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A-1 Toyota

New Haven, CT

4.7
1,141 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 1,141 reviews

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 More

by Alex32
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
No
Employees Worked With
Gary Dos Reis
1.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Mustafa Alsamraie
1.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Aug 08, 2017 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Dear Alex32, The situation with your remote start was explained to you AND DEMONSTRATED to you a few months ago. Gary sat with you and listened to you. When you told him that service had told you that they believed it was because you had put aftermarket LED bulbs in the dome, but service hadn't actually brought the vehicle in yet to do an actual assessment, he made arrangements to have them bring it into service to actually diagnose it. Service found that you had installed an aftermarket light that plugged into the hitch. Whenever they unplugged the light, the remote start worked perfect and whenever they plugged it back in, the remote start didn't work. They brought you into service and showed you what the issue was, and showed you multiple times! It is very common for additional work by another party to void and tamper with the work of a first party. This isn't an insult to you. It is a mechanical fact. The demonstration should have proved that to you. AnnaLynn Wheeler General Manager

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 More

by Kathy
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Quincy Smith
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
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 More

by SLirio
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Gary Dos Reis
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Quincy Smith
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Other Employees : Carlos Orozco
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 More

by Linda Lang-Bankowski
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Kevin Wright
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
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 More

by budokaiboy
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
No
Employees Worked With
Devon Delaney
Jul 27, 2017 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Dear Mr. Stewart, When writing your review, it is very deceptive that you would leave out the very big problem with your trade: the fact that it was keyed the entire length of the vehicle! That repair alone costs $3,500 in our body shop! You were very aware of this damage and our manager took photos of it with his phone while you were here in order to estimate the cost of repair. In addition, the reconditioning costs of maintenance and repairs in the service department was $735, and the detailing of the vehicle was $150. All these items bring your vehicle cost to us at almost $25,000! And this doesn't take into account the fees that were associated with us handling the payoff of your vehicle and obtaining your title. Furthermore, you had the option to sell your vehicle on your own. Our lowest discounted price for your Prius Prime would not have changed if you sold your trade on your own. So, if you believed you could have obtained more for it in its current condition, you should have handled that part of the transaction yourself. Lastly, in reference to your comment on the cabin air filter, let me remind you of our response when you complained about the price last November. Just like this time, it was very deceptive that you would leave out the very big problem with your recommended service: the mice nest in your car! We had last serviced your vehicle in 11/16 for a prepaid maintenance visit finding a mouse nest present in the cabin filter and blower motor - a fee of $39.99 was presented to replace the cabin filter and remove all of the nesting from the associated area. This repair was declined. Our response to your deceptive bad review back then: Dear customer, I apologize if it wasn't clearly explained on your last service visit the charges involved with a cabin filter replacement. When your vehicle was last in for service, we had indicated that there was a presence of a mouse nest located in your cabin filter and blower motor. For that reason, along with a health concern, we made the recommendations on a replacement. For the sum of $39.99, we would install a new OEM style cabin air filter, along with cleaning all nesting in the localized area. I further researched your price concern by typing in your year, make and model on the internet, finding the average cost of replacement from $86.00 - $104.00, for both the part and installation. If you were to price an aftermarket filter from AutoZone, they charge $13.99 - $42.99 for the good, better and best choices. Keep in mind, this would require having it installed for an additional fee. So, based on my research, I feel we are way below what the auto industry charges. If you have additional questions, or if I can be of further assistance, feel free to contact me at your earliest opportunity. Sincerely, Mike Querfeld In closing, although every attempt to deal with you with respect has been made, despite your deceptive nature on review sites, it is obvious that we cannot satisfy you. Kindly stop coming to our dealership, EXCEPT FOR THE BEST PRICE BENEFITS YOU CANNOT OBTAIN AT ANY OTHER TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. WE WILL STILL HONOR THOSE FOR YOU. For future customer paid services, warranty and vehicle sales, take your business elsewhere. AnnaLynn Wheeler General Manager

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 More

by Kelly Foster
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Quincy Smith
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
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 More

by asimpson
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Quincy Smith
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Frank Nieves
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
July 24, 2017

Quick and Painless! Carlos Rodriguez went above and beyond to accommodate my needs in purchasing my vehicle, Excellent knowledge of vehicles and very customer friendly. More

by Junegonzalez1968
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Howard Luna, Carlos Rodriguez
July 19, 2017

I had a great experience, when I purchased my new Toyota Rav From the moment I walked into A1 Toyota of Amity my experience was exceptional, I've had the pleasure of sitting with Carlos Rodriguez, who had spent More

by Latinsilk
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Frank Nieves
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Other Employees : Armando Muniz, Carlos Rodriguez
July 14, 2017

Great car buying experience ! Quincy was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the vehicle we were looking to purchase, a RAV4. The delivery process went smooth and all the fea More

by TomandJudy
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Quincy Smith
5.0
This rating includes all reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
Other Employees : Howard Luna
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