What Dealers Would You Recommend Others Avoid?

Scott, I think you should say also be made to say why.
There are way too many reasons this is helpful. Not every salesperson is perfect, but frankly, not every client is reasonable. We can't exactly choose our clients like they can choose a dealership and a salesperson ... and there are folks who don't mind paying a markup over the msrp to ensure they get what they want. I do not mark the cars over msrp at all, but certain dealerships do and in some regions or some geographic areas, many stores have added markups or junk stuck on all of their cars to add to the profit margins. The fact that some dealerships are doing this shouldn't be a reason to avoid a dealership because some folks vote differently with their dollars. You just have to let 'em decide... but please, I really think one should explain why they feel one ought to avoid a particular dealership.

 

Nah.
If your old enough to go in and buy a car and not smart enough to do a little research on the car as for prices and options on the manufactures web site and then see how your treated on all aspects then your not smart and should have someone else buy the car for you. Sure there are dealers all over that handle their business differant from others. What i consider a good deal for me might not be for you. Then it's time to walk away and find another dealer. But i really don't see a point in bashing them on the internet. YMMV

 

Two thoughts.
1. Just put what, and why. Easy.
2. If there is a salesperson involved, hell why not mention it? YOu know what is and isn't in someone's control? I'm on a TEAR today because at our new car owner's clinic yesterday, we had some new Prius buyers from our retail side of the store who were utterly clueless about how their cars worked, how to pair their phones, how to operate their NAV, where to find the vocal commands... yeesh. Jane and I don't let you out of here without functions being discussed and explained and experienced. I feel it's reprehensible for these guys to sell a Prius and kick you over the curb. Whether they want to or not, they need to study what makes the car tick... and how these many technological features work. You can bet your a$$ that I'd like to know, as a comsumer, who's going to help me RIGHT and who isn't going to care enough to learn their product.

Dianne

 

I think that any dealer is going to have customers who adore them and customers who pray for them to go bankrupt. We've won President's award 9 years in a row, treat our customers like gold, etc and yet I am sure there are people who despise us no matter what, and probably because we did something stupid and upset them. No matter what, it does happen.

 

Agreed.

 

Hudson Toyota, Jersey City NJ

I made the mistake of purchasing from there twice.

First time, okay buying experience, however my identity was stolen soon after I bought the car. The dealer was from Queens, the person with my identity was from Queens, and how convenient that the dealer moved away a month after I bought the car.

Second time, I was in the area and thought I would just take a look. I did not intend to purchase that day, but I am impulsive. I was also interested in getting a manual Corolla and they were hard to find at the time. Well, they had one. I had done my research online and knew what to pay for it. The salesman was very nice and helpful, I liked him. But the manager was awful!!!! I told him I felt like he was taking advantage of me because I was a female and there alone. He said I had the same tactics as the DC sniper (who was still on the loose at the time). I should have gotten up and left but I felt bad for the salesman who had helped me up to that point. He looked horrified at the way the manager was acting.

So I have never returned to that dealership again. Not for repairs, maintenance or anything. I should have learned my lesson after the first time.

I take my car for maintenance at a dealership by where I work. I plan to start my Prius search there.

ETA:
While doing research on dealerships for my current purchase, I saw that the BBB gives Hudson Toyota a big fat F!!!!

 

I have personally, Purchased from Crystal Automall in Green Brook, NJ. Very good all around, from service to sales.

I would personally, say anyone in the Jersey area avoid Hillside, Toyota and Autoland on route 22. Both dealerships didn't seem to give me the care of the world when I went in for information or a test drive. And, Hillside Toyota is currently as of this posting charging a 1,000 market adjustment on their 2010 priuses.

 

Couldn't we have a "Service Dpt. to avoid" thread as well? Perhaps there is one?

Our sales person, Tamika, here at Jay Toyota has done well for us twice, there were typical SE region add-ons on the first one, but she worked hard to get us cars with the safety features we wanted, and no one else seemed to care about...hence were hard to find.

BUT, service since then??

The present service manager said he didn't know of any Toyotas that a) weren't due service in 5 months (using my words) b) or any Toyota that didn't use the same PSI in tires all around, and...half of our services we have been charged for 5 quarts of oil---even though once we started checking, we had them remove all excess each time. , this last time I even wrote down specicfic requirements per which part of the manual or car...ignored.

"We don't see many Priuses."
No excuse, they sell them, they should be able to service them.
Well, they will be seeing one less and SE region will be hearing from us and receiving copies of all printouts from Jay with overcharge highlighted.

Sorry to write a tome here, but what good is a decent sales dpt. if it isn't backed up by service.

I left Ford down here for that reason.

 

Toyota of Lake Norman, near Charlotte, NC. I liked the cars, but they were playing all kinds of games, and told me I wasn't a serious buyer. Too many add-ons and I didn’t car for their negotiation tactics. Just got a bad feeling there.

 

Same here. I have my 2005 serviced there and love their service department so I thought I'd give them first shot at selling me a new 2010. I got responses like "all Toyota dealers in NC charge a dealer fee of about the same amount", "we don't negotiate the dealer fee", "the owner is firm about the dealer fee", "we put Toyoguard on all of our new vehicles as protection for our customers" and "sorry, the Internet coupon does not apply to the 2010 Prius". To be fair, I have to say they said it all politely and were very friendly but they will not deal unless they get the $619 for the Toyoguard and their $598.50 dealer fee.

 

I had a terrible experience today at Eddy's Toyota in Wichita, Kansas.

I decided that CARS was too good of a deal to pass up, so I stopped in today to buy a Prius. I do not need a loan and was ready with "cash in hand".

They had 7 in stock as of yesterday -- all of them MSRP with very few add-ons. When I showed up this afternoon, I didn't see any on the lot. Uh oh. I approached the counter and asked if they had a 2010 Prius in stock. They asked me to wait for a salesperson. When the salesperson showed up, that is when things went wrong.

When I asked if he had a Prius in stock, he said nope, they sold all of them between yesterday and today. I said no worries, I'd like to order one. When he asked what my preferred package was, I told him a Package III w/ solar. He cut me off instantly and said, sorry, it's impossible to get a sunroof. I started to speak again and was going to give him my other choices, but he cut me off before I could say anything telling me yet again that sunroofs are hard to come by. I nodded and said ok, let me give you some other choices. He cut me off and said he could put me in a Camry today. I chuckled and said no thanks, I'm only interested in a Prius and I want to put a deposit down right now. I also explained that if I had to wait a week or a month, it didn't matter to me. He got pushy and started telling me how much better a Camry was and that it was significantly larger than a Prius. He started on a tangent never letting me talk. After several attempt to interject, I finally raised my voice and said, LOOK, I don't want a Camry or any other car. I want to order a Prius right now. I told him that I was a cash-paying customer and I would put $5,000 down right now to take the next available Prius. I saw a couple of other salesmen stop what they were doing and they looked over at us.

He looked at me bewildered and didn't say anything. I finally said, do you want my $5,000 deposit? He said, "We can sale the next Prius to you, but you really should take a look at the sweet deals on our Camrys."

I was astounded. I told him it was obvious that he didn't want my money and I proceeded to walk out. As I was nearing my car, someone else came chasing after me saying, Sir. Sir! Sir! I told this guy that I didn't have time for games and I was leaving. He said, "Sir, please wait, I'm an assistant sales manager and I can take your order for a new Prius." I told him, "If you're a manager, then please take note of how your salespeople are treating customers. I came in here to buy a car today. But I can assure you that my business will go elsewhere."

When I tried to buy my 2006 Prius, Eddy's Toyota was just as difficult then as they are now. So I bought my 2006 Prius over the internet from Riverside Toyota in Tulsa, OK. It was an amazing experience. I told the internet sales manager, this is what I want, I don't care how long it takes to get here, I'll pay MSRP, and I want closing day to be as simple as possible. When it arrived 7 weeks later, I told him that I would be there tomorrow and he assured me everything was ready to go. I drove 3 hours, walked in, shook his hand, handed him a check, signed a few pieces of paperwork and that was it. I swear the entire process took 30 minutes. I was absolutely pleased with the simplicity, so I slipped him a $100 bill and thanked him for making it so easy.

Today could have been nearly as simple, but it just reaffirmed the fact that I should stay clear of Eddy's Toyota.

Bryan

 

Avoid:

Kendall Toyota of Eugene Or. they took a deposit on a iv with solar and nav on 7-14
using c4c on a car in stock, then on 7-24 said the car was not for sale {was a demo}
Still fighting to get my refund.

Got a ii from Power Toyota in Tempe Az. they did the c4c and where great to deal with.
tony l

 

Empire Toyota, Oneonta NY

WHY: They add $1300 Rustproofing package to all prius & the owner is known locally as a ruthless dispicable man who treats his employees like dirt. Many people wont buy from them again...................You should not either.

 

Wonderful experience with Jim Barkley Toyota in Asheville, NC. Allen was so helpful and really great to work with. They don't add Toyoguard like all the other SE dealers do. They are below MSRP. They also don't include extra add on's to increase the price. No pushing extra warranty either- which is what happened when we bought our Nissan.
Highly, highly recommend.

 

Is Allen the first name of your salesperson? I live in NC but am a couple of hours from Asheville. Unfortunately, I could not locate the Prius I want before the C4C expires. I am still considering purchasing but now I definitely want to get the best deal possible. I will not purchase from the dealers closest to me bc of the bad experiences I have had trying to deal with them during the C4C program.

 

Am in the process of shopping around for my car and have deposits at two places. I did visit Campell Toyota in Hermiston, Or. this weekend and don't think I will be doing business with them.
~The require a Non-refundable deposit but are hesitant to give a final price on the car
~The person we dealt with was a sales manager and he tried to tell us the financing we were bringing with us did not have a guaranteed rate, although we have used this financing in the past and know damn well what the rate is. ( I think he wanted us to finance though him)
~ Wouldn't let us drive the car downtown sighting "Liability issues". We were trying to test the nav.

On a positive note, I would like to mention however that I did read in another thread that this dealer was willing to make adjustments to a car without a charge which seems to be an issue for some dealers. A second sales person we spoke with was willing to look at the allocations even for other dealers and let us know what was headed where so we could fine tune our search a bit. We are actually shopping for two and I think my friend is going to buy one from this salesperson.

I am having a good experience with John and Phils Toyota in Corvallis Oregon though.

~They let me put down a modest refundable deposit.
~I have test driven the demo four times and even paired my blue tooth with it to test it.
~The waiting list with them is long, long, long... or I wouldn't even bother to look around.
~The sales person I have been dealing with (Mike) is friendly, no pressure, helpful, and informative.

 

I can second how good the folks at Jim Barkley Toyota in Ashville are to work with. Bryant Howard is their new car manager. I have dealt with him before.