Abdul Ferozi

Beware of Downtown Toyota of Oakland – My Experience The sales manager, Marlon Brown, didn’t deny that his salesperson Senall lied and manipulated me into buying a car. He leaned back smugly and pointed at sales manager, Marlon Brown, didn’t deny that his salesperson Senall lied and manipulated me into buying a car. He leaned back smugly and pointed at the contract: “You signed it.” Once you sign with Downtown Toyota of Oakland, you may be legally trapped because you have to prove that they manipulated and misrepresented. Please don’t sign anything unless you’re okay with: • Paying thousands more than other Bay Area dealerships. • Being misled to believe you're getting a good deal by fake promotions, fake urgency, and sales pressure. • Being forced into add-ons like LoJack at $1,100 over market value. • Being tricked into buying a fake Toyota maintenance plan from a third-party. • Being lied to about cancellation policies and pushed to sign new contracts giving them extra time to process refunds. This happened to me, and similar stories are found on Yelp, Reddit, BBB, and more. Important Advice & Red Flags 1. Read Reddit, Yelp, Better Business Bureau reviews and complaints before stepping foot into this dealership • Many others report the same shady tactics at this dealership. 2. Don’t Pay Over MSRP • I was told all dealers charge markups just to survive. This is false. Just 10 miles away, One Toyota of Oakland and also Toyota of Walnut Creek, sell all vehicles at MSRP, no forced add-ons. I would’ve saved ~$5,000 total. 3. Walk Away from Forced Add-ons • I said no to markups and add-ons. Senall claimed LoJack could not be removed. That’s false—others have had it removed. They pick and choose. 4. LoJack Is a Ripoff • They charged me $1,995 for Lojack, a product worth $895. It’s even on U.S. News’ list of “14 Things You Should Never Buy at a Dealership.” 5. Hybrids Aren’t That Rare • I was told if I didn’t buy immediately, someone else just called who would and there wouldn't be more for months. He said that hybrid car are "scarce". But One Toyota had multiple available the same day, and Downtown Toyota advertised more later within the month. Don’t fall for the scarcity lie. 6. Beware of the “Toyota” Maintenance Plan Scam • I was shown red Toyota pamphlets, told 100% of customers purchase the maintenance plan. I later found out the maintenance plan was from “Portfolio One,” not Toyota. 7. You Can Cancel Without Visiting • In order to cancel the fake Toyota plan, Marlon Brown insisted I drive 1.5 hours back to the dealership, falsely claiming it was required to check mileage. In truth, the Portfolio One contract only requires you to mail or email the cancellation information. • He then said I had to sign a new cancellation agreement giving them 60 days to refund instead of the contract’s 30 days. I refused. • I followed a lawyer’s advice and complained to the DMV. Weeks later, I finally got a refund. In Summary: Downtown Toyota of Oakland preys on uninformed buyers. If you refuse their mark-ups or add on, they'll let you walk away. They’ll just wait for someone more trusting to walk in. I was that person. Don’t be me. Take these steps: • Shop around. Take screenshots. Get deals in writing. • Assume anything they say about anything is false. Check out Yelp, Reddit, or BBB reviews for the real deal. • Don’t pay over MSRP. Ever. • Avoid all add-ons—including LoJack • Don’t sign a new cancellation agreement Please learn from my mistakes. Share your story if something similar happened to you. More

Report | Print

I’ve never experienced such condensation and misogyny in a business. It was the worst car buying experience I’ve ever had. Your employees speak down to women and bully them. When I pointed out the scrat a business. It was the worst car buying experience I’ve ever had. Your employees speak down to women and bully them. When I pointed out the scratches and dings on the car, Quincy says “they give it character, girly. It’s cute” and refused to discuss how they might affect the value, further claiming that a car with “character” was good. A man would never be spoken down to like this, nor have a car called “cute” or be called a pet name. Can you imagine a 40-year-old man being called a little boy while considering such a large purchase? The car smelled like cigarettes and weed and Quincy wouldn’t admit he smelled it, even after I found a lighter in the glove compartment. He said I should be thankful because it had low mileage likely because the old owners were always high and driving slow. He even ran my credit even though I told him I was wasn’t taking a loan. He said it was to prove my identity and that it wouldn’t affect my credit score. It did. The finance person I spoke with bullied me. I think his name was Abdul. He was visibly upset when I pointed out that the car was not bought out of its lease by the first owner. The carfax clearly says it was an auction. He began to get agitated after being corrected. And further angered when I asked him if his claim that 100% of customers buy the extended warranty was true. He claimed the company was losing money by selling me the car so cheap and that I needed to sign the paper right away. He attempted to pressure me to sign paperwork without reading it and make charges that I had not previously discussed. When I needed to go to the bank, he demanded I sign before I leave. Then when I said I wanted more time to read the paper work, he had Quincy drive me to the bank. I spoke to a woman at the front desk before I went to the bank because I was concerned the finance guy was having a mental health crisis. She said he often gets complaints. I was so disturbed speaking with the finance guy that I kept excusing myself to go to the bathroom to take a break. He was absurdly unprofessional that I didn’t know how to engage. When I came out of the bathroom, the manager told me the finance guy didn’t want to deal with me anymore and that they didn’t want to sell me the car. I expressed some of my concerns and had just went to get a cashiers check so they placed me with a different finance person who appeared to be trying to be extra friendly. Told me Abdul is terrible and he wish he could tell me more. Some sort of anti theft engraving was added and I was charged for it even though I explicitly said I didn’t need anti theft mechanisms. The car was detailed and the man detailing it assured me he removed the scratches with some compound and the smoke smell was gone. Both of these returned a week later—the car stinks of smoke and the scratches returned after it was washed. I live nearby and I’m really embarrassed that a business like this exists in my city. I considered not complaining but after talking to my colleagues about it, I really think you all should know. I’m still upset and feeling really down by it all these months later and feel swindled. Hoping that every time I get in the car I am not reminded of this joke of a business More

by Jen Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

AVOID THIS DEALERSHIP very reuse management and very rude staff. Drove 3 hours to purchase a car for $50k and they didn’t even offer $1 discount finance department is even worst than sales department had to staff. Drove 3 hours to purchase a car for $50k and they didn’t even offer $1 discount finance department is even worst than sales department had to wait 3 hours for finance manager even tho they were just walking around doing nothing. More

Report | Print

Service center has taken care of our Toyota for 19 years, and is recommended for its quality of work. and is recommended for its quality of work. More

by tfedasz6 Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

I highly recommend Toyota of Oakland! Jeff and Abdul both exceeded my expectations with sales and financing- superb customer service. No pressure. I’ll definitely return. Jeff and Abdul both exceeded my expectations with sales and financing- superb customer service. No pressure. I’ll definitely return. More

by Panteradavila Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

Sales person and finance -Scam artists. I’d never go back there for anything. Sales person failed to fully introduce me to car features including important safety features. They use custome I’d never go back there for anything. Sales person failed to fully introduce me to car features including important safety features. They use customers, lie, and generate total distrust. Worst car buying experience of my life. More

by Jayne McDonald Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

Sales person had limited knowledge. They were very pushy on optionally aftermarket buy ups and their maintenance package. They didn’t provide a good explanation to only having one vehic They were very pushy on optionally aftermarket buy ups and their maintenance package. They didn’t provide a good explanation to only having one vehicle key upfront. They fumbled the certified pre owned paperwork and didn’t follow the written CPO process. Overall not a great experience for a used car. I do not want to go back. More

by kylenathanross Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

Jeff in sales and Abdul in finance were exceptional. I highly recommend. Great inventory too. I highly recommend. Great inventory too. More

by sfjjonesinc Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

I found the staff to be friendly,Flexible and helpful. They were able to answer all of my questions. They were able to answer all of my questions. More

by vsrini Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print

My sales rep was able to listen to my requests and meet my needs. I was able to walk out of the dealership with a brand new car. The gentleman in financing was very nice too, and tried to get me processed my needs. I was able to walk out of the dealership with a brand new car. The gentleman in financing was very nice too, and tried to get me processed as quickly as possible. Overall it was a great experience! More

by Katrustici23 Verified Customer Verified Customer

Report | Print