Toyota Dealers
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Toyota Dealers
March 2008
I have a series of questions, and would appreciate any and all
help with the answers. After having my 1991 Toyota Corolla
totaled, I find myself without a car and am struggling with
buying a new one. I know we won't be able to afford a new
model, and want to get a good used Toyota, maybe 5 years old
or so, for under 12k. The path of least resistance would be to
shop down the street at the dealer on Shattuck which always
has some good looking models in their used lot. My questions
are:
What are the advantages of going to a dealer as opposed to
doing a private sale? If a car is certified, does that mean I
don't have to take it to my own mechanic? And why do dealers
have in general a reputation for being unscrupulous? And does
anyone have any experience or information about the particular
dealer I'm talking about?
Thank you so much in advance - I need to get myself a vehicle
soon!
Stuck without a car
Hi,
I don't anything about the Berkeley Dealer, but I am looking
for a used Toyota Highlander Hybrid and was referred to the
Enterprise used Car Lot in Novato. I am told this is a good
place to get a used Toyota and they come with a warrantly,
but have not yet checked this out personally. Good luck.
Also Looking
I've never purchased a used car, however, my understanding
is Toyota now overlooks all of its dealerships. I take my
Toyotas to the dealerships for routine maintenance
religiously and fill out their surveys with both good and
critical comments of their services. I have been told that
these surveys have a lot of weight on whether or not the
dealerships get the new car models they want. With negative
reviews, Toyota will not give them certain models. So
therefore they are serious about maintaining a satisfactory
customer basis.
My only experience with the Shattuck dealership is their
service department. I find it hard to get an appointment
with them unless it's two weeks ahead of time whereas other
dealerships are often 24 hour notice. A simple express lube
service will take minimum of half a day whereas it's only 1
hour at other dealerships. They will not do complimentary
car washes like other dealerships.
crystal
i didn't see your original post but as soon as I saw a posting about the Toyotal
dealer on Shattuck, I had to reply because I had an absolutely horrible experience
with their service department. It actually occurred at their service center in
Albany near Target, but I ended up dealing with the manager of the service
department on Shattuck. We took our car (not a Toyota) in for a routine oil
change. They stripped the oil cap, but never told us that anything had gone
wrong. The following oil change, we took it somewhere else and as soon as the
guy saw the oil cap he could tell it was stripped and had leaked oil all over the
underside of the car. He recommended we take it back to the previous people who
had done an oil change and he would not deal with our car.
When we took it back to Toyota, they acted like they had no clue what we were
talking about. After husband persisted they said that if we bought the parts to
fix the car they would fix it. When my husband returned with the parts, one of
the service technicians said (right in front of my husband) ''Not this F***** car
again!'' (an interesting side note...the fact that the technician made this
comment proves he knew that something had gone wrong with the car the previous
time because that was the last time he had seen it. He was not there when my
husband went in the first time to complain) After our car had been there a week
and we hadn't heard anything, my husband called to check on the status. The guy
nonchalantly said ''I'm not doing the work, you didn't buy the name brand parts.''
He also said to my husband that he was doing the work free and so my husband
shouldn't be cheap with the parts (which are way out of our budget) . My husband
was treated like crap again when he went to pick up the car and additionally the controls for the side view
mirrors now no longer worked. Of course, the technicians denied ever doing
anything to the mirrors, but my husband and I are POSITIVE that they worked before
we left the car because I adjusted the mirrors when I drove the car there (my
husband normally drives that car). Additionally, there was glue all over the
control where they had obviously tried to fix it.
AFter all this happened was when we went to speak with the manager at Shattuck.
While he apologized for the treatment we received, he did not take blame for the
damage (neither the mirror nor the stripped oil cap). He explained to us that the
oil pan that we purchased did not fit our car, something that was not explained to
us previously. He told us the same that we were told previously, that if we would
buy all of the original parts that they would do it for free. We couldn't afford
to spend over $500 on parts for a mistake that they made, so we ended up not
continuing with them. We mentioned that we were frustrated and considering small
claims court and he swiftly told us that all offers were off the table then and if
he sees us in court it wouldn't be pleasant and we wouldn't get anything out of
them. We were incredibly frustrated and felt helpless.
I recommend avoiding them like the plague and finding someone who you can trust
and will treat you with respect.
P.S. in case you are curious, we ended up finding a guy who works out of his home
from El Salvador who did tons of work on our car for really cheap, guaranteed his
work, was in constant communication with my husband about the progress, worked
quickly, and came up with a way to seal the oil leak and change the oil without us
having to buy a new oil pan. The only catch is that we have to bring our car to
him to have our oil changed in the future because he is the one that knows what is
going on... I don't have a problem with this at all!
Jaded
I thought I'd add my 2 bits to the recommendation about the
Toyota Dealer on Shattuck. We didn't have as bad a time as the
previous poster, and in fact at first I was really pleased in
that they fixed my under-warranty Sienna's automatic door that
kept closing when it was supposed to be open (whenever we were
on a hill, it would open then close again, and it would have
broken a small child's bones if they'd gotten caught in it,
since it only stops with the button or enough strength). The
Toyota dealer on Broadway in Oakland, who I had been going to
for years for my Subaru, and from whom we purchased the car,
refused to believe that the door wasn't working (and the Toyota
national customer service center was absolutely unhelpful as
well, telling us that the door was supposed to work that
way--and I am not kidding that it could have crushed a kid). The
broadway dealer not only refused to believe it and refused to
let me show him what the problem was, he told me he didn't know
why anybody would buy a van with electric doors (they sold it
to us!), and he wasted hours of my time telling me the various
things that weren't working were just fine--and yellling at me
for it. So Oakland was out of the question. However, I should
add that not only did the door stop working again after the
Shattuck dealer ''fixed'' it, but the car came back with
scratches that it didn't have before we brought it in, and like
the other poster, the dealer refused to acknowledge it (I
suppose I can't blame them, since they could get away with it).
They tossed us a jar of touch-up paint instead, since of course
we couldn't ''prove'' that the scratches weren't there before.
So we stopped going to them too. It sounds like scratches and
damage to cars may not be an isolated thing.
janet
April 2007
We are buying our first new car and we are wondering if there
are any Toyota dealers that people have felt good about. They
have all been so intense about trying to make a sale and they
tell us contradictory things about the price and what is
included.
Which ones are good to deal with?
Thanks!
mirsun
We bought our Toyota Sienna at Fremont Toyota in 2005. We
researched several dealerships from Walnut Creek to Berkeley to
Oakland, etc. We went to all of them and had the same
experience with all of them. They all sell very hard and aren't
exactly very truthful. We were so frustrated from our
experience. My husband did some online research and was able to
come up with the actual cost of the car and what the actual
commission would be and was able to get a good deal based on
that information. They still do the ''oh, let me talk to my
manager'' bit which is utter nonsense and seems so outdated. We
ultimately bought at Fremont because they had the car we were
looking for and it was close to my husbandms work. They were no
better or worse than any dealership. I do know that Oakland has
a smaller inventory than most and least amount of customer
service. If we had to do it over again, we would buy online q
that way you donmt have to deal with these sharks and donmt have
to pay their commission and still get the car you want. Good
luck and research before you go in there because they will try
to rip you off no matter where you go. By the way, we LOVE our
Sienna. Best car for having kids hands down.
Sienna Owner
I hate to be negative, but we had such a poor experience with
the Toyota people in downtown Oakland last summer that it made
us change our minds and buy a Honda, no kidding. It was the
stereotypical experience: we tell them exactly what we want (we
had already done our research and made up our minds- it was
going to be an easy sale) We tell them how much we are willing
to pay --first when I call on the phone, then when we arrive at
the dealership-- we reconfirm prices a zillion times with the
floor guy and then the ''manager,'' and invest about 2 hours in
the process, when the manager tells us that under no conditions
he can he give us that price after all. Grrrrr.... honestly, it
made me mad enough to buy an entirely different car (and we're
very happy). When I told this story at our block party a week
later TWO other people on the block had nearly the same
experience there as well!!!!!
Funny enough,very nearly the same thing happened to us about a
dozen years earlier when we were buying a Toyota in Berkeley
( we ended buying it in Walnut Creek instead).
The Honda people on Broadway were totally above board. They
stayed with the promised price; their honesty probably made
them their easiest sale they'd had in weeks.
I understand that everyone wants to make the best profit they
can; I'm not trying to deny anyone a living, but it seems to me
that car salespeople can often lose more money in the long run
by making people sour on the process. Maybe I'm just too
sensitive? I just don't understand how making people feeling
used and cynical is good for business.
So... the upshot: I wish I could recommend Toyota on Broadway,
but perhaps something like this will be the thing that will
help them change their practices.
- A little wiser
Find your dealer online. Here's what we did when we bought our
Prius back in November: I did a preliminary search using
carsdirect.com, but I also researched the car and packages on
edmunds.com and consumer reports. During the different
registrations, my contact info (email only) and desired package
was forwarded to all the local bay area dealers, and they
started to email me with what they had in their inventory.
Some will quote you actual prices in their emails; others try
to get you to call them. In any case, you cut through some of
the initial b.s. with the salesmen who typically swarm you the
minute you set foot onto a sales lot. In our case, we lucked
out, because the internet salesperson at Hilltop/Richmond
emailed us with a great price that we were able to hold against
other comers... and, as it turned out, no one else was able to
match that price. We then showed up, took a test drive, asked
a few questions, etc., and finally closed the deal for the
stated price (+ taxes, doc's, license). We still had to sit
through that irritating session with their finance person and
sales manager, where they try to guilt you into buying extra
packages or insurance, but we blew them off and signed the
papers. I really do hate dealers, but there are ways to
minimize interacting with the real snakes. As everyone tells
you, it pays to do your homework ahead of time, so you know
what you want and what constitutes a good deal (amount over
dealer's invoice, less any kickbacks). Since it's a Toyota,
you can find a good deal, not necessarily a great deal-- I
still think ours was a great deal, considering it was a Prius
and there was a frenzy over gas prices and HOV stickers at the
time. I will admit that the car we bought was not our first
choice in color, but neither was it one that we originally
excluded-- in terms of the deal we got, I felt it was a good
exchange.
jim
I bought my Prius from Jada at Toyota of Marin because she was so
patient and pleasant to deal with and bent over backwards to get
me the package I wanted. this was last Fall so don't know if
she's still there. I also had a good experience at Toyota Walnut
Creek although they didn't have the color I wanted. I'd go to
either dealership again.
happy Toyota owner
City Toyota in Daly City. I just bought my first new car, and
it was a breeze. I looked up current purchase prices on Edmunds
chat on Prius, visited my local Berkeley Toyota to test drive,
got the price I wanted ONLINE at City Toyota through 3 brief
email transactions, asked Berkeley if they wanted to match the
price (not a chance), and went in to get my car.
urthlove
Nov 2006
We are thinking of buying our first new car, and we are thinking of getting a
Toyota Sienna. We live in Alameda and it would be very convenient to go to Ron
Goode here in Alameda. What have been others experience with this establishment
(good or bad)? Should we be looking elsewhere to get a better price or better
service?
anon
We have unfortunately had terrible luck with Ron Goode. We also live in Alameda, and
wanted to support our local business. But, we took our car in to be serviced - to fix
our CD player that broke less than a year after they fixed it the first time (for
several hundred dollars). When I made the appointment, they said it was under warranty
because it had been less than a year. However, after I brought it in, they claimed that
the CD maker only offered a 90-day guarantee, therefore they would only offer a 90-day
gaurantee. We spoke to the customer service person Lex Sinclair who did not offer any
help, as well as the general manager, who has not returned my calls. Needless to say,
we'll never take our Toyota there again. I'm just disappointed that they promised one
thing and then did not deliver. Please let me know if you find a Toyota dealer you
like. peders
April 2003
Has anyone had a recent experience purchasing a new Honda or Toyota who could
recommend dealers? I last bought a car 10 years ago and there were certain dealers I
swore I would never visit again. I am not too particular about color or fancy extras, just a
basic Accord or Camry at a good price.
Cindy
We recently bought a Toyota from Hanlees Toyota at Hilltop. We
got a great deal on a car that was on sale. The salemen were
typical, as was the dealership, of my past experience with car
purchases. But we were definitely happy with the price. Good
Luck.
Karen
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