Bud Clary Toyota of Yakima — Attraction in Union Gap

I'm reluctantly giving Bud Clary 2 stars as my salesman was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful--the Service Department deserves a big 0 stars, and as far as the Sales side go, they're pricey, which is what you expect from a small town dealer.

Purchased a used, "Gold Certified" Rav 4 Hybrid on Super Bowl Sunday. Salesman was helpful and low-pressure. The price on the vehicle itself was borderline deceptive. Claimed it had been discounted by over $5k if I'm recalling the sticker correctly, which, while while I'm sure was true, took the car, with discount, into the very high end of the KBB range for a dealer selling a used Rav4 with X miles.

Upon taking the vehicle home, I discovered the next day or two that someone (maybe the previous owner, but I'm suspecting the dealer's "service department") put summer time washer fluid in the lines, which were frozen. Initially I was going to take the vehicle in as I thought the windshield washer fluid motor might have been busted (no noise when activated), but it warmed up a bit and I filled the rest of the reservoir with all-seasons fluid, which thawed the lines and fixed the issue after a few hours. Who uses windshield wiper fluid without anti freeze? Do they even sell that in the PNW? Interesting.

Here's where my experience with Mr. Bud Clary's lot became decidedly negative. While I was dealing with the windshield wiper fluid, I noticed a bit of trim only visible when opening the driver door (plastic panel/cap on the bottom of the door) was warped and disconnected from the frame. Did some Googling, and apparently it's a common issue with 2020+ Rav4s.

Went to the dealership to get my second key (which to their credit, they tracked down and provided me after about a month), and scheduled a service appointment for both the trim and the parking brake motor, which makes quite the squealing sound every time it activates. The gentleman at the service counter would not give me any advice on if either issue would be covered by the Gold Certified Warranty (I was 99% sure the trim wasn't, later research revealed neither issue was covered).

I offered to show the guy at the service counter the photo I took of the loose trim, so they could verify they had the part in stock / could make a replacement / provide me an estimate as they're require to do under WA law. He refused to look at the picture, noting that, either way, there was going to be a $250 "diagnosis fee" and, presumably a second appointment so they could order the trim. Went home, did my research on the warranty, and cancelled the appointment.

This dealership's $250 diagnosis fee is as exploitative as they get. This is the equivalent of a mechanic charging someone $250 to diagnosis a cracked windshield or a missing side-view mirror. And to do this to a customer that purchased a vehicle (with a semi-hidden defect neither I nor the salesman notices while we were checking the vehicle out) about a month ago?

While the sales experience was fine, avoid this service department at all costs.

While not particularly important, a sign of this dealership's philosophy: The car came without floor mats, which while it was disclosed to me and all that, is pretty cheesy when selling a $30k used car.

Edit: Lowered my response to 1 star based on the dealership's generic (perhaps when flippant)...

Initial Review: I took my truck in for a coolant leak and was helped by Max. He was very punctual and did a great job communicating with me throughout the process, addressing all of my concerns. The coolant stayed in the truck after the repair, so I assumed the mechanics had done a great job as well.

Update: I originally thought the repair was solid until I looked under the hood today and noticed some serious issues. First, the coolant leak I brought the truck in for is not only back, but worse than before. The coolant reservoir is completely empty. I was under the impression that the mechanics had thoroughly fixed the issue—especially considering how critical coolant systems are in modern vehicles. If overheating occurs, most modern engines can be ruined.

Thankfully, I checked under the hood today, and nothing catastrophic happened during the few out-of-town trips I’ve taken recently.

The second issue I noticed is the lack of attention to detail in the repair. I understand that everyone’s on a schedule and things can get busy, but that’s not an excuse for poor workmanship. This is what you’re being paid to do, and quality should never be rushed.

It’s the small things that speak volumes about the care and integrity put into a repair. For example, one of the coolant hoses was removed from its holder and never put back in place—even though it would have taken just a couple of seconds to do so. If I saw it within the first few seconds of looking, I don’t see how a trained mechanic could have missed it. That might not sound like a big deal, but it’s a clear sign that shortcuts were taken—and if it happened on my vehicle, it could be happening to others as well.

Just because it’s not your vehicle doesn’t mean it deserves any less care than if it were your own.

Final update truck had missing bolts that were put back once I brought it up, hoses were finally routed correctly and problem was resolved. It took three tries/ separate trips to the dealer for something that should have been properly diagnosed and fixed in one visit. After all is said and done the truck was given back to me with a lot less gas than I gave it to them...

I'm severely disappointed with the service at this location, and we've basically resolved to not take any of our three Toyota's here. A list of the issues:

I tried to take my Tacoma in for what should have been a pretty simple service, a wheel bearing change. They couldn't diagnose the wheel bearing was the issue (I could tell by just jacking up my wheel and shaking it) and proceeded to tell me they were going to have to replace over $4k worth of suspension components while getting it done. I took it to a private mechanic and had it done for less than $1k. After taking it in the first time, I have gotten calls occasionally for service, including a recall on the LBJs. They were doing the work for free, so I asked to schedule. They informed me I had to call someone else at the service center to do it. Why? The fact they couldn't figure that out in house is beyond me. Regardless, it was scheduled, but after bring my truck in at the scheduled time, they told me that it had been too long and they sent the parts back to their regional warehouse. This made zero sense, as they should have common ball joints in stock, but I waited for them to re-order parts a second time. After getting the notice that they were in, I tried to schedule an appointment no less than 5 times before giving up. They then refused to give me any information on how I could get refunded to just have a private mechanic do it. My wife's car started having transmission issues, which were pretty well documented in a service bulletin about the torque converter, but we were just outside the warranty period and they weren't interested in helping. Again, they quoted a price that was well beyond double what the private transmission place literally three blocks away quoted. Found out it was because they were trying to take my wife for a ride on what parts needed replaced. We got it done privately with no issues.

I have zero trust in the mechanics at this shop to do anything, no less diagnose know service issues with their vehicles that Toyota has released service bulletins and recalls on. That's a red flag. Customer service was non-existent....