Fort Myers Toyota

I went to buy a vehicle. I was pre-approved, but they said they could get me a better deal. They pulled my credit 5 times to lower my score and then put me with their finance company at high interest rate. I battled for a year to get a better rate. In the meantime, I broke a leg and had no work. (I am a realtor.) Finally, they agreed to lower the interest rate to 3 1/4 interest with first payment due on July 18. I had a family emergency and went to NJ. I got back and found paperwork overnighted to me on the16th and was due back on 18th. I got paperwork on the 23rd. The truck was repo-ed on the 24th. Nothing came certified from Toyota ever.

I know I cannot work with no car. So no job. I have been put through a nightmare over this truck. They are rude at dealership and also at the finance company. I will lose my house now. I cannot work without a vehicle, and they also have padded bill with added charges for items that came with the vehicle already. Also, I told them I did not want Gap insurance, and I was told it was removed. It was never removed. I am scared; I do not know what to do about all this mess.

I owned an 07 Camry that I bought in 08. I am a long term Toyota owner, and that was my 8th Toyota. When I heard about the pedal problems, I went into Toyota and told them 1) I did not want any local mechanic cutting my gas pedal, and 2) I felt unsafe driving the car around, especially when my children and young grandchildren were here. I went into Toyota over three days to discuss my concerns. Two sales reps, one named Bruce P. and another named Brian, along with the Sales Manager, convinced me to buy a new Toyota, a 2010, that they assured me had absolutely no pedal problems. I bought the car on January 30, 2010.

On May 6, 2010, I brought the new car in for its 5000 mile check-up. At that time I was told by the service department agent that the new car had exactly the same problem as the old car - safety recall 90L - and that the gas pedal would have to be cut down. I told him absolutely no, under no circumstances. The whole point of buying a new car when I did not need one was to avoid having non-factory staff "cut" or replace the gas pedal. I left the car there and returned to work to try and figure out what to do. The Sales Manager, Rick P., called me and offered me a new car, a 2011, which according to him definitely does not have any gas pedal problems, for $3,000. I told him, no, I could not afford another $3,000 after just laying out some $10,000 in addition to the $12,000 they gave me on the trade in.

During the day of May 6, I sent the owner of Forty Myers Toyota a fax explaining what happened and telling him that nothing was to be done to the gas pedal. I also went back to Toyota on that day around 2:30 and rented a car from the Hertz office on the grounds there. At 4:18 (phone calls are tracked in my office) the service area staff person (do not know his name) called me and said they would not cut the pedal down, but they would put in a completely new pedal if I wanted, and asked if that would be okay with me. I told him no, absolutely not. Again, with all due respect to local staff, the whole point of buying a new car I did not need was to get factory installed equipment on something as important as a gas pedal.

On Friday morning, May 7, I was called by the Service Manager and informed that a new pedal had been placed in my car. I asked who authorized that, and he said he did not know. Later that afternoon Rick P., Sales Manager called and said that they had determined that I authorized the replacement of the pedal when I came in to rent the car. I told him that was absolutely not true. So, I spent $22,000 (trade in plus cash) on a car that has exactly the same problem that my previous car did, even though I was assured it did not.

The dealership says they were not informed until the beginning of February that there was a problem. If this is true, then there is an even bigger problem; surely Toyota knew that the cars had the same problems as the previous recalled cars. I was lied to, and I was lied to well. Now they are not telling the truth about authorization to replace the gas pedal in my car. I want the money back I paid for this car. I want restitution that will make me whole. I have been a loyal Toyota customer, as have been my children. My present car is my ninth Toyota, and my daughter was about to buy her third. She has stopped the transaction.

I need help. I cannot afford to buy another car and I am afraid to drive the car that I presently own. Toyota sales staff outright lied about the condition of the car I was buying. I want to know how they had authority from Toyota to sell this car when they apparently knew full well of its problems. On the first day that I was notified of this, I really was a bit in a state of shock. I could not believe that I had been taken so good by a group of lying salesmen and a sales manager. I have been driving an unsafe car, one that was specifically purchased for the safety of my children and grandchildren. That first afternoon, I suffered an anxiety attack that resulted in my right eye becoming bloody in color. I have also had to rent a car at my expense due to the fact that the gas pedal in my car was cut out and replaced by a local mechanic and that the car has been identified for a recall by Toyota.