A young woman who says she shopped for a Toyota Highlander in Colorado Springs has people talking about what Toyota’s Gold Certification really means and whether you can really trust any car dealerships at all.
Anna (authentically.anna) starts the video by posing a question many consumers can relate to: “So why is car shopping just an inherently shady business, even when you’re doing it through a reputable dealer?”
In this case, the reputable dealer was Toyota—a company that regularly ranks towards the top of consumer satisfaction surveys and prominent industry lists like the one published by Consumer Reports.
From Unwanted Metal Bits to Gold
Anna claims in her TikTok that she discovered a 2019 Toyota Highlander with a Gold Certification in pristine condition, selling for a reasonable price, “like $29,000.” She says it only had 18,000 miles on it.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a 2019 Highlander should cost between $21,940 and $27,837, depending on trim.
She says that when she took it to a mechanic for an additional inspection, she learned that whoever gave the certification appeared to overlook some glaring problems with the car.
“The mechanic comes out and says, ‘Do not buy that car, because at some point in that car’s 18,000 miles, the timing chain broke, and it’s got all kinds of metal that’s basically in the engine now,’” she says. “So, even though this car is perfect, perfect maintenance records, perfectly taken care of, super clean, it needs a new engine.”
Anna punctuates the anecdote by calling Toyota out.
“Gold certified, my [expletive],” she says. “One, who are the mechanics who are certifying these vehicles? And two, what the [expletive]?”
Motor1 reached out to her for a comment by email, but didn’t immediately receive a response. Motor1 also contacted Toyota for a comment and is still awaiting a response.
Toyota is widely considered to be one of the more reliable carmakers, so Anna’s claim of a Gold Certified Highlander with a ruined engine surprised some commenters. Toyota promises a rigorous inspection to customers and a free CARFAX report on the vehicle’s history. It lays out a description of their standards on its website.
Toyota says each vehicle receives a “multi-point inspection” that looks at its mechanics, detailing, and appearance.
“To qualify as a certified vehicle, Toyota-dealer trained technicians complete any necessary repairs and reconditioning following inspection,” the company writes.
Anna’s tale has some wondering exactly how detailed that inspection really is.
The TikTok user going by “BPDTrue” claimed to have worked for Volvo. They urged people to be cautious.
“The process of buying a car has always been an adversarial relationship. The decline of morals related to lying has made the process even more painful,” BPDTrue wrote. “The consumer needs to research the type, model, and price of [the] car that they are planning to buy. Don’t plan on buying until you have all the information you need.”
Another TikToker, “Ratha,” also claimed to have worked for a dealership.
“Used to work at a dealership,” they wrote. “To certify a car, all the techs do is go through a checklist and make sure all software is updated. That’s it. Most techs are lazy and will not do a thorough inspection. But at least there’s warranty!”