Long, Bad History: Empire Toyota, Oneonta, NY

[rigmar]

Empire Toyota is a dealership located in Oneonta , NY. It is owned and operated by Geoff Harris. I want to give prospective buyers some advice before stepping through the door at Empire. I can give you an inside look because I was behind the scenes as a salesperson.
Locally, Empire Toyota is known for being a very difficult dealership to deal with. Customers can feel the tension stepping into the showroom because it's a very aggressive atmosphere.
The salespeople are very stressed due to the pressure they're put under by the owner and the sales manager. We work on 100% commission so we are predisposed to making the most money possible on every customer. There is no salary. Employee's are discarded regurlarly so you may not see the same people from month to month. In my case, I was the top producing salesperson at the dealership in terms of overall units, profit, and aftermarket. I called in two days in February 09' to care for two sick children...I was Fired. Mr. Harris cares nothing of his employees or the public....The only thing he cares about is hitting a homerun on you. Let me give you an example as is pertains to Prius & Used cars
When Prius got hot the summer of 2008 Mr. Harris decided to add an "environmetal package" on every Prius which was an additional $1300. This included Rustproofing, Undercoating, Fabric Protection, paint sealant, and a remote replacement. The dealer cost for this warranty is exactly $595. This netted Empire $705 of pure profit. Some may say...I can request to not have the package...right.....wrong. I lost many sales to good customers that didnt want the package. At this dealership you do not have the choice, you have to buy it...period. We were also selling prius for MSRP (sticker) new and used.
Mr. Harris brings in prius as "track" vehicles a.k.a RENTALS. Every year he orders about 30 to rent to the public or give away as loaner vehicles for service. I can tell you first hand that customers beat the hell out of these cars. He must wait 3 months and a certain amount of Mileage before he can sell them. When he does we clean them ....they all have between 3000 miles to 5000 miles on them. HE PUTS THE ORIGINAL WINDOW STICKER BACK IN THE VEHICLE AND SOLD THEM FOR STICKER. As the new 2010 prius has come out , he has about 20 prius 08 and 09's with miles which he is discounting about $2000. If someone came in with a 2008 Prius with 3000 miles on it to trade in , we would give them Invoice less 25% depreciation for the vehicle So a vehicle that MSRP's for 23,080 invoices for 21,080. Less 25% is about $16,000 . They would turn around add $4995 mark up to sell it for $20,995 sale price. Every used vehicle on that lot has about 4,000 of markup. some... like used tacomas have more.
BOTTOM LINE IS AVOID GOING THERE UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING INTO. IT IS WORTH THE HOUR DRIVE TO ALBANY OR BINHAMTON TO RECEIVE A PLEASANT BUYING EXPERIENCE. MR HARRIS IS ABOUT GREED, SO GIVE HIM A MESSAGE HE CAN UNDERSTAND...................NO SALE!

[nmrickie]

Let me guess . . . you'd still be there screwing people over if they hadn't fired you . . .

[djasonw]

Sorry... I have no sympathy for you. If you had any morals you would have quit before getting fired. Shame on you for going along with the shenanigans.

[mgb4tim]

Originally Posted by rigmar

But thanks for the hateful comments.

That's pretty funny. I appreciate your honesty.

[Sandy]

You sound bitter they let you go....

[bruceha_2000]

I smell a troll.

[rigmar]

Originally Posted by Sandy

You sound bitter they let you go....

Let me ask you a question? If you had to take care of your sick children and got fired as a result, would'nt you be a little pissed off.

[rigmar]

Originally Posted by rigmar

Let me ask you a question? If you had to take care of your sick children and got fired as a result, would'nt you be a little pissed off.

I replied to some of you haters out there...but the administrator dictator erased both my replies. The censorship on this website is surprising. I thought people wanted the truth ...I guess I was wrong

[rigmar]

Originally Posted by bruceha_2000

I smell a troll.

what does that mean???? why don't you tell me what you really mean . Instead of being a hater why don't you write me a real message that conveys something of substance instead of something cryptic.

[willnottakeitorleaveit]

Originally Posted by rigmar

Empire Toyota is a dealership located in Oneonta , NY. It is owned and operated by Geoff Harris. I want to give prospective buyers some advice before stepping through the door at Empire. I can give you an inside look because I was behind the scenes as a salesperson.
Locally, Empire Toyota is known for being a very difficult dealership to deal with. Customers can feel the tension stepping into the showroom because it's a very aggressive atmosphere.
The salespeople are very stressed due to the pressure they're put under by the owner and the sales manager. We work on 100% commission so we are predisposed to making the most money possible on every customer. There is no salary. Employee's are discarded regurlarly so you may not see the same people from month to month. In my case, I was the top producing salesperson at the dealership in terms of overall units, profit, and aftermarket. I called in two days in February 09' to care for two sick children...I was Fired. Mr. Harris cares nothing of his employees or the public....The only thing he cares about is hitting a homerun on you. Let me give you an example as is pertains to Prius & Used cars
When Prius got hot the summer of 2008 Mr. Harris decided to add an "environmetal package" on every Prius which was an additional $1300. This included Rustproofing, Undercoating, Fabric Protection, paint sealant, and a remote replacement. The dealer cost for this warranty is exactly $595. This netted Empire $705 of pure profit. Some may say...I can request to not have the package...right.....wrong. I lost many sales to good customers that didnt want the package. At this dealership you do not have the choice, you have to buy it...period. We were also selling prius for MSRP (sticker) new and used.
Mr. Harris brings in prius as "track" vehicles a.k.a RENTALS. Every year he orders about 30 to rent to the public or give away as loaner vehicles for service. I can tell you first hand that customers beat the hell out of these cars. He must wait 3 months and a certain amount of Mileage before he can sell them. When he does we clean them ....they all have between 3000 miles to 5000 miles on them. HE PUTS THE ORIGINAL WINDOW STICKER BACK IN THE VEHICLE AND SOLD THEM FOR STICKER. As the new 2010 prius has come out , he has about 20 prius 08 and 09's with miles which he is discounting about $2000. If someone came in with a 2008 Prius with 3000 miles on it to trade in , we would give them Invoice less 25% depreciation for the vehicle So a vehicle that MSRP's for 23,080 invoices for 21,080. Less 25% is about $16,000 . They would turn around add $4995 mark up to sell it for $20,995 sale price. Every used vehicle on that lot has about 4,000 of markup. some... like used tacomas have more.
BOTTOM LINE IS AVOID GOING THERE UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING INTO. IT IS WORTH THE HOUR DRIVE TO ALBANY OR BINHAMTON TO RECEIVE A PLEASANT BUYING EXPERIENCE. MR HARRIS IS ABOUT GREED, SO GIVE HIM A MESSAGE HE CAN UNDERSTAND...................NO SALE!