004, and have been using Charles Maund for every one of my services for both cars since these listed times. Apart of my purchase for the 4Runner, was a package to have lifetime replacement for tires if I were to maintain my scheduled maintenance with the dealership that I bought the car from. Since I was moving in a very short period, I had it clarified that if I enter into this program, then it will be transferable. Further, when I came to Austin, I asked the consultant, Wes Newman whether or not this was transferable, and he stated that it was. So, for the last 4 1/2 years, without a doubt, I have been up keeping my car maintenance as I felt I should do to uphold my end of the deal for this tire replacement program. On 4/9/09, I go to the dealership to get my next service checkup along with my state inspection sticker taken care of, the inspection would not pass for some lights out and tires that are too low in tread. I stated that I have tire replacement, and it should be covered. After looking up in the system and not finding me there, I was told that I am not apart of this program. At this time I asked Wes to let me speak with a manager. I spoke with Danny Smith and he started off wanting to extend some customer service. He was already apprised of the situation and Wes had told him that he had told me, that the protection program would be transferable. In this same conversation, Danny went on to tell, and I quote, "this program is a piece of xxxx. You have no idea how many pissed off customers I have had with this thing. They have done everything they can to not pay this out." Not surprisingly, Wes expressed the same sentiment. After a few minutes of acting concerned, I got no action and was told that this has to be answered by Toyota, and nobody else. He stated that he can't do anything and at this time, I basically stated that is not good enough. I pushed back on this and was told that it did not matter what I say or what I do, I will not get tires from Charles Maund because, "they are not in the business of tires, if they were, they would have a firestone or something". He cannot take something that was stated 4 years ago by his representative as something that can be held as something that is binding. At this time, I asked Danny to get the GM and I reminded him of the amount of business I have conducted with the service department. At this time, he started to posture as if I have no real action here, and I cannot get tires out of Charles Maund. Finally, he told me that there is nothing that can be done, and basically, we need to part. I asked for my car, and he stated he can get it. At this time, I asked when will the GM call me back, and he stated that he does not know, might be Friday, but I have no idea. He did write off my service charge. Remember, at Charles Maund, they will do whatever it takes as false promises to get your business, but when it comes time to deliver on them, they will find a way to back out of them. More

Can't believe how bad this place was!!! I drive a 96 Can't believe how bad this place was!!! I drive a 96 Corolla and it was at 120K so I took it into Charles Maund Toyota to get the timing belt changed Can't believe how bad this place was!!! I drive a 96 Corolla and it was at 120K so I took it into Charles Maund Toyota to get the timing belt changed. When I got it back, the battery died. I figured it wasn't a big deal because the battery was old so I replaced it. The next day I was driving in my car when the radio died, then the interior lights, and then the entire car died while I was on the Far West exit off of Mopac. My Dad, who's a cardiac patient, and I had to sit in the heat for an hour and a half till the tow truck came. While we were waiting, we took a look under the hood to find out that Charles Maund DIDN'T PLUG IN THE ALTERNATER!! We towed the car to the dealer and they replaced the battery and fixed it. Thinking everything was fine I drove the car around only to find that the car had half the power it had before I brought it in. When I brought the car back they told me that it was an old car and that happens. I told them to take a look at it and it turns out that they DIDN’T PUT THE TIMING BELT ON CORRECTLY AND IT WAS LOOSE!! This place sucks, do not go there More