Good Toyota/Prius Dealers

Hoover Toyota in Hoover (Birmingham), Alabama treated me perfectly.

I ordered mine before Katrina hit and they gave me full blue book value on my car as a trade. My Prius was supposed to be in 10 days later. 5 days later Katrina hit and the dealership they were trading with all of a sudden didnt have one to trade with (MY opinion is they kept it for themsleves and marked it up instead of sending it to Hoover).

My salesperson, Ralph Grayson, found me another one. It took almost 5 add'l weeks, but they honored the original appraisal on my car even though it had an additional 5000 miles on it!!!! Not only that but he got me one MUCH closer to what I wanted originally.

EVERY other dealer in Birmingham is marking priuses up 2000 - 2500 over invoice but Hoover Toyota is selling for MSRP, thats it. WHO else would honor a appraisal given 5000 miles earlier without reinspecting the car at all. I was floored!!

If someone is in Birmingham looking for a Prius, I would HIGHLY recommend calling Ralph Grayson at 978-2600. Fantastic salesperson and kept his word without me ever questioning it. Not a sales pitch here, just an extremely happy customer!

 

I also got my Prius at Toyota of Santa Cruz for MSRP. However, I wasn't aware that I could get the extended warranty elsewhere, nor was I aware that I could get it any time during the first 36 months of ownership. I felt that Toyota of Santa Cruz high-pressured me on the extended warranty, and didn't inform me of alternatives. When I said that I wasn't planning on getting an extended warranty, all they had to say was "if you change your mind in the next 36-months, come and see us". That would have left me trusting them. Instead they made it seem as though the time of sale was the only time that I could get it, and that I had to have it since this was a new technology car. I believe that they were perhaps half-honest with me.

While I agree that it is my responsibility to be fully informed when I go to buy a car, I also believe that trust is a 2-way street. If they want me to trust them, they need to give me a reason. For a short-term gain, they threw away a long-term relationship.

I am planning to use them for service at least the first time, since they sell a lot of Prius's, however I wouldn't buy a car there again. I don't trust them at this point. They're not the only dealer around here.

-Roger

 

I am thinking about buying a prius from Vancouver Toyota. First, how do you like the way the car handles in our rainy climate? I’m considering different cars with all wheel drive.

Second, how has this dealership treated you, would you buy again, did you check out the dealerships in Portland? Do you have your servicing done there?

Thanks a lot

 

Here in Eugene (Oregon) we've got 2 Toyota dealers: one with a "bad" reputation; the other considered "okay". I contacted the "okay" one via email, then went in to pre-order a Prius from the internet salesman who seemed honest and on the up-and-up. He wrote down our color and package choices, and said he'd call us when they knew what packages would be available. That was 3 weeks ago. I've since called him 3 times and he's not returned calls, not even when I reached him the first time on his day off and he said he'd fax some info to me!

So, since I don't do well with getting a run-around, we started looking at alternatives. I sat next to a fellow member of the Eugene Women's Business Network at an event, and she turned out to be a local car dealer-leasing agency's operations manager. Her name is Lia Davis, and we talked about what Oregon Roads (the company) does, besides leasing. They DO sell new cars and COULD get me a Prius.

To be fair, I gave the dealer one more chance, again trying to reach the salesman we spoke to. Since he wasn't in, another salesman looked for our order. He said our order was in the "to-be-ordered" pile but not yet ordered! Yikes! He seemed clueless about the Prius EXCEPT that it's in demand, and told us the dealership (initial K) now is charging about $1200 on top of MSRP "beacuse this car is hot now and that's our policy"! Okay, then, you won't get my business as that's not what we had been told previously! I was polite, but told him I wouldn't be paying $1200 above MSRP as that's not the agreement I'd made with salesman X.

So, we went in to talk to Lia at Oregon Roads yesterday and we can get the Prius we want at MSRP and it will come through a dealer in Salem, OR. Lia also found me better financing through a different credit union than I usually work with, too.

Oregon Roads treated us like respected customers, we were not given any sales b.s. and were encouraged to send fellow Prius-seekers to them! The owner came in to talk to Lia, and when he found out we were there to buy a Prius, he stopped to thank us for doing our part for the environment. We talked a bit and he explained that since his is a small company that values customers like us, they find word of mouth to be the best way to get referrals to their door. The owner said they will pay one month's car payment for every two referrals who end up doing business with them, so if you call them, please tell them Barbara Gleason sent you, too! They're honest, not pushy and the operations manager, Lia Davis, is great to work with! (She is also now far better educated about Prii than any of other salespeople we've spoken to, in part thanks to the great folks here who have been so helpful sharing info!) I would heartily recommend you call Lia at Oregon Roads in Eugene: 541-683-2277 or 800-944-0227.

 

For those of you in Oregon and Washington, I should put in a good word for Bob Lee, a one-man auto broker based in Vancouver WA. I just placed my order for a 2006 Prius through him at $250 below MSRP (after his $250 fee). There was absolutely NO hassle and he showed me all the information he had straight from Toyota about pricing, options and availability of colors and packages in this Region - a lot more than I could get out of any dealer (I posted this information elsewhere on this website yesterday). Bob has a website at http://www.nationalautolocators.com/ if you are interested, which shows his toll-free number.

I have no connection with Bob Lee! I obtained his name from another PriusChat poster and went to his house to check him out. I also checked with the State of Washington Dealer Licensing Division and has has had a clean record since he started in the business 15 years ago. He is a genuine guy in his 70's who makes money on the side by helping you buy a car for a $250 fee. He also offered to arrange financing and to deal with a trade-in, if you have one. The other good thing is that he can arrange for delivery of your new vehicle to your door. And he can take a Prius order in multiple options/color combinations, so that you get the best chance of receiving your vehicle early.

I should qualify my recommendation by saying that I haven't received my car yet - delivery expected by January or early February for orders placed now. So that is one drawback compared to buying from a dealer who may already have the vehicle you want sitting on a lot.

Whatever you end up doing, I wish you the very best in your quest for the right car at the right price!

 

John, I'm so glad to hear about your experience with Bob Lee. Did you happen to see a picture of the new red (Barcelona not Salsa)? Did you discuss under what circumstances Bob Lee would return the deposit? I'm close to working with him too as I'm fed up with the dealers in Seattle who seem to know very little about the 2006s. Thanks, Deborah

 

Since I already knew which color choices I would accept, I didn't ask Bob to show me the car in different colors on his PC screen, although I could see that his (dealer) software has the capability to do so - as long as Toyota has loaded that info into their server. Bob's complaint was that as of yesterday, Toyota still did not have most of the pricing info loaded electronically - but he did have printouts of it.

The standard wording on the documentation Bob asks you to sign says "no refunds". However, he made it clear that if the car doesn't show up by early February or if something else drastic happens (e.g. major health problem etc.) then he would gladly refund the $250. Mind you, there is no written guarantee to that! So I think that you have to be pretty certain that you are going to use his service and not also be in line at a dealer in order to use him - otherwise you may be out of pocket $250.

My impression from meeting Bob is that he is a genuine 70+ year-old who loves what he does and likes working with people. He doesn't seem to be made of the same stuff as the car dealers, he seems very trustworthy and straightforward. However, that is just my impression and I may not be the best judge of character (we all like to think how very smart we are, but we are often blind to our own weak spots). All I know is that I gave up being on three dealer lists after getting the run around with all of them, and with this guy the deal was sealed with no hassle in an hour. He even negotiated with a dealer to accept my trade (after taking a good look at it himself) and gave me the price I had expected (Kelly Blue Book). And I don't hand in my trade-in until the day I pick up my Prius!

I wish you the very best of luck! I recommend Bob based on my personal meeting with him. Perhaps you may feel more comfortable working with a broker in Seattle whom you can readily meet face-to-face.

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Speaking of auto brokers, anyone interested in using one may also want to check out the following website:

http://www.auto-broker.com/

They claim their total fee is $195. They are based in California (Modesto) but can furnish a vehicle anywhere. I would do your research on these people (check dealer's license status for violations with California Dealer Licensing, check Better Business Bureau, etc.) before handing over any money. I have no idea if they are legitimate, I just noticed the website.

That's my last word on the topic of auto brokers - my apologies to those who abhor commercialism on this site.

 

Aren't you the person that paid like $5,000 over sticker, didn't realize it and went back to complain? And the dealer never said a word, and basically laughed at you when you came back because they knew they ripped you a new one?. I suppose they do like you, but that would be the worst dealer I came imagine. How can you recommend them?

 

any good dealers in the northern midwest? Minnesota, Wisconson? They tell me I can't get a 2005 package #4 here.

 

Sorry I meant a 2006 Prius.

 

I was up in Warroad, MI about three weeks ago for a couple of days and didn't see one Japanese car, much less a Toyota. Good luck on finding a Prius :lol: :lol:

 

I work for a great Wisconsin Import Dealership, and actually have two 2006 Prius' that just arrived this morning. They are both available, although I do not know for how long.

 

Hello Everyone,

Toyota of Huntington Beach has been good to me. I bought a 2006 Prius Classic Silver Metallic with Package #8 with tinted windows and chrome wheels.

Go see John C. Cable or Kenny Means

Looking forward to chatting with you in the future.
_____________________________________
Rich
NPO (Newbie Prius Owner)
Best Tank - TBD
1st Tank - I'll let you know

 

Rich,

Welcome. Just for the record, doesn't Toyota of Huntington Beach force you to buy the extra options?

 

Didn't they burn you on a used Prius earlier in the month?

 

Toyota of Huntington Beach charges a $4000 markup (aka mandatory leather or wheel "upgrade"). Interestingly, all of the dealers in this immediate area have some sort of markup (Elmore, South Coast, Garden Grove, Tustin, Orange...).

fd