Toyota

I am sorry to say but Mark Jacobson Toyota of Durham NC has lied in their response to the Better Business Bureau. But this response by them uncovers a greater matter and that is that their guarantee of complete customer satisfaction is textbook false advertising. That may be a greater issue than my being deceived about what I was buying.

http://easternnc.app.bbb.org/complaint/view/11068536/c/37em24

COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT Case # [protected] Better Business Bureau

Mark Jacobson Toyota
4516 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd
Durham, NC [protected]
[protected]

Consumer's Original Complaint :
They sold me a Prius 2 telling me it was a Prius 3. They also falsely advertise complete satisfaction guaranteed.
On [protected] I was sold a 2011 Toyota Prius that was advertised to be a Prius 3 for $29714.40 A few days later I discovered it to only be a Prius 2 even though they even stated Prius III on the title documentation. I have a web printout of a Google search of the VIN that shows them selling it as a Prius 3. While not denying their false advertising they only offered to roll back the deal. That was unacceptable to us because of the time and effort in securing financing and that there were no other low mileage Prius models available.

Also Mark Jacobson Toyota is engaging in blatant false advertising by advertising "complete satisfaction guaranteed". That is a blatant lie and is textbook false advertising. They also did not honor their website offer for our trade in.

Consumer's Desired Resolution:
The honest and honorable thing for them to do is simply refund me the difference between the base price of a Prius 2 and the base price of a Prius 3 since I was told I was buying a Prius 3 and they had been publicly advertising the car as a Prius 3.

BBB Processing

07/29/2011 web BBB Complaint Received by BBB

To: The Better Business Bureau

This is in response to the complaint that we received from the Better Business Bureau on August 2, 2011.

Mr. Winter is correct in stating that the Prius he purchased was listed on our website as a package III. This was brought to our attention by Mr. Winter several days after he purchased the car. The listing on the website was due to a clerical error. Although the website listing was incorrect, the vehicle was appraised correctly as a package II and priced accordingly.

It is never our intention to have a customer unhappy with their purchase at Mark Jacobson Toyota. When Mr. Winter brought the error to our attention, he was offered a full refund and the return of his trade-in vehicle, thereby giving Mark Jacobson Toyota an opportunity to correct the listing and represent the Prius correctly. Mr. Winter refused our offer. Instead, he requested compensation for the clerical error. While our goal as a company is to satisfy every customer who does business with us, Mr. Winter is unfortunately requesting something that is not possible.

Our offer to return Mr. Winter to his original position before his purchase was extremely fair. Since Mr. Winter insists on retaining the Prius, he has opted to keep the vehicle with the equipment and options he received on June 25, 2011.

With this being said, I sincerely apologize for the clerical error on the website and any inconvenience this may have caused him.

Sincerely,

Doug Hanenberg
General Manager
Variable Operations

CASE ID: [protected]
On August 04, 2011, you provided the following information:
I am sorry to see blatant lying by Mark Jacobson Toyota regarding this matter. This further convinces me that this may not have been an honest mistake after all.

I only saw the internet advertising AFTER I had been sold the vehicle as a Prius 3 by the sales people and everyone else that I dealt with. Even the title documentation stated Prius 3 Only after the sale did I come to find out it was only a Prius 2 when I was so advised by Toyota USA.

This response by Mark Jacobson Toyota proves absolutely that their advertising of "complete customer satisfaction" on their website video is blatant false advertising and may well be a bigger issue that my being deceived by them regarding what I was purchasing.