A Tale of Two Albuquerque Dealers

Sorry this is long but I did put the bottom line in a few lines below

I had an 2004 Prius, with used prices high, I decided to sell my 04 in Sept 05 and buy an 06. I had a buyer, put money down at both dealerships here -- Karl Malone Toyota and American Toyota, in Oct 05. The buyer backed out in October, but no worries, I had time to sell before my new one came in. I had one good and one bad experience and ended up selling my 2004 Prius and getting a 2006 Prius from Karl Malone Toyota

Bottom line:
Good: Karl Malone Toyota: They tell you the truth, they stand behind their product and make things right, they are easy to deal with, they treat you with respect, finance didn't badger me, their service department is super, they are knowledgeable about the cars, and they follow through with what they say.
Bad: American Toyota: They lie to you, try to badger you, don't communicate within their company, and try to add on lots of extras

First, the good- Karl Malone Toyota. I put my deposit down in Oct 05 with Rich Lovato, the salesperson. I was about number 59 on the list, so he said it should be about 6 months til the new car arrives but couldn't guarantee a time since they don't know allocations each month. I checked periodically where I was on the list (about every 6-8 weeks). The only bad thing -- the salesperson didn't call me back at least twice. But he also called me when I hadn't asked to give me an update and he did call me back at least three times, so it's probably a wash. In April, I got a buyer for my 04 Prius. I called about my place on the list at Karl Malone. No callback from my salesperson so I asked to talk to a manager -- he (Kirk) looked up the paperwork and turns out I was number 10 and they had 10 allocationsfor the next allocation for this upcoming month. I told him I would prefer Barcelona Red (had Seaside Pearl on my paperwork but wife decided the red is good after seeing it), and he said they have a package 6, red, and he can put my name on it. Should arrive in 2-3 weeks. I told him the mats are cheaper from parts and I would prefer not to get the mats with the new car and buy them from parts -- I'll just buy them separate. He checked, agreed its cheaper and said no problem, they deleted the mats from the new car, and they didn't try to sell me a bunch of extras. I got the VIN after it arrived in port, the car came in, I picked it up on 29 April 2006. The car was ready to go, the salesperson, Rich, was very knowledgeable and showed me all the features (when I bought my 04 I knew 1000% more than the salesperson about the Prius). In checking the car, we noticed some slight scratches on the front bumper which they immediately took back and get buffed out quickly. Finance took about 30 min, no pressure at all to buy warranties, extras, and they treated me with respect. I asked for the delivery checklist that they use (thanks PriusChat!), my salesperson said it's not available at the moment but said he would mail it to me as soon as he gets it. I also explained to the salesperson the only bad thing was him not calling me back a few times when he said he would. I explained my concern that some dealerships had bumped people on the list, which is why I wanted to know I was moving up. We talked about the surveys and I found out that it's either 100% positive or it's considered a negative. I told him I'm happy with everything but the glitch in callbacks, and I asked if there's any way we could work something -- maybe throw in the mats to make up for it? He said they can't coach the surveys, he understands my concern but he can't give me anything just to make a better survey. I'm very impressed with his integrity! I decided I don't want to ding them when 99% of the deal was good so I will give them 100% positive, with comments in writing only about the callbacks. I got home and realized there's microscrathes on the windshield (probably from transport on the delivery truck) and two small scratches you can easily see. I took the car in, the manager and salesperson literally walked out to meet me as I drove up - they saw the scratches and said they will replace the windshield, no problem the car should be right for me. After about a week I got a follow up letter from the my salesperson thanking me for my business, and it had the delivery checklist he said he would send me! In addition, I get 10% off all parts and free oil for each oil change (makes cost less than $20 for oil change) since I'm part of their 'owners club' (even got a laminated card). When I went in to order the windshield, I also asked service about the rear quarterpanel which is slightly (maybe 1/4") sticking out -- the service person (Joe Sanchez) said they will correct it when the windshield comes in -- no grief or hassle. Respect, integrity, and honesty is what I expect and what I got from Karl Malone.

Second, the bad dealership - American Toyota. I had heard they sold previous Prii for over MSRP, but they were telling me MSRP for the 06. I told them I didn't want anything extra on the car -- no bumber applique, no cargo nets, etc. They wrote 'no extras' on my contract with my refundable deposit (refundable up until they call me with the allocation). In Dec, I went in just to sanity check what they would give me for my 04 since it hadn't sold yet, not expecting to sell. I had a 2004 package 5 (mid level), paid $22,300 for it (plus taxes and title) and it had about 20k miles on it. They offered me $19k, I was asking $22,400. I told them thanks, but it's too low. They asked what I would want for the car -- I said for $22k, I'll sell it on the spot and have my wife come pick me up. For $21k+ we can talk. I also explained that if I can't sell my 2004, I just won't buy the 2006 since my 04 is a great car, and that I still have time to sell my 04 privately. Then the manager went away for a few minutes, and came back with a copy of the invoice for my car (from Ohio) and starts badgering me about how it's wrong for me to ask for more than I paid (I'm asking $22,400 because I'd seen them for $24k+). I have no idea where he got the invoice or why he even dug it up, but I feel it's a cheap ploy. I told him this is what the cars are going for, but it's just business, if they don't want to buy my car no problem and thanks for their time looking at it. He continues to badger me (apparently trying to guilt me into selling for less) so I asked him if he buys my car, he won't sell my car for over $22k? He says he won't sell it for over $22k. I think it's a lie and I also don't want to sell my car for $19k so I leave. The next day, I called, talked to the manager and explain the problems I had the previous day and told them I wanted my deposit back because I expect to be treated with respect., which I wasn't. He apologized and said he would pass the info on to my salesperson. Two weeks go by, I searched on the internet and found my exact package and color 04 Prius with 28k miles (8k more than my car) at American for $25k+ (remember they just told me they wouldn't sell my car for over $22k). So they lied which I suspected. I called my salesperson and nobody ever told her I wanted my refund. She is nice though and suggested I keep my deposit down, I can always get it back later. I decided that's ok, even though I didn't plan on buying from them, but if my car sells and the other dealer is a 6+ month longer wait, I might buy it from American (I didn't tell her this though). Fast forward to Feb, my saleslady calls and says they have one I could buy -- not my color or options, plus has all the extra garbage on it, I decide not to get it. She says I'm #1 on the list, so she will call me when new cars come in to see if I want them. After refusing this car I don't get any calls about cars coming in for over a month -- either I'm not really #1, they've written me off, or they got no cars in 6 weeks. At this point, it looks likely I'll get my 06 soon from Karl Malone, so I ask to get my deposit back. She's nice about it. After a week, no refund on my credit card. I call her in the AM, no response, I call back and night and she tells me 'I was just about to call you.' She says she doesn't know what the holdup was but that she will personally take care of it the next day. She does and I get my refund. The sad thing is I don't see a reason for them not to treat people with respect -- it just makes a bad experience unnecessarily.

In the end, Karl Malone has been outstanding in customer service -- from the order to the sale to service. American jerked me around and I had heard they have done that to others. If you're in Albuquerque and want to buy a Toyota or need service on any car -- go to Karl Malone.

John