Aspen Car Toys — Local services in Spokane Valley

(apologies for the lack of paragraph breaks; apparently Google reviews doesn't support them) The "short" version: I went in to buy a new receiver; my main criteria was that it must have rear USB inputs. The sales guy was actually quite helpful and didn't pressure me at all. Found one I liked, and then talked to the installer. I made it quite clear that I had no interest in having them install the receiver, except for getting a nice, professional install done with the USB input run to the center console of my car. The installer said, "sure, no problem -- it'll probably be about an extra $25."

I went to pay, and as I'm standing there, this is when things started going poorly. Suddenly they're going to need to do a bunch of extra stuff to get the USB input wired up to the center console, and it's going to cost another $50 in parts and labor. I say, "Ok, forget running it to the center console, just run it to the glove compartment instead." I pay the already agreed-upon price for this install and leave to do some more shopping while they install everything.

While I'm out of the store, the sales guy calls me three times to tell me that the installers are going to have to either charge me more or do something different than what we agreed on -- each time apologizing profusely. After the third call, I tell him, "ok. Tell him to stop what he's doing and leave the deck on the passenger seat. I'm coming to pick up my car and I'll do the rest myself."

I get there and they charge me for the full price of the install. I look at the car and the deck is installed. In fact, the only thing that isn't wired up correctly (well, besides the light dimmer) is the USB connection, which was the only thing I wanted them to do in the first place.

The price on the shelf said $369 installed; I ended up paying more than that because they had to "wire in a new harness" (they did not wire in a new harness -- they wired it directly to the existing wiring). I noted this, and the manager of the installers had the gall to say that "we don't include USB in the install. In fact, we used to charge for the bluetooth until our competitors started doing it for free." I saw no asterisks on the shelf that suggested that not all features advertised on the unit would be usable after installation; apparently Car Toys has a different definition of "installed" than most of us do. (Keep in mind that 'installing' bluetooth and USB when there's no custom work involves pulling one wire for each, which should be utterly trivial for an experienced installer that already has the dash open.)

And then the kicker: they didn't include the faceplate 'keys' so I could pull the unit out and finish the things I wanted done in the first place. When I went back to ask for them, the same manager comes out and says "we don't let the keys leave the shop; it voids the warranty on the install." I asked if he was really going to jerk me around on this too, and he drops them in my hand and says "have a good day." And then walks off -- presumably to note that my warranty is void.

These guys seem to be the kings of bait-and-switch -- even jacking up the price after you've already paid. I felt bad for the sales guy because I actually thought he did a great job; unfortunately the install guys aren't any better than the 'expertise' you'd get...

TL;DR: Either a) the basic interior detailing is a pretty bad value for the service rendered, or b) CarToys staff did not actually do to the vehicle what was promised in the Groupon.

Full story: I purchased an interior detailing Groupon for my sedan and added leather conditioning for the front seats the day I took the vehicle in. I spent about $150 total, and was told the detailing would take all day (drop off at 9am and pick up at 5pm).

The Groupon indicated that it included deep vacuuming; cleaning of dash, vents, instruments, and trim; inside and out window cleaning; application of Adam's interior detailer; 30 minutes odor neutralizer treatment; and scented odor neutralizer.

Upon picking up my vehicle, there was very little visual or odor difference inside. The front-seat leather looked clean, and many surfaces looked wiped down. However, the rearview mirror still had spots on it, there were still dirt smudges on the light buttons, smudges on the doors, and the trunk seemed like it had not been vacuumed or cleaned at all. I bought the vehicle second-hand and it had a slight odor almost as if from using too much car freshener; I was hoping the treatment would get rid of it. The vehicle smelled exactly the same after being detailed.

After bringing the vehicle home, I spent time wiping smudges off doors and other surfaces, and I will now spend time vacuuming the trunk and possibly shampooing the vehicle to try to deal with the odor.

It's quite possible that CarToys staff did to the vehicle all the things listed in the Groupon. Even if that is the case, I will nevertheless be spending my own time to vacuum, wipe down, and possibly shampoo the car.

CarToys staff will probably say that the Groupon I purchased was only for the most basic interior detailing, and that purchasing an upgraded detailing would have taken care of the issues I'm mentioning. Sure. But I spent $150 and forewent my car for an entire day, for something I could have spent an hour doing myself with similar results.

Whether or not CarToys staff did to the vehicle what they said they did, the value for this service is not there. Look elsewhere or do...

Horrible experience. I brought our Jeep Rubicon in for a detail yesterday. I purposely did not go with the Groupon because even though it’s advertised as a detail, it really isn’t. They will state as such if you ask them.. I agreed to pay almost $200 with tax for the interior detailing only. Waited 2 weeks for the appt.

Dropped the car off last night and the sales person walked out with me to look at the car. All good based on what we planned. At 10:30AM today, I get a call that it is going to be $75 more. $50 for pet hair and $25 for the size of my car. I think our small dog was in the trunk 2x over several years. Not sure where they even found dog hair. We have a Jeep Rubicon which is an average sized car. The guy who I spoke to was not helpful and couldn’t understand why I was not happy about the situation. He was rude and said if I won’t pay it to come and pick up the car. Would not acknowledge the bait and switch. I asked to speak to the manager as well. He said the manager would just back him up. I insisted, so thr manager did get on the phone and would not budge.

No one stated anything about possible extra charges when I dropped the car off. The manager stated, I should have had an installer look at the car and to think of this like you are getting repairs. How would I know that? Their employee walked out to the car, inspected it all and said it was an easy job because the car was just dusty and had rubber mats. The manager said things come up that you don’t know of until you start work. Since their employee looked at the car and because I was not made aware of possible additional charges, that should have been on them. They would not budge, so we drove back and picked up the car. $200 for an interior detail is expensive as it is and then $275 is ridiculous. Then to throw the horrible customer service on top of that, I was very upset. We will never go back and will make sure and let others know. Waisted my husband and I leaving work to drop off the car and then go back to pick it up...