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OT - worst experience at a Toyota dealership

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Old 05-09-06, 02:45 PM
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Seattle350
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Default OT - worst experience at a Toyota dealership

My ex-wife wants a Camry Hybrid, so I pick her up at lunch and we go to the closest dealership to downtown Seattle - we walk in and get a cordial greeting from a very young sales guy - I tell him what we looking for and he says he'll refer me to a senior sales guy - this guy comes out of an office - introduces himself, gets the scoop from me about the hybrid and almost immediately asks me for a $2k deposit to 'secure' a hybrid - he goes on to tell me that this hybrid is the hottest thing out and even with my $2k deposit, he'll wasn't sure about convincing the sales manager not to charge me a premium - I asked him about color/available options and he says I should be happy to just get one, irrespective of color! Needless to say I left, I thanked him for doing me such a major favor, but I would pass on this one....
Perhaps, I'm spoiled by Lexus or Bimmer dealers, but I didn't expect to be treated like they were doing me a favor by selling us a car
Any hook-ups for a Toyota dealer in the greater Seattle area will be appreciated...
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Old 05-09-06, 02:52 PM
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Ichigo
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thats terrible. I hate when sales people think they are doing you a favor. The consumer has the buying power and is the one doing a "favor" for the dealer. Im glad you walked outta there. Good luck on finding a better dealership.
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Old 05-09-06, 03:38 PM
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shaolin
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Tustin Toyota sales agent sucks. Doesn't matter how many times I go there and doesn't matter how many different sales I talk to, they just ..........
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Old 05-09-06, 03:42 PM
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TimboIS
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Originally Posted by Seattle350
My ex-wife wants a Camry Hybrid, so I pick her up at lunch and we go to the closest dealership to downtown Seattle - we walk in and get a cordial greeting from a very young sales guy - I tell him what we looking for and he says he'll refer me to a senior sales guy - this guy comes out of an office - introduces himself, gets the scoop from me about the hybrid and almost immediately asks me for a $2k deposit to 'secure' a hybrid - he goes on to tell me that this hybrid is the hottest thing out and even with my $2k deposit, he'll wasn't sure about convincing the sales manager not to charge me a premium - I asked him about color/available options and he says I should be happy to just get one, irrespective of color! Needless to say I left, I thanked him for doing me such a major favor, but I would pass on this one....
Perhaps, I'm spoiled by Lexus or Bimmer dealers, but I didn't expect to be treated like they were doing me a favor by selling us a car
Any hook-ups for a Toyota dealer in the greater Seattle area will be appreciated...
Dealer sounds reasonable. Many people originally wanting a Prius and Highlander had to do the same. Why shouldn't you?
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Old 05-09-06, 04:11 PM
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james6290
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Originally Posted by Seattle350
My ex-wife wants a Camry Hybrid, so I pick her up at lunch and we go to the closest dealership to downtown Seattle - we walk in and get a cordial greeting from a very young sales guy - I tell him what we looking for and he says he'll refer me to a senior sales guy - this guy comes out of an office - introduces himself, gets the scoop from me about the hybrid and almost immediately asks me for a $2k deposit to 'secure' a hybrid - he goes on to tell me that this hybrid is the hottest thing out and even with my $2k deposit, he'll wasn't sure about convincing the sales manager not to charge me a premium - I asked him about color/available options and he says I should be happy to just get one, irrespective of color! Needless to say I left, I thanked him for doing me such a major favor, but I would pass on this one....
Perhaps, I'm spoiled by Lexus or Bimmer dealers, but I didn't expect to be treated like they were doing me a favor by selling us a car
Any hook-ups for a Toyota dealer in the greater Seattle area will be appreciated...
i almost bought a chrysler 300C SRT-8 and the dealer told me that he would charge 8K over MSRP because it was so hot, i told him no, and as soon as he got one in, he ended up selling to a friend of mine for 1K under...hahahaha
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Old 05-09-06, 04:25 PM
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Kermee
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You might try Magic Toyota but you're probably going to get the same response once you bring up the word 'hybrid'. If anything right now, Toyota Hybrids are a seller's market right now, much more so than our 2IS'es ever was when it first hit the showrooms. Toyota doesn't have any problems moving their hybrids and the sales people and dealerships know that hence the, "Put up or let me spend my energies elsewhere in selling a car to someone."

Cheers,
Kermee

P.S. I was just at the Magic Toyota dealership playing with a Yaris last weekend and the place was crazy insane. The new Camry's were selling left-and-right.
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Old 05-09-06, 04:56 PM
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Dude, it's just part of the mindgame. These guys are basically crooks trying to make a living. If they can get you to pay $2K over premium, why would they offer to sell you one for $500 over invoice? He's just trying to see if he can reel in the big fish. I always find a good price to go in and bargain with.


Unfortunately, it's the same boat that most of us in this forum have experienced. You take a limited production, high demand vehicle with a client base who can afford a premium car and they have us by the *****. If you don't want to pay their price, they know there's someone behind you who will. Since the supply is so short or if it is order only, they have no risk, so, they're going to swing for the fences and try to hit one out of the park.
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