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A-1 Toyota
New Haven, CT
1,144 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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This rating includes all dealership reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
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Trade-in Experience
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Workmanship
Service Time
Hours
Sales/Showroom
Monday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Friday 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday Closed
Service
Monday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday Closed
Parts
Monday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday Closed
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Showing 1,144 reviews
August 29, 2017
A great car leasing experience! Sunny provided my wife and I with a tremendous leasing experience. We have leased 3 other cars from A-1 Toyota and with each one we had a very good e Sunny provided my wife and I with a tremendous leasing experience. We have leased 3 other cars from A-1 Toyota and with each one we had a very good experience. Upon walking into the dealership, Sunny sat down with us to understand what we were looking for in a new lease and what were some of the features we wanted in our new car. We viewed/drove two vehicles that were on the lot, but we felt that we were not getting the value we were looking for so decided to hold off on our decision. Sunny followed up with us multiple times and upon our second visit (about 1 week later), had the car that we were looking for with the features we wanted and the price we were willing to pay. We left that day with our next car. Deal Done! Thanks Sunny and the team at A-1 More
by epsteinr64
August 19, 2017
A1Toyota. A1Gary. with Sunny & Carlos. Great Team. The place You can go for Car dealer. Awesome services and Follow ups. We are very happy to purchase new cars. never regret with A1Toyota Teams. The place You can go for Car dealer. Awesome services and Follow ups. We are very happy to purchase new cars. never regret with A1Toyota Teams. More
by jclee
August 08, 2017
AWESOME Customer Service! I looked at the reviews online for Honda and Toyota S.U.V.'s. I was going to look at Honda vehicles but on a whim I went to the Toyota dealer in tow I looked at the reviews online for Honda and Toyota S.U.V.'s. I was going to look at Honda vehicles but on a whim I went to the Toyota dealer in town. I ended up buying a vehicle from that dealer and making a new friend my salesman More
by Mac22463
Employees Worked With
David Bryce
August 08, 2017
TERRIBLE SERVICE AND POOR COMMUNICATION!!!!! I bought an alarm system and they installed. Later on I installed an aftermarket strip of LED lights to the back of my car asnd the alarm system faile I bought an alarm system and they installed. Later on I installed an aftermarket strip of LED lights to the back of my car asnd the alarm system failed. This is not supposed to happen considering the alarm system is a new and advanced peice of hardware. Instead of finding a solution to the problem, the only thing A1 Toyota decided to do was blame and insult me. A1 Toyota has dissapointed me. More
by Alex32
August 04, 2017
A-1 Toyota is the Best! I have purchased four vehicles from A-1 Toyota. Three of my vehicles I have bought from Quincy. He always listens to me and helps me get the exact I have purchased four vehicles from A-1 Toyota. Three of my vehicles I have bought from Quincy. He always listens to me and helps me get the exact vehicle that I want. I look forward to driving my new Toyota Tacoma every day. Thank You, Quincy, and thank you A-1 Toyota for making my car buying experience great! Kathy More
by Kathy
Employees Worked With
August 02, 2017
Don't Ever Buy From Another Dealer Quincy is amazing. Carlos is amazing. A-1 is amazing. My family has always been a Toyota family, but for a variety of foolish reasons, my previous pur Quincy is amazing. Carlos is amazing. A-1 is amazing. My family has always been a Toyota family, but for a variety of foolish reasons, my previous purchase was not a Toyota and not from A-1. Boy did I regret it! My car was only 3 1/3 years old with nothing wrong with it, but I was so unhappy with the dealership I bought it at and all my service experiences, I couldn't wait to work with Quincy and get back into a Toyota! Quincy was so amazing to work with - he listened to everything I needed, was so informative on my test drive, and helped me get exactly what I was looking for!! He's so sweet and fun and, honestly, this was the least stressful and most fun car buying experience I've ever had! More
by SLirio
July 31, 2017
Love my 2017 Highlander Limited!!!! Thank you Kevin for finding exactly what I was looking for. This is truly a pleasure to drive and just love the A/C in the leather seats and the abil Thank you Kevin for finding exactly what I was looking for. This is truly a pleasure to drive and just love the A/C in the leather seats and the ability of listening and replying to texts without touching my phone. Still reading up on all the other features and can't wait to drive it to Florida. Thank you again and appreciate all your time and attention! More
by Linda Lang-Bankowski
Employees Worked With
July 27, 2017
low balled me on a trade in Well this is my edited review. I gave A1 Toyota in New Haven a negative review and the General Manager told me to take my car elsewhere, even though t Well this is my edited review. I gave A1 Toyota in New Haven a negative review and the General Manager told me to take my car elsewhere, even though they sold me a Prius with free lifetime oil changes. I will be changing my own oil anyway, because the oil changes at this dealership almost always take an hour and a half. That's with an appointment. On the Tacoma that I traded in I paid extra for some scratch and dent insurance that was supposed to cover 5k in scratches and dents. The GM is saying that my keyed truck would have cost $3,500 to repair because it spanned the entire side of the truck, which it didn't. It didn't extend to the right front quarter panel. I don't see why it would matter anyway, the insurance would negate that cost. Even if his numbers are accurate, they still paid me thousands less than they listed it for. They sold me a new Prius, so they're already making money on the sale of the new car. Why do they then have to make more money on my trade in? More
by budokaiboy
Employees Worked With
Devon Delaney
July 26, 2017
Efficient and thorough. I am a 5 time repeat customer for a reason! I sold my older vehical on the street late one Saturday afternoon so of course I immediately went to the d I am a 5 time repeat customer for a reason! I sold my older vehical on the street late one Saturday afternoon so of course I immediately went to the dealership at 4:00 pm Saturday afternoon and was greeted by none other than Mr. Quincy Smith who I have to say was very efficient. I knew what kind of car I wanted (RAV-4) so Quincy explained everything to me in a timely manner and made buying a car painless. Needless to say by early that Monday afternoon I was driving home in my new 2017 RAV-4. So thank you once again A-1 Toyota and Mr. Quincy Smith and as I expected I love my Toyota. Sincerely Kelly Foster More
by Kelly Foster
Employees Worked With
July 25, 2017
Great customer service Quincy is so personable and knowledgeable. He sold me my Carolla 6 1/2 yrs ago and now made it possible for me upgrade to my very first NEW car a 2017 Quincy is so personable and knowledgeable. He sold me my Carolla 6 1/2 yrs ago and now made it possible for me upgrade to my very first NEW car a 2017 Highlander. I would definitely recommend A1 Toyota to anyone looking for a new or used vehicle. More
by asimpson
