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Charles Maund Toyota
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
16 reviews for Charles Maund Toyota
A while back they did a warranty repair on our 2005 Avalon: the sun roof computer was confused and no longer automatically closing.
Fast forward, just a tad less than one year. The Avalon sun roof is confused again. Recalling that Charles Maund warranties all their work for a year, I call to schedule an appointment for them to look at it again.
The "service manager" (I use these terms in the loosest possible sense) tells me that because the repair was done under the factory warranty that they had no real obligation to honor their one year service warranty, "we did the work for Toyota, not for you."
Um, what?
If that doesn't make a lick of sense to you, fear not, me neither.
I point out to Mr. Integrity that if they had repaired the problem correctly when the vehicle was under the factory warranty that I would not have to pay for the repair now and didn't see why I should. (Yes, I realize it could be a new problem, read on, dear Yelper.)
No dice.
So, I go round and round with this guy. He tells me that there will be a $100+ diagnostic charge that they will deduct from the total price of the repair.
At this point, I am just exasperated that this person is actually in charge of anything and feel quite certain it is due to his master class skills at arguing with customers, weaseling out of warranty work, and no doubt sticking it to people for repairs at every opportunity.
The "service manager" actually implied that I was being cheap because I was balking at the diagnostic fee! I pointed out to clever clogs that I had owned nothing but Toyota vehicles in the last 20 years and he was doing a great job of making sure I would never buy a new one from Charles Maund, all over a $100 fee.
Finally, twenty minutes of arguing later, I ask to speak to the general manager of the dealership. Surprise! He isn't available. But the "service manager" will give him my name and number.
Uh-uh, I told him to give me the name and that I would be coming down there within 30 minutes to discuss this (and by discuss I mean complain loud and long as close the new car sales room as possible).
Surprise again! The GM calls me back in less than 5 minutes.
Apparently, there has been a terrible mis-communication! Of course they will honor the 1 year service warranty, he has never heard of not honoring their service warranty for work performed under the factory warranty. A terrible, unfortunate, lamentable misunderstanding.
Right.
Final offer from Charles Maund: bring the car down. We'll take a look for the $100 diagnostic fee. If it is the same problem, we will fix it for free and refund the diagnostic fee, if not, we will repair it and deduct the diagnostic fee from the repair price.
Reasonable, but far, far, far too late. And, your "service manager" has already shown me just how much you care about your customers.
This review is long overdue, I went for several months without a working sun roof, but then the folks at a different Toyota dealer (see my positive review of Round Rock Toyota) told me how to reset the computer myself: hold the close button down for 5 seconds after the sun roof is closed. So simple and easy to try...and it worked. The simplicity of the fix reignited my wrath at the scuzziness of Charles Maund, so here I am today writing the review.
Apparently the actual Charles Maund has passed away long ago. I don't know what kind of a person Mr. Maund was, but if he was one of integrity, then he must be spinning is his grave. The current owners of that place are either utterly lacking in honesty, completely asleep at the switch, morons, or all of the above.
I am unsurprised to see that Charles Maund Toyota has a lousy overall rating and sincerely hope their business suffers as a result. It'll be the most expensive $100 diagnostic fee they never made. Welcome to the 21st century, losers.
What an awful car buying experience. I stood around for 20 minutes before a salesperson came up to talk to me. Once I was discovered, he took me out to the two remaining models where he had no idea of the difference between the two. Then didn't even offer a test drive. He had to look up discounts/incentives on the public consumer website. Gave me prices but not an offer sheet.
I left as quickly as I could and am puzzled why this firm would hire such an inept staff.
I've never in all of my years (Toyota owner for 14 yrs) gotten service like this at a Toyota dealership and I've lived in many different places. Maybe I've been spoiled but this was like going to a greasy sketchy garage where you get ripped off the second you let you let your guard down. No thanks. I'll just continue stopping by Don McGill in Katy/Houston when I visit my parents.
Run for your life. Sales people here are despicably rude; I mean terribly, terribly rude. If I could give it zero stars I would.
Save your time, your sanity, your patience and go to Champion Toyota in South Austin. I ended up getting my car there after a horrible experience with Charles Maund Toyota (I literally left feeling abused) and have been happy ever since.
Clearly, after all my time on yelp, I still have not learned my lesson. Today I was almost royally screwed by the jerk offs at Charles maund Toyota. I am mad. I should have searched them on yelp first.
I bought an 05 camry about a month ago. I had it checked out by lemon busters, the ol 27 point inspection, whereby the lemon busters guy he told me that it was one of the best taken care of cars he had ever seen, no problems at all. Very good.
So. Fast forward. Bought my car, the "maintenance required" light comes on after about two months. I close my eyes and pick a toyota dealer out of the phone book to see what is up. They say oil change. Although I should have known better I bring my car in the next day.
The first part is great. Quick service, the guy was nice enough. Tells me that they will do another 27 point inspection for free... and by the way, help myslel to coffee and doughnuts on my way out.
No decaf coffee. I leave. They call me to inform me that my car has over 600 dollars worth of problems, all essential and they just wanted to get the go ahead to fix them. I explained to them that the same inspection done 2 months ago, that what he said was BS and I was not interested.He said things like "Well who did you get to inspect the car, they must have done it wrong."
I realize now the manipulation techniques employed by this dealer. I came in expecting to pay 35 dollars for an oil change... and they want to convince me to pay 600 dollars for things that were not essential. I got my car out as fast as I could and will never, ever go back ahead.
Don't try to scam me. I will yelp review your ass.
My experience wasn't as bad as some of the people on here, but I think I could have done better when I bought my Camry in January '08. The sales people can be cocky at times, but they were relatively accommodating when my car wasn't quite ready for delivery (they let me pick another used car off the lot to take to lunch while waiting). I hardly believe anyone leaves any car lot with a TRUE 5-star experience, even at CarMax.
I always thought I was going to save my virginity for someone very special. That dream came crashing down on me last Wednesday when the exhaust pipe and muffler fell off my car. I was driving home in the rain and I thought my car was going to explode. It was making the most horrible noises. The next morning I made an appointment at Charles Maund Toyota. Surely a business who has the word Toyota in it's name would know how to fix a Toyota.
So, I drove up to Charles Maund the next day with my tub of Vaseline. I parked my car in their garage, pulled down my pants and draped myself spreadeagle over the hood of my car. I was prepared for the raping I was about to receive.
Coincidentally, it wasn't just my exhaust pipe and muffler that were messed up. Apparently my intake air temperature sensor distributor cap, rotor wires, spark plugs, distributor o-ring, valve cover, gaskets, pcv valve and grommets needed replacing as well. Perhaps all that shit did need fixing, but how was I to know. Everything is hidden behind closed doors and I didn't get to see any mechanics. Not only was I raped, but I was blindfolded and punched in the stomach a couple of times. Oh yeah...and then they stole my wallet.
So I drove my car home today. The muffler and exhaust pipe looks nice. My car still sounds crappy and the engine is louder than it used to be. It misfired a few times while I was accelerating going home. It wasn't doing that before I brought it in. And when I get out of my car it smells like something was burning. Hopefully it won't die on me tomorrow.
It's a good thing I thought ahead and bought that hemorrhoid pillow. It's going to take me a while to recover from this.
I just wanted to test drive an FJ Cruiser. I really hate the current color options, but I wanted to see if I like how it drives. If I didn't like it all that much, then it would allow me to move on to other vehicles. If I did like it, I would be willing to hold out for a color I actually like.
Because I test drove one of their cars, they requested 2 phone numbers. Not an outrageous request for essentially giving me their vehicle for a few miles. However, I was kind of upset when the sad excuse for an over-confident frat boy (Full Disclosure: I'm one of them) salesman jumped in the back seat with the wife and me. Because of this I was immediately deflated about my experience. How can you objectively observe a vehicle with a salesman blabbing in your ear the whole time.
Of course, along the drive I told him that I honestly wasn't interested in buying until they offered better color options. Salesman immediately tries to convince me that it's a limited run vehicle and there may not be a 2008 model year *at all*. Nice try. Drive back to the dealership, leave, never intending to return.
Next day, I get no less than 4 phone calls (during work hours) from the dealership soliciting my opinion in the form of a verbal survey. The first call I politely tell the woman on the other end that I'm occupied and cannot comply. Twice more during the day they call and I simply ignore. Finally at 5:30 they call AGAIN and I answer. If the woman who called me that time is reading, I apologize for what I said. I understand you were only doing your job, but for God's sake, FIND ANOTHER JOB.
I will never buy a vehicle from a dealership who calls me 4 times in one day for a sale they never really had to begin with.
BTW-2 stars is generous.
EDIT: It's sad that the management at Charles Maund is so different from their sister dealership, Howdy Honda. See my review on the purchasing experience from them.
Car salesmen are usually assholes, but these guys excel at it. Horrible experience just walking the lot! Make the mistake of giving them your phone number/email and they will bug you forever.
My experience was the complete opposite at Champion Toyota. Granted, they still want to sell you a car and know they can bend you over and take advantage of you because it's a Toyota, but a more pleasant experience.
Charles Maund's showroom should be destroyed by the next hail storm, much like most of their inventory every year.
Can't say much about the service center. I don't like any new car service center except Land Rover. The rest suck big time. So I'm not surprised to hear the they also suck.
I have bought 4 cars from Charles Maund and help 5 other people negotiate for their new car. I have to say that they deal straighter than anyone else that I have dealt with in town. Yes, I know the car sales game and I know the tactics so I usually get a great deal after a lot of serious negotiations. This last time was the exception, I dealt with Bill Kipler in the internet sales department and I gave them my drive out price for a car that I knew they had on the lot. After the test drive we set down and the first offer was just below my price point. Believe me I was ready for a 4-6 hour negotiation, you could have dropped me with a feather. No hassles other than finding out the Champion Toyota used some underhanded loan tactics to block my friend from getting a little lower cost financing through Toyota.
Took my 2004 Touareg for a service that they quoted $200. When i went to pick it up, the bill was $800+. They wouldn't give me the keys until i paid. Thieves...
Will never visit a Maund store again. Unfortunately they seem to own 50% of the dealerships in Austin.
I am a bit surprised to see all of these negative reviews! I first went to Charles Maund back in December to test drive a Camry. I had no intention of buying at that point, and I told the salesman (Mark K., great guy) that I would not be buying until later on. The salesman was incredibly helpful and aswered all of my questions without once trying to get me to buy the car.
Fast forward to two days ago when my boyfriend totals our car and we are suddenly in the market for a new one. Having had an excellent experience at Charles Maund the first time, we decided to go back. It was a busy Saturday and sadly Mark K. was not available. We dealt with Simon and he was able to get us a great deal on a Camry.
My only complaint is that it took FOREVER for us to be able to sign the final papers with the finance guy. However, those kinds of things always take longer than you'd expect, and the dealership was incredibly busy.
Overall I was very satisfied with my buying experience and I feel as though I got a great deal on an awesome car. I don't know what more you could ask for.
Never going back to this place again. I've been to Toyota dealerships throughout the southeast to get my routine maintenance and never have I been jerked around soo much. The front-end representative wouldn't just change my oil, rather she just tried to sell me more and more unneeded maintenance... On top of it all, it took them 2 1/2 hours to change the oil and rotate the tires I I was over-charged for the work.. I'm sticking with Champion in south Austin.
Just a terrible experience in all areas of the business. The service area was extremely slow to check me in, and then they said I needed service on something that I found out later, from someone in sales at this dealership, was completely unnecessary! I was really surprised and disappointed at the service experience because all of my past experiences at Toyota of Santa Monica, where I previously went, were all positive.
With the sales/finance department...I came here to purchase the car after my lease expired. I actually came twice before the lease expired to understand the process and find out the cost. Each time, I was given the same rate and costs. When I came the third time to make the transaction, the person wouldn't honor the rate and then added on hundreds of dollars of costs that I wasn't told about.. This new person I dealt with actually told me he was doing me a favor (and based on how I was treated by everyone, that sentiment was obviously felt by the entire staff) because they don't make any money on purchases of leases. Well, I then actually caught him in a lie, and he admitted, that they do make money. Wow, what shock! Of course they make money on this so don't insult me by saying you don't! It took me almost 3 hours to complete what should have been an easy transaction. This finance person then actually had the nerve to tell me not to pay off my car within the first three months because then he wouldn't make any money. So, after lying to me, he then was going to tell me how to deal with my finances?
I know there aren't a lot of options for Toyota dealerships in the Austin area, and I haven't gone to any of the other locations nearby, but I recommend you give them a shot over this dealership.
my car and my family's cars were taken to Charles Maund for 10 years and we were all loyal customers. I spent thousands of dollars, no joke. My check engine light came on today, so I went in to get the car repaired (spent a couple hundred). Yet when the porter returned my car, I receive it with a broken door handle (in fact it was gone). I asked to talk to service manager and he refused to replace it because "they get old and break." He didn't care that they broke it and refused to fix the damage. 10 years of my money and loyalty and this is what I get in return?
I do not recommend Charles Maund Toyota for repairs. Their repair representatives are the most rude and disrespectful in the business. Watch out for the manager and "Travis", they will give you a headache. It would be best to seek other Toyota dealerships and repair shops.
I bought a used 2004 Toyota Camry from these guys. I had a check engine light come on. I have a code scanner. When I found out what the code was and checked it out on AllData, I found there was a TSB out on it. (Not to mention this car is supposed to be "Toyota Certfied". I set up an appointment with Kim to get this car in. I told her the problem and gave her the TSB number that related to the code I was getting. She told me she would call me to let me know the status.
I get a call a few hours later from Kim telling me I was correct in my diagnosis. (They originally wanted to charge me $75 to do this if the car was not under warranty.) She also told me that it was covered under the TSB, so there would be no charge. I picked up my car around 5pm that evening. Kim went over the paperwork and told me there was a"bump" in my steering and it would cost $411 to fix it. I had explained that this was a "Certified" vehicle and they should fix it under the warranty. She also told me I got a 3000 mile warranty when I got the car but since I was a little over that 3000 miles, I would have to pay out of pocket. She told me basically that my "Certified" Toyota was not really a "Certified" Toyota at all because the paperwork had never been put in the system. She suggested I speak to the used car manager to see what he could do. After my major issue with this dealership screwing up my paperwork and making me pay $509 two weeks after I had bought the car which held up the pay off of my old vehicle, I was not about to go try to get this guy to do me any favors. Secondly, $411 is a little much for a Steering Shaft replacement. Kim suggested I buy the part myself and they would do the labor. That would still cost me over $200. I told Kim that this problem had been going on since we first bought the car and if it was certified, it should have been one of those things that were fixed right off the bat. I had thought the "bump" in the steering was just bad tires and had planned to buy new tires anyway.
I get home and check AllData for the replacement of the Steering Shaft. It is a 2 hour job and 3 bolts. (If it takes you more than 2 hours to do the job, you need to find another career other than being an auto mechanic.) Even more ironic is the fact that there was a TSB on this problem as well but it was only to 36,000 miles and we were over that. I told Kim that she should call her Toyota rep to see if they would fix the problem under warranty because it was an issue that was never fixed to begin with. Kim calls me back 3 days later to tell me they would not do so.
I amazed at a car company like Toyota will not stand behind their vehicles like Honda does. I had a 2003 Honda CRV and the A/C went out. We were way past our warranty. There was a known issue with the Compressor, but no TSB. Honda fixed the problem at no charge for me. On the other hand, Toyota was like, "Better luck next time."
I shopped some local shops to see how much they would charge to fix it since I had the part. Midas told me $160 (They also use AllData to estimate labor costs.) I also went to a local shop in Kyle who told me they would do it for $140 max but could probably do it in an hour and charge me $75. I could do it myself but one bolt is in an awkward position and I do not feel like putting myself in a funky position just to get to it.
For service, skip this place. You would be better off finding someone else to work on your car and save the headaches.
