Need Some Advice re Toyota Leather Upholstery Scam

[david_ord]

I really need some advice, as this has been ongoing for a month. I bought a new 2012 Toyota Sienna for my wife a month ago. The dealer convinced me to buy a $2,000 leather upgrade. I asked if the backs and sides of the seats would be leather. Throughout the 2 hours it took for me to take possession of the car, the lady confirmed, re-confirmed, re-re-confirmed, and re-re-re-confirmed that it would be a 100% percent leather job-- backs, undersides, anywhere/everywhere. By no means would they use vinyl ANYWHERE in the car. They even gave me a sample of a nice, soft, thick piece of leather to take home to my wife.

I dropped my car off about 2 weeks later for the install. The morning after getting it back, I noticed that the first row driver’s and passenger seats had leather uppers (where the seat makes contact with your legs and back), and that the sides, armrests, headrests, and backs were vinyl a.k.a. “pleather.” The entire 2nd and 3rd row seats were vinyl. I showed it to a couple of friends and family. No one could tell the difference. I could tell because I made leather products as a boy scout years ago. I called, spoke with the GM, and stated that I was considering filing a complaint with the Atty General’s Office, as it appears that they are engaging in a practice that affects a fairly large segment of consumers (the dealership, Sun Toyota, is huge, selling about 600 cars per month). The GM apologized and said he would order a new set that would comprise of 100% leather. They eventually scheduled me to come in about 2 weeks later for the re-do.

That was yesterday. I showed up and requested to inspect the leather prior to install. It turned out they only intended to replace the 2nd and 3rd rows with the same junk—leather uppers, vinyl sides and backs. They weren’t even going to touch the front row, and intended to leave all the armrests and headrests vinyl. I said no. They summoned a manager. Long story short, I eventually compromised and said I would accept all the seats having vinyl sides and backs, as long as they order 4 arm rests and all 8 head rests in real leather for me. They scheduled me to come back next week at which time they would do everything at once.

I am now remorseful about compromising with them. For one, the real leather they install is real thin and has a foam backing-- not the same as the sample they gave me. Additionally, the backs of these seats, which will be all vinyl, are HUGE! Under this compromise, I would still end up with 60% of the car being cheap vinyl. Should I call back and cancel and essentially say either all or nothing? Or should I bite the bullet and call it the day, considering that $2000 is not that bad a price for all leather uppers on 8 seats? Please help!