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Good Toyota/Prius Dealers

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by Bill Merchant, May 31, 2005.

  1. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

    Joined:
    May 3, 2005
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    Location:
    USA | Oregon | Portland area | 97004 |
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    I've seen many discussions in many threads about good dealers and bad dealers. Some are scum who want to scam you, and others treat you with respect and work with you to get you the car you want. Frequently the dealer's name isn't mentioned, good or bad. While I personally have a VERY LOW opinion of the dealer closest to me and warn others away, I'd like to start a thread calling out GOOD dealers.

    I bought from Vancouver Toyota in Vancouver, Washington, and Matt Dale was my salesman. He was helpful, though I know more about the Prius than he did. Straightforward transaction, no pressure, no gimmicks, under MSRP. I recommended him and the dealer to friends and they bought a Prius there too.

    I hope this thread becomes sticky.
     
  2. dreichla

    dreichla New Member

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    Scott Clark\'s Toyota City
    6801 E. Independence Blvd.
    Charlotte, NC 28227
    (704) 535-1972

    Timothy Wright and Misty Hammon
     
  3. Fredatgolf

    Fredatgolf New Member

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    Pinehurst
    I have been like Bill for most of the many dealers I have dealt with, but I have had a few good ones. I have a good dealer to work with here in Pinehurst and an even better one in Fayetteville, Rick Hendrick Toyota. They have been both fun and professional at every level.
     
  4. boxer01

    boxer01 New Member

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    Denver, Colorado
    I had a great experience with Mountain States Toyota in Denver, Joe L. Internet Manager handled me from start to finish. However, I did request a #5 package and placed a 1k refundable deposit in April. I got a call last week stating that Toyota was not really delivering #5s to the area any longer. If I was interested in #4 or #6, he could try to get me one of those. My initial reaction was, what is going on here, but after a few phone calls, one to a AAA car agent, I discovered this was true. I could have waited 4-8 weeks for the agent to get me one from Arizona or New Mexico, but honestly, I liked the #6 a lot anyway. So I called Joe at Mountain States and within a few days I had the #6--under MSRP, plus a few things like mats and car wheel locks thrown in. I also got a good deal on my trade-in. I kept waiting for something odd to occur in the deal, but it actually went great. I am now enjoying my new Prius silver #6. :) Joe was great to worth it.
     
  5. jfh3

    jfh3 New Member

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    Ditto. Joe was F A N T A S T I C!

    I never thought I'd say this about a car salesman, but the experience buying from him was wonderful. And I can say that the dealership is very supportive - I had an unusual situation the day I picked up my car and I was amazed at their response.

    Package 5s to Denver are tough, but 4 and 6 should be "relatively easy" to get. And below sticker, no hassle. As for the wait - just look at my signature. My experience may not be common, but still ...

    I don't think we can mention last names here, but Joe L.s last name rhymes with "hamburger". :)

    If you want a Prius in the Denver area, check with Joe first (and tell him "Salsa Red Jim with the cane" sent you).

    PM me if you want additional details - I scouted every dealer in the greater Denver area. (Avoid the Colorado Springs dealerships, but every other Colorado dealer was reasonable, though all but Mountain States starts is pretty much MSRP).

    If I hadn't bought from Joe, I would've bought from Kent up in Greely at Erlich Toyota.
     
  6. Jayhawkguy

    Jayhawkguy New Member

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  7. innov8v

    innov8v New Member

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    I'll add my experience at Symes Toyota in Pasadena CA to this growing list. Although they weren't willing go under MSRP (they said they probably would once the 2006 models come out), they sold me the car at MSRP without trying to add on a bunch of unwanted options. They were very easy to deal with overall, particularly with regard to my trade-in. My salesman was Gary, who has been well-reviewed elsewhere on this board. I highly recommend him. No pressure, very knowledgeable and pleasant. This in contrast to dealer closest to me (Thousand Oaks), who wanted a 3K premium over sticker, or another dealership in the Valencia area which I called a couple of weeks ago. They literally tried to pin me down FOUR TIMES during that call about what time I was going to be coming in that day. As you might imagine, the time turned out to be never. Anyway, try Gary at Symes in Pasadena and I think you'll find the car buying experience much easier than it usually is.
     
  8. genalex

    genalex Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Jersey suburbs of Phila.
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Straight MSRP deals at Faulkner Toyota, Trevose, PA
    (At the Phiadelphia city line.)

    They have stock on hand and allocations coming in each month. No wait list.

    No monkey business. Check their inventory on their web site find your color and your package.
     
  9. Emilyjohn

    Emilyjohn New Member

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    Toyota World of Lakewood, Lakewood, NJ, straight MSRP with all-weather floor mats thrown in. Good people.
     
  10. Dan Gross

    Dan Gross New Member

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    Western New York
    Toyota of Batavia, Mike Ruck was the salesman. If you are in Western New York (Rochester/Buffalo) I highly recommend you try there. When I put my $100 refundable deposit down, the car I ended up with was on the boat. They basically sell the cars as they are arriving, so the wait is minimal (I think a good general rule of thumb is try the boonies near you to see how the wait is out there...). Obviously if the car that arrives/is available doesn't fit your needs, you can take a flyer until the next shipment. I lucked out that someone didn't want Driftwood Pearl...

    Got a lot of "can do" from him, except of course on price. They did get me an excellent %age on the loan, which helped convince me to just go ahead and get the package #6 (wanted VSC, which is only on #4 and #6, NYS only gets #3, #5, #6...closest alternative was PA). Only "add on" was floor mats (NOT the full "Preferred Package" with the $80 (worth $15) first aid kit).

    Big contrast to my experience at Vanderstyne in Rochester...
     
  11. fritz the cat

    fritz the cat New Member

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    :D I had a very good experience in Campbell Motors Hermiston Oregon. Cory Little the salesman informed me that they sell at MSRP and the wait
    is 6-8 weeks although it can be shorter. He was very informative about the car and at the end of the session I understood most of what i wanted to know so that I could purchase the car intelligently. Their was no pressure applied and I felt very comfortable with my buying experience with Cory Little at Campbell Motors.
     
  12. bigbaldcuban

    bigbaldcuban New Member

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    Mansfield, TX
    Dianne at Carson Toyota in SoCal is a godsend. It cost me less to buy my Prius from her and have it shipped here (insured) than to get it from any dealerin TX.
     
  13. ssyates

    ssyates New Member

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    My wife got hers from Miller Toyota in Manassas, VA. Straight MSRP and they usually have 6 to 10 in stock. Total of 2.5 hours from arrival at dealer, trade in appraisal and negotiations to driving home with new 2005 Silver #6.
     
  14. wstcoprius

    wstcoprius New Member

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    Location:
    Falls Church, Virginia
    I also bought mine from Miller Toyota in Manassas Virginia.
    Bought it off their lot Thursday 6/23 after cancelling my order with another local dealer. Miller had the color I wanted ( Driftwood ) and a package that was OK (#4).

    I had placed a deposit with another local dealer. That other Prius was actually due in Friday (the next day), but I became annoyed that the other dealer was uncommunicative, not even calling back to tell me when the car might be ready so I could make plans to get it. I called around and Miller had what I wanted, seemed more responsive, so I cancelled the other order and bought it from Miller.

    :idea: As a hint to other PriusChat readers : :mrgreen:
    I got my Prius for several hundred below MSRP from Miller Toyota partly because I printed out the posts from other PriusChat threads reporting deals below MSRP from other area dealers and brought that with me to show them.
    My salesman (Tony Testa) was very pleasant and I would recommend him to others.

    Miller Toyota did low-ball my trade-in, so I kept my other car and will sell it privately.
     
  15. IALTMANN

    IALTMANN New Member

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    Location:
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    Good dealer: Philpott Ford / Toyota Nederland Texas, Scott Kelly - he sells the Prius and used cars and treats all customers great. I am a satisfied customer., ps right now there are 2 on the lot, one pearl blue with pckge 2 and other goodies (mats etc..), only $23,900, and one dark green with everything except the NAV for $27,300 (has leather). This dealer plays no games and sells at MSRP, E-mail me if you are interested and I will interseed and get the car reserved for you, all I get is a $50 finders fee and it does not effect your price. This dealer has sold a lot of cars on the internet and some to local like me, bulk of their business is out of town, Houston, San Antonio, Austin..they just did a deal in Illinois, and the ones that came in with mine went to Corpus Christi. They have internet, but best bet is to let me earn $50.00, for that I'll git you one!! They make a deal, require $500 down to deliver, and THEY DELIVER, period.

    Regards Immanuel Altmann
     
  16. IALTMANN

    IALTMANN New Member

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    TEXAS....>>>Another plug for Philpott Ford/Toyota in Nederland TEXAS., and also in HOUSTON., FRED HAAS Toyota...the houston dealer is a preferred Toyota Dealer, and they can get ones EASY and just the way you want them... BOTH deal fair and follow MSRP., without the games. Haas the other day had 11 to choose from, he has a direct line and gets the scoops right from the PORT of HOUSTON.
     
  17. T1H1X38

    T1H1X38 New Member

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    Jun 29, 2005
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, California
    Penske Toyota in Downey (in Los Angeles County), California....great people and friendly service.

    I bought my 2005 Toyota Prius - black from them late last year.

    I've been referring everyone I know who has been looking to buy a Prius to Penske Toyota!
     
  18. eric03820

    eric03820 New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2005
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    Location:
    Dover, NH
    Berlin City Toyota in Gorham, NH Ron Aquino was the salesman. We did the entire transaction over the phone and he had my car delivered (90 miles away) the following day...for well under MSRP. They were a pleasure to do business with.
     
  19. CraigL

    CraigL New Member

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    Jul 1, 2005
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    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Great dealer -- Alexandria Toyota in northern VA, Jim Brotherton with internet sales. Best prices in the D.C. area. Just got my Tideland #4 there last night!

    Also recommend Riverside Toyota in Escanaba, Michigan (Scott Anderson) to anyone in that region or anyone willing to fly there and drive home.... the great deal might be worth it. It almost was for me.
     
  20. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy Member

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    Location:
    Duluth Georgia
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dreichla\";p=\"94399)</div>
    I second the nomination for these guys. Barbara Katona helped me get the exact car I wanted, traded with other dealer to get it to me while it was still on the boat.

    The guy in the finance room though was your typical sleeze though, told me that I was the "first person to buy a prius without the extended warranty" ($1600!) when I declined his 'deal.'