I’m sharing my experience at Space City Toyota so other - gato200287Elmer Pineda
I’m sharing my experience at Space City Toyota so other car buyers can learn from our mistake and know what to look for before signing. We purchased a 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross, Stock #69006, on August 24, 2026. Our salesperson was James Adams. Before we ever introduced our Tacoma as a trade-in, James and I negotiated the Corolla Cross separately and verbally agreed to $30,000 out the door. We shook hands on that deal. Our biggest mistake was not requiring that $30,000 OTD agreement in writing before moving forward. Only after negotiating the Corolla did we introduce our Tacoma. The dealership agreed to a $41,000 trade allowance. The Tacoma had a $45,953.73 payoff, resulting in $4,953.73 of negative equity. Because the $41,000 trade allowance exceeded the taxable price of the Corolla, the final paperwork correctly showed $0 in motor vehicle sales tax. Our concern was not that the $0 tax was incorrect. Our concern was what happened to the tax amount that had been part of the original $30,000 pre-trade OTD negotiation. The final Buyer’s Order shows the Corolla at $29,338.29, with fees bringing the vehicle subtotal to $29,814.73, despite the sales tax being $0. It then separately shows the $41,000 trade, $45,953.73 payoff, $4,953.73 negative equity, a $500 manufacturer rebate, and a final balance of $34,268.46. We contacted the dealership afterward and also met with General Sales Manager Marco Compean. We asked them to reconcile the final numbers with the $30,000 OTD price negotiated before the trade was introduced. Their position was that the signed paperwork controls, and they declined to make an adjustment. I am not accusing anyone of fraud. We signed the final paperwork, and we should have stopped and verified every number before signing. That was our mistake. My advice to anyone buying a car: negotiate the vehicle first and get the exact out-the-door price in writing before mentioning your trade-in. Then negotiate the trade separately. Before signing anything, verify the selling price, sales tax, dealer/government fees, trade allowance, payoff, negative equity, rebates and final amount financed line by line. Do not rely only on a verbal agreement, handshake or monthly payment. Hopefully sharing our experience helps another buyer avoid making the same mistake.
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