Customer Service: 2 Friendliness: 4 Pricing: 5 Overall Experience: 2
Summary: I got a great price on the same day I first contacted them (after showing them a better offer from another dealer). Megan found the exact car we wanted and got it from another dealership. The price was better than Costco or Truecar and we're happy with the new car. However, the purchase experience at the dealership was not good, just okay at best. About $100 in extra costs after repeatedly confirming the "out the door" cost wouldn't change (it increased twice). They had us inspect the car for issues in the dark. It took a frustratingly long time to finish (6:20pm until nearly 9:00pm in spite of negotiating the price in advance). Details: Buying a 2017 RAV4 XLE with my mom (who's a bit hard of hearing). I emailed a dozen fleet / internet managers from Daly City to Sacramento to Santa Rosa. Ultimately Megan Mendez at Vacaville gave me the best price available in the area on this particular car. I liked Megan, very easy to deal with, I'd recommend her!MSRP was $28,846.Price was $26,250 + tax, title, license (TTL)Out the door (OTD) was $28,812. Vacaville Toyota required a $1,000 deposit and completion of a financing application in order to get the car transferred from another dealership. They actually sent the driver out to get it before we did the financing application though. It took over 5 hours to get it from Steven's Creek because of traffic.When we arrived they said the car had just arrived too and they'd get it washed for us to check out (we wouldn't see the car for another 90 minutes though). After waiting 20 minutes at a desk, Megan found another sales person to help us (they were both nice). We spent the next hour completing forms and another financing application though none of the info from the initial application--which the manager had insisted on to pick up the car from the other dealer--transferred to this application, another waste of time. After a short test drive we got the purchase and finance docs (manager apparently needed more than an hour to process/print them) which were $75 higher than we had agreed on. Apparently they'd included a zip code that was off by a digit - which miscalculated the taxes and fees by the $75. It was their mistake but they wouldn't honor the lower OTD price because "you were emailed a paper with it and didn't catch it." I told them a free oil change would make up for the mistake (because I had a very similar car available elsewhere for what was suddenly a lower price) but their General Manager told our sales person they wouldn't budge. After nearly 2 hours already wasted we decided it wasn't worth it to walk away and start over at the other dealership but I (repeatedly) told them it was frustrating do be delayed and for the price to increase. After a series of forms to sign explaining the warranty, a request for a 10/10 rating from Toyota's survey and a Yelp review (check) we went to the finance desk in the back while they did the final inspection/detailing of the car, "should be another 30 minutes" (it took another hour). They allow up to $3,000 of the purchase to be on a credit card. Finance guy was pleasant (including easily giving up when I told him we don't want the extended warranty). During the finance review we noticed the fees were $7 HIGHER AGAIN for no explained reason. For the second time I was asking, "why higher price?" They said it was just different calculation systems (DealerSocket vs. Route One). Again, no accommodation on their mistake (again, to their benefit) from the manager and General Manager.The sale terms were explained pretty quickly (skipping some detail but nothing suspicious, just trying to explain without wasting time). Then out to the car for a walk through of the features and pairing the cell phone. They were helpful but were not considerate of my repeated requests to finish up because (1) we were more than an hour past our deadline to leave (I didn't want my mom driving at 10:30pm at night to get home in a new car, but she made if home safe in the end) and (2) I was going to need to repeat all the info to my mom again as she was exhausted. The dealership itself is not fancy: old stained fabric chairs breaking apart, free coffee from a vending machine (but a large cup or Nespresso flavors cost a few dimes extra) unlike other stores that have free coffee pods and snacks. Free wifi but it's not a nice place to wait for hours at a time.Overall I was happy with the price I was offered, fine with the higher price they actually required, but disappointed with the managers who wasted our time and refused to meet their "out the door" price. I expected some issues given the other yelp reviews but hoped that was limited to the service department. Ultimately I'd recommend you go to a different dealer if you can get a similar price. Toyota Marin was the dealership that offered a similar price and they have much better reviews and nicer amenities at the dealership, I wish I'd gone there instead.
