Serra Toyota of Decatur

Reviews 3

ME

Melissa Thomas

Well, I bought my Camry at this location 2 years ago. Used Cathy Megli and she was amazing. This time, in my search for a 4runner, I couldnt get in touch with Cathy so I used someone I had never met. My first mistake. Matt and I exchanged a few emails before scheduling a time for me to come test drive. I told him ahead of time that we would NOT be purchasing that night (I was tired and didnt want to spend the time doing it, then driving an hour home and my boyfriend wanted me to look at a few other models before settling on the 4runner). We arrived about 10 minutes early that night and he was out front, key in hand, vehicle pulled up front. He introduced himself and then immediately started going through the car specs and opening doors. Everything seemed very rehearsed and like he had JUST read a 4Runner manual instead of actually knowing anything. Oh well. We continued through the manual-like demonstration before cranking the car up to take for a test drive. Keep in mind I am an hour away from home in an area I never travel to. He told me which way to go before starting up his rambling. I had to interrupt him every single time I came to a stop sign or red light so he could tell me where to go. It was horrible. I understand talking to your customers, but stop yourself with enough time to give them directions. Anyways, I digress. We finally arrived back to the dealership. At some point Matt had brought up a Limited version (I had blocked his rambling out at this point) and my boyfriend told him we werent interested in the Limited because it was out of our price range AND it looked too big. He continued pressing us about the Limited and walked us over to one to show us that it is only an inch bigger on each side. ok? We still dont want it...we told him that. Then we go inside to talk, reiterating the fact that we are not buying anything that night, but it was cold and I didnt want to discuss ANYTHING outside. So, we go in and sit down. He brings up some numbers and then asks about a trade in. I had told up prior to this that I had a white 2013 Camry. He kept calling it a red 2007 Camry...even after DRIVING it across the lot to get a quote. That really showed me he wasnt listening to US and only cared about a sale. Then when my boyfriend told him the pay range we were interested in Matt acted like we were idiots. At one point he said he could search for a 4Runner that we wanted and it would be $918 to ship there from ANYWHERE. So, I said "how about Massachusetts?" to which he replied "Oh not from that far." Yet he had JUST said ANYWHERE. Whatever, this continues on for a little while before we just tell him we are not buying, we will think about it, but we need to go. He said his manager would come tell us bye as typically done and we could leave. The manager, I forgot his name, came over and said "Well, since it looks like you will be purchasing every 2-3 years you should just lease." How exactly does it look like I buy a new car every few years? Because the Camry is my SECOND vehicle in TEN years and I clearly stated MULTIPLE times we wanted an SUV due to needing more room. Not because I just want one. We told the manager this and he pressed that leasing was better and blah blah blah. Finally we both stood up, said it was nice meeting him but that we needed to leave. He shook our hand and Matt came and told us bye. Before I even arrived home I had an email from Matt about our visit as well as 2-3 emails (that I never responded to) after that. I understand salesmen have to be persistent, but this guy was a condescending jerk. He kept saying "MY policies" "MY vehicles" "MY warranties"...UMMMM YOU ARENT TOYOTA! I will never buy from this location again due to this man. I wish I could have gotten a hold of Cathy prior to this...she was awesome.

JO

Joy Tredway

Very happy overall with our Camry Hybrid SE and equally happy with Serra Toyota and working with Edin Begovic. I knew exactly what I wanted and had already done a bunch of research and test drove a few cars in my local area of Montgomery (2.5 hours away). So why on earth would I drive 2.5 hours each way just to get a car? Because I got EXACTLY (I mean, e-x-a-c-t-l-y) what I wanted, because Edin was cool to work with and because the price was superb. Sure, sure, everyone thinks that. But Im pretty convinced of it based on extensive research I did. And Im talking I bought a car early in the month at that. I worked with Edin mostly over text messaging, which is great for me. 1) Im a texter in life otherwise, 2) I didnt feel like being "sold" in any way, I just wanted what I wanted and he was smart enough not to bother me with something else he thought I wanted, and 3) Edin was very responsive. Ive told friends theres pretty much no other way Im going to buy a car for now on. I dealt with several Toyota dealerships and Serra was the best. The one that came close dealt with me over email, which is cool for all the same reasons, and they basically said they couldnt beat my deal with Serra (another reason Im convinced I got a great price). Otherwise, I had another Toyota dealership try to pressure me into something that was close but not exactly right, lie to me about "Oh, Hybrid SEs exist, but not anywhere in this region"... lies!, and the one other dealership that did text me did so only to pressure me to come back in "to talk numbers." Yeah no. Theres no reason for me to play the 4-square game, the back and forth, "oh let me check with my manager" and then make you wait 20 minutes every round because this is math stuff is really tricky business-nonsense. Edin didnt even try that crap with me. What he did do, however, was: 1) answer all my questions (even after hours.. he was probably at home and I felt bad, but he was cool about it), 2) send me text pictures of the price breakdown and other documents I wanted to see 3) didnt bat an eye when I asked him to get it in writing from his managers certain parts of the agreement, which he took a picture of and texted me I LOVED working with that guy. I knew I was going to lay down some money on a very specific vehicle and it was just a matter of time before I found a dealer willing to get me what I wanted (not what they wanted). So yeah, 5 hours of driving to get a car?--worth it. Serra was cool. Edin was cool. Car is cool. Happy owner.

NA

Nate

I went to Serra Toyota seriously looking to purchase a new car. After test driving the model I was interested in, I talked with Antonio Gray about price. He negotiated a minimal amount with me before his manager Roberto Diaz came over to talk. When I asked if they could go lower, he knocked a little bit more off, but then refused to budge. No problem with that, its just that I wasnt going to pay as much as they were asking. Roberto told me they couldnt go any lower because were selling the vehicle at a loss at the price they were offering. My wife remarked that she "had a hard time believing that", and Roberto acted all upset and accused us of calling him a liar. (To make matters worse, I KNOW he was lying that they couldnt go any lower, because they called me the next day and knocked another chunk off their asking price. And if theyre selling vehicles at a net loss even after manufacturer incentives, theres something seriously wrong with their business model.) When I saw we werent going to get anywhere and Roberto kept asking for my max price that I was willing to pay, I finally gave him an exact number. I knew the price I named was low, but not ridiculously low (backed up by the fact that I got a lot closer to it at Bill Penney Toyota). Robertos reaction was to tell me if I found the same car for that price elsewhere, bring it to him and hed pay me $1,000 more than I paid. Then he followed up with "In fact, buy as many as you can and bring them to me, and youll make $1,000 on each of them." I found it very insulting, and decided that they wouldnt ever get my business after that. I couldnt believe the MANAGER of sales would treat a customer that way. Id like to point out that my experience talking with Antonio the salesman was pleasant, and he seemed to be very knowledgeable about the car I was interested in. However, the management style of Serra Toyota is completely unsatisfactory, which is why I gave them such a poor rating. They give their sales people minimal room for bargaining with the customer, and then turn you over to their pushy manager who will say anything to make a sale.