Westchester Toyota They damaged my car and would not pay for the repairs. Yonkers New York

On Oct. 16, 2014 I brought my 2014 Toyota Yaris to Westchester Toyota for its 5,000 mile service. After the service was completed and my car was returned to me I discovered that "Westchester Toyota" license plate frames had been installed on my car without my permission. I was never consulted if I desired to have the frames installed, it was simply done without asking.

I returned to my Service Consultant, Sophia Suarez, asked to have the frames removed and asked to speak to the Service Manager (Frantz Casimir). She returned to me and said the he would be out shortly, however he never appeared. A staff member did come and take the car back to the shop and removed the frames. Unfortunately my vehicle's bumper was damaged and mounting hardware for the license plate was lost and damaged as a result of the several times the plates were removed and reinstalled.

Prior to the unauthorized actions of Westchester Toyota the license plates were installed sandwiched between two 1/4" nylon washers per hole and attached using M6-1.00X16 stainless steel button head internal hex drive cap screws. My car was returned to me with several nylon washers missing and with damage to the internal hex drive of the cap screws. I am a diesel mechanic with over 30 years experience in the marine industry. In my professional opinion this damage was most likely caused by the use of an improper sized drive bit used in a cordless drill with too high a torque setting while removing / installing the screws. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY one of the mounting holes for the front license plate was also stripped during this process. Again this is indicative of the use of a power driver with a high torque setting and is a perfect example of why power tools should never be used on plastic.

I repaired these items myself. The stripped hole in the front bumper was filled with plastic epoxy, drilled and tapped. New mounting screws and washers were purchased and the license plates were reinstalled in the original manner. All of this was done on my time and with my money. I then sent Westchester Toyota an itemized bill for my time and materials. I received a nonsensical email from a Istrha Santana in response claiming that their blatant attempt at free advertising was actually an honest mistake because the "Westchester Toyota Service Department frequently receives customer request to install the license frame as we are the #1 dealer in the district regarding customer satisfaction". They also stated "As far as your request for reimbursement if you would be so kind to produce an invoice itemizing the parts and labor even though Westchester Toyota never authorized the work, but for good P.R. we will take it in to consideration regarding your next service".

I once again emailed Ms. Santana, again providing the invoice which I had already provided, and explained that the offer to "take it in to consideration regarding your next service" was unacceptable as my next 3 services are already covered for free under Toyota Care. I did not receive a response.

In a further attempt to resolve this issue I emailed the Toyota Motor Corporation asking them to please contact the dealership on my behalf. The reference # for this complaint is 1411250308. Toyota corporate emailed me back saying they had contacted Westchester Toyota and that a representative from the dealership would contact me. They never did.

I also attempted to resolve this issue thru the New York Better Business Bureau. The BBB complaint # is 10318169. Westchester Toyota lied to the BBB, did not address any of the issues raised in my complaint and refused my request that a representative with the authority to resolve this issue contact me.

There has been no communication from Westchester Toyota since.

So in short they installed their license frames without my permission. They damaged my front bumper and lost and damaged my mounting hardware while doing this. When confronted with these facts the Service Manager hid in his office and would not come out to speak with me. They ignored Toyota Motor Corporation's request to contact me. They lied to the BBB. They have repeatedly ignored my attempts to resolve this issue and they continue to refuse to take responsibility for their actions. IS THIS THE KIND OF PLACE YOU WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH?