Bay Area Dealer Experiences

Toyota Marin is the worst, most dishonorable dealer I have ever had the unpleasant experience to deal with. I wouldn't go back there for a fire sale! Go to Toyota Santa Rosa (Freeman Toyota). I have found them to be honest, competent, and recommend them highly.

 

ToyotaTown in Stockton is good. Very good service. Very nice guys.

 

Anybody care to render an opinion of Toyota of Berkeley's Sales and/or Service??

 

Which Bay area Toyota dealer was holding seminars / info meetings for new Prius owners?

That really impressed me when I read about it.

 

It was R&G Toyota in Marin. I didn't realize they changed ownerships. That's good news that they have changed, and I can stop non-recommending them. BTW it is Freeman Toyota in Santa Rosa which offers dinner seminars and information to their recent purchasers. Very informative. Their whole operation seems first class.

 

Well it looks like I'll have to go out there to California to Freeman Toyota. I've been to two in Rhode Island and one in Massachusetts and have had loads of problems with both of them.

I need to find a good dealer because someday I might actually need some serious service.

Any recommendations out there for me?

~Andrew

 

Sunnyvale Toyota held two seminars. I went to the last one and found it very informative.

 

New News article about the lack of independent hybrid mechanics, here.

 

I've used Toyota 101 (Redwood City) for about 15 years and they have always given me excellent service.

One level down for me would be Magnusson's Toyota of Palo Alto, who are good but couldnlt fix two different weird problems my wife's Toyota had. I took it to Toyota 101 and they fixed it both times in a jiffy.

Toyota 101 is open more days of the year compared to palo Alto so when my wife's car developed a brake fluid leak the evening before a business trip on a holiday weekend, Toyota 101 was not only opne, they jumped through hoops to get her the car back on time so she could start on the trip.

They also bent over backwards when it came time to buy our 04 Prius and really outdidthemselves to get it to us so quickly.

Overall, I'm quite happy with them.

 

Novato Toyota

I've been dealing with Novato Toyota. I ordered my Prius in March and only just recently was able to find out where I was on the list. Jeff Richman is my sales rep and is a really nice guy, but seems overworked/stressed and a tad short in temperment. When I emailed him every few weeks or so, having heard nothing, I'd get a reply that in essence told me to wait. I finally called Toyota Co. just to see where I was on the list and got another name to contact. Finally talked to a "Randy" who was great: told me where I was on the list and re-affirmed that he would call when my number came up and that I wouldn't lose my place in line if I refused a particular color.
All-in-all, I rate them a 7 out of 10. Will I stick with them? Yup.

J.

 

We had a really good buying experience at Hanlees Toyota in Richmond. We have our two Toyotas serviced at Concord Toyota and they are pretty decent.

 

Has anyone bought a Prius from SF Toyota?

 

I'm quite happy with Melody Toyota in San Bruno

I just received my Prius (#6 Salsa Red Pearl) from Melody Toyota a couple of weeks ago. They charged me MSRP, and the car arrived three months to the day after I ordered it, which was the wait time I was told up front. I found the staff to be friendly and not too pushy, although they did try to sell me a $1680 6yr/75k extended warranty, which I luckily declined.

 

Out here in the East Bay, I first shopped for the Prius at Walnut Creek Toyota. The salesman gave me just a bit too much 'tude and also wanted the infamous cash deposit before putting me on the list. When I called the same dealer a few days later and spoke to a sales manager, he said he could put me on the list with no deposit required. Hmmm...

I bought my #9 from Concord Toyota through their Internet Fleet Manager. All went smoothly and no problems. I've been taking it back there for service and the service managers are great. My only complaint, however, is that as a rule their three Prius-trained technicians only work M-F from 7AM to 2:30PM, and don't normally work on Saturdays, although service is open. They did, however, arrange for a service tech to come in on a Saturday so I could get the SSC-40D done. ONe would think they'd have their three Prius techs overlap their shifts for full coverage since service is open until 7PM.

 

I've talked to the company that always services my cars Michael & Co, Lincoln Ave, San Jose, CA. They said they can handle the new hybrids. The nicest thing is they have a excellent rating with AAA and all the other rating systems, and they've always done a good job with my cars, including keeping my 1993 Ford Escort going while waiting for my new Prius.

Lisa

 

I bought mine at Sunnyvale Toyota and the purchasing experience was superb. I was on the waiting list for five months and they gave me a call about every month to let me know what the status was. I also went in there about every other week to see where I was on the list and everyone was very helpful. Another thing they had as vintagebob mentioned is the Hybrid Workshop which I went to the 3rd installment of. It was quite informative as they had representatives from Corporate and the design team. I hope they will have another workshop because I have some more questions now that I have had my Prius for a little more than a month. All in all it was a good experience.

Although I have to say that the service and parts departments are not as pleasing. It seems they are unwilling to give assistance in some areas which is different than what I experienced at the Nissan dealer I used to go to, but then again maybe I am just asking for too much.

Justin

 

I had order my 2004 Prius in Feb. 2004 from Hansel Toyota in Petaluma. While on a Prius site one of the salesperson hat posted a Prius that someone had turn down, I jump on it and had it 3 weeks later. I would highly recommend them. Yes they had a diner form for new owners. I have also had several of the recalls and my 5000 mile service with them. They also provided a shuttle service to the mall while my Prius was being service. Great PR! :lol: