Herb Chambers Toyota of Boston
Dealership Service Review
On January 18, 2023, I came in to Herb Chambers Toyota of Boston for a regular maintenance service for my leased RAV-4 (free with my two year warranty). But was informed that the necessary fix for the problem with the recently non-functional passenger seatbelt was not covered by the warranty and was going to cost $165. When I first leased the car in 2021, I negotiated with the national Toyota Customer Service for a rebate or credit of some kind because my previous RAV-4 (which I had bought new and owned for a couple of years) had only 51,000 miles on it but began having multiple and expensive problems, unheard of in a new Toyota—and I have over the years owned several Toyotas, purchased and serviced at Herb Chambers of Boston, and each of which were wonderful to drive and lasted in excellent shape for well over 100,000 miles and for many years. Until the top-of-the- line RAV-4 I had bought in 2017. I decided, after already spending several thousands of dollars on fixing an ongoing problem with the car, that I could not spend another estimated $8,000 for yet-another attempt at fixing the issue, which might not even work. In the end, I traded in my failing RAV-4 to lease (my first-ever car lease) a new 2021 RAV-4 and reached out to Toyota to negotiate a rebate or discount. After many phone discussions, Toyota offered me a $1000 two-year credit for any labor or parts needed for my new leased car. When I asked about it at Herb Chambers relative to the seat belt fix, no one in service or in the financial office could find a record of that Toyota offer—until Jennifer (who has worked at that dealership, originally in Service, for over 25 years) took over for the financial services person who was working with me but was sent home sick in the middle our discussion about the “brand-loyal offer” from Toyota two years ago. First, Jennifer recognized me from her time as a service rep in the Service Department, knew I had been a Herb Chambers customer in both sales and service for over 20 years, and immediately started a process with Toyota to find the record and terms of the offer. And she called up to the service rep and told them not to charge me for the work on the seat belt. She had not heard back from Toyota when my car was ready, but said she would stay on it and call me if/when she got the answer we were looking for. So, I left (with a now-working seatbelt), feeling way better about Toyota (and Herb Chambers), thanks to Jennifer’s friendly, intelligent, understanding, and persistent help. She is a great asset for that dealership, and however the issue with Toyota is resolved, Jennifer (who is currently a “back office” person) should be recognized and commended for her superb and thoughtful customer relations skills and her cheerful willingness to dig deeper for a longtime Toyota and Herb Chambers customer. I am grateful indeed that she was there.
- Recommend this dealer? Yes
- Were you satisfied with the quality of work performed on your vehicle? Yes
- Did the dealership complete the work within the timeframe promised? No
- Did the dealership provide you with an accurate quote of the work to be performed? Yes
- Do you feel the price paid for service(s) was fair and appropriate? Yes
- Did the dealer honor all commitments made? Yes