Just to add to this, I bought a Tundra from San Marcos Toyota and did not find out it was a Keating dealership until I was signing the final paperwork. For a dealership, I was surprised the salesman told me 3 things for sure that were completely incorrect about Tundras (this is my second one and I am very familiar with working on them). The truck was used so they put some Japanese tires on it which I am not able to locate anywhere. If I had a flat I would not be able to replace the tire.

Finally they wanted to add on the Apex Connect, the GPS tracking system mentioned in another thread. They reduced the cost a little bit but would not remove it. Unfortunately in this market they were not negotiating. Ultimately the price was decent in the market and the truck was low mileage and Toyota CPO so I was generally OK with the deal. Until a week later when the finance guy called me and said he made a mistake and it wasn't Toyota CPO but some other warranty. I was pissed to say the least and they actually offered to let me bring it back but I am two hours away. Luckily I have a fried that works for Toyota locally and he said not to worry about the warranty. Still pisses me off though.

Glad this worked out, but really disappointing that someone has to pull some strings to get a Aggie to act with integrity.

Thats complete BS. they should be giving you a free Toyota warranty for that as it is what they sold you.

1) remove the Apex and you can use the sim in a phone for free.

2) CPO should be covered by Toyota warranty. This is yet another scam.

3) Email Flatout to get what you paid for. You should settle for nothing less.

Honestly, so much scam here, it's ridiculous

meggy09 said:

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Glad this worked out, but really disappointing that someone has to pull some strings to get a Aggie to act with integrity.

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This. I'm really torn. First, happy the op got his family taken care of. But it doesn't change that this Aggie is still going to be pulling this **** on others.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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Honestly, so much scam here, it's ridiculous

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Agreed. It seems like Keating is nothing but scammy dealerships used to fund a race car hobby.

Alpine said:

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Just to add to this, I bought a Tundra from San Marcos Toyota and did not find out it was a Keating dealership until I was signing the final paperwork. For a dealership, I was surprised the salesman told me 3 things for sure that were completely incorrect about Tundras (this is my second one and I am very familiar with working on them). The truck was used so they put some Japanese tires on it which I am not able to locate anywhere. If I had a flat I would not be able to replace the tire.

Finally they wanted to add on the Apex Connect, the GPS tracking system mentioned in another thread. They reduced the cost a little bit but would not remove it. Unfortunately in this market they were not negotiating. Ultimately the price was decent in the market and the truck was low mileage and Toyota CPO so I was generally OK with the deal. Until a week later when the finance guy called me and said he made a mistake and it wasn't Toyota CPO but some other warranty. I was pissed to say the least and they actually offered to let me bring it back but I am two hours away. Luckily I have a fried that works for Toyota locally and he said not to worry about the warranty. Still pisses me off though.

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Always report these kind of things to the Texas AG's office.

this place needs bunch of people to go in and begin negotiations...... excuse themselves to take a call or restroom break and head out the door.

So is the mother ****er who did it fired? Or did he get told to make sure that the old people don't have kids who post on message boards…

OnlyForNow said:

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So is the mother ****er who did it fired? Or did he get told to make sure that the old people don't have kids who post on message boards…

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I'm sure they would have no problem firing the guy, and they very well might have. I'm good with that, but it's pretty obvious this goes way higher than that. Again, it's a business practice.

OnlyForNow said:

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So is the mother ****er who did it fired? Or did he get told to make sure that the old people don't have kids who post on message boards…

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Fired? They probably promoted them.

longeryak said:

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Texker said:

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I submit that the games/strategies of the service department are just as bad, and in some instances maybe even worse than new car sales.

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Family Toyota, in Arlington, a few weeks ago told me diagnostics(plugging in the OBD reader and getting the results in seconds) is a $150 flat fee that can be credited to a repair they do.

I left.

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That's standard at any dealer maintenance shop.

OnlyForNow said:

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As much as that fellow is holding water for the owner of the dealership, I sure wish he'd pipe up and explain this.

Or better yet, have the owner step up, and admit the issue and that it's being fixed.

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Chances of either of those situations happening are zero. Should just be glad OP's issue was resolved, avoid this dealership group, and wait for next similar post.

longeryak said:

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Texker said:

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I submit that the games/strategies of the service department are just as bad, and in some instances maybe even worse than new car sales.

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Family Toyota, in Arlington, a few weeks ago told me diagnostics(plugging in the OBD reader and getting the results in seconds) is a $150 flat fee that can be credited to a repair they do.

I left.

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If you only want the code read, go to autozone and do it for free. Or better yet buy a reader on Amazon for $20.

Dealership (or indy shop) is charging you for actual diagnosis which is a different thing.

Cromagnum said:

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longeryak said:

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Texker said:

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I submit that the games/strategies of the service department are just as bad, and in some instances maybe even worse than new car sales.

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Family Toyota, in Arlington, a few weeks ago told me diagnostics(plugging in the OBD reader and getting the results in seconds) is a $150 flat fee that can be credited to a repair they do.

I left.

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That's standard at any dealer maintenance shop.

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That "standard" is ridiculous. Takes 10 seconds to connect the OBD reader... maybe another minute for the codes to be revealed. $150? I, too, would have walked. And... I used to walk until I bought a $75 OBD reader. Carry it in the car. Paid for itself the first repair.

I repair my own vehicles.

Keep scummy/shady/whatever mechanics honest.

JamesPShelley said:

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Cromagnum said:

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longeryak said:

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Texker said:

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I submit that the games/strategies of the service department are just as bad, and in some instances maybe even worse than new car sales.

---

Family Toyota, in Arlington, a few weeks ago told me diagnostics(plugging in the OBD reader and getting the results in seconds) is a $150 flat fee that can be credited to a repair they do.

I left.

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That's standard at any dealer maintenance shop.

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That "standard" is ridiculous. Takes 10 seconds to connect the OBD reader... maybe another minute for the codes to be revealed. $150? I, too, would have walked. And... I used to walk until I bought a $75 OBD reader. Carry it in the car. Paid for itself the first repair.

I repair my own vehicles.

Keep scummy/shady/whatever mechanics honest.

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I keep a code reader too. It's good for a guy like me who throws parts at problems, works out a good percentage of the time.

But I don't fool myself into thinking that's a true diagnosis. Any real shop charges something to truly diagnose a problem, not tell you what the code is.

JamesPShelley said:

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Cromagnum said:

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longeryak said:

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Texker said:

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I submit that the games/strategies of the service department are just as bad, and in some instances maybe even worse than new car sales.

---

Family Toyota, in Arlington, a few weeks ago told me diagnostics(plugging in the OBD reader and getting the results in seconds) is a $150 flat fee that can be credited to a repair they do.

I left.

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That's standard at any dealer maintenance shop.

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That "standard" is ridiculous. Takes 10 seconds to connect the OBD reader... maybe another minute for the codes to be revealed. $150? I, too, would have walked. And... I used to walk until I bought a $75 OBD reader. Carry it in the car. Paid for itself the first repair.

I repair my own vehicles.

Keep scummy/shady/whatever mechanics honest.

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The dealer code readers are more like $500, not $75.

They have to pay the guy reading the code, pay the guy checking you in, pay to keep the lights on, insurance for the slip and fall guy who walks in the door (and "slips and falls"). If you don't want to pay the $150 I get that (I don't either) but it's not "free" or a 10-second job for them to hook up the code reader. Depending on location and local labor rates, they are likely not making much on reading your codes.

And the code reader you have only reads OBDII emissions related items, not all diagnostic codes your car can throw. The dealers code reader and computer can read a lot more.

Not defending dealers here as I do a lot of my own work and read my own codes, but it's far from "free". A good friend is a shop foreman at a local dealer and nothing they do is "free" or cheap.

OnlyForNow said:

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Some of us know a guy with a dealership quality scanner...

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Ben Keating?

Back to the point of the original post.

Did the person who perpetrated this scam get fired? I think there are laws again defrauding the elderly.

Dr. Brown, I wish I had the opportunity to meet and speak with you under different circumstances but glad we got to know each other nonetheless.

It's obviously frustrating and disappointing to see what happened to the OP's parents and also Ben's name and reputation in this thread, but it goes to show you what level of influence a few can have on the overall picture of a company. Ben's stores have been incredibly successful compared to the competition across the state. That simply does not happen if you are pissing everyone off and running a fraudulent business, it just doesn't. That being said we are certainly not without our flaws.

Our stores are individually operated and in most cases are run by an operating partner. It is absolutely not company policy, directive, or our culture to defraud ANYONE EVER. Unfortunately when something like this does occur it seems to be shielded from the appropriate point of contacts view by a lower level manager/employee, and there is simply no excuse for that. I can assure you Ben would lose his collective **** over this situation and thread.

I wanted to post this final reply to the thread; knowing full-well that it won't change anyone's opinion on the situation, but to respond instead of simply going away.

If any of you ever want or need to contact me in regards to a question or concern involving one of our stores please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Andrew Wheeler
General Manager College Station Hyundai
awheeler@collegestationhyundai.com

I posted something snarky above, but I do believe you and your post/response does carry weight. As you know, deck is always stacked against your profession due to people's nearly universal experience with the bad apples during their lifetime.