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Beware of Toyota of Pasadena

Discussion in 'Dealers & Pricing' started by 310, Jul 13, 2012.

  1. 310

    310 New Member

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    I recently purchased a 2012 Prius Liftback Two from Toyota of Pasadena and I must say that they are shady...

    Even after I told them that I was going to write a check for the car, they financed the car without telling me and basically used my check to pay off the loan, probably so that they could get a kick back from the financing bank. I only found out about this when I met with the Finance person to sign all of the paperwork. And even then, he didn't tell me about it...when I saw the paperwork and told the Finance person that I was not financing the vehicle but was going to write a check for it, he said "no problem, that's your choice. You can write a check of it and we'll pay off the loan or you can finance it.".

    I think this all began when the salesperson asked for my SSN and the types of information that would be used to apply for a loan. When I asked him what this was for because I was not going to finance the vehicle but write a check for it, he said that they have to run a credit check to see if they can accept a personal check from me. And all this was before we even began discussing the price.

    And the salesperson was an idiot... They had an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times that day so I took it in with me and when I showed it to him, his questions were: 1. "Are you sure this is our ad (even though it had 'Toyota of Pasadena' on it)?"; 2. "Are you sure this is in today's paper (even though it had that day's date on it)?".

    And after they agreed to match a previous quote that I got from another Toyota dealer (which I should have gone to thinking back now...), the salesman told me "oh by the way, we installed an alarm system on the car which wasn't listed on the window sticker so it will be an additional $695. Right. I told him to remove this alleged 'alarm system' because I didn't want it and they were able to remove this 'alarm system' in about 5-minutes... Hmmm...

    And the delivery process? The salesman drove the car up from the car wash area, handed me the two sets of keys, and told me to read the owner's manual and let me know if I have any questions. Oh, and to give him all high scores when Toyota contacts me with a survey. Right.

    Needless to say, I will not be going back to Toyota of Pasadena for anything, not even the complimentary Toyota Care service, even though I only live 10-minutes from them. I will gladly drive further to not have to deal with Toyota of Pasadena.

    Beware of Toyota of Pasadena.

     
  2. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    Few people have a lower opinion of car dealer finance blood suckers than I do, but the loan contract is there in case your check bounces. It protects them better than a credit check does.

    I never thought I would be saying anything in support of a car finance parasites actions, please excuse me while I throw up in my mouth.
     
  3. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    The loan situation as described is just sleazy. I paid for 4 cars & this never happened to me. I'd walk before putting up with that BS. The dealer is entitled to run a credit check on the buyer.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you can't use a personal check around here as far as i know, i've always had to get a bank check. as far as the survey goes, they put it on the desk infront of me and stared at me while i gave them all bad marks. then they asked what they could do to change my mind. right.
     
  5. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    II paid for mine outright with a personal check and filled out the no cost if not used loan form. The finance guy did his best to be a complete sleaze, but the loan part was on the up and up. I can understand a dealer not wanting a car to drive away with no real security. Except for the finance guy, my dealership has been on the up and up for 2 years now, even the salesman.