Reason for Visit: Sales (New)
I recommend this dealer: No
Employee(s) Dealt With: Michael David
My Review of Westbury Toyota:
Buyer beware. I don't know what is wrong with some people in this profession, but if you walk into this dealership unaware of things like loans and interest rates, the employees here going to screw you over, or as the dealers themselves call it "maximize profits".
I was going to buy a car here for over 28K with tax, tags, etc. The first thing I told the salesman is that I wanted to finalize the deal and pick up the car in two weeks, as I had 20K in cash coming to me. He told me I could drive it home that day. I didn't see how that was possible as I was going to put 20K down and finance around $8500. The salesman told me that I could just come back and pay them the remaining 20K when I got it.
It dawn on me that the only way they would possibly let me leave owing tem 20K was if I signed for two loans, one for the entire amount of the vehicle. When I asked the salesman if this was the case, he sheepishly admitted it.
Then it was off to see the finance guy, who told me that I had excellent credit, and then started quoting me loan rates of 7.9%. I told him that these rates sounded high. I had seen rates of around 5.4% on line. I told him that I previously had a loan with Toyota Financial Services, and that the time of that loan their rates were the best and I would like to be with them again. He told me TFS was 7.9%. He asked me if I belonged to a credit union. I said I did and he asked me the name of it. He looked down like he was reading off a piece of paper behind his desk and said "Oh yeah, they're 7.9% also". I knew this was B.S. I had seen the credit unions rates on line and they were 5.4% for used cars.
The salesman called me two days later. He wanted the binder and the insurance cards. I told him that I need to know the lender to put as the lienholder, and my rate. He told me just to have my insurance company call him and he would deal with them directly. So, I guess I wasn't even supposed to know who my lender was!
This whole experience turned me off to buying a beautiful, low mileage car. I changed my mind three days later, before I had actually picked the car up. I got my $500 deposit back. By the way, the salesman had initially asked for a $2000 down payment on my credit card! I guess he was looking to lock me into the deal as much as possible.
I asked some questions on the forum on Edmunds.com titled "Got a quick question for a car dealer". No dealer there would come out and actually say that these were sleazy business practices. They said these were all methods to "maximize profits", and that the sooner you drive off the lot, the happier the dealership is. Once you drive off, the deal is done and you can't change your mind.
For me, a previously satisified Toyota owner, my dealings with Westbury Toyota left a bad taste in my mouth. I ended up buying somewhere else where the deal was transparent and everything was above board. By the way, I was going to pay top dollar for this car from Westbury Toyota. There should have been sufficient profit in the price of the vehicle for all the employees concerned. Go figure!
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