Best metro D.C. dealer? (Gaithersburg / Rockville)

Dave,

Give the folks at Fitzgerald Toyota a visit. They're on 355 just north of 124. Ask to speak to Brian Wallace in new car sales. I have had really great sales and service experiences there and they get high marks all around. PS, I just purchased the 7 year/100K mile no deductible Platinum warranty through them for $935! That's $50 less than what is being mentioned elsewhere in Priuschat.

Randy

 

I got my package #4 from Erin Zollers at Jim Coleman Toyota in Bethesda below MSRP, and she went above and beyond to make sure that I was satisfied. If you check them out, make sure that you ask for Erin and I'd appreciate it if you said that Chase referred you.

 

Woo hoo!!

I just (less than an hour ago) put down my deposit on a Tideland #4 from Alexandria Toyota that just arrived there today. Went through the internet sales person (Jim Brotherton), and overall it was a great experience. Ended up at $1000 under MSRP. That was the best deal of all the DC area dealers (incl. Koons, Ourisman, Miller, Darcars, Bill Page). Also was considering a $1200 under MSRP deal with someone in Michigan (Scott Anderson at www.riversidehasit.com) but decided the flight and drive weren't quite worth it.

 

I had a good car buying experience with Fitzgeralds in Gaithersburg, but I've given up on them for service. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I took it back after an oil change because the level was way (1/4") above full. After waiting an hour the "service advisor" said that the oil level was high and that the technician had drained some out. Being a trusting person, I didn't check the level for a couple of days, but guess what, it was still 1/4" above the full mark.

They may save their certified Prius technicians for more technical problems, but their grease monkeys should know how to read a dip stick!

 

Does anybody have any experience or opinions about Koons Tyson Toyota? There is a Tom Quinn that posts on "the other" Prius forum...
Should I be concerned?

Thanks for sharing.

 

The only experience I have with Koons is with the Annapolis and Tysons locations, and it was simply finding whether or not they discounted off of MSRP. Bottom line: No, they don't, while other DC area dealers do substantially.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CraigL\";p=\"106774)</div>

Did that include a processing fee? I'm looking in the DC area as well.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dstrout\";p=\"108218)</div>

Congrats, Dave. I think you'll find that the after purchase attention that Fitz gives is quite good and their new Toyota service facility is outstanding!
Randy

 

jandmayra,
I got my #4 (AM) from Tom at Koons back in April and all went well with the transaction. He seems to have a lot purchasing cars through him for out of the area. (I'm in NC, they don't have #4's in this state and it was a 18 month wait with the local dealer at the time.) I got it for about $300 off MSRP, which I think was pretty good at the time as dealers around here were MSRP or above. One other thing, I was even able to get my first choice of color through them as well.

randalla, nice avatar.

 

Thanks, DanH.

I will keep it in mind.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanH\";p=\"108581)</div>

Thanks DanH...yours too!

 

Also went to Alexandria Toyota - walked out with a Driftwood, package 6 all mats, wheel locks (long story but my husband kind of wanted them), 2 year service plan (all maintenance service), and leather seats (they are putting them in after market), loaner when we get the car serviced - $27140 plus tax and tag (MSPR was 26890 plus then we added the leather and the 2 year maintenance agreement). Talk to Frank S.

The only thing I think we screwed up on was the extended warranty - they would have probably matched the 985 for 7 yrs, 100,000, but my husband was insistant that we didn't need 7 years or 100,000 miles because we never keep cars that long (except the 95 Saturn we're driving). He's right, the most we normally have a car for is 4 or 5 years. So my husband "negotiated the warranty" and got the platinum 6 year 75,000 for $725. Tried to deal with Ourisman, but I got aggrivated with all the sitting and waiting while the salesman consulted with the manager. I called Alexandria and Frank did it all over the phone and had a car ready for us when we showed up.

 

I wouldn't recommend Darcars in Silver Spring. The sales guy didn't understand basic features (selling-points) such as the smart key system and the guy in the finance office was less than a joy to deal with. I've since gone to 355 Toyota (I think Darcars owns this too), for oil change (overfilled).

 

Picked mine up from Alexandria Toyota - it sounds like the experience there is based on the sales person. I did get $993 off MSRP, but then they tacked on the $199 junk fee so ended up only $794 off MSRP.

The sales person might have been new, but I did catch her in a number of lies, I should have bailed but needed a car. She did tell me that leather was not an available option, so will get that done aftermarket.

I'll go for the first two services that they included, but will probably look about for someone for service afterwards.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

I also recommend Alexandria Toyota. I bought a Tideland #6 on July 20 and everything went like clockwork. Call Rob Barnhill (click for phone and e-mail). He's no-pressure, and knows a lot about the Prius.

 

I had a good experience over the weekend with Lustine Toyota in Woodbridge. I called Terry Tarkington in Internet sales and chatted with him, and they had several in stock. He quoted a #6 at $600 under MSRP. That was about $100 better than most quotes I'd received, but then again their processing fee is high at $299 so it evened out. Terry said he could probably do better for me if I visited the lot.

When we got there, Terry was with another customer, so he got Richard Morataya to help us. He was extremely helpful and friendly, and we decided on a Salsa Red with the #6 package. (They had several different #6's, and some other packages there… so plenty available as of last weekend.) They did come down in price to about $800 under MSRP, and we drove it home that day. All the folks there were great, and I recommend them.

I gathered all my quotes via email, and here are some other helpful folks, all quoting in the neighborhood of $500 off MSRP (some may have varied slightly, and you need to factor in the processing fee). The first two were happy to provide a complete, "out the door" quote, and I never got around to asking the others:

--Shane Hamilton at Kay Jennings in Springfield
--Martin Jones at Darcars in Frederick
--Brian Chanin at Fitzgerald in Gaithersburg
--Jim Brotherton at Alexandria Toyota
--Jeff Tabb at Miller Toyota in Manassas

Some of these had limited availability, but new cars were coming in soon.

 

Just had a very good experience at Miller Toyota. Didn't get "passed around" to the manager-of-the-day. Got our 1st choice of color for almost $700 below MSRP on a Package #4 +CF & EF. The entire transaction INCLUDING test drive took 2hrs. Nice! No high-pressure sales for add-ons (which I politely declined). I worked with Kirk Connelly and Jeff Murray.

I had heard (and experienced) mostly bad reviews of Toyota dealers so this was a pleasant surprise. Even the final step with the financing guy was fast and courteous (I financed through my credit union--3.5%!!).

BTW, I negotiated a price over the phone so we didn't have to haggle when I got there. They said they are the #2 Dealer in the nation for Prius, and I don't doubt it--they had the largest stock of anyone I looked at online. So even though they didn't have the car I wanted sitting on the lot, they were able to trade for it in 2 days. A 2 day waiting period! (or less if they have the one in stock you want!)

I'm very pleased, what a great car! Even little details like the wipers, 2 power points, padded sunglasses holder... and its the quietest and roomiest car (for passengers) I've ever owned. :mrgreen: