Conklin Toyota Salina — Local services in Salina

This is a very long review, and I'll start with this: I wasn't going to write this since one of the sales reps seemed to be really helpful during the process, but then I thought about all the run around and denial of accountability and figured maybe I'll help someone avoid the same money pit I fell into at this Toyota dealership.

I have been getting my vehicle routinely serviced at Toyota Conklin in Salina for about a year and a half, and I thought they were doing well until a rattling noise started in my car engine. I complained about the rattling noise and brought my car in two or three times over the course of two months, and the technician could never find anything, or so I was told. I noticed my engine was sounding a little louder than usual accompanied by the rattling, but when I brought it in for regular oil changes, I was told everything was fine. Now, I'm driving on the highway 5 days after getting the car routinely serviced and there's no hot air blowing, the engine temp gauge is climbing way too high, and I pull over immediately to find my car emitting plumes of smoke like never before. It's cold, my babies are stuck in the car with no heat, and I'm furious as my partner and I find a leak under the car accompanied with the smoke. I tow it home, call Toyota the next day, and get hardballed. Mind you, my car hadn't been driven after being serviced since we have other transportation, but we had planned to drive it to Salina the night it broke down. They wanted me to pay to tow it to the dealership, which I thought, absolutely not. We get there and the service rep says he doesn't think his tech would make a mistake like this, but they'll look at it, and even made a subtle quip saying I need to take care of my car (my car has been serviced routinely since purchasing in 2013 as it is my most favorite sports car. How dare he insinuate I wasn't properly taking care of my car when his dealership has been servicing it routinely for a year and a half?) My car sat at the dealership for around 5-8 days (a holiday was thrown in there and the service technician took off for a day, parts needed ordering). I had to call for updates on the vehicle to see what's going on, no one bothered to communicate with me until I got the General Manager involved due to growing impatient and furious over the lack of communication, but he proved to be incompetent and useless. The GM told me one thing, and the service rep told me another for what needed fixing. I can't really fight for myself as I don't have extensive car knowledge, and the one person who does, my Dad, was far away in a different state. So, here I am, a woman, dealing with these men giving me two different stories on what's wrong with my car. The GM says the air hose intake came off and damaged the radiator (weird b/c when the car was last serviced before the break down, the air filters were replaced, and I know enough to say maybe when the air hose was moved to replace the filters, there was a lack of oversight when reattaching the hose and it was loose), but the GM claimed its not their fault and it's on me. The Service Rep calls and says the motor fans broke off going straight through the radiator ruining it, and it'll cost close to $2000 to fix, and ofc, this isn't their fault (I remember complaining about rattling in the engine multiple times, but somehow this isn't their fault, sounds fishy). So which story do I believe? Well, I don’t have time to ponder and guess. I want my car back, and my Dad says to go ahead and get it fixed and just don't go back to that dealership b/c they're out to screw me. Despite my loyalty for a year and some change, my car was neglected, when it started breaking down b/c issues were being overlooked, I was the one to pay the price since I didn't have the knowledge or patience to fight for myself appropriately even though I knew they were screwing me over.

I wish I could've helped myself more in the face of their lack of accountability, but whats done is done, and my...

Caitlyn Neimczyk in the service was an absolute life saver!!! Could not recommend her and this location more! My pressure gauge in my new tire was not correctly installed from the previous maintenance crew in CO and I ended up stranded in the middle of the highway on I-70 mid Kansas. The gauge started to disconnect from the tire and let out air continuously along my road trip back to CO. I called this Toyota and explained my issues, the team asked me to drive straight to their service center on my spare. When I pulled up, Caitlyn Neimczyk a service team member came up and greeted me and already knew what worries were, knew my problem was and inspected my car without me having to reexplain anything really. She had an idea of what was wrong and immediately took my car in to take apart my tire to find a fix. After less than an hour, she called to tell me they had fixed my issues. The gauge was now securely sealed and ready for another 10 hours on the road. I was a little nervous so Caitlyn re-looked over everything in and out of my car again to ensure I felt safe. She rechecked tire pressure in all of my tires, and fully cleaned my car (including scrubbing bugs off from the road trip). Caitlyn and her team really did go above and beyond for me, not only to feel safe driving back, but also to just make me as happy as I could be. I had a tire warranty so I didn't have to pay anything. This was by far, the best and least stressful car experience I have ever had. I wish I could drive out to this location for all of my car needs!! Very highly recommend this location and especially Caitlyn Neimczyk with the service team. I could not be happier or more satisfied. THANK YOU Caitlyn Neimczyk!! Don't know what I would have done...

If you have never purchased a car from Conklin, then you are missing out on a great car buying experience!

I reached out to Conklin Salina after having a bad experience at the Wichita Toyota Dealership (They wanted to charge $5,000 over MSRP for what they called an "adjusted market value" claiming all dealerships were doing the same). Well not Conklin! I called and Pam Severson answered the phone and the rest was history :)

I spoke with Pam about my experience and she kept true to her word the entire process. We didn't get slammed with any unexpected fees and she wanted to make sure we were buying what we wanted. I gave Pam my wishes for the Camry Hybrid LE that I wanted and she got to work. Within a week she sent me a picture and specs of my dream car! It was perfect. Without even hesitating, Pam was giving us weekly updates on the status of our car (from the production date, start, finish, and it's train ride to KS).

When she received word that the Camry was going to arrive on the truck, we got down to business. She made sure we had crossed our t's and dotted our i's so when we arrived at the dealership it was a seamless process. All the leg work was done and the only thing we needed to do was a quick meeting with financing and learn the bells and whistles of our new baby :) Not to mention all the great warranties that come along with it. I even surprised Pam by letting her know the day before pickup that I would like the windows tinted. They made it happen and we are lucky to have such a beautiful car!

Thank you Pam Severson and Conklin for such a comfortable and warm car buying experience. We will for sure be a repeat...