Why are toyota sales guys so bad???

tod osier

Well-known member
Or is it just me? I've owned a Tacoma, which has been a great vehicle for 5 years, a T-100 before that a great truck too. I have never run across a sales guy at a toyota dealership that was anything but bad to horrible. You can't say that they don't make a good, reliable product, but damn the sales guys are aweful. Don't even get me going on the service consultants either.

I was at two dealers today. Ford - asked for the truck guy - got a truck guy. Toyota - asked for the truck guy and got a dissertation on how 4 wheel drive supplies power to all 4 wheels at the same time. I know, want a truck, buy a real American truck - I'm getting that at this point.
 
Be thankful you live in a big market.

Where I live the Toyota and Nissan dealerships have the same owner.
 
I was married to a Girl from Tokyo once. It was a rough 11 years. The Japanese don't know jack squat about duck hunting.

I bet you a case of dog bones that the paycheck that the sales man gets is signed by the dealer he works for though, and not by Toyota.
 
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Tod,
They are great reliable trucks, however sales and service are below par. I won't go back to Toyota dealerships for any repairs. I ended up doing the maintenance myself.

When I bought my tundra in 2006, the ford f150 was my second choice. The sale guy knew trucks and tried his hard to find a model that met my demands.

I like my truck, but next time it'll be ford. Btw, The car shows are a great place to compare trucks.

Good luck with your purchase
 
I have a 07 Toyota tundra that was made in america and love it. I hate buying vehicles and talking to sales men but when I do I try and do all my research before I step foot on a lot. Car shows, internet, magazines and here in pa the dealer ships are closed on sundays so I go look at vehicles then. I try and have a price I want to spend before I go in as well as financing.
 
simple solution to this problem... buy an American product.

Oh boy, here we go... Tod received a lot of good info from that reply.


You know Ryan, I knew that someone would have to say it, I even said it myself above, but hey, that guy needs to feel helpful.
 
The only time I have been in a toyota dealership was to buy a low mileage dodge I found on the internet. I didnt listen to the salesman except for working on the right price. John
 
Tod,

I have a 2003 Tacoma that I bought new and I would buy the same exact truck all over again if I could. Love my truck. A friend from high school is a dealer so I was fortunate to skip a lot of the typical dealer BS and get what I thought was a fair deal. I don't expect them to not make any money.

I was born and raised near Lordstown, OH - one of the largest Chevy plants in the country. You might be shocked at the number of family and friends I have that work or have retired from there. I can get the GM employee pricing and still opted to go the Toyota route because, at the time, it was the best option for my money. My point is, don't let the douche bag salesman - wait has douche bag been used here recently? Don't let the sales guy get to you if you feel it's the right vehicle. Go to another dealer. One option that worked when we bought my wife's mini van was to get some online quotes from the dealers. We were able to select the options we wanted online and request a quote from several dealers. They were able to tell what dealers were involved in the quote process and started to undercut each other. We got a very fair deal and only walked into the dealer when we were ready to sign (already test drove). Just another option to consider.

Good luck with your purchase.

Ryan
 
Tod,

I have an '04 Tacoma double cab 4X4, and it is the best truck I've ever owned. Owned a Dodge 1500 before that, and it was not a good experience.

Truthfully, I think you'll find sales people who impress, and ones who don't at any dealership. Have to say that when I've had occasion to deal with Toyota service, it has been top notch. Again, that may be a function of the dealership I worked with. I know Ryan W. might share that opinion.

If you are really interested and are frustrated with the salesman, what about going up the line and telling the head honcho your concerns? Might be a good way to find out if there's someone in charge who will make things happen to please a customer. If not, I'd be looking elsewhere.
 
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Nuff said
 
No recalls for failed frames.

Tell me a vehicle manufacturer who hasn't had some major recall at some point?

I went through the frame recall and can tell you, as MLBob mentioned, was pleased with the experience. They basically replaced the underside of my 2003 truck with 140k miles on it for free. Never had a problem before and didn't after.
 
Lets see if I can get deleted


I own a ford and a toyota. Never had to dump fire extinguishers into either like two dodges on jobsites. The water is the only safe place for that electrical harness. I never thought of that fix. I am going to drive my (chrysler) jeep into long island sound to save myself before another frayed wire lights it on fire. At least it still runs so it can get me there in the daylight. (no lights in the dash or taillights due to lowmbudget wire in the harness and no offer to fix from chrysler)

Phil this is all in fun but be carefull. Just in case you are not in the lake with that truck right now
 
Ditto to Ryan's experience. Bought mine used at a Ford dealer (one of those operations that also has a Toyota franchise at another location). Traded my 2001 Ram 1500 on it. Took it to a Toyota dealer for inspection the following fall after hearing about the frame recalls right here on DHBP and doing some internet research after that. Called Toyota, told them I had a used Tacoma that fit the recall time frame - they assigned me a case # and let me pick a dealership to take it to. First inspection, the dealer determined it qualified for undercoating. While waiting for them to get EPA stuff squared away on their undercoat operation, I drove it through the duck season. Returned after season was over they took it in for undercoating. Called me an hour later and said after getting into the undercoat prep, they decided they were going to replace the frame. Offered to let me keep the free loaner they had given me for as long as it took for the new frame to be delivered to the dealership and installed. A week later, the frame was in. Three days later , I had my truck back.

New frame, new leaf springs, all fittings & lines + 2011 Rav 4 loaner while all this went on. Final charge = $0.00 (Oh yea, I had to return the loaner with a full tank of gas). No hassle; no questions. Not one problem with the truck since. Basically I'm driving a new truck.

Have also read accounts by people who had a horrible fight to get things remedied. Guess it all depends on the dealership and what gets set as the standard from the top down in that particular organization. Guess the moral is when you find a reputable outfit, be it a dealership or an independent garage, hang on to them.
 
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I'll make this short...
I know a Toyota sales guy in town, he told me they teach you how to sell not about the product you’re selling. A guy I use to work with is now a sales guy at a Dodge dealer, they expect him to know about the trucks they sell and I had many conversations with him when I was looking for a Diesel truck.
When I am truck shopping I don't rely on anyone except myself for info.

I know this is not typical but it happened to me.
Purchased a new 2005 Tacoma Double Cab Sport 4x4, 6 speed, v-6. The list of problems with the truck was endless, here is the short list. Windshield loud whistling noise at 67mph, rear leaf spring loudly squeaking over every bump, gas filler door broke completely off (rusted thru), idler pulley bearing seized up, huge paint chips missing on hood and rockers, motor surging and had the computer reflashed/replaced.
Traded the Tacoma in at 16k miles for a Dodge Ram Diesel, happy every since.
 
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