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Dealership Experience

Discussion in 'General Tundra Discussion' started by ColoradoTJ, May 10, 2019.

  1. Jun 23, 2020 at 5:58 PM
    #61
    Snaz

    Snaz I <3 explosions

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    The wife and I went browsing at Pueblo Toyota about 3-4 weeks ago looking for a Tundra and a 4runner. Found a couple we were interested in, so we walked up to the two salesmen setting on a bench in front of the main doors. I asked them if they could give me a price quote on one Tundra and 2 different 4runners they had there on the lot. There response was for us to go home, go online, find a vehicle we were interested in, print off the spec sheet, bring it back down to the dealership and they'd see what they could do. They never even stood up. We went home, contacted the online sales manager and scheduled test drives for later on the next week. Completed the test drives and contacted Jesse at Automation Arapahoe in Littleton, CO. They had the Tundra I wanted and about 7-10 days later he found and had a 4runner like my wife wanted shipped in from a different dealer. I've only had them 4 days now, but I've driven through the dealership lot every morning with my windows down, hoping those two salesmen remember the couple they couldn't be bothered to get out of their seats for. Plan on continuing that for some time. . lol.

    Nothing but great things to say about Jesse and Autonation Arapahoe. Guys bent over backwards for us.
     
  2. Jun 23, 2020 at 6:02 PM
    #62
    BTBAKER

    BTBAKER DIFFERENT NAME. SAME JUNK.

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    I’ve bought 5 vehicles from Auto Nation Toyota. The last being my wife’s 2020 Highlander. They are hard to beat on prices and trade ins are fair. Where they try to make up for it is the financial side. They will straight up bend you over if you don’t have a pair. I’m lucky. I can look them in the eyes and tell them to pound sand.
    The service department is the same. Shady and lies.
    The quick lube is an embarrassment.
    Basically, once the purchase is made I don’t go back!
     
  3. Jun 23, 2020 at 6:42 PM
    #63
    Snaz

    Snaz I <3 explosions

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    Good to know.
     
    BTBAKER[QUOTED] likes this.
  4. Jun 23, 2020 at 7:14 PM
    #64
    BTBAKER

    BTBAKER DIFFERENT NAME. SAME JUNK.

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    Since you have just purchased there you must be aware of the extended warranty they try to sell at 3-4 times the price it’s worth. Not to mention it’s an “Auto Nation” warranty and not a Toyota warranty. But, they will try to make you believe it’s a Toyota warranty.
    They quoted me with their best interest rate. When I got into the financial side and told him I was going USAA, some how their best rate came down a point.

    The techs may be ok but the service manager, Pat, is full of shit and will lie straight to your face.For this reason I try not to give them my money if I don’t have to.

    The quick lube is organized enough but I could write a book on the crap they have done to my vehicles. I don’t even have time to write them all down. I don’t even use my “free” services. To the unsuspecting person, they seem to be just fine. I know better.

    I will say that at the front end they have been great making things right. I had few scratches on my Tundra and they gave me clear bra and Linex for free to make up for it. Very good on them.

    But, here is the bottom line as explained to me by my buddy who was a salesman there for 2 years. They are volume dealer. They will undercut just about any price. Their deal is to move as many vehicles as possible and if they hit there quota, Toyota turns around a gives them money in return to reinvest in the dealership.

    Where they plan to make up all their profits is by pounding people with their bogus extended warranty and the service department.

    BTW, if you are planning on an extended warranty I have a contact that will give you them at just over cost. Roughly 1150 bucks for an 8 year 100,000 Toyota Platinum.

    Congrats on the new rides. You bought them at a place that probably gave you the best deal possible.
     
  5. Jun 23, 2020 at 7:26 PM
    #65
    Snaz

    Snaz I <3 explosions

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    Thanks, but damn, they don't sound good on stuff. I didn't need financing and plan on trading them in a couple years so I didn't get the extended warranty they offered. They're 2 hours away w/good traffic, so the chances of me ever using their service department is slim to none.. Good things for me I guess.
     
  6. Jun 23, 2020 at 8:02 PM
    #66
    BTBAKER

    BTBAKER DIFFERENT NAME. SAME JUNK.

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    You made a good call. They have great prices.
    I was honestly considering Colorado Springs or Pueblo but that Pueblo experience you had makes me not want to go anywhere close.
     
    War Machine and Snaz[QUOTED] like this.
  7. Jun 23, 2020 at 8:29 PM
    #67
    new2internet

    new2internet New Member

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    that’s good to know! We just bought 2 new Toyota’s from AutoNation Toyota in May and got a pretty good deal on both her AWD RAV4 and my tundra. No trade in on either. Negotiated everything over the phone with Latifa our sales lady before hand. Only thing was them almost loosing the sale because the finance manager wasn’t taking no for an answer on extended warranty’s and service. He got the hint finally.
     
    War Machine and BTBAKER[QUOTED] like this.
  8. Jun 23, 2020 at 8:34 PM
    #68
    new2internet

    new2internet New Member

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    Someone that feels my frustration about AutoNation and their stupid warrant push! I flat out told the guy NO 4 times when dealing with the finance manager and he would talk to me like we were buying a car without tires... he got the hint that we were about to walk out. When I came back for the tundra a month later he only tried to get me on service and again had to tell him NOOO. But got a good OTD price on both vehicles here but to anyone going just say no!
     
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  9. Jun 23, 2020 at 9:00 PM
    #69
    BTBAKER

    BTBAKER DIFFERENT NAME. SAME JUNK.

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    For anyone that got talked into a crappy warranty from Auto Nation, stop in and cancel it. Then let me know and I’ll be happy to share a contact of someone that isn’t trying to take you to the cleaners.
     
    War Machine likes this.
  10. Jun 23, 2020 at 10:08 PM
    #70
    French Avocado

    French Avocado Double Entundra

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    @Backslider - Agree on your analysis. Mark Miller is the best. Bruce Belliston in the Service Department is the best service advisor I have ever dealt with. Just bought the 2020 Tundra from Mark Miller. They gave me the best price possible but Tony Divino said they would sell it for $500 cheaper - until I got to Tony Divino, had to wait 90 minutes and the numbers kept increasing after I had the out the door price. I told them to give me my check back, walked out of the finance office and left. I went to Mark Miller and paid $200 more. Tony Divino called back and tried to recover the deal but I asked if they wanted to do business with someone who would lie to them and change the final price three times.
     
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  11. Jun 23, 2020 at 10:39 PM
    #71
    Backslider

    Backslider Thirsty...

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    I spoke with Tony Divino on the phone before purchasing. When they couldn't give me a straight answer for some really basic questions I decided it wasn't worth the drive up there. Glad you found a good deal at Mark Miller!
     
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  12. Jun 24, 2020 at 12:59 AM
    #72
    LKROOZR

    LKROOZR New Member

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    Marina del rey toyota scratched my paint and left a bolt in my tire. Also didn't rotate tires even though the paperwork stated it was done.
     

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    Last edited: Jun 24, 2020
  13. Jun 24, 2020 at 5:37 AM
    #73
    BTBAKER

    BTBAKER DIFFERENT NAME. SAME JUNK.

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    Sounds like a great place!
     
  14. Jun 24, 2020 at 5:57 AM
    #74
    War Machine

    War Machine SSEM # 5 3MW

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    Can’t say this enough....get a pre-approval from an independent bank before setting foot on a lot. Never go to a dealership without knowing what your rate should be. Most people don’t realize that the sell price on a vehicle is only half of the negotiation.
    Dealerships count on making money off of your financing. They mark up the rates you’re approved for and pocket it as extra profit. For example, they run your credit and get you approved for say a 3% rate. They tell you the rate is 4%, and keep the difference. Every dealership will try this, it’s just part of the business model.

    First step: Get a quote from Capitol One’s website. They will quote you a rate with no credit check, so your score won’t take a hit. Use this rate as your baseline. You can likely get a lower rate from your bank, credit union, etc., but the pre-approval from Capitol One let’s you know what your maximum is. The first rate a dealership gives you will almost certainly be higher.

    Second step: Get quotes from your own bank, credit union, etc. Since these places will be doing a hard check on your credit, only do this once you are certain that you’ll be purchasing a vehicle. Get as many quotes as you like at this point, as multiple inquiries during the same period only count as one.

    Third step: Get with the dealership and negotiate the price on the vehicle. At no point should you tell them that you have gotten financing rates already or that you are considering financing anywhere but through the dealership. As stated, they plan to make money from the financing, so will be more negotiable in the up front price. If they think they won’t get that, they’ll build it into the selling price.

    Fourth step: Once you have the agreed upon price IN WRITING, see what rate you are offered. If it’s better than or close to what you’ve gotten elsewhere, great. (Spoiler alert: It won’t be.) Have your pre-approval in hand, and give them the chance to match or beat it. Only once have I had a dealership do that on the first attempt. The others have tried to feed me some bs to get me to go with theirs, but they’ve all given in when I refused.

    Always be prepared to walk away. They count on you being emotionally invested, worn down, etc by the time you hit the finance office. What most people don’t know is that the finance guys aren’t accountants. They’re salesmen. Most dealership finance guys are former salesmen who did well enough to be “promoted” to the finance office. It’s their job to tack on as much gravy as possible once the salesman has done the “hard work”. Few people will walk away once they get that far.

    On the extended warranty, it is my own policy to refuse them 100% of the time. They can always be gotten elsewhere for much cheaper. The only exception I’d give is if you don’t have the cash to pay for it upfront. (Not sure if other sources offer financing for warranty only.) If you want it, and need it to be part of your car payment, just remember that the prices on these are just as negotiable as the vehicle price is. Do your homework ahead of time so you know what a fair price for it is.

    Sorry for the long rant. It’s just something I’ve learned over the years. The finance office is the most likely place where you’ll get screwed. Don’t let your guard down.

    PS: READ EVERY WORD OF EVERY DOCUMENT YOU SIGN. They try to rush through it every time, and I’ve screwed up royally in the past by not paying attention.
     
    Henry1jg, Hammrhed, deptrai and 7 others like this.
  15. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:11 AM
    #75
    Stizz

    Stizz New Member

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    Was going to Toyota of Alvin in TX. Saw a Crew Cab TSS being sold with over 9k miles listed as new. I found out that they were selling the vehicle as new since it was only being used as a demo, so I figured I'd attempt to get a good deal. Well, they met the price I wanted but tried adding $10k for TTL.

    I went to AutoNation Toyota, where they gave me 4k over KBB and took off the charges for the dealer add-ons. Night and day difference between dealerships. It was hilarious when I told AutoNation about the truck, and the salesman was like ”Calvary Blue Truck?”. It turned out someone went over to automation pissed off after trying to buy it and told them what had happened. AutoNation tried making a dealer trade, but the truck had too many miles on it that Toyota declined it since it was technically used.
     
    BTBAKER likes this.
  16. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:17 AM
    #76
    BTBAKER

    BTBAKER DIFFERENT NAME. SAME JUNK.

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    This is an absolute fact. It was explained to me by another finance guy. Congrats! You are pre approved at 3.75! When in reality you were approved for 3. That .75 is pure profit.

    What Jason posted is excellent advice.

    unfortunately for me, I did not have all of this knowledge in my younger days.
     
  17. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:27 AM
    #77
    War Machine

    War Machine SSEM # 5 3MW

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    Same. I learned the hard way. My favorite was when I bought a Silverado in 2003. In 2008, my wife is paying bills and says “Shouldn’t your truck be paid off soon? It still shows another year.” Went back and looked at the paperwork, and it showed a 72 month payment plan, with my initials right there on it. They didn’t tell me they’d put me down for six years, and my dumbass didn’t pay attention.

    That’s when I learned not to shop by monthly payment.....
     
  18. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:31 AM
    #78
    Patch999

    Patch999 SSEM #17 You are what you do when it counts

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    Good stuff there. Pretty close to how I have done my last 3 car deals. I got the entire deal on paper including fees and had to pull it out at finance to get them to remove crap they tried to sneak in on the final paperwork. Advertising fees, inventory fees, they will try to get all that past you.

    The only thing I did different on my last one was the extended warranty. I had my rate. I told them I’d take the extended only if it lowered my rate 2% They came back at 1.8% lower and I took it. Then canceled the warranty for a full refund within the 60 day window.
    They will fight you on this since they haven’t gotten their commission check.
     
    War Machine[QUOTED] likes this.
  19. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:38 AM
    #79
    Tchase

    Tchase MostlyLurk

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    Toyota Puyallup Washington state. Nothing really bad they got us in and out pretty quick, did the normal up sale options at closing. If I had one complaint and this seems to be almost every experience when buying a vehicle. They don't hire knowledgeable sales people on the product, I new more about the truck than the salesman and I still had questions. It is funny when we bought our Lexus it was a very different experience and they knew what they were talking about.
     
  20. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:41 AM
    #80
    tstieb

    tstieb New Member

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    Concur with posts about AutoNation Arapahoe. Got pretty good prices on 2 vehicles there, but service is hit or mostly miss and they are always slow/backed up. They also performed and ECU service bulletin that I believe impacted the ability to use the bypass kits for AIP failures that I specifically told them not to do. They didn't care when I got on their case about it.
     
    BTBAKER likes this.
  21. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:42 AM
    #81
    Bakershack

    Bakershack Critical of Noncritical Thinkers

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    I got the Toyota financing to get the extra $500 military discount. After the (required minimum) 120 days of holding this loan, I am refinancing with USAA to get a much better rate.
     
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  22. Jun 24, 2020 at 6:49 AM
    #82
    War Machine

    War Machine SSEM # 5 3MW

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    That’s another one I’ve learned. Any time you have your tires rotated somewhere, mark one of them first. I’ve caught places not doing it twice because of this.
     
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  23. Jun 24, 2020 at 7:00 AM
    #83
    Tchase

    Tchase MostlyLurk

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    And this is why along with other reasons I prefer do do it myself or an independent I trust. The dealerships and chain store places like discount, jiffy, etc don't pay well enough to get qualified people.
     
  24. Jun 24, 2020 at 7:00 AM
    #84
    Cpl_Punishment

    Cpl_Punishment Young men never die.

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    I always used to ask my dealership not to rotate the tires on my Kia because I would swap between winter and summer tires every ~6 months and because they were incapable of mounting a tire properly. However, they would insist on doing it because the tires were "wearing unevenly"
     
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  25. Jun 24, 2020 at 7:01 AM
    #85
    HTGreen

    HTGreen New Member

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    If you have TPMS, just set one tire higher than the other three, easy check on dash and no marking to piss them off, I know, got called on it one time.
     
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  26. Jun 24, 2020 at 8:03 AM
    #86
    Tchase

    Tchase MostlyLurk

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    I think the final straw for me is when I saw them take the wheels off on the wife's Lexus and flop them down on the concrete floor face down! Not to mention they never put my valve caps back on ( I have branded valve caps)
     
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  27. Jun 24, 2020 at 8:04 AM
    #87
    Tchase

    Tchase MostlyLurk

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    If they are doing their job they will check the pressure and correct, hell if they just did that you would still never know if they rotated.
     
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  28. Jun 24, 2020 at 9:49 AM
    #88
    LKROOZR

    LKROOZR New Member

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    Yup. My tires were marked
     
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  29. Oct 5, 2020 at 9:07 AM
    #89
    freds4

    freds4 New Member

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    I used my credit union's buying service (Navy Federal) and they told me which dealer to go to, which in this case was Cool Springs Toyota in Franklin, TN, about an hour and a half away. In 30 minutes they called back, had what I wanted and said they needed a deposit to go get it from the warehouse.

    My Wife and I then went to our local Toyota dealer ( Wyatt-Johnson Toyota, Clarksville, TN) to see what they could do because they offer a lifetime drivetrain warranty. We were immediately approached by a young salesman that told us he had been working there a year and normally worked the "used section". I very implicitly told him a wanted an SR5 with NO extras, add-ons, etc. because I was a minimalist and to me "a truck is a truck", so no TRD stuff, just a basic 4WD SR5.

    He had us sit at his desk, got some basic info, copied my driver's license and then went to "talk to his boss" to locate us a truck. To make a very long story short, we were there for hours (I lost track of how many) and each time he came back it was with a loaded TRD Pro or something similar. I wasn't even picky about colors and told him just not white or black. One of the trucks he returned with was white. We were there until closing time and he never did come back with what we wanted. He assured me he would find one and call me. That was Friday and it is now 11 o'clock on Monday, no call. We had a blank check from our credit union in hand and even told him that. Crazy!

    I called Cool Springs Toyota on Saturday and put a deposit on that one and will pick it up later this week. Buying services are the only way to go in my opinion.
     
  30. Oct 5, 2020 at 9:30 AM
    #90
    Trooper2

    Trooper2 Premium Lone Star Member / SSEM #13

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    I would have been pissed spending that much time there. I would not sit down to locate a truck, or not very long anyway. Tell them what you want, email is great so they have the specifics. Let them find it and send you the info. Once they have located the specific vehicle then you can start to negotiate, often via email.
     

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