1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

My experience at Carson toyota

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by K9lulu, Mar 3, 2012.

  1. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2008
    1,639
    317
    14
    Location:
    Simi Valley, California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    What did the service rep have to do with the sale?
     
  2. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2010
    1,371
    335
    0
    Location:
    Waianae, HI (Oahu)
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Mac you can allways post here, http://priuschat.com/forums/freds-house-pancakes/101347-amm0bob-thanks-bazaar.html the post does not count but the thanks do!

    I agree I never said that I did not agree. I have no problem with one posting ones experiences, what I have a problem with is one sided hit and run BS posts. I am a big jerk and a clown, happy now? For not having a dog in this fight why are you such an advocate for K9lulu? It would be nice if the OP returned to this thread.


    I am a Jerk you are correct. Where is the PriusChat Show when you need it?
     
  3. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2008
    1,639
    317
    14
    Location:
    Simi Valley, California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I was one of the people Dianne mentioned who was there, with an appointment, to get my paperwork done, in anticipation of picking up my car after leather installation. Nathan was taking care of F8L at Dianne's request, while my wife and I were in her office. I met F8L and chatted with him while Dianne was handling calls from the sales floor, the leather guy and her get-ready dept. She was as busy as the proverbial one-armed paperhanger, but never lost her cool amongst all the phone calls and our questions.
    I would ask the OP, if he ever came back to the forum, if he goes to the grocery store and demands to buy his groceries at the sale prices from a couple of weeks back, and go to the head of the checkout line to pay for them. Advertised sale prices are meant to draw possible buyers to the dealership, period. I'm willing to bet that the ad he saw had an expiration date printed on it.
    In my case, I found references to Dianne, and her own posts, on PC and initiated the contact with her in buying my Pip. She has been professional and true to her word throughout the ordering and delivery process. If the OP couldn't make an effort to contact her for an appointment, that is his problem. That doesn't necessarily make him a jerk, IMHO, but perhaps someone who went to the dealership that day prepared for an adversarial encounter, and managed to get it. As for the OP not naming Dianne, but just her dealership, she honorably stepped up and acknowledged that she was involved. She could have just ignored the post, and maybe others would have thought, as I did upon reading his post, that he must have dealt with someone other than Dianne.
     
    2 people like this.
  4. CandyCanePrincess

    CandyCanePrincess New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    113
    14
    0
    Location:
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Aren't most people's POVs one sided? Especially in a thread titled "MY experience at xyz" If you think people go into each situation looking at all sides (including their own) evenly, we would have no lawsuits, No complaint boards, we would live where unicorns run freely...where we would be blowing sunshine up each other's hoohas. We would be living in a land where I actually AM a candy cane princess. While, I, more than anyone else would actually enjoy that ;), I'm afraid it would be just a dream. As far as the post being hit and run, not everyone is invested in each forum they visit. Maybe Kulu is too busy with kids, life, work, looking for a car,.... He or she is not obligated to come back every day to hear the insults.


    I re-read the OP's post. It really doesn't strike me as an errant rant. I think follow up posts have been particulary harsh with the OP because it is beloved Dianne. While I understand that she has a reputation here and is loved by the forum chat members, I didn't feel like treatment of OP was fair. Calling their experience an errant rant and calling them names is just uncool. Even in a land where there is traffic jams with cars, *gasp* gas guzzling cars, not traffic jams with really sweet unicorns gently sprinkling glitter.

    Why am I an advocate for Kulu? Because when I was a newbie and I came in asking re price trends and etc, almost every PM and post told me to go to Dianne. I came here to get AWAY from dealers, to get Prius owner and potential prius owners feedback, but was faced with more dealers here tooting their own horn. That was a bit irritating. A lot of other dealers offer haggle free prices. She isn't the only on the world. It took me a few months and I kept notes on price trends. Dianne was consistenly priced higher than all my local dealers in the socal area. Not sure if you are familiar with the area, but I was in touch with dealers ranging from Ventura County all the way down to San Diego. Which made me wonder why she has legions of fans *shrug*. Thanks to this thread, I now know that is because I'm a classless jerk. Maybe I should have paid more for the same car and thanked dianne for so generoulsy seeing me and taking extra money? Maybe I would have been in the cool club. Sigh....shattered dreams.

    Anywhoos, that's my two cents.
     
  5. johnnybravo

    johnnybravo New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2012
    7
    1
    0
    Location:
    neverland
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    my friend got his from dianne at carson, i spoke to her here and got her contact details in early feb, he got a steal of a deal and loves it. i almost had a camry customer for her just now, that's why i came, to also leave a feedback but he said he got a great deal, probably timing.

    thank you dianne
     
  6. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I would *never* call myself a jerk. I live in a traditional home, and that prerogative is at my wife's discretion.
     
  7. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    873
    193
    0
    Location:
    Boulder, CO
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I think the issue is that there are 2 ways to post a complaint - the first is to fling mud at someone and run or you can actually stand behind it and show some character. The OP chose the former and the issue was not that the person did not log in daily, but rather posted an inflammatory post calling out a company by name and an individual by inference and then did not have the cajones to log back in and respond to the 2 posts refuting his story by people who just happened to be there and realized that he was not telling the truth. That is pretty low.

    Of course you can choose to be offended if you like, but I do not think that any offence was meant.



     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,533
    48,842
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i wonder if the op ever got his/her 'good buying experience'.
     
  9. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,795
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    We've been bamboozled! Hoodwinked! Run Amok! We didn't land on Plymouth Rock! Plymouth Rock landed on us!
     
  10. CandyCanePrincess

    CandyCanePrincess New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    113
    14
    0
    Location:
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I don't know. There is NO mention of what you say in the member agreement. There is no "Thou shall not mention a bad experience at a dealership, unless you promise to come back and listen to us call you a classless clown...over and over"
    I don't know who the mod/owner is, but if you guys feel this strongly about Dianne, you may want to amend the user member agreement to say something like "I promise to love and to hold Dianne and her over priced deals for life" Wouldn't that be ideal? because I don't think this is the type of response this person would have gotten had it been a different dealership. In fact, when I was looking to buy, I do remember reading negative comments about a local dealership to me and I appreciated that feedback. I still gave them a try, but at least I had some knowledge going in...and to be honest, that is exactly what I was looking for when I found this forum. I wasn't looking for dealers listing inventory for sale. I was looking for the opinion of other prius drivers.

    Just so everyone knows, i have had PMs from OTHER people who are not thrilled with her. HOwever, these are all potential customers still in the market that don't want to out themselves. It isn't just Kulu and myself and the other poster here who said they don't care for her tone. I guess I never drank the kool aid.

    Side note: I was a member of a car seat buying org. I was trying to figure out what my next age up car seat should be...Someone was asking for reviews of the car seats I had owned in the past and I said something negative, something along the lines of it not buckling easily. I have not logged back into that forum in years. Do you think Britax devotees are calling me a classless jerk? Or calling my son an idiot for being unable to use that certain car seat buckles? I am assuming I will go back in a few years to get opinions on the next age up car seat and chances are, I won't even check on the thread from years ago. I see nothing wrong with that. I shared *my experience* on a product/service provider and that is the end. I am not obligated to come back to fight Britax and all of its little groupies. Sort of like Dianne and her groupies here. OP stated his/her opinion and moved on. He/she may come back or not. Who cares.

    I do hope s/he does get the good buying experience. Everyone deserves it. it took me MONTHS.
     
  11. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2007
    4,062
    1,123
    64
    Location:
    Laguna Niguel, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    This is over the top.

    The original poster wanted a price that I posted to this forum with an expiration date: 2/21, that was ONLY during a certain time frame due to factory incentive, and that time was weeks past. Had they just sat down with retail salesmen and not involved me or my weeks-old pricing, we'd have been fine. Retail salesmen everywhere are not angels all the time. The original posters really should have called me or emailed me first and I could have told them there's no more deal here at that pricing. I could have saved them a trip OR re-structured it with the factory rebate ONLY - or the low APR, and they would have had numbers I could have met on the last II I had in stock for 2011. In that way, they did involve me, and left me defending the dealership's actions.

    I'm very candid with folks and clear. Folks do not always like the truth - no matter how kindly it's delivered so I get shot sometimes as the messenger because not everyone will take responsibility for their own past or current actions.

    This thread is getting a little silly?

    People who want a fair deal, a good deal, and an easy no hassle deal with lot of good information and advice in many ways will appreciate my efforts. I am not the only place to get that treatment on this planet. I'm just one woman trying to make sure that I offer the best I have to offer from my store. If it doesn't work for you, and there's a better situation or terms or interaction elsewhere, I'm not offended or hurt. It's just business. I have different incentives than other regions at times that make buying HERE better, and sometimes, terms are better elsewhere.

    If someone's defending me, they are not drinking Kool Aid. They have just been here, done that, or heard enough positive to accept that several thousand hybrid Camry, Highlander hybrid, Prius, wagon and c and hatchback and plug ins and and many other model buyers across a few different forums and referrals and family/friend mentions are probably enough to give a thumbs up. I sell close to 800 cars a year myself. It's kind of hard to meet those numbers bering the most expensive deal on the block.
     
    3 people like this.
  12. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2006
    19,011
    4,080
    50
    Location:
    Grass Valley, CA.
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    CCP, you should probably just stop while you're ahead. You're not doing anyone any favors and frankly your continued rant is just making you look bad.
     
  13. pdp

    pdp New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2011
    162
    16
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Well in CCPs defense, I asked Dianne if she could sell me a v 3 for $xxx,xxx. She basically told me no way (not in those words), and not only that, no way anyone else would in California. So I went to another dealer and he ended up selling me a v 3 for even less than the original $xxx,xxx I wanted. So like CCP, I can't say she's the best option when you decide to go and buy a Prius.

    I have nothing personal against Dianne, I have never met her, and judging by her interactions with everyone else, she actually seems much less slimy than your typical car salesperson out there. Not only that, I've been rather impressed by her knowledge of the cars she sells, vs some other ones salespeople I've talked with about the Prius v. All that being said though, a car salesperson is still a car salesperson, trying to sell for the most profit, just like a buyer trying to get the best price... nothing wrong with that (EDIT: unless blatant lying is done by either party), it's just how capitalism works!
     
  14. CandyCanePrincess

    CandyCanePrincess New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    113
    14
    0
    Location:
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    II
    :rolleyes: Ha!
    It isn't a rant. It is my opinion. Just so you understand, you don't get to call someone's opinion a rant when you don't agree. You can choose to NOT read a thread that you don't like. It is so easy :) You basically just don't click on it. Voila! You're welcome.
     
  15. CandyCanePrincess

    CandyCanePrincess New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    113
    14
    0
    Location:
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Yes, and that happened to at least one other buyer here in my approximate area. Best thing to do is shop around.
     
  16. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2010
    1,371
    335
    0
    Location:
    Waianae, HI (Oahu)
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    One other buyer maybe K9lulu?:cool::violin:
     
  17. CandyCanePrincess

    CandyCanePrincess New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2011
    113
    14
    0
    Location:
    SoCal
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I love that violin person!!! awesome.
     
    1 person likes this.
  18. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2010
    1,371
    335
    0
    Location:
    Waianae, HI (Oahu)
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    :fencing::alien:
    Over on the right when replying are the Smilies, click on the [More] link and it can be found there with a bunch of others.
     
  19. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2007
    4,062
    1,123
    64
    Location:
    Laguna Niguel, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    I am not certain why the entire focus is on the selling pricing solely.
    There are way more components that can really affect a deal and change the effective overall cost. I have watched many people get better pricing quoted initially, but then get less for trades, higher lease rates or higher interest rates, or get their keys handed to them and kicked to the curb w/o a helpful hand ... begging off when someone needs help with back up beep or .. well, I guess I see the bigger picture.

    I'm the "no surprises" style.

    By the way, that violin is very adorable! I think the one I use most here is this one:
    :D
    Life's too darn short to sweat the small stuff.
     
  20. boopie

    boopie Are we there yet?

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2011
    47
    7
    0
    Location:
    Starbucks
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    It seems some people are simply paying lip service to "you get what you pay for" and "reputation matters". :) Sure, buying a brand new car from the cheapest bidder probably isn't going to end up costing you the hundreds of dollars you probably saved, but knowing you're not going to get ripped off has a cost.

    Most people deal with mechanics who may not be the cheapest but have spent years building up a reputation for honesty and good work. And we flock to them for that reason. A lot of things we spend money on work the same way.

    I'm sure there are lots of other great sales people at other dealerships who can give you everything you want. I did some research and found one I was pretty sure I would be happy with. Disclosure: I bought from Dianne but it'll be a long time before I do it again. I'm hoping at least 10 years. ;) Honestly, I'm shocked at how often some of you trade up your cars. :)
     
    1 person likes this.