Sales Person Integrity Poll. Do you Trust your Toyota Salesperson? Why?

This whole thread is alarming to me. I thought America made its name on customer service and is renowned for that image around the world, yet this thread contradicts that.

I needed some new wipers the other day. On my way home from work I rang the dealer to make sure they had some in stock, arrived 20 minutes later, popped in and had a chat with receptionist (first name terms) and had a nice coffee whilst the parts department fitted the wipers. The cost was less than quoted elsewhere too.

Fabulous service from my local dealer. That's why we've bought two new cars from them, get them serviced there and recommend them to friends.

 

The salesman I bought my car through was excellent.
We negotiated to the price I was happy with. He then outlined all the available options along with prices etc.
However he did not oversell any of them and left the decision to buy them or not totally up to me.
In fact I had decided not to have the g3 paint and interior treatment so he deleted that option without any
attempt to sell it further. I then changed my mind lol, and had him put it back in.

They also included three days of free car insurance so that I didn't have to sort all of that out whilst sitting at the
dealership.

All in all a very pleasant buying experience.

A week later the salesman called me to see how I was getting on with my new car and to check that everything was ok

The service dept is also very good.
I'm always greeted with a smile and offered tea or coffee.

 

We're 200 miles apart but sounds like a similar buying experience. Which group is your dealers? Mine's part of Vantage Toyota which is a northern group. It looks like the American dealers could learn a thing or two from ours.

 

This is also my experience of Toyota service.

 

I got my first one from Steven Eagell Toyota in Milton Keynes and the second from Sims Toyota in Northampton.
Both dealers could not have been more helpful. In fact the with my first one I had to wait a few weeks for the car to get to the dealer so they loaned me an Auris hybrid free of charge

 

My experience of BMW is slightly different.
I remember dropping my car off for a service once. I happened to be wearing an old tee shirt and ripped jeans as I'd
been working in the garden.
When I walked in a receptionist walked up to me very quickly as if to block me from getting further into the place.
"Can I help" she said condescendingly, to which I responded, "well my 530 M Sport just there is booked in but if you prefer me to have it serviced elsewhere I'm happy to oblige". She showed me to service and got me a coffee

 

Absolutely right. Whatever deal you made with the nice salesperson can be unraveled by the finance dept. They already know when you walk into their cubicle how to nullify the savings you and the salesman talked about. That's why they offer extended warranties and unnecessary undercoatings and paint protection, etc.
Don't fall for their financing including lease before you had done your homework investigating what others are offering. The dealer is only an agent. They are not the bank and make a commission on each loan, lease and extended warranty. When you find out what others are offering, then you can negotiate these rates with the dealer if you want. Low ball them because then you can see how much they had tacked on in the beginning.
You have to protect your own money because the dealership is only interested in sucking every penny from you.

 

Over here, each dealer is a separate business and quite insulated from the car manufacturer's control of how they treat (or abuse) their customers. Some are good. Many take the low road. What is the case in England? Are the car dealers an independent business from the car makers?

 

Probably a British touch of class.

 

Yes

But Toyota especially are keen that they offer good service. They send a survey to most customers after service work has been carried out and offer discounts to the dealers depending on how good the feedback is. I've spoken with the dealer about this and if they get one bad feedback report in the quarter, they can lose the special offers and discounts meaning they have to pay more for the cars. Keep the customers satisfied and you make more profit. I've had the dealers ring me after service ensuring that I was 100% happy. Almost like ebay in that some sellers want you to contact them first before posting negative feedback etc.

The local dealer (usually a one off, part of a small group of 5 or 6 like mine, or even a national chain) has to give great service or lose out. Not sure it's all manufacturers that do this. Citroen are renowned for having dreadful dealer back up, as are Nissan, Ford and Vauxhall. Toyota really seem to bend over backwards to try and help, such as replacing my inverter 10,000 miles and 3 months out of warranty. My girlfriend also dumped her Honda Civic and bought a Toyota purely on the crap service the local Honda dealer gave her.

 

Yeah right lol

 

my dealer sales person is dianne whitmire, i trust her implicitly.