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A-1 Toyota

New Haven, CT

4.2
1,146 Reviews
In the early 60’s, the owners of a local garage received a postcard announcing the production of a new four-wheel drive vehicle. At the time, the automotive industry was producing only one other vehicle in this category, so the owners thought this might be a good opportunity to introduce a new four-wheel drive vehicle that they would be able to sell as well as service. The postcard was answered and the response was the founding of the first Toyota dealership in New England and the beginning of what has become a very successful endeavor for Dominic Galardi, Anthony Buglione and A-1 Toyota. The history of A-1 Service began before this. In January of 1951, Dom joined his father-in-law, Tony Buglione in a partnership that included a gas station and used cars. The station was located on the corner of Olive Street and St. John in New Haven. In the late 1950’s, a new highway system was breaking through the neighborhood, people started moving to the suburbs, and with the limited space they had already outgrown, A-1 looked for a new location. The new site they chose was in East Haven. The partnership grew to include Dominic’s brother, Andrew. Their new location, occupying a city block on Main Street and the sign reading A-1 Auto Service, Inc., became a landmark for many. In 1963, A-1 completed the building of the first Toyota showroom on the East Coast. In 1966, just three years after opening their dealership, A-1 became the second largest Toyota dealership in the country. Toyota’s line-up featured only two vehicles at the time, the four-wheel drive Land Cruiser and one of the first economy cars, the Tiara. Over the years, A-1 Toyota continued to grow and in 1980 moved to their current location on Amity Road in New Haven adding the Dodge franchise that dueled with Toyota until 1990. A-1 Toyota’s line-up looks far different than it did in 1963, but the basis for a successful business has continued. The business is still owned by the same family, and Domin
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50 Amity Road

New Haven, CT

06515

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Showing 1,146 reviews

May 04, 2026

I recently purchased a Toyota RAV4 from A1 Toyota. The dealership promotes a bottom line, no negotiation pricing model. The vehicle price itself was reasonable, and it’s clear the dealership still ear More

by hmcs70
Recommend Dealer
No
Employees Worked With
EJ Sales was fine
May 06, 2026 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Hi Heather, I am sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your experience here at the dealership. 1. I can understand your frustration with having to pay any fees. It seems you completely understand the reasons why they were charged, the only thing I would add to that is the average documentation fee among Toyota dealerships in CT are much closer to what we charge and we give you free lifetime oil changes for as long as you own the vehicle, which most of the other dealerships do not do. That isn't a fee attached to our documentation fee but I believe most people see great value to receive oil changes for the entire time they own the vehicle at no extra cost. We also do a full certification inspection on the vehicle. 2. I apologize if you were treated a certain way because of your gender. I have been here for 20 years and worked for a woman owner for the majority of my time here and now for her son's. The reason we are a best price dealership and we do not mark up our rates, is because we believe in treating everyone the same, regardless of their gender, age, or race. If you would like to reach out to me and let me know who you felt treated you unfairly, I will be more than happy to listen and remedy these issues within my staff. 3. Sometimes previous owners or even people that work on our vehicles, may have a smoke smell that gets into the vehicle. If you would like, I would be happy to have the vehicle hooked up to an ionizer machine to help get rid of the smoke smell. I can also provide you with the list of everything we did to the vehicle so you can see how much money we put into it before we put it out for sale. Once again sorry to hear about your experience and if you would like to work directly with me on any of these issues, please reach out to me. Gary dos Reis General Sales Manager A1 Toyota 203.389.1521 x 140

November 19, 2025

Professional, quick, and remarkably attentive. I got to work with Alif, who was exceptionally knowledgeable and was able to show me what I was looking for down to exact details. The whole experien More

by jeffry.bukowski
Sales Price Transparency
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Alif Syed
Nov 19, 2025 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Hi Jeffry, thank you for taking the time to leave such kind feedback! We’re glad your visit was efficient and that Alif supported you with the level of detail and care you were looking for. It’s great to hear the experience felt smooth from start to finish. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out — we’re always here to help.

November 19, 2025

I am giving this dealer a one star review for many reasons. If detailed, the dealer staff will deny and call me insane like they did below to another bad review!!!!!!! More

by A1Toyota_scammers
Sales Price Transparency
Trade-in Experience
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Recommend Dealer
No
Employees Worked With
Gary Dos Reis
1.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Paul Wright
1.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Other Employees : Matt Caputo mcaputo@a1toyota.com
Nov 20, 2025 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Hi, If we dropped the ball in any manner pertaining to our customer service, we truly do apologize for your experience. If, by chance this is an opinion of our policies and practices, such as being a best price dealership that does not negotiate the price of our vehicles and accessories, because we look at the market and determine our fair discounted prices ahead of time or because of our conveyance fee that everyone pays including myself, then unfortunately, our way of doing business isn't for everyone. We still wish you the best either way. If you wish to discuss this any further, please feel free to reach out to me. Happy holidays. Gary dos Reis General Sales Manager A1 Toyota 203.389.1521 x 140

June 21, 2025

Excellent service. Zack was amazing from the beginning, David is amazing seller and person I recommend with no doubts and Anabela she was super nice and friendly and al More

by DONATO DI LORENZO
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
ANABELA, ZAK AND DAVID MARTIN
Jun 25, 2025 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Hi Donato, Thank you for the fantastic feedback! We're thrilled to hear that Zack, David, and Anabela all provided such knowledgeable and friendly service throughout your experience. Your recommendation means a lot to us. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

January 16, 2025

In over 50 years of buying cars A1 hands done is the BEST, most transparent dealership I have every used. Don't waste your time @ WLFD Toyota or others. They are a NO B.S operation, NOT the old school More

by J.Coughlin
Sales Price Transparency
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Gary Dos Reis
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Fariz -Dado Dadic
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Jan 16, 2025 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Thank you for your incredible feedback! We’re honored to hear that A-1 stands out as the best dealership in your decades of car-buying experience. Your recommendation means so much to us. If there’s anything else we can assist you with, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

December 30, 2024

I am extremely disappointed with the service I received during my recent experience at A1. Not only was I required to pay a $1000 negotiable (CT Law) fee for dealer "dues" (it is a very much non-negotiable More

by hannah.holden626
Sales Price Transparency
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Recommend Dealer
No
Employees Worked With
Gary Dos Reis
1.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Paul Wright
2.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Dec 31, 2024 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Josette, Regarding our dealer fees, we are similar or below the rates of every other Toyota dealership in Connecticut. Additionally, we offer free lifetime oil changes for as long as you own the vehicle. Since it’s not a state fee, we must include it on our purchase orders, with the word negotiable, per state law. While it states negotiable, we’re a non-negotiation dealership. You could have taken as much time as you needed to inspect your vehicle before leaving. After you brought it home is when you pointed out that you felt one portion of the vehicle was not clean to your satisfaction. However, we’d be happy to re-clean the vehicle if you brought it back. I’ve explained the license plate issue multiple times. We have license plates on site. Unfortunately, you have an out of state license and are registering in CT. We had to follow a process to register it before the new plates could be issued. Due to problems with the Connecticut DMV system, it took days instead of the usual one or two hours to process your license, which we had sent in prior to your scheduled delivery, we can provide proof. In the meantime, we issued you a dealer plate to minimize inconvenience and offered to send someone to your house to install the plates, as a gesture of goodwill. Unfortunately, the person who came forgot to bring two extra screws. This was a human error. Despite our efforts to rectify the situation, you continue to demand money back, based on the DMV issue that was out of our control and a simple human error. We even offered to send someone the next day to fix it. Throughout the process, you’ve been extremely rude, condescending, and entitled. I maintained a professional demeanor for as long as I could, but your persistent behavior forced me to inform you that it was not our fault for your non-registration, as you had an out-of-state license. I am not going to debate you about how you were treated and the methods of contact by your salesperson. All of our correspondence on file via email and text paint a very different picture than the one you are describing. I will not go into detail of belittling and bullying of my salesman because at this point it is just not worth the time. I wish you the best of luck in the future. Regards Gary Dos Reis General Sales Manager A1 Toyota

April 04, 2024

Excellent attention, professionalism and integrity. They only want to please all the clients, with a smile and positive attitude More

by carg1972@hotmail.com
Sales Price Transparency
Trade-in Experience
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Matthew Harding
Apr 04, 2024 -

A-1 Toyota responded

It's wonderful to hear that you had such a positive experience with us! Providing excellent attention, professionalism, and integrity is always our priority, and we're glad to hear that we were able to meet your expectations. We appreciate your kind words and look forward to serving you again in the future with the same level of dedication and positivity. Thank you for choosing us!

February 01, 2024

A great establishment and very friendly staff. My third car from them and it’s always a pleasure to be there. Abdul, Yahia, Hatim, Mostafa, Gary and Eddie are very professional and they always mak More

by Youness
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Gary Dos Reis
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Eddie Oliveras
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Mustafa Alsamraie
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Hatim Yousef
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Other Employees : Abdul Fakih
Feb 01, 2024 -

A-1 Toyota responded

We appreciate your loyalty and are delighted to hear about your positive experiences with our establishment and staff. It's great to know that Abdul, Yahia, Hatim, Mostafa, Gary, and Eddie have consistently provided you with professional and hassle-free experiences. Thank you for referring friends to A1 Toyota, and we're thrilled that they've also had positive experiences. If there's anything else we can do for you or if you have any further feedback, please feel free to let us know. We look forward to serving you again in the future!

August 24, 2023

Sunny is the best! My 3rd Camry from A-1 and second with Sunny's assistance. More

by Hapbee
Sales Price Transparency
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Satinder (Sunny) Dhawan
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Aug 25, 2023 -

A-1 Toyota responded

We appreciate your repeat business and the time you spent reviewing our dealership. We are so pleased that Sunny could provide outstanding service repeatedly. Thank you for recognizing our staff. Please come see us again.

August 23, 2023

Michael fournier went above and beyond To help with my car ignition problem yesterday Until he solved problem he is number one More

by donnachieppo52
Service Price Transparency
Workmanship
Service Time
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Mike Fournier
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Aug 24, 2023 -

A-1 Toyota responded

We are so grateful for you choosing us for your service needs and taking the time to review our service department. Thank you for recognizing Michael's hard work. We hope to see you again.

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