Leith Scion of Raleigh, NC.
Allow me to tell you of my on going headache. I decided through much research that the tC was the car for me. On September 9 I went to Leith Scion's website, and found the exact tC I wanted, website said it would be available the 11th. I went to the dealership and spoke with salesperson Thai Nguyen. He said that he couldn't get that car, that none were available, and no other dealership around would have that car, but he could order one for me, and it would be available withen 3 weeks, all he would need was a $500 deposit. I went home and called all of the other local dealerships whome all said they had none, but could order one with a $1000 deposit. Dissapointed, I went back to Leith and asked if they would accept a check and hold it as a deposit. He said that would be fine, so I wrote the check, and ordered my tC. The next day that check was cashed!
The third week was approaching so I sold my current car for the down payment, and got a good deal on a rental for a week. I called Thai Nguyen on the 20th and asked him when my tC would be available, he told me he would call me back later that day with an answer,,, he never called me. I called the next day, got his voicemail and asked for him to call me,, still no call. I called the next day, and I spoke with sales manager Anthony Williams, who said he would find out the status of my order, and call me,, guess what?,,, NO CALL!! I called back later that evening,, and spoke with sales manager Chris Wilde, explained that I was very angry that I was being ignored, and demanded to know when my tC would be avaiable for pick up. He said that they "couldn't find my file" because the Scion sales manager was on vacation, and that he would be back the next monday,, but promised he would call me that monday morning. Guess what,,, NO CALL!!!!
I was livid! I went down to the dealership around 4:00, and demanded to speak to the Scion sales manager. Thai Nguyen met me at the sales counter, and we went to meet the Scion sales manager; Mark Poindexter. Mark Poindexter said that he couldn't give me a date of delivery, but that it should be here in about 3 weeks!!!! I almost lost it at that point!! Thai Nguyen had told me it would be three weeks from the time I ordered it! Mark Poindexter tried to lay the blame on his salesperson, saying he had told his staff no quit telling customers that their order would be available in three weeks. I told Mark Poindexter:

1. They misled me through their website.
2. They took my money.
3. They lied to me about returning my calls.
4. They ignored me.
5. They lied to me about the date I would recieve my car.
6. I was spending precious money on a rental.
7. I had to miss work because I had no car.

Mark Poindexter had no excuse for, and very little apology for his sales team, misleading be into my current situation. After being treated so negligently, I abruptly stormed out of the dealership.
I cooled off for about 5 minutes, and marched right back in. I asked Mark Poindexter If they would supply me with a loaner, and after much debate, he gave in, and said he would put me in one the next day, and call me when it was ready., LOL!!!!!! call me??? right!
He didnt,, I called him, and he said it wouldnt be ready till around 4:00. So, I told him I would call around 4:00. Around 4:00, I called him,, and he said there was a problem with the plates, and I would have to wait 2 more days for the plates!
I called him around 2:00 2 days later, he was at lunch,, and would call me in twenty minutes. NO CALL!!! I went to the dealership at 3:30 and asked to speak to the GM. Mark Poindexter saw me and hid for a bit before finally approaching me, and he put me in an xA with dealer plates,, which they could have done any day of the week! I have to bring it back every 96 hours to renew the dealer plate, that would be today about 3:00, for the first renewal,, I will post more of this BS later,, I garantee you this will be good, keep watching!!!

 

Fired up yikes!

 

sorry for your troubles

please do a review on the dealer here

https://www.scionlife.com/dealers/

 

Thats a pretty common thing with Scion dealerships that don't have any stock on there lot. I was told the same thing for my xB and a month later I got ____ed and went to another dealer almost 2 hrs away. I didn't make a down payment at least from my original dealer so I had the freedom to go anywhere else.

With that check....u should of post dated the check so they couldn't cash it till the date was up on the check. A bank will not accept a check if the date is not past when it was written or the same day.

Keep us posted....

 

OK.. Leith Scion sales manager Mark Poindexter, has been calling me,,,, finally! Guess what?,,, My tC won't be in any time soon,,, he said Leith Scion has not been alotted an asure pearl 5-speed, and asked if I would accept a different car. What??!!!! I ordered my car exactly how I wanted it,, which is what Scion boasts that it is all about. Why wouldn't my car be manufactured for me? And why should I accept anything less than what I wanted,, especially after dealing with your bulls*%t???
So,, I renewed my dealer tags,, which I must renew every 96 hours, Yet another wast of my time!!!

Has anyone else been put through the wringer like this???

As the customer: DONT TAKE THIS KIND OF CRAP FROM YOUR DEALER!!!!! DONT LET THEM MAKE A DIME OFF OF YOU UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED!!!

In all honesty, my beef is not that I havn't recieved my car yet. But started with their habitual ignoring me, and giving me the run-around. Their lack of customer service, keeping me guessing, misleading me, and outright lies, has led me to the opinion that Leith Scion, and its sales team, do not stand by their word. If I had just been treated with the slightest bit of respect and courtesy, my opinion of them would be quite different. But the treatment I had recieved from them is unforgiveable, and intolerable!
Now I just want my car,, so I can be done with them! :twisted:

 

you are not the only one. try this story.

I went to a bunch of dealerships and got the same answer about the wait from all of them but one, 355 Toyoda. I was told a month at the other dealers but 355, they told me 2 weeks. Two weeks sounds better to me then a month, so I put my money at 355. After two weeks I start calling them, no callbacks! I then went into 355 just to see what’s up with my car, and was told it’s on a boat and it should be in, in the next 7 to 10 days. Cool, but a weeks goes and no call, so I call them, they tell me it’s on its way to the port right now it should be another 7 to 10 days. Ok I can take that, but a weeks goes by and no call, so I call them again. They tell me that they are sorry but they don’t know when the car is going to be in. Before they knew were the car was and now they don’t. I asked them don’t you have some way of tracking the car and it progress as its being made. 355 told me that’s not how Scion works, we get what they give us. THAT SOUND LIKE INFORMATION YOU SHOULD OF TOLD ME BEFORE I ORDER THE CAR. Just so you know at this time I had sold my 95 JEEP and my 01Yamaha R6. What am I driving, my mothers car. She let me use it for the two weeks that it was going to take until the car got in.
After the all the BS I went to the SE Maryland Chapter and talked to some of the guys on the web site and I told them what was going on and they told me to go up the Younger Scion, one of the places I went from the start. When I went up there I talked to two guys, one of which I know is in both SE and SL, good guys. What they did I am not sure was completely right and I hope they don’t get in trouble for it, but they showed me the list of all the cars coming into the east cost that month and were they were going. After waiting almost 2 months I went up to a Scion dealer in Meadville PA from Frederick MD.(about 300 miles, 600 round trip) to get the only car that had all the options I wanted. Just to let you know I bought a tC 5 speed black sand pearl with side and side curtain air bags.
But all that was after I went up to 355 and made a scene in front everyone. The scene started when I talked to PJ on the phone when I was at 355 and he wasn’t. He told me that they had my car at the port and he was just about to call me. So as I am waiting for PJ to get in, I talk to the General Sales Manager and tell him the story about what I have been going through trying to get this car. I tell him, knowing that I have been lied to again, that PJ told me that the car is at the port. When PJ gets in, hey guess what the car wasn’t at the port, and it may take another month or more to get the car. I walk right over to the General Sales Manager again and tell him this is BS, no car and more lies. I also said a lot more because he told one of the sale man just to give me back my deposit. No I made them keep it, you still have to try and get my car.
This is how it works, no dealer knows what car they are going to get until it's allocated to them. If you are very particular about what type of SCION you want, I would put as many deposit down at as many dealership as you can. Also use a check for your deposit and they SHOULD hold on to it, not cash it. I don’t work at a dealer but this is how it work in my eyes. If I am wrong I am pretty close to the way it operates.

 

Glad I didn't have any of these experiences. I went to Bill kidds on York Rd in Hunt Valley, MD. I would give them a A+ The guy I talked to was about my age 25. It was very cool and chill. Was far better experience than any other dealer.

 

I'm really glad I didn't have an bad experience as well. I bought my BOP xB at Koons of Westminister. Lewis was great (a shame he doesn't work there anymore). He didn't know much, but found answers immeadiatly, called me on his own time to see how things were gojng (getting the money, insurance, anticipation, etc) My only afterthought is that they screwed me a lil on the financing, but when I can refinance, I'll be good.

 

I am sorry to hear about all of your problems. I wish there was something I could do to save the Scion name in this case because I honestly believe in it. Let me know if you are ever near Memphis and I will take you out for a drink to have fun.

 

Jay, dude, I am sorry to hear that you are going through this. I only wish all Scion dealers were honest and straight forward with their customers, cause, all in all, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE.

Sleeper, I am glad to see you in your tC. I do wish though that I could've sold you the car, but either way, I am glad that you are driving in the car that YOU WANTED.

 

I'm really glad to see that quite a few Scion dealers are reading my post. I hope that my experience has been the exception, and not the norm. Please just be honest and straightforward with your customers. I understand that there is a high demand for these cars. I understand that Toyota did not anticipate these demands, and they did not produce them in quantity to meet them.
I am very reasonable, and patient, and I am sure most people understand the great difficulty te dealerships are having right now. However, there is no excuse for misleading us, lying to us, and most importantly,, ignoring us!!
I guarantee you all, I will remember this expierence for the rest of my life. I will tell my friends, family, and anyone I meet who is in the market about what I am going through right now. I will continue to post in online forums, and send out emails. And be assured, that there are thousands of people just like me, who will react just as vehemently as I have to mistreatment by the dealers. And ultimately, you will lose your customers.
In a market where the product, and price is fixed, your reputation is all you have keeping you in business. Do not take us for granted.

 

Sleeper,, please tell me more about what happened with 355. I could use any help you guys can offer in dealing with Leith. Though I am driving an xA, (which is a fun car, bye the way) It is not mine. I feel like they owe me something. I do expect the most sincere apology I had ever recieved. And I expect my tC to be exactly as I ordered. But those things should be expected. Is there anyone else I should talk to, or any course of action I should take?

 

Dude Go 2 Toyota/Scion of Durham..Talk 2 Ian..I bought my TC there and it was sooooo smooth. Trust me..I went 2 Raleigh also and they were _______s..

GO TO TOYOTA/SCION of DURHAM and talk to IAN.

hehe

 

I did not have a smooth experience at Toyota of Durham. Not nearly as bad as Jay's, but I had to make every phone call and they gave me the BS about knowing where it was and then not knowing where it was. I'm afraid that I could only suggest to anyone looking to buy a Scion to get it when they see it on the lot. Also see the posts on 'how long did it take'... There are many horror stories.

 

My dealership experience is was pretty smooth compared to a lot of stories I heard. I ordered my xb on a tuesday, they said it would be in the week after next on a thursday and I got it that thursday night. I am starting to see a pattern with scion dealers though. I think that they are putting older smooth talking sales people who used to sell toyotas to our moms and dads and could get them to take a different car on the lot and applying that technique to a younger more informed crowd on a product that does not sell like tradional toyotas. I think what people need to do is either do a live chat with a scion rep or e-mail with specifics to scion and tell them what is going on and threaten to take your business to a different car company. They know that money talks and B.S. walks and when your money starts to walk they will listen.

 

All of you guys that are not happy should call Scion Corporate. I personally have heard that Scion is taking better care of their customers than Lexus does. I did not believe it until they warrantied an 18" Pirelli tire that costs about $200 installed for a customer that Pirelli would not even warranty. Scion Corporate will do something if they can. I do not have the number or I would give it to you. I think it would be hilarious if you drove their xA around and then returned it to them because you bought your tC elsewhere.

 

The place you want to call is the Scion Customer Experience Center. The number is 866-707-2466.

It's sad that some dealers are not taking the Scion philosophy seriously. They also seem to not keep the salespeople up to date on how things work, which sounds like part of the problem at this dealership. Unfortunately, that's how a lot of "old school" dealers work, by keeping the salespeople in the dark, to maintain "control" of their staff.

 

Wow, I'm sorry that these dealers are treating people so badly. At our dealership, it is almost impossible to keep any Scions in stock, especially tC's, I think the longest we've ever had one on the ground was less than 48 hours before being sold; so the majority of the cars we sell have to be ordered. I'm pretty sure that a lot of dealers are having the same problem we are, but from what I've heard, a lot of dealerships are giving out unrealistic timeframes to customers who order their cars.

How it works here (Chi-Town Area), is that all the dealerships in our 5-state region (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan) have to pick from the same allocation pool (group of cars that Scion makes available to us). So if 10 people want say, a 5-Speed Azure Pearl tC, and Scion only allocates 8 of them to the region, then 2 dealerships (and thus 2 customers) have to wait until the next allocation to get that car. Sometimes, an order for a very popular car like a Flint Mica 5-Speed can go through 2, 3, or even 4 allocations before actually getting allocated (meaning it could take up to 8-12 weeks for some cars). Even assuming that the car gets allocated on the first try, it takes at least a month, usually a month and a half, for the car to actually arrive at the dealership. So a dealer who tells you that it wil only take 2 weeks for an ordered car to arrive is flat-out lying to you. I always give people a timeframe that is, if anything, longer than the truth so that people are happy when they get the car early; telling someone their car will be here in 2 weeks when I know it won't be here for 2 months is not just lying, its stupid If someone says they need a car in 2 weeks that won't be here for a month, I'll tell them that we can try to get it by then, but its not likely. Being honest with your customers keeps everyone happy, because when we don't get that car in 2 weeks, that customer won't be mad because he knows we didn't promise him anything and that we did our best for him, and since we were honest, maybe he won't mind waiting until the car gets here, if we lied, then he would have gone elsewhere and we'd lose his business. Its beneficial to both salespeople and customers to be honest

Now before i get all kinds of people saying that I'm wrong because they got thier car sooner, I admit it is entirely possible to get your car sooner in one of these ways:

1) The car is already on the way to the dealership because it was allocated to the dealership without having been a customer order

2) The car is already on the way to the dealership because the car was originally an order but the customer cancelled the order, thus making the car available

3) Dealer trades: the dealership you ordered your car from trades one of their cars for the car you want if a differant dealer in the reigon has it. (this one is tricky because a lot of dealers use this as a way to overcome objections to the long wait i.e. "Oh, don't worry, we'll just dealer-trade for it, we'll get it in a week or two." This does not usually work with tCs because most dealers will only trade a tC for a tC because they know that they are hot cars and they don't need to trade them, and also because most dealers don't have a ton of tC's lying around to be traded.


I assume that a lot of salesmen are giving innacurate info for one of two reasons:

1)They honestly have no idea how long it takes for Scions to get from the factory to the dealership. In this case, thier Scion sales managers should be beaten for not giving thier salespeople enough info to properly take care of thier customers

-or-

2) They know full well how long it will take but they are worried that you won't want to wait that long so they figure that it will be easy to string you along for an extra month or so (or longer) until the car actually gets there.

A lot of dealerships (from what i've heard from customers) do not have thier Scion dept. properly trained on how Scion does business differantly from all the other nameplates. That is the fault of the individual dealership, Scion makes training classes and materials easily available for all dealers, so the ones who are not trained are that way by choice.

Hope that gives everyone some insight on the whole process, and just as a disclaimer, all this info is based on my expirances at my dealership, other parts of the country might work very differantly (For instance I think Scion Dealers in Cali. have a few differant rules since they were the first wave) So any other dealers can feel free to add to my info...

Oh yeah, and sorry for the long post, but its raining here today so we are really sloooooooooow and there's nothing else to do

 

Mine was right off the showroom floor, literally. It was stock, only had to have the security system installed. Damn little punks in my neighborhood stole my cd's from my moms truck one time.

I d suggest that you scour the lots, find one that has clos to the features you want. Factory installed you need to pay attention for, but most of it can be dealer installed, like my security system, and i didn't get screwed like that. From first paperwork till I got my car was 5 days, only cause it was hard finding insurance.

 

When I was ready to buy my tc I went to the Toyota dealer in Ellicot city to see what they had. It was a rainy afternoon and not only was i the ONLY customer, all of the sales staff were standing outside the front door hanging out when i pulled up. I was introduced to one of the guys standing there and attempted to get him to sell me a tc. His responce was, basically that he didn't have any didn't know what was comming in and didn't know how much they would have on them. I politely asked the salesperson standing next to him if he would like to sell me a car. He just looked at me blankly.

I left and went to Carmax in Laurel where Conrad showed me what they had comming in in the next couple of shipments. I drove one they had on the lot and loved it. I put down my 500 smackers and in less time than they had promised the car was in for me to pick up. On my way off the lot I picked up some garbage in my tire that put a BIG hole it it. Carmax didn't have another tire or another tc to take it off of so they sent me up the street to a tire place and with 18 miles on my car I bought a new tire for 279. In 7 days of returning the reciept to Conrad I got a check in the mail reimbursing me for the tire.

Maybe the fact that I used to sell cars with Conrad and the Sales Manager accross the street at the sister Carmax store had something to do with it

Anyways, Conrad is hooking me up with the eclipse navi 2494 for 2399 including installation and the master tech gurus in the back said they would happily hook me up with the sc install when it comes in. Everyone locally who has the same navi wants 2399 and 300 to do the install. Woo hoo, i'll be going really fast AND kinda know where i am going !