Santa Margarita Toyota

I took my 6 month old 2009 Camry in because the check engine light came on and my transmission was sounding like crap (5989 miles). Turned out there was a broken spark plug in cylinder #2. Then 2 months engine light came on and my transmission was sounding like crap (5989 miles). Turned out there was a broken spark plug in cylinder #2. Then 2 months later I had to have my Camry towed in because the engine burnt out since there was no oil in it. Penske Toyota denied warranty service because it was stated that it was my fault for not having any oil in the car (I had the oil change done at 5488 miles). There was no formal checking of the internal parts of the engine, just a quick oil dip stick test to determine the fault was mine and I was going to have to fork out at least $3000 to replace the engine and was told depending on what might be wrong or what they find it could cost me up to $12000-14000 to fix (I bought the car cash, so I owe nothing on it). Another $6000 and I could buy a new Camry. When I came to have my car towed to my mechanic, as I was leaving Mike Horner snidely said "I hope your mechanic can put in an engine for you." Really poor customer service!! I had the car towed to my mechanic (who is a licensed master mechanic) and he performed a simple pressure test and found that cylinder #2 (the one that had the original broken spark plug) had a major leak of 70%. He also found (using a boroscope) that the piston ring had a crack in it which was causing the leak and that's why there was no oil in the car (oil light did not start flashing on until 2/6/09 which was way too late to do anything with repairing the engine). Toyota would not look at the engine/car again because their Factory Technical Specialist and Parts manager declined any warranty service on. That is Toyota's final word. Now I am having to go through 3rd party arbitration to try and have my car replaced all because the Service Managers and Mechanics/Technicians do not do a proper thorough job when inspecting cars for problems because they are out to make as much $$$$ of you as possible and they don't seem to care about the customer at all. I was dissatisfied with the customer service, the quality of work, friendliness, overall experience and price. Dealing with the Penske Toyota Sales people was 100 times better than dealing with the service people. I would recommend to NEVER NEVER take your vehicle to the Penske Toyota in RSM because you will not get your vehicle fixed correctly and they will do whatever they can to have to avoid having to pay for large warranty services. Mike Horner is one of the rudest people working over there in the Service department. I've dealt with only one other Assistant Service Manager (Paul Rudin) and he was much more polite than Mike. More

1)They charged me $44 for an oil change in November 2008 and when I asked if they would include a simple tire rotation with that extremely high charge, they refused. I went ahead and had the oil change bec and when I asked if they would include a simple tire rotation with that extremely high charge, they refused. I went ahead and had the oil change because I was taking a lengthy trip the next day, but I will never go back. What a rip-off!! 2)I went there for an oil change in 2007 and they told me it would take 45 min. It ended up taking an hour and a half and they weren't even that busy. Ridiculous! (I can't believe I gave them another chance..see above) More

Unlike some salesmen, he treated me like an intelligent person. Most treat women like they are stupid. Sorry I need to see what his name is when I go back for the next service visit. However, I conversed w person. Most treat women like they are stupid. Sorry I need to see what his name is when I go back for the next service visit. However, I conversed with him online and he did not waste my time. THANKS! More

My wife and I purchased a Toyota Sienna from RSM Toyota three years ago. We enjoyed the time spent with the salesman and thought to look at Camrys to replace my current car. After looking at Saturns and Ho three years ago. We enjoyed the time spent with the salesman and thought to look at Camrys to replace my current car. After looking at Saturns and Hondas, we enjoyed our past experience with the Sienna that we chose to look at the Camry and to work with our previous salesman. My first visit to Toyota on my own was not great. The salesman was quiet and did not answer a lot of questions and the test drive was simply around the dealership lot, not a great opportunity to see how the car performed. Did not describe possible options on the car either. That is when my wife suggested contacting our former salesman and work with him. That was the difference maker. He was very informative. He talked to us about the different versions of the Camry, Hybrid, V6 and 4 cyl. We had a great test drive in two different Camrys to see how they handled and each drive was 10 minutes or more on various streets with various speed limits. He sat and talked with us about options, showed us what was available on the lot and within 100 miles and how he could narrow the list down based on our option choices. He did not try to upsell us on anything, letting us decide what we wanted on the car. Worked with us on getting the financing and payments to what we wanted. Wished we could have gotten more on our trade-in but oh well. After the salesman, the finance department was very friendly and helpful. Explained what we needed to know or had questions about and did not go into any LONG spiels about extras. Several service plans were presented, basics explained and then let us decide how much more information that we needed. Having the AAA office in the dealership was also helpful as they are our insurance carrier and were able to add the new car to our policy within 5 minutes of signing our sales contract. The salesman helped transfer items form the old car to the new one, even removing the personalized license plate frame himself and reminding us about often forgotten items such as garage door openers. He then spent half and hour with me in the car explaining the details and operations of the navigation system and other accessories. Over all a Great experience. More

Like most normal people these days, I wanted to use the "internets" to determine dealer invoice vs. MSRP for a new car. I was looking to buy a 2008 Highlander Hybrid limited. These cars are still in shor "internets" to determine dealer invoice vs. MSRP for a new car. I was looking to buy a 2008 Highlander Hybrid limited. These cars are still in short supply and most dealers were giving me the run around: come in and look to get an actual price, how much do you want to pay etc... even though I was trying to save us both time by working out a deal via email. After contacting multiple dealers, I got an email response from Sven Osterwalder at Toyota of Rancho Santa Margarita. It is my position that no matter how popular a car is, I am not going to pay MSRP. 1 or 2 thousand in profit to the dealership is more than fair, depending on how "hot" the car is, and from my observations regarding Highland Hybrids, they do not stay on the lot very long. Sven was willing to give me a hard quote over the internet which listed every option on the car, MSRP and Toyota of RSM's internet price. He worked with me through many variations of car (color, options etc...) because every time we found a potential match, before my wife and I could agree to that feature set, the car was sold. Finally, Sven found another car that matched our specifications but had a customer hold on it that involved a trade in. Sven kept an eye on the deal as it fell through, keeping me updated over the weekend. When the customer finally decided to wait for an even more tricked out car, it became available to me at very short notice. My wife and I rushed down to Toyota of RSM with our 2 year old because it was too short a notice to get a babysitter. Sven and the finance people were true to their word, even thought I was paying less than the previous customer was prepared to pay. They had us in and out of there in just over 1 hour with all the numbers matching my spreadsheets and the email correspondence I had with Sven. We even disappeared for 30 minutes to grab diner for the little one while they processed the paperwork and washed the car. No last minute "dealer" fees, car prep etc... They even set up a loan with my Credit Union on a Sunday night with no hassle what so ever. Then Sven spent time to show me around the car and all its features. What a nice guy to deal with. Like a previous post to this site said regarding this dealer: "The internet sales dept. agreed to match the "carsdirect.com" price, (which was the lowest price I could find), they were honest about all the financial options, and really nice overall. I know it seems obvious, but it's hard to find such qualities in a dealership nowadays." I second this other buyers opinion and want to thank the prior poster and this site for the information here which helped me decide to go with this dealer over the "internets". Without this type of feedback, it would have been even more nerve racking. But in the end, I was not disappointed. More

After spending weeks looking for the best price and service I decided to buy my Highlander 2007 at RSM. To be honest, it wasn't my first choice, since it's kind of far away from where I live, but it wa service I decided to buy my Highlander 2007 at RSM. To be honest, it wasn't my first choice, since it's kind of far away from where I live, but it was by far the best experience I had with dealerships in a while. The internet sales dept. agreed to match the "carsdirect.com" price, (which was the lowest price I could find), they were honest about all the financial options, and really nice overall. I know it seems obvious, but it's hard to find such qualities in a dealership nowadays. In the end, the financing person tried to push the usual unnecessary stuff, like 1000$ wax service, alarm, upholstery protection, etc, but I just declined. Overall was a nice and smooth experience, just how buying a car should be. More

I brought my car in for service expecting the repair to be long, frustrating and for me to be carless. I spoke at first to Mike Fischer who introduced me to Mike Horner. Both Mike's were extremely profes be long, frustrating and for me to be carless. I spoke at first to Mike Fischer who introduced me to Mike Horner. Both Mike's were extremely professional and polite, they kept me informed as to the status and finished my car when promised. They washed my car and gave it back to me cleaner than when I left it was a pleasant surprise. I will be back for all of my service needs! Everyone was so easy to work with and are truly second to none! More

If you are familiar with "FightingChange.com" at all you'll understand how simple it was for me to get 12 simultaneous quotes over the course of one weekend. The thing is that all not quotes are at all you'll understand how simple it was for me to get 12 simultaneous quotes over the course of one weekend. The thing is that all not quotes are created equal. Of the 12 quotes I got, at least 6 were low-ball quotes to get me in the door; big waste of my time. Now with Toyota RSM, let me tell you, I got an almost instant reply. They were not my first choice since they were a bit of a drive for me to get to, but in the end, when my first choice couldn't come through with the car, I contacted Toyota RSM and they were more than happy to have me come by. In fact, the sales team even stayed a bit later just to see me. The next day when I went in to see if they were going to honour the price agreed upon, I was totally expecting the..."let me bring this the sales manager"....followed by the...."he won't let it go for that price, but I tried" tactic (already experienced that at another dealer I won't mention). I kid you not, in less than an hour I was the owner of a new car. Not that I paid sticker or more and that they couldn't wait to reel me in, but rather, the agreement we made via email, was the exact price I paid, with all the expected options and details I requested. Again, if you know about fightingchance.com, then you know how to try and calculate a price that you'll be happy with and is fair enough for the dealership. That's what I asked for and that's EXACTLY what I got. Top notch service too. It's worth my time and gas to see these guys for regular service, and I highly recommend contacting Luis Castro if you are considering these guys. Just my $0.02 More

I've had my new car serviced here about 5 times. Three time were for the standard service intervals and I was happy with the turnaround time and level of service. With my latest service interval I forgot time were for the standard service intervals and I was happy with the turnaround time and level of service. With my latest service interval I forgot a coupon at home and they covered it anyway. A nice touch. On two occasions I had to bring the car in for special service (i.e. bad speaker). I was told it would only take an hour or so, but in the end, they did not have some specific type of bolts or something, so I had to go back. Second time around they fixed it, but forgot to re-enable the power windows for the rear doors (where the bad speaker was). They fixed that too and it was all good. I like the fact that the service bays are designed for customers to walk in and have a designated area to observe the mechanics do their thing. They are not bitchy about it and expect that some people are going to be chatty and ask all sorts of questions. More