Marina del Rey Toyota — Local services in Los Angeles

Heᄔo, my ㎁me is Aᄔa ᇉⅵ㎁ & I ㏂ a lѹal Tѹota c㎲tomer fi₨t buy㏌g my C㏂ry ᇉ Galᇉry Ed ㏌ 2001. ReŒntly I was i㎵olved ㏌ an ㍳to ㏌cident & of those resulʦ needed a new vehicᇉ. From the safety & reliability of the fi₨t C㏂ry I ㏊d decided to purc㏊se a new Pri㎲ Prime AdvanŒ 2017 from Culver City Tѹota. The re㏚esentatⅳe there, Sheᄔy Cruz, ㏊d ㏌formed me t㏊t I ㏂ abᇉ to go to any deaᇉ₨hip & be abᇉ to c㏊rge it without any ㏚obᇉ㎳.

I work for Ce㍲₨-Si㎁i, Mari㎁ Del Rey Hospital & next to our hospital there is a Mari㎁ Del Rey Tѹota deaᇉ₨hip. S㏌Œ buy㏌g my vehicᇉ on Jan㎂ry 28, 2017 not ㏊ⅵng even two weeks go by I en㏇unter a ㏚obᇉm from this deaᇉ₨hip.

In the beg㏌n㏌g when I bro㎍ht my car to this deaᇉ₨hip, Mari㎁ Del Rey Tѹota, I ㏊d asked if it was ok for me to c㏊rge this car & was told by J㎂n (if I reme㏔er the ㎁me ㏇rrectly), t㏊t it is ok to c㏊rge my car here. The pe₨on offered to me to replaŒ my ㎩per plates from Culver City Tѹota (where I ㏊ve bo㎍ht the car) to Mari㎁ Del Rey Tѹota. I ㍳thorized t㏊t bec㍳se I was th㏌k㏌g if I ㏂ niŒ to them, they wiᄔ be niŒ to me. T㏊t is how nor㎃l peopᇉ ㎲㎂ᄔy do the b㎲㏌ess with each other.

In case of any emergency I ㏊d even ᇉft my ㏗one nu㏔er so I can be reached ㏌ case of anyth㏌g. Ce㍲r-Si㎁i Mari㎁ Del Rey Hospital is ᇉss t㏊n 100 ft away from the deaᇉ₨hip. This ㎩st Thu₨㍲y Febr㎂ry 09, 2017 I reŒⅳed a ㏗one ㎈l from the deaᇉ₨hip ㏌form㏌g me t㏊t I ㏂ ㎩rk㏌g my vehicᇉ ilᇉgaᄔy and t㏊t I should either m㍵e my car or it wiᄔ be towed. At fi₨t, I was ㏇mpᇉ℡y shᅂked s㏌Œ my vehicᇉ ㏊d been ㎩rked ㏌ my garage & not on the deaᇉ₨hip.

I didn’t get a c㏊nŒ to catch the pe₨on’s ㎁me of whom I ㏊d spoken to but decided t㏊t tomorrow Febr㎂ry 10, 2017 I would go to the deaᇉ₨hip and i㎵estigate w㏊t the issᵫ was. Upon arrⅳal my son & I were greeted by the Upg㎭e Progr㏂ Director, Chuck Seraf㏌. I ㏊d told him t㏊t yester㍲y I reŒⅳed a ㏗one ㎈l from a lady who stated t㏊t she was the ㎃㎁ger at this lᅂatюn and de㎃nded t㏊t I m㍵e my vehicᇉ when it was not even near the deaᇉ₨hip. I ㏊d aʪo stated to him t㏊t she was neither polite nor ㏇urteo㎲ to someone whom she did not know but was rather hostiᇉ, rude, and un㏚ofessю㎁l. He stated to ㎲ t㏊t he wiᄔ never shows t㏊t type of attitude towards a c㎲tomer & he wiᄔ go i㎵estigate if there is a fe㎃ᇉ ㎃㎁ger here and w㏊t the issᵫ was.

Haⅵng waited ap㏚oⅺ㎃℡y 5-10 m㏌utes a lady appeared ㏌ the cubicᇉ. She neither stated her ㎁me or who she was. Ass㎛㏌g she was the pe₨on I spoke to yester㍲y ㍵er the ㏗one I asked her, “W㏊t was the ㏚obᇉm yester㍲y?” she replied, “You ㎩rked your car here yester㍲y ilᇉgaᄔy but later I found out t㏊t the ⅥN was wrong.”

Haⅵng stated t㏊t I tho㎍ht ok it’s an honest mistake & everyone can do it so I waited for her to apo㏒ize to me, but i㎱tead I was then bom㍴ded w/ ㏊rasment & a㏄㎲atю㎱ t㏊t I 1) Tᅇk the ㏚operty owne₨ ㎩rk㏌g spot, 2) ㎩rk my car there every ㍲y for 12 hou₨ and not aᄔow anyone eʪe to ㎲e the ㎩rk㏌g spot and 3) we didn’t buy the car from the deaᇉ₨hip, so we ㏊ve no right to even be on this deaᇉ₨hip ㏚emises. She then ㏇nt㏌ᵫd stat㏌g t㏊t she was “here to help ㎲” & “we ㏊ve to be niŒ to her if we want her help” & aʪo t㏊t she ㏊s witnesses & c㏂era re㏇rd㏌gs of our vehicᇉ ㎩rked on the ㏚operty.

We reqᵫsted to see our a㏄㎲er(s) or even the ⅵdeo re㏇rd㏌g of our vehicᇉ be㏌g ㎩rked there. She ref㎲ed to show it to ㎲ & walked out of the cubicᇉ. After be㏌g treated ㏌ such a demean㏌g way we decided to ᇉave but before we did we would like to know her ㎁me. I asked for her b㎲㏌ess card and found out t㏊t her ㎁me is J Anderson who is the Client Relatю㎱ Ma㎁ger.

Be㏌g treated ㏌ such a ㎃nner from a pe₨on whose job it is to be ㏇urteo㎲, polite, & ㏚ofessю㎁l is ㏌ no way ㏌ⅵt㏌g for c㎲tome₨. I would like for this ㏚obᇉm to be resolved bec㍳se I do not th㏌k t㏊t after this ㏌teractюn I wiᄔ ever ㏇㎱ider not only buy㏌g a Tѹota but even telling my fa㏕y & friends t㏊t the c㎲tomer serⅵŒ is someth㏌g t㏊t wiᄔ ᇉave you with a bad aftertaste.

After a few hou₨ my son decided to ㎈l Tѹota Headq㎂rte₨ & spoke to Edith who ㏚oⅵded him with the case # & ㏊d aʪo adⅵsed him t㏊t you are weᄕome to ㎲e any Tѹota deaᇉ₨hip & c㏊rge your...

To say I'm disappointed about my experience with Marina Del Rey Toyota's Service Center (as well as Culver City Toyota Service Center) would be a gross understatement. Since I first purchased my Corolla, I have solely taken it for scheduled maintenance to a certified Toyota dealership service center (rather than an outside mechanic) because they "ensure the quality and dependability you trust," as Toyota describes on its own website. Unfortunately, I've discovered that this is far from reality and I would have been better served finding an honest mechanic.

To summarize my experience with Marina Del Rey/Culver City Toyota — I had told the technician at Marina Del Rey Toyota that I was there for an oil change and instead of quoting me for that ($80), he instead insisted on their "basic service package" ($140 after tax) which I later discovered only includes tire rotation (offered free at most tire depots), "cleaning and adjusting brakes", and a "multi-point inspection" in addition to the oil change. Yes, you're understanding correctly — Marina Del Rey Toyota essentially charges an additional $60+ to perform incredibly minor services valued at maybe $20 at any honest repair shop.

But that is not even the reason why I took the time to write this review because it gets worse. I had new brake pads installed / rotors resurfaced at roughly 60k miles. The car was brought in again for an airbag recall at 66k miles and during the visit, it underwent a "multi-point inspection" but there was no mention of any concern with the brake pads or rotors (nor would I expect any issues with new brakes after only 6k miles). However, during my most recent service at 73k miles, I was told that the brake pads were fully worn and the rotors were completely warped, and quoted at $500+ for the repair.

When I made my technician aware that those brake pads were installed only 13,000 miles prior, he told me flatly that the repair was done at Culver City Toyota and thus, I should follow up with them. Essentially, Marina Del Rey Toyota offered zero accountability, ownership, or even basic empathy for my situation. In their words, they told me to go back to Culver City Toyota and "see if they will cut you a deal."

After doing some research, I discovered that Toyota brake pads should last on average 30,000-60,000 miles. Therefore, the only explanation for brand new Brake Pads being completely worn after 13,000 miles is 1) the initial brake service was improperly/poorly performed, and 2) Toyota failed to notify me that there was concern with the brakes during subsequent service visits.

If you've made it to this point in my review, you may simply believe that I am just a negligent car owner who likely drives the vehicle in irresponsible way, and the entire situation is my fault. While I will admit that I should have been more diligent with agreeing to the Basic Service package without more information, I can assure you that I drive with extreme care, especially when it comes to braking. There is absolutely NO WAY brand new brake pads were worn down after only 13,000 miles because of heavy braking in this instance.

WORD OF ADVICE 1: Toyota owners should be made aware that these service centers are all independently owned and managed. Despite Toyota's advertising to the contrary, your quality of service can vary wildly from dealership to dealership and there seems to be no set of standards beyond using certified Toyota Parts.

That means that if you have an issue with your experience at one of these centers and you contact Toyota, they will disavow all responsibility and simply point to this fact. They take zero ownership over the quality of service at these centers which all proudly bear the Toyota name. It's not worth the extra money. Find an honest, quality...

If you are in the West LA area and looking for a dealership to service your Toyota, AVOID Marina del Rey Toyota!

My 2020 Rav4 had to be towed to the service department after hours because it started shaking while driving on the freeway. I left the car on the lot as directed by the service advisor I spoke to about after hours drop off and dropped my keys in the drop box. There were issues getting the repairs completed due to a service advisor's error, but I was finally able to pick up my car 8 days later and when they bring the car out there is a noticeable crack running from the base of my windshield on the driver's side to the center of the windshield - it is impossible to miss. The service advisor that checked in my car 8 days ago wasn't in that day so I asked to speak to the customer relations manager (who I had been working with to resolve aforementioned issues with repairs) to take a look at the damage. She did a "pen test," running the tip of a pen along the crack to see if she could find a point of impact and she determined that it was a stress fracture and nothing had impacted my windshield directly to cause the damage. She stated that it probably happened while the car was being lowered or raised on the lift in the garage. She advised me to drive my car home and she would speak with the service department manager the next morning and work out a rental car and windshield replacement for me.

When I didn't hear from her by the next afternoon, I drove to the dealership and asked to speak with her but was told she was unavailable. The service advisor that checked the car in for the previous repairs said he did not notice the crack and it wasn't noted on any of the paperwork. (DUH - BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CRACK!) He said because I dropped it off after hours and wasn't present the next morning when they did the intake, they weren't able to do verify damage. (WHAT?! That makes no sense.) I was told I could not leave my car there and they would not be accepting it for repair because it was not their responsibility. It took 6 days for the customer relations manager to get back to me after that visit to tell me the service department manager denies the damage was caused by them. She said she would be speaking with the general manager the next morning and would get back to me; that was 4 days ago.

I reached out to the towing company to see if the driver had noticed a crack in the windshield while was he driving my car onto the bed of the tow truck and was informed by the towing company that they have a camera in the bed of the truck so there is footage of my car for the duration of the tow through drop off. I reviewed the footage and there is no damage to my windshield.

I opened a case with Toyota headquarters and sent them the footage. I have also sent the customer relations manager the footage. I still have not heard from anyone.

This is not the first, second, or even third time they have messed up, but this is the most egregious.

TL:DR - I had my car towed to Marina del Rey Toyota for repairs. They returned my car with a cracked windshield and denies responsibility. I have sent them footage from the towing company that clearly shows my car windshield was not damaged when it was dropped off. They have not responded to my...