Momentum Toyota of Fairfield

Reviews 3

AN

Andrew Wagner

ARROGANCE, LIES, EXTORTION I love Toyota vehicles, which makes writing this negative review both painful and necessary. The staff at Momentum Toyota are insufferably unprofessional, rude, and dishonest. A stereotypically sleazy used-car salesman was our first interaction with the staff: "Which car will you be buying today?" As a customer, I dont want to feel like the dealer is planning on having his way with me before I even open my mouth, but this seemed to be the theme of the day. The same person flippantly offered $200 trade-in value of a vehicle he had never seen, nor did he seem interested in its true value (very insulting). Finally, when we asked to see a particular vehicle we knew was available, the salesperson left for 30 minutes (presumably to get lunch), then returned with a manager, saying the car was in the shop for routine inspection and maintenance. We persisted, and finally they allowed us to see the vehicle which was not in the shop, but in a back lot, looking dirty and neglected, with large white lettering in the back window: "RECALLED DO NOT SELL." The relentless staff assured us that the car would be under warranty, so anything that could possibly go wrong would be fixed by the dealer, promising even if the "engine broke, [they] will fix it." They still wanted us to buy the car! Incredulous, we left without looking back, vowing to never buy anything from the racketeers at Momentum Toyota. Our suspicions were further validated when our friend began leasing a vehicle from the same dealer, with an eerily similar experience. (Disclaimer: we were on vacation when they did this. Friends dont let friends go to Momentum.) The dealer then used a tactic known as a yo-yo, giving a lowball quote for a lease so the customer will go home with a car, only to demand the lessee pay a higher price or return the car. This presents a dilemma, particularly for low-income customers who cant afford a higher payment, but also need a car, so the dealer bets on the odds that people will either pay more for the car than they originally agreed to in the contract, or return the vehicle and the dealer keeps the down payment. In this case, the dealer made a phone call demanding a higher payment, saying the bank rejected the original terms (also a common tactic), and insisting that A) the dealer may change the terms of the lease agreement at anytime, and B) this is posted on the wall at the dealership. The latter may be true, but because the contract does not include any such nonsense, they are clearly exploiting peoples gullibility and good-nature to extort money from them. Two morals here: read your contract before you sign, and DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY AT MOMENTUM TOYOTA. A stain on the generally good Toyota name. Such a shame.

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Olivia Rocha

I had the worst experience with this dealership. Lets start with the big issue at hand. I bought a used car in the middle of April and my first car payment was due May 30th. I was asked to come into the dealership on May 15th to make my car payment. I did. Paid in cash. A little less then a month later I get a phone call that my payment is delinquent and it never got paid. THEY NEVER PAID MY CAR. the money just sat there. When I went into the dealership on a Wednesday I was not given a straight answer as to what happened. I was told by the financial lady (I wont name names) that she had the next day off and she would let me know by Friday what happened. I took it upon myself to find someone who could help sooner than that. I get the answers that I was looking for and they dropped the ball. Now I would think they would be trying to do some serious cleanup here. But instead I was given empty promises of being reimbursed for my troubles. Not even an apology from the financial lady. I am so upset by this matter because SHE knew what my plan was and how important it was for me to not have any late payments. Her only response to that was that "it wouldnt show up as late on the credit report". Well it also wont show up that I paid it 15 days early either. My 2nd issue with this dealership ; the second I drove it off the lot the check tire pressure light came on. I turned around and had them check it, the man who sold me my car put air in the tire then gave me an excuse as to why it happened (car sat for too long) . A week later the light was back on. I had to go back in to have them look at (which I had to fight tooth and nail to have them check it out for free) I left it there for 3 days and was told it was fixed when I picked it up and was given another excuse (sometimes the heat can inflate/deflate tires) I was told that 3 of the tires were overflated and 1 was underflated. A week later the light came on again. Took it in once more and it finally seemed like I was getting somewhere because they said they would raise it up and check for any holes or leaks in the tire or for anything else that could be causing it. I picked up my car and was told the same thing 3 tires over inflated and 1 under inflated. Again within a week the light is back on. Save your time your money and sanity. Do not buy from this dealership.

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Don M.

Terrible experience. We were looking for a 2014 Toyota Camry LE and according to the three True Car dealership guaranteed prices, Momentum Toyota in Fairfield had the lowest price. We called first and then brought the True Car certificate to the dealership. They did not have the Camry we selected in stock; they only had one LE left, but a different color. Outside at the vehicle, the salesperson described a dealership MVP program and stated it was optional—the salesperson described the program as bumper-to-bumper coverage for dings, scratches, broken windows, etc—all items covered by our insurance. We went inside to go over the True Car certificate pricing and monthly payments. A sales manager returned with the price of the vehicle increased by almost $4,000 before applying the guaranteed savings listed on the True Car certificate. We explained that we did not want the $2,999 MVP program option (since we had insurance covering the same items). The other option was $995 for an alarm system—earlier in the day, we went to Vacaville Toyota and that alarm system only cost $399, and Vacaville Toyota gave us the option upfront of not having that alarm and removing the cost. The Momentum sales manager said that those were "dealership options" added on to all of "our vehicles." After the manager said those items could not be removed, I explained if they were options, I would have the ability to choose them or not, and that these were clearly dealership add-ons without an option of removing them. He said he could work with us on the price, but not eliminate them. He said I became agitated; but his face turned red, he began to stutter, became argumentative, and was very unprofessional. These mandatory "options" do not accurately reflect honest and fair pricing. This dealership does not represent Toyota in a favorable manner. I would not recommend purchasing a vehicle from this dealership.