Wilsonville Toyota

Wilsonville Toyota responded

Hi Roger, I wanted to respond behind the scenes instead of publicly to see if we can solve this. First off, thank you for you business! I hope you enjoy your Corolla. I'm really sorry that your transaction took too long. There is so much regulation of our business that we spend way too much time crossing our t's and dotting our i's. Dave Jachter really feels that we can still get better and faster with this though so we'll keep working on it. The big concern I have right now is that your public comments referenced our advertising a "no strings" return policy. When I read this, I went right to our ad agency and chewed them out. We've been clear with them to never use misleading words and we've never approved anything with that kind of terminology for broadcast, our website, or anything else. As you pointed out, it just wouldn't be accurate. They got right back to me and claim they didn't say that. So I started digging through all of our commercial footage from the last couple of years and I can't find one that says that. I also hunted through our website and other digital assets. We have many ads that mention our "no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee" but I can't find a single example that says there are no "strings" or restrictions. I saw in your review that you placed a lot of value on honesty. That's all we want from the reviews our customers take the time to write, good or bad. I just know we put a lot of effort into being transparent and doing the right thing. It's very distressing knowing that there might be some other advertising out there that says something we don't mean. Can you help me identify the ad so I can have it immediately removed? Since I can only verify that we haven't said this in broadcast or on our website, do you remember where you saw it? Thanks, Paul Schnell Digital Marketing Director Wilsonville Toyota-Scion 503-582-9040 x4181

bakerrogerd responded

Paul, I wrote that review following a TV ad for Wilsonville Toyota in which the person (actual customer?) said "no strings attached". After writing the review, I saw another TV ad in which it was claimed you would get your money back no questions asked. That too is not true, based on the $250 restocking fee you charge. I do have only my memory of the ads to go by but I believe in paying strict attention to the truth both in advertising and in my personal dealings. If I misheard the ad, I will apologize and ask that my review be removed. Perhaps you can show me where my error was (since, if the talking head did not say "no strings attached", it was something similar.) I do not watch a lot of television but I will continue to watch for the ads in question.

Wilsonville Toyota responded

Thanks for getting back to me. The most recent ads are with TrailBlazers broadcaster, Mike Barrett. I'm sure you're referring to those since we haven't run used car ads on TV prior to these for a really long time. I put all three of them on YouTube for your review. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUUsq472Z-uSe2DWEo2hFfeA We've always advertised our policy as "no questions asked." That's because you truly can return for any reason, just like many retail stores (but unlike most of the car business.) Retail stores have a return policy too, often with a restocking fee and other limitations. But, this is pretty unique in the auto business. Typical dealers - if they take back a car at all - will take it back only if you buy another one. But we will actually write a check back to the customer less only the restocking fee. By the way, the restocking fee is not retained as additional profit. We allow the salesperson to keep their pay for the sale (again, unlike traditional commissioned environments), and the entire remainder is spent in the front- and back-end prep of the car for sale again. Finally, we wouldn't dream of removing your review, even if we had the ability. We are a DealerRater Certified Dealer and that means that we get the opportunity to work with our customers towards an amicable solution to any issues. Only you can modify your review. We will take whatever criticism you have and learn from it. Thanks again for your consideration and time on this issue. It may be a small thing to you but our reputation is everything to us. We do feel bad about making your transaction go so long. Our ultimate goal is to be able to have you driving away in 45 minutes after you've selected the car you want. We have a long way to go still and we'll take the heat for not getting there yet.

bakerrogerd responded

I have reviewed the Mike Barrett U-tube videos you forwarded. I live in Klickitat County, WA and have poor internet service. It's a 30 mile round trip for me to get to where reception is good enough. The Barrett ads are the ones I saw and I apparently heard "no questions asked" and remembered "no strings attached". I have asked for the opportunity to rewrite my review of your dealership and will do so when I learn what it is I have to do. I apologize for mishearing your ad but I still take issue with the money-back guarantee which implies you get all your money back and I also want you to know that I think the 125 mile limit on the five days of driving the vehicle is much too little even for those who live in the Portland area. For me, 125 miles barely covers the trip home. Even if someone lives next door to your dealership, they would have to live within 12.5 miles of work just in order to take the car to work and back five times. I understand the need to protect yourself from people using your vehicles like free rental cars but for some of us, the 125 mile limit makes the money-back guarantee pretty much useless. It is interesting to hear of your 45 minute, selection to drive away objective. Laudible. If you make that, you'll deserve some sort of award. Roger

Wilsonville Toyota responded

Thanks for taking a second look, Roger. I appreciate it. Your math does seem to work out but I have to put the reminder out there. The vast majority of car dealers won't take a car back at all. Those that do require you to purchase a different car. The few of us that will take a car back for refund all have a similar mileage limit and restocking fee. The mileage limit is designed to get you 2-3 hours of seat time to make sure the car is right for you, not to see how far it can be driven in 5 days. That's 75 highway miles and 50 local miles which should be a strong indicator of whether the car is going to be a good fit. If it is returned, we still get a car back that doesn't need another $225 detail job to make it ready for resale. Again, thank you for you business and consideration regarding the facts of your review. Take care. -Paul

Wilsonville Toyota responded

Thanks for your business and your review. We are happy to hear your experience with Joey went well and we will use your comments to improve our transaction speed. As we'd discussed offline, 125 miles is 2-3 hours of seat time which we think allows our customers adequate time to make sure the car is a great fit for their individual needs. In round numbers, that would be 75 miles of highway driving (Salem and back) plus another 50 miles of local driving. We hope that this would provide plenty of opportunity in there to take it to your local mechanic for instance, or a Costco run. The restocking fee is a nominal amount to cover the expenses of selling the car and those of bringing the car back into inventory along with prepping it for sale again, which requires a full inspection and detail. Finally, please note that we always have all of the details of our return policy detailed clearly on our website right at the top of our used car inventory at www.wilsonvilletoyota.com. Thanks again for working with us.