For over a month I have been driving by this deale...

For over a month I have been driving by this dealership and seeing a red 4Runner Venture they have in stock. I have been wanting a 4Runner for a few years now and have decided to buy one. I pulled into the dealership and after being there for over 15 minutes and not getting the attention of anyone I approached a salesman who politely promised to get me some help.

I found this situation strange because just a week earlier I was on the lot looking at the same 4Runner. Only that day I was short on time but as luck would have it I was followed by a salesman in a golf cart who actually pulled into my lane of travel trying to stop me as I was about to leave. I had to turn to avoid hitting him! Like I said, I was pressed for time.

When the salesman who was sent to me gave me the red 4Runner to drive, before I even left the lot I had to tighten the transfer case shift knob! It was rattling like crazy! How did the salesman not notice this when he drove the vehicle to me is beyond me.

As I left the lot now with the rattle silenced something felt wrong. I have driven several 4Runners and have even rented one on two separate occasions for week-long vacations so I am very familiar with them. As I said, something felt wrong! I proceeded to Rt. 4 and took the vehicle to highway speed. As the speedometer hit 65 the front end started to vibrate. Not a violent vibration, but a vibration all the same.

I accelerated to 70 mph but the vibration remained. I decided to head back to the dealership. Once there the salesman was surprised to see me back so soon. I told him of the issues and he said he "could have service look at it." Key word there was COULD, not WOULD.

I took this to imply he would have it looked at if I was interested in buying it, which up to that point I was! I told him I was no longer interested in the vehicle and that it was the only one on the lot I was interested in. He politely thanked me for stopping by and I left.

There's more...

First, the salesman had told me when I was preparing to test drive the 4Runner; "This is the one that was at the auto show." The vehicle had over 80 miles on it so I will assume it was driven to the show. My concern here is why was this vibration not noticed before??? Obviously, someone has driven this 4Runner! Yet, no one noticed this vibration? Or no one mentioned it to management? Or maybe they did and no one followed up on it? Your guess is as good as mine!

One more point; this dealership is far from being the most competitive in pricing. As a matter of fact, I was in the market for a new affordable midsize car back in September and the Tarbox Hyundai dealership was the least competitive in pricing of the five dealers I contacted. You can beat the online pricing at both of the Tarbox dealerships with a simple search. And if you actually contact them as I did back in September you may discover they are more interested in bragging about sales then actually offering you a competitive price.

Everytime I hear a Tarbox Toyota or Hyundai add they boast about being the largest dealer in the area. Perhaps they should concentrate on being the best and most competitive rather than just moving volume.

Maybe then the salespeople wouldn't be trying to run you off the road to get you to talk to them?

Just a thought.

***UPDATE, JULY 4, 2020***

To the owner:

OK, you got me... I'm Batman!

But seriously, considering your dealership has a copy of the registration to my trade in, called me after the test drive and emailed me with a sales pitch that same day (but did not reply to my emaill stating the issues I found) I'm pretty sure you can easily find out who I am, my phone number, email, etc.

Moreover, I can say with 100% certainty that I am the only person who test drove the vehicle in question and complained about this issue. If I am not the only person, there is a much bigger problem here!

I don't own a car dealership, but if I did I would have followed up with the prospective buyer already.

I consider this conversation finished. Good luck!