Complaint Review: Stevens Imports Inc Huntington Toyota - Huntington Station New York

I also had a very similar experience (also at a Toyota dealership) I too went in as a 21 yr old female by myself. I was taking my Toyta in for repairs and when I found out it needed close to $3000.00 worth of work done on it a sales man was close by to offer to trade in my car for a new car. I really didn't have $3000.00 to fix mine so I went inside with him and began looking. I ended up buying a car that was only worth about $12500 and they also fooled me into paying $2000.00 more than it was worth and sold me all sorts of crazy insurance (including disability?) some of it I remember agreeing to - some of it I don't. Long story short I ended up financing almost $20,000.00 at nearly 17%. When I got the car home my husband was a little confused about how I had been convinced to buy a new car and the first thing he wanted me to do was refinance the car because he knew the rate was rediculous. I called two different credit unions that I belonged to and both offered to refinance at a rate of 10% or less - only I couldn't refinance the whole loan because it was so much more than the car was worth. I drove the car for three more months thinking about how to get out of this sticky situation. First things first I cancell all the insurances except the gap I did this and was offered a refund of nearly $5000.00. I finally decided to try and trade it in on a car that was worth more and try to get some sort of deal - I'd still be upside down but not as badly. I tried this idea at a few dealerships and it wasn't working out too well - either the deal on the new car was great but they didn't want to give me squat for the trade - or they offered me a good trade but didn't want to give me a deal on the new car. I decided that I would go back to the dealer that sold me the car and hope that they would have pity on me. My husband went with me this time - he was not all about the idea - figuring they would just try to screw me over agian. I talked to a manager and explained the situation - he went and got my original sales man. I let my husband ream him for about 15 minutes about how he took advantage of me and my situation earlier in the year. I then - in my nicest sweetest voice - told him that I didn't think they were bad people and that I knew they were going to do their best to help me out. It took five hours of dealing with two sales people and a manager but eventually they agreed to pay me almost all of what they had sold me the old car for with the stipulation that I would buy their new car for sticker price and pay cash for tt&l. This was the best deal that I could possibly hope to get. Now, my payment is $2.00 more a month than before - and I had to restart the 60 month loan only now with only an 11% rate - but I have a brand new car that is much nicer than the old one (the trade in had 65,000 on it and the new one is convertible!) and I am not upside down anymore. I know it is one thing to get upset - but there are still companies out there that if you go and just be reasonable with them will work with you to solve your problems. Have you tried to go to the dealership with just a humble attitude and ask for help? You might give it a try - you never know they just might help you.

I read your report and wondered about a few things. When you arrived at the dealership did you insist on something new? Were you offered something more realistic for a 19 year old with no credit? 17000.00 doesnt sound like alot untill you add service contracts, gap, and finance. A young person just starting out needs a good credit building purchase, something realistic. A recent used vehicle with very low miles would have been a great buy, and a huge upgrade from what you drove in with. an 8000 to 10000 dollar car would have had half the payments. I discovered that alot of young people often refused to look at things that would have been better, they wanted the Charger SRT8 or RAM SRT models. They would often refuse to even consider a nice PT cruiser, or anything else for that matter. I cant tell you what would fix your problem, however I wonder if the salesman took you all the way through finance. You stated that the salesman never offered you gap. Usually finance does that. The interest rate is a finance matter as well. The salesman often gets the blame for customer disatisfaction with the work of others. Im not saying you didnt have a bad experience, just that Ive never seen a salesman do finance. The money you got for the trade probably was good. Its a wholesale item, not something a good car lot is likely to to put on their property. A good trade is a recent car someone else trades for a new one, a lease turn in, etc... You can get carfax reports on specific cars on many car lots too.

Linda well sorry to read your story and not to ad insult to injury but they hung you out to dry at 17k. my next door neighbor just bought a yaris for 12.5k cash. it was a tough deal with no extended warranty and gap insurance was not needed since he bought the cat outright but the dealer only ageed to the sale as he was walking out the door. Thanks to some good advice from an insider(me) he managed to pressure the dealer into a fair deal. So remember it is your money and it has buying and they hope that you do not knoe this. Also the best negotiation tool you have is your two feet and your money headed out the door. Do not waste your time letting them talk and talk and talk trying to wear you down.

Linda well sorry to read your story and not to ad insult to injury but they hung you out to dry at 17k. my next door neighbor just bought a yaris for 12.5k cash. it was a tough deal with no extended warranty and gap insurance was not needed since he bought the cat outright but the dealer only ageed to the sale as he was walking out the door. Thanks to some good advice from an insider(me) he managed to pressure the dealer into a fair deal. So remember it is your money and it has buying and they hope that you do not knoe this. Also the best negotiation tool you have is your two feet and your money headed out the door. Do not waste your time letting them talk and talk and talk trying to wear you down.

Linda well sorry to read your story and not to ad insult to injury but they hung you out to dry at 17k. my next door neighbor just bought a yaris for 12.5k cash. it was a tough deal with no extended warranty and gap insurance was not needed since he bought the cat outright but the dealer only ageed to the sale as he was walking out the door. Thanks to some good advice from an insider(me) he managed to pressure the dealer into a fair deal. So remember it is your money and it has buying and they hope that you do not knoe this. Also the best negotiation tool you have is your two feet and your money headed out the door. Do not waste your time letting them talk and talk and talk trying to wear you down.

Linda well sorry to read your story and not to ad insult to injury but they hung you out to dry at 17k. my next door neighbor just bought a yaris for 12.5k cash. it was a tough deal with no extended warranty and gap insurance was not needed since he bought the cat outright but the dealer only ageed to the sale as he was walking out the door. Thanks to some good advice from an insider(me) he managed to pressure the dealer into a fair deal. So remember it is your money and it has buying and they hope that you do not knoe this. Also the best negotiation tool you have is your two feet and your money headed out the door. Do not waste your time letting them talk and talk and talk trying to wear you down.

Linda, If your loan paperwork was altered in any way, YOU MUST alert the Media so others can be alerted too. If it happened to you, it is happening to other people. Make sure that you send the info to : 9 News 500 Speer Blvd. Denver, Co 80203 Attn: Deborah Sherman. Do not just think about YOURSELF, think about EVERYONE who had to go through this mess. Everyone who has ever had a problem with Toyota should demand copies of their loan paperwork. They would be surprised to see that their MONTHLY INCOMES were increased without their knowledge. Toyota knows that this has been going on. If Toyota Motor Credit Corporation did a complete audit of EVERY transaction in just the past year, it would be a nightmare! Get your loan paperwork now!! Do not let the Dealer or the Bank persuade you in any way. EXPOSE THE PROBLEM. It might get you on T.V. and others can be helped too. Good luck!!

There are Federal laws (the Truth In Lending Act) which govern retail credit agreements like this one. The lender is obligated to disclose the amount you're borrowing, the annual percentage rate, your monthly payment, and how much the loan will cost you over the life of the loan. Your loan documents must prominently disclose this information, or the lender's got a problem. So go get your loan documents ASAP. And it's always possible someone tinkered with the loan docs. That wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened. Many dealers have arrangements with lenders, insurance agents, etc., and weird things can happen with the financing & insurance end of things. Hell, it happened to me once, when I bought my first car at the age of 24: the dealer set me up with this weird insurance guy who sold me a Progressive insurance policy which was stripped of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and the like, even though I didn't agree to the waiver of that coverage as required by PA law. Once I got the policy declarations I cancelled that policy and went back to my old carrier. Something very funny happened there, that's for sure... Anyway, don't waste your time writing to Montel Williams, Oprah, etc. Get those loan documents and see if those disclosures were made, and if you signed the loan docs. If your answer to either one is no, then go see a lawyer. Yes, in hindsight, you made a bad purchasing decision, but I'm not going to beat you over the head for that, especially as you are dealing with a sleazy dealership. I think you've learned some good lessons, though. Next time you buy a car, don't walk into the dealership without knowing the car's MSRP and invoice price - easily found at Edmunds.com. You can do your bargaining up from that, rather than down from the salesman's offer. Don't let a shark salesman push you into buying on the spot - they are paid for making sales NOW, and they have quotas. Never buy the extended warranty or other sales tricks like rustproofing, VIN etching, etc. Finally, you might consider visiting a no-haggle dealership, where all prices are fixed and there is no sales pressure.

Linda, There is a chance that your Credit Application was ALTERED by the Dealership. Get copies FROM THE BANK where your car is FINANCED. If the credit application was altered ( INCOME, YEARS ON THE JOB, or your SIGNATURE) then you can sue and you will win. Good luck. It seems strange that you got approved without a co-signer. You are only 19 years old.

my friend expirience has been my best teacher. you will never forget this. also you probrably paid more than you think if you go to places like edmunds.com you will see that the invoice is around 12 thousand dollars. the 17k. that they charged you was msrp. i learned the hard way you never deal on msrp. you always start at invoice. in your case your invoice was around 12k. the dealer probrably only paid 7 thousand for the car once you subtract the holdbacks the dealer will also get from the manufacturer once they have sold you the car. hope you remember to do the research the next time. best of luck to ya...kev

GAP insurance is not required and unless you requested it, is not offered many times. Sometimes, a sales person will offer it, but they are not required to do so. Also, you claim he was fast talking you. You were not required to sign. You could have and should have walked away. Never let someone pressure you into anything that is "too good to be true", "offer only good today", or "we tried, but couldn't get the deal we wanted and it will cost extra". If that salesperson is not hungry enough, there will be one at another dealership that will be. Never accept their BS and keep moving on until you find a better deal. You would be supprised that some of them will actually "suddenly change their mind" as you reach the door. The bottom line is, you signed it and no one forced you too. Either take the time to read it, or bring along someone with you who can also review the documents. Sometimes, a friend who is not buying a car will notice the paperwork more than you because you might be too wrapped up in "new car fever" to notice what you are signing. Good salesmen make LOTS of commission profit from victims of "new car fever".

When Toyota was becoming established in the USA two distributors in the South were savvy enough to get signed agreements allowing them to add whatever packages & surcharges they wished. There is an extra $55 delivery charge for Toyotas delivered into the Carolinas, as well as the infamous and silly Toyogard package that adds $600 for having the VIN etched on the glass. I avoided the Toyogard but not that extra $55 on a new 2007 Camry V6 that I bought here. Of course, I also got $2000 for a not-at-all-good 1991 Camry with 323K miles, body damage, and an engine miss. But then I first wrote letters inviting price quotes for the 2007 Camry I was interested in and sent those letters to the various dealerships' managers. Bottom line: Do your homework and learn exactly what you want, the maximum you should pay, and what loans, if needed, your various banks will offer before you ever contact any dealership. Either you do your homework, or you will pay the dealership, dearly, to do your homework for you.

Linda is at fault at here. She is at fault for believing the people at the Dealership who lied to her and took advantage of her. She is also at fault for believing Toyota's National Advertising showing happy customers inside of Toyota Dealers. She is also at fault for believing that a good product would have good people representing it and selling it HONESTLY, ETHICALLY, and LEGALLY. The Managers at Toyota Dealerships are a reflection of that Dealership. Unfortunately, it is the ugliest reflection in the industry.

Sorry, but you signed a contract, naive, young or not. You have learned a valuable lesson here, and that is read what you sign. The interest rate was spelled out, as was the waiver you would've signed regarding GAP insurance. Had you read what you legally signed you could've walked out at anytime. Also, had you done your own research before walking into the dealer, you would've known the MSRP as well as what options you wanted. Sorry, but you are at fault here.

Dear Linda, We have a suggestion for you. Make copies of everything that you have along with a LETTER from you and mail it to the following : 9NEWS 500 Speer Blvd Denver, Co 80203 Attn: Deborah Sherman Dateline NBC 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 Attn: Investigative Reporter Fox 31 News 100 East Speer Blvd. Denver, Co 80203 Attn: Tom Martino 60 Minutes 555 West 57th St New York, NY 10019 Attn: Investigative Reporter The Montel Williams Show 433 West 53rd St New York, NY 10019 Attn: Montel Deepak Chopra 2013 Costa Del Mar Rd Carsbad, Ca 92009 Attn: Deepak www.foxnews.com Attn: Geraldo Rivera www.oprah.com Attn: Oprah We can guarantee you that your voice will be heard. Also go to www.9news.com and type in the name ORNELAS and click on search. Go to the story about Car Dealers, read the story and WATCH the story fom 2005! Toyota has known for YEARS about the TRICKERY. Don't worry. Exposure and humiliation will finally get the point across that the HONEST PERSON is fed up as to what TOYOTA, a publicly held company, is allowing at its Dealer Network all over the USA.

June 10, 2007 Huntington Toyota totally ripped me off as in my first report.Now for the update.Even after Toyota Corporate Financial Services in Cedar Rapids Iowa, told me that they can and will indeed refund these two non mandatory items (that I don't really need to have financed at 19.8% interest)and apply the costs to the principle of my loan (bringing down the amt that will have to be paid back at the incredible 19.8% interest they ripped me off for)But basiscally saying the rest is a legal contract and I can go blow. The Huntington dealership Financial service rep. a Mr. michael Baptist or baptista (I believe thats his name, because the whip it by you so you can't really catch it).Refuses to do so. He made up this story about the loan having to be a higher amount borrowed, then that refund would leave me with.(Boy I may be slow on the uptake but its amazing how quick you learn on the fall down).I told him I knew he was full of **** . So now I have to go back to Corporate by phone,threw another zillion prompts.More compaints filed, end result :I got Corparate to refund it for me. I had to fax them a statement asking for refund,blah,blah blah.Now I wait to receive conformation that it was actually done.Stay tuned cause I'm not giving up and I'm still trying to see if I have a leg to stand on about the rest of the stuff they ripped me off for, and thier unscrupulous sales tactics.