Do not buy from toyota of santa barbara

I purchased a Prius from Toyota of Santa Barbara in 2005, and had a good experience with a salesman named Hai. Now I’m looking for a 2010 Prius to purchase under the Cash For Clunkers program. I live in Ojai, California, and about a week ago, I called several local dealers and told them specifically what I was looking for. They all said they were out of stock because of the popularity of the program, but expected to get more cars soon.

On Thursday of last week, a salesman named Ivan at Toyota of Santa Barbara called me. He told me that a buyer had backed out, and that he had my car, which he was willing to sell to me for MSRP. I told him I had some arrangements to make with the Ford Ranger we were trading in and asked if I could get the paperwork together and come up on Saturday. He said that he couldn’t hold the car until then. I asked if I could put a deposit on it, and he said he couldn’t do that for a car already on the lot. So I decided it was worth it to get a color I liked for the price I wanted. I told Ivan I had to get paperwork together and drive an hour to get there, so it would be a little while. He said that was fine. I also mentioned that the truck I was coming in was drivable but had some engine problems, so I’d be taking it slowly, but that I’d be there by around 6:00 pm.

Between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm, Ivan called me a couple of times to find out where I was (which I suppose should have been a red flag). I repeated that I was going to my safe deposit box, and I was driving a clunker, and I’d be there by 6:00 as I said.

At right around 6:00 pm, I pulled into the lot and Ivan immediately walked over to my truck. He introduced himself and said he’d go get the Prius. He pulled up in the car and then informed me that there was another salesman trying to sell the same car, so he was going to drive to the other side of the building (presumably where the other salesman wouldn’t see it) and meet me inside.

I was immediately concerned, but I was already there and it was the car I wanted, so I went inside and Ivan started bringing me paperwork and asking me to hurry filling it out. We quickly determined that there was a problem because the only person on title of the clunker was my husband. We couldn’t progress without his signature on title of the new car. I asked if we could lock in the deal and have my husband sign in the next day or so. Ivan said no, it had to happen today and could my husband drive to Goleta to sign the documents? I told Ivan I didn’t want to ask him to drive an hour unless we were sure this would work out. Ivan said it would. At this point the sales manager, a woman whose name I didn’t catch, came over and introduced herself to me. She confirmed that she would honor the deal Ivan had made. I figured at that point that Ivan must have gotten his paperwork logged in faster than the other salesman and that we were going ahead with the sale.

I called my husband and explained the situation with the title and he reluctantly agreed to drive up to sign the documents. I kept filling out paperwork. After about twenty minutes, he called me again to make sure the deal was really happening, because he didn’t want to keep driving from Ojai if it wasn’t. I asked the sales manager about the status, and at this point she informed me that she was sorry, but “it sometimes goes this way, and unfortunately someone else bought the car.†She said they would find me another car and make me the same deal.

I called my husband back (who was at this point parked on the side of the highway) and told him to give me a couple of minutes while I figured out what was going on. The sales manager said she had to go work on another sale. I told her “my husband is parked on the side of the road between here and Ojai. I want to tell him whether to keep driving up here or not. Please let me know if you have a car for me.†She went over to the computer, and came back with, “would you like leather seats?†I told her I didn’t want them, but I’d take them if I could get them for the same price she offered on the other car. No, that wasn’t possible.

Then she disappeared and Ivan stayed over at the computer looking at inventory, leaving me sitting at the table. It became clear that there was no other car, and that Toyota of SB was just as strapped for Priuses as the other dealers I was talking to. I called my husband and told him he might was well turn around, and asked Ivan for the keys to my truck back. “Don’t you want us to find you a car?†asked another man behind the desk as I walked out.

I expect car salesmen to look out for themselves, but this went too far. Knowing that I was driving a clunker from an hour away, Ivan was still willing to gamble that the deal wouldn’t go through, and in fact was perfectly willing to ask another person, my husband, to drive the same distance for the same gamble. And not only that, once the car did sell to someone else, he tried to lock me into a purchase with no VIN number.

I can say categorically that I will never again buy a car from Toyota of Santa Barbara.

 

Gotta reply: no, he did not tell me every step of the way he couldn't hold the car. He said he couldn't hold the car until Saturday, but gave me the impression he was holding it until I got there that evening. It wasn't until I was on the lot that he said there was another party trying to buy the car.

 

Yeah, I recognize there's a little grey area about holding the car, but I spoke to him several times in the afternoon when he called, telling him "I just left the house" and "I'm at my safe deposit box" and "I'm almost to Santa Barbara." This was not a case of asking to hold a car and not showing up - it was clear I was on the way, and he had half a dozen opportunities to mention I was competing with another party. He just didn't give a damn about anything except trying to snake the other salesman.