Toyota Dealers
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Toyota Dealers
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manager'' bit which is utter nonsense and seems so outdated.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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