DARCARS Toyota Frederick

Reviews 3

LA

Larry Letich

I brought my 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid in to the service department because the air conditioner was no longer blowing any cold air anymore. The only reason I brought it to my Toyota service center -- this one, my local one, anyway -- is because no shop in town wants to touch the air conditioner in this car because its connected to the high-voltage hybrid battery. After scheduling it days in advance, for 11 a.m., it takes 15 minutes to get signed in. Then the guy who does the "intake" tells me it will cost $128 TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. Thats what the shop charges AN HOUR for labor. When I say to him "Why should it take AN HOUR just to diagnose the problem!?" he says, "Well maybe it will take just five minutes. Then well charge you a half-an-hour." After I finish with the paperwork, he tells me he will tell me what the problem is WITHIN AN HOUR AND 20 MINUTES. Thats just telling me what the problem is. He knows that I am waiting, that I have scheduled this on a day when I will have to wait -- its even in the notes of when I originally made the appointment. When I say to him thats a lot of time to wait just to hear whats wrong, he said, "Well it could be less. Ill let you know as soon as I find out." I have not in any way been nasty or unpleasant, so Im not getting this treatment for being a bad customer. I love my Toyotas. Ive driven them for 30 years, theyve practically been the only cars my wife and I have bought since the early 80s. Theyre wonderfully comfortable and reliable vehicles. But this is why I dont bring them to the Toyota service department. I am simply outraged. $128 just for a diagnosis? Told you will have to wait 80 minutes just to hear whats wrong, by a guy who just pushes paper and doesnt seem to know anything about your car? This is no way to run an auto service center --- Okay, so let me amend this comment. I got my car back in three hours, which is still a long time, but mostly understandable, since they had to do an evacuation and recharge and look for a leak. A little slow.. They charged me $221 for it and did NOT charge for the diagnosis. They said that the condenser has a pinhole leak in it, and that it will have to be replaced, which will cost $854, and if I do it soon they wont charge for another evac and recharge. Ive done some research and see that this is totally credible for the problem I had. Its a lot of money, maybe a lot more than other cars condensers, but thats the way it goes. The car is five years old and has 163,900 miles on it and it has had hardly any problems at all (knock on wood). I estimate that having gone that many miles, averaging $3.50 per gallon over the past five years (a reasonable estimate, maybe a little high) Ive saved almost $7,000 in gas. I still think its not a good idea to tell people who are waiting that youre going to charge them $128 for a diagnosis without saying that it will be applied to the repair if they go ahead with it, and that you expect them to have to wait 80 minutes just to know whats going on.

YA

Yawar Iqbal

I am very tempted to file a lawsuit against DARCARS Toyota of Frederick for fraudulent misrepresentation. On November 27, 2015, I went to CarMax to appraise my vehicle. After I received a quote, I went to DARCARS Toyota of Frederick [DARCARS herein] to see if they could match my quote from CarMax and trade in my vehicle for a new vehicle. DARCARS did match my quote, and offered a trade in. I accepted, on the condition that I would receive a check for my traded in vehicle within 3 business days. I signed a trade-in contract with DARCARS on the condition that I would receive a check within 3 business days. My financer promised on several occasions during our negotiations that I would receive a check within 3 business days. 3 business days later, I went to DARCARS wondering why I did not receive a check for my vehicle, and the financer expressed that we never contracted on the condition that I would receive a check within 3 business days. The financer slipped in a clause in our agreement that disclaimed our oral negotiation promises. Of course, I would not notice a disclaimer hidden in a maze of contractual writing. I sold my vehicle for the purpose of necessity. Had I known I would not be getting money for my trade-in within 3 business days, I would have sold my vehicle at CarMax and went to DARCARS to purchase a new vehicle. DARCARS of Frederick is not in the business of providing adequate services to loyal customers; they will con you for your money. Additionally, DARCARS removed several features from the vehicle prior to handing me the keys, after I confirmed with several different employees that those features were included with the vehicle. Please do not go to DARCARS, there are many other options available. Do not believe that only angered customers post reviews while satisfied customers do not; DARCARS really is that bad. Locally, I have not heard a single positive thing about DARCARS. Again, there are many other options available -- including Nissan and Honda, and of course, Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc. If you do go to DARCARS, please be aware that you are paying a corporation to use deceptive business practices to con you of your money.

NA

Nate Dawg089

My wife and I purchased a new Toyota Sienna from DARCARS Frederick on Memorial Day. It was our second time buying from this dealership and it was a great experience, just as the first one was a few years ago. We had already test-driven the vehicle and shopped around on price beforehand and found that DARCARS Frederick offered us the best price. Our salesperson was Brett Triplett, and we very much enjoyed working with him. Even though the dealership was very busy the day we were there, he took a good bit of time to talk with us and explain features of the vehicle as well as giving us a chance to take a final test-drive. He clearly wanted to make sure we were satisfied and got the specific vehicle with the color and options we wanted. He was laid back and friendly and not pushy at all, although it helped that we had already agreed on a price over email before coming into the dealership. Brett was also very quick and helpful in responding to a question I asked him the next day relating to information needed for insurance on the vehicle, so we appreciated the fact his customer service didnt end once he had made the sale. The finance manager we worked with was Jeff Gaskins, and the thing we appreciated most about him was that he was not pushy about trying to force us into buying an extended warranty and other extras that we did not want. He offered us all of those things but did not pressure us to buy them when we said no. (That was our biggest complaint from our previous purchase at this dealership a few years ago.) My only complaint about the whole buying process was that we spent a very long time waiting between finalizing the purchase details and meeting with the finance manager, but we recognize that it was a very busy sales day for the dealership and we appreciated that they provided us with lunch (Memorial Day cookout) while we were waiting. Overall, after two buying experiences, I have a very positive overall opinion of this dealership. They offer very competitive prices and their people offer great service and treat customers with integrity and respect. Id definitely recommend this dealership to others.