ComplaintsforKenny Kent Toyota Lexus

• Initial Complaint

  10/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 28th 2023 I purchased a vehicle from Kenny Kent for $13,000.00. Two weeks after purchasing the vehicle a tire sensor went out. While having it replaced they found a four plus inch nail in the tire and had to plug it. A couple days after that the blower motor for the air and heat went out and we replaced it. On September 27th my family was traveling to MA. My husband is in the military and we are being stationed there. While traveling to MA on the interstate the engine blew up and we managed to get safely to the side of the road (although a busy interstate). We got it towed and confirmed that the engine had blown. We did not have a warranty but we called the dealer to tell them that in less than 30 days all this had happened and was told well you didn’t get a warranty. It is going to cost us about $8,500.00 to replace the engine. We paid cash for the vehicle. We are open to returning the vehicle for a refund, or getting cost of the engine repair covered and feel this is reasonable and just good business.

  

  Business response

  10/03/2023

  I am providing copies of the customers documents showing where there is a minimum of 3 maybe 4 signatures as it relates to purchasing this vehicle As Is with no other implied or purchased Extended service coverage. As the manager of this business I believe it is a best practice to advise every customer buying a preowned vehicle of any remaining factory warranties or the lack there of so that they are clearly informed and understand the risks in buying a pre owned vehicle. I feel in this case we have done this based on your acknowledgment of knowing that you did not purchase an extended coverage, and the documents I've provided that you signed at time of purchase. Kenny Kent has very little ability to determine the overall health of a vehicle especially one that has been on the road for over 100000 miles because once we have traded for a vehicle we can only do a basic check up to make sure everything seems in working order at that time. After that we turn around and place the vehicle for sale again. We perform a simple safety road test and we do not tear a vehicle apart and rebuild it to make sure there are no risks for the next owner. We do however have the ability to offer extended coverage to cover certain components from non pre existing conditions that would arise in the future at a cost to the purchaser. These coverages are not cheap because of the known risks in preowned vehicles as well and are only available on the day of purchase. We of course always hope our customers that purchased a vehicle with an As Is disclosure have great luck with the vehicle they chosen. However it is unreasonable to imply that the dealership is responsible in any way for repairs after purchase any of  the thousands of preowned vehicles that dealers sell such as this one when we so clearly cover that those possible risks are part of the buyers responsibility if the chose to go forward with an as-is vehicle purchase. We are always willing to help our customers with repairs thru our service department and in doing so sometimes we have been able to guide customers to cheaper solutions than what they could have found on there own. If you have the ability to have your vehicle brought to our service department we would gladly diagnose a solution and cost for you. If you are already out of our area we hope you find a service department you trust but we always advise to get multiple quotes if possible. 

   

  Thank you!

  *** ******

  General Sales Manager

• Initial Complaint

  09/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 10,2023 - I purchased a 2013 Cadillac. I paid $3000 on my credit card for a down payment. 30 minutes after purchase the car began to malfunction. I returned to dealership- they advised I bring it back 8/11/23 for assessment. 8/11/23- they advised to bring it back on Monday 8/14/23. On 8/14/23 - the dealership advised they were “unrolling” the deal because the car was broken. They stated a refund would be issued that day (8/14) - $3000 down payment to my credit card. They are now refusing to process the refund. As of today 9/1/23- they have yet to respond to my bank’s request for prompt refund.

  

  Business response

  09/02/2023

  We were very clear to this individual that we need the exact credit card that the payment was made with to to run the refund back too. The payment was issued to us by her grandmother and to protect that customer we are required to only issue the refund back to the grandmothers card. Ms. ***** did not bring grandmother or card to us as of yet. At last contact she stated she would just have her bank handle it and left. We have had no contact from her bank or her since. We are reaching back out to her to explain this again. 

  Customer response

  09/05/2023

  
  Complaint: 20553730
  
  I am rejecting this response because: per credit card/ bank customer service - the refund did not require physical card and could simply be voided. I have not received a refund as of todays date. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Ellie *****

  

  Business response

  09/16/2023

  We called Chase Paymentech on 9/6/23 regarding ***** ***** and the claim she has filed with the BBB.
  
  The Rep told me the merchant’s only obligation to the customer, in regards to refunds/credits, is to refund by the same method of payment.
  
  The transaction cannot be ‘voided’ now, as it has already been processed to the merchant’s account and the customer’s account.
  
  Chase also never recommends a merchant refund a customer by sending them a check.
  If we were too send a refund check to a customer, they can report they never received it, then turn around and file a dispute with their own credit card company, trying to get a refund from them too. 

  We have had multiple people in our finance department attempt to contact both of the parties involved in this transaction on many occasions. We have yet to receive a return phone call. We wish to relay once again the same info we have previously given and request for the consumer to return with the same Credit card used when the down payment was paid so that we can refund that specific method of payment. This is the only way we can proceed, We have made this client aware of this from the beginning and as noted we did confirm with our credit card processing company Chase Paymentech. We take our partnership with Chase very seriously and we will follow their guidelines in regards to refunds to protect  our customers accounts as well as our own.

  Thank You!

  *** ******

  General Sales Manager

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  While I was driving to work in my 2010 Toyota Prius had lost all power including engine, power steering, etc, but still was able to be pushed into a parking lot. I took the aux battery off of the vehicle and 'reset' the car and limped the vehicle into the Kenny Kent dealership. I had received a Post card from a law firm about my car being in a Class Action Lawsuit and called the Toyota customer advocate phone number to see if we could fix this issue (as my car was showing the exact signs of the power inverter / IPM issue). The lady on the phone told me that my vehicle could be affected by an 'ongoing service bulletin' but I would have to let the dealership look at it, and they would get me a rental. This was on a Monday, on Friday afternoon I get a call saying that the issue was my braking issue and I would need to pay for my rental car since Toyota isn't paying for it and it will cost $4000 to fix it. I had also looked online and noticed that there was a Toyota Service Program for that issue but the time had expired on it and it was completely out of warranty. But the original issue I brought up was that the car died while going 60mph, which is a known IPM issue. So now I'm out $45 a day for the rental, plus a diagnostic fee of $150 and my car is completely broken down due to their unwillingness to even assist in a known issue with my vehicle. The resolution I would like is to get my vehicle repaired and the service warrantied by Toyota as I was Under the assumption of that would happen initially in my phone call with the Toyota representative.

  

  Business response

  10/19/2022

  Business Response According to the customer, they called Toyota Services (X-XXX-XXX-XXXX) and spoke to a representative. She told him about a service bulletin that could possibly pertain to his vehicle. If his vehicle fell under those specific guidelines a loaner vehicle may be covered. After the customer informed me of this phone call, it was explained to him that if his vehicle did not meet the criteria he would be responsible for the diagnostic fees and the rental bill. He stated that he understood.

• Initial Complaint

  08/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  0n May 20,2022 I purchased a vehicle from this dealership. I paid 8,000 cash for a vehicle with the hopes and expectations that this vehicle would run and be reliable. I even explained this vehicle was going to be used for my children to attend their travel basketball tournaments. 2 months later the vehicle started having problems. I called the dealership to try to resolve the issue and they just did not want to right their wrong doings. After paying 8,000 cash for a vehicle, the last thing I wanted to do was have to pay another 1500 for a catalytic converter, especially 2 months later. I was also informed that when a catalytic converter goes out, this is a problem that is detectable months before it actually goes out. At this point, I'm convinced they either didn't have the vehicle properly looked at before putting it on the lot for sale or they just did not care.

  

  Business response

  09/12/2022

  Business Response Kenny Kent has a retail contract with ****** ******* ******* residing in ************ Indiana, who purchased an "as is" vehicle, a 2010 Ford Edge with 168,000 miles, on May 20, 2022. With Kenny Kent Toyota's limited ability to perform a complete tear down on all trade-ins, we sell vehicles with particular mileage and/or age parameters "as is." The "as Is" classification notifies all interested parties and purchasers via a Buyers Guide physically affixed to the vehicle that the dealer does not provide a warranty for any repairs after the sale. This Buyers Guide also suggests that a personal mechanic inspect this vehicle on or off the dealer's lot along with a list of some major defects that may occur in used vehicles. ****** ******* ****** also signed this "As Is" Buyers Guide document to acknowledge the dealer extended no warranty or repairs after the sale. Kenny Kent also provided ****** a CARFAX service history of the "as is" purchased vehicle, which references an area FORD dealer service. This service completed two open recalls at Kenny Kent's request before the sale.

• Initial Complaint

  06/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2018 toyota camry from then and within 8 days the transmission went out. I asked to to fix it and said it would take 30 to 45 days until the warranty went into affect. They proceeded to ignore the warranty and fix it anyway now their asking me to pay 1500 dollars before I can have my car back. I haven't even made the first payment

  

  Business response

  07/06/2022

  Business Response With Kenny Kent Toyota's limited ability to perform a complete tear down on all trade-ins, we sell vehicles with particular mileage and/or age parameters "as is." The "As Is" classification notifies all interested parties and purchasers via a Buyers Guide physically affixed to the vehicle that the dealer does not provide a warranty for any repairs after the sale. This Buyers Guide also suggests that a personal mechanic inspect this vehicle on or off the dealer's lot along with a list of some major defects that may occur in used vehicles. ****** ****** also signed this "As Is" Buyers Guide document to acknowledge the dealer extended no warranty or repairs after the sale. Mr. ****** also purchased a mechanical warranty for repairs to address non-preexisting conditions. Recently, we were unsuccessful in our attempts to speak with Mr. ******.

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Dealership continuously advertises on CarGurus website vehicles that are not available. I've been researching and shopping vehicles for six months and have contacted the dealership multiple times only to find out the vehicle I'm asking about doesn't exist and has not been ordered. In my opinion, the dealership is using the bait and switch technique to lure customers in and them trying to sell higher priced vehicles. I believe this is unethical and disappointing.

  

  Business response

  01/10/2022

  Business Response I do have information pertaining to this event. Our dealership is aware that some vehicle advertisements do fall through the cracks and end up on third party sites. These vehicles are either sold or are incoming units that haven't arrived yet to the store. Unfortunately, we are constantly monitoring our third party sites for errors in advertising. We do not advertise on these sites directly. They are redirected there through various software vendors based on inventory in our dealer system. With the demand and supply being so out of whack in our industry its possible a few vehicle are still listed on other sites after being sold and delivered. They do eventually get removed automatically. Please let me know if you need anything else, but know we are working to perfect this process if that is possible. Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Regardless of the market conditions and who is hired to falsely advertise on behalf of the dealership, the information is inaccurate. Other dealers do not advertise this way and it leaves the consumer to believe dealership has multiple vehicles in stock when they do not. Business Response Kenny Kent Toyota associates review new Toyota in-stock and incoming inventory daily on the dealer site, kennykenttoyota.com, hosted by Dealer.com to confirm the accuracy and issue corrections if needed. All third-party vendors pull data directly from the inventory appearing on kennykenttoyota.com. On December 14, we contacted the vendor, CarGurus. We gave notice that Kenny Kent Toyota received a complaint regarding inventory accuracy, and if not immediately corrected, we had cause to drop the vendor, CarGurus. Upon investigation, we found some sold units remained on the CarGurus site, although feed history showed the site refreshed daily. IT created a new site rule to clear sold units from the CarGurus platform to correct this. We take the bait and switch claim seriously and assure the BBB that Kenny Kent Toyota takes many steps to ensure customer satisfaction and protect our reputation. Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩