Alright, so this is my followup post to the Findlay Toyota post I made recently…

Where we last ended, I was pending to go down there and get the final hubcap for the truck. I was also going to check my old receipts with them to see if the September oil change indeed had the hubcaps marked.

Well, score one for Findlay on the receipt. It did.

So yesterday I ran down to Findlay to get the last hubcap put on. While I was waiting, I overheard one of the managers talking to one of the other guys about it. He was telling the other guy what had happened, and he was spot on — that the hubcaps were off of the truck for awhile but on the last oil change they didn’t mark it, so they decided to warranty the caps.

They put the cap on and I went home. lol

Really, not much of a wrap-up here. I suppose they could have left the two caps off sometime before the September oil change, but… I doubt it. They did well in this whole thing, besides forgetting to tell me that I needed the receipt, and having me drive down there so many times.

Oh, and All Your Codebase Are Belong To Jenga

Alright, so you might have seen whispers and rumors on either my blog or my Twitter account of some fabled letter I’ve been writing to Findlay Toyota. Or perhaps you heard me complaining about some issue I was having with them. Well, fear not. Here is the tale I’ve yet to tell, but shall now.

This all began on Saturday, January 10. Laura and I took the truck in for its regularly-scheduled oil change and tire rotation. When told it would take 20 minutes, it took an hour and a half. I didn’t stay irritated for long, even though we’d made an appointment.

Sometime Sunday the 11th, Laura noticed that the hubcaps on the driver’s side of the truck were missing. We quickly concluded that Findlay Toyota must have left them off because we’d never noticed them missing before.

Laura called Findlay Toyota on Monday the 12th to resolve the issue. They told her that we had to bring the truck in in order for them to order the hubcaps. She didn’t understand why but told me.

Since Findlay Toyota closes service at 6pm, Laura never has the opportunity to take the truck in after work. Thus, I planned to do it on Tuesday the 13th. I called as well that day to make sure I really did have to bring the truck in. It perplexed me that they didn’t know whta hubcaps to order, and I got my answer — they manufactured the 2007 Tacomas with any of 5 different hubcap models, and had no records who had what hubcaps on what truck since they’re so interchangeable. Oy.

So I took it in and explained the situation. The service rep asked me if I had my receipt from the oil change. Apparently, they will mark down the condition of the truck and any missing parts when you bring it in. He needed to verify they had left off the hubcaps and we didn’t bring the truck in with them missing… No, I did not have the receipt. I was not told to bring it, neither was Laura.

He checked his computer and they didn’t have the records scanned yet. Thus, a wasted trip. Well, at least he was able to get the hubcap part number down. He told me to call on Friday to see if they had the paperwork scanned yet… But then again, they should have called me when they did. Gah.

So I call on Friday the 16th and ask if the paperwork is scanned. Yup, it sure is, and they verified that there were no missing hubcaps marked. I also verified on my receipt at home. So I asked if they had the hubcaps in stock. He said he didn’t know what hubcaps were on my truck.

Wait, what? Didn’t I already take the truck down so they could get the damn part numbers? Yup, I did, and no, they didn’t. I had to take it down again… Frickin’ gotta be kidding me. Although I knew I needed to take it down there to get the hubcaps put on, but still!

On Wednesday the 21st I took the truck down to Findlay again. Again, I had to explain the situation because for the umpteenth time I got someone new in the service department. He brought up the receipt and sure enough there were no marks for hubcaps. He left for what seemed like an interminable amount of time and came back. The verdict?

In September’s oil change, we took the truck in without hubcaps. What? Er… What? He showed me the receipt from the September oil change and indeed, the hubcaps were marked as missing. He said he would warranty the hubcaps anyway, explaining to me how often people come in thinking Findlay left off their hubcaps.

He had one in stock and put it on the truck. I’m going in tomorrow to get the other one.

Now that my long story is over with, some thoughts.

1. I think he warrantied the hubcaps because on the most recent receipt, the one that I had to wait for them to scan, they didn’t mark the hubcaps as missing. If they had then, he probably wouldn’t have warrantied them. But since they didn’t mark it, they did make a mistake.
2. They could have left them off of the truck in the oil change before September.
3. They could have left them off on the most recent oil change and marked an old receipt to make themselves look better… But I have copies, I highly, highly doubt they did this. Why would any shop, really? Too deceitful.

So likely, the two hubcaps were missing off of the truck for awhile, but Findlay did make a mistake in not noting that on our most recent oil change. They also made mistakes in not telling us we needed the receipt and not taking down the hubcap number when they said that they would.

We live 20.1 miles from Findlay Toyota. The truck gets about 21 miles per gallon, which leaves us at a gallon one-way. Not to mention the transit time of at least a half-hour one-way. So Findlay didn’t do us any favors in needing us to go back so many damn times.

I’m going to check the September oil change receipt when I get home today, but I bet it shows the two hubcaps missing. Oh well.