Hoffman Toyota

Reviews 3

VI

Vince Vincent

“Driven by trust.” That is so much more than a slogan. This dealership builds trust and is absolutely the SOLE choice in the state of CT to purchase a vehicle. I began my search for a 4Runner TRD Pro in January. I went to Torrington Toyota, Wallingford Toyota, A-1 Toyota, Greentree Toyota, Litchfield Toyota, and Curry Toyota. EVERY other dealership told me that Toyota had stopped making TRD pros in the 4Runner but they had great deals on the lot. Each other dealership underrated my trade, played the cliché car dealership games and were horrible representatives of the Toyota brand. Enter—Stephanie Samuelson who works in the internet department of Hoffman Toyota. She reached out from my online inquiries and said she spoke to her manager James Fappiano and they could get me a TRD Pro 4 Runner but it would take 2-4 months. A-1 Toyota tried to convince me they were lying. Long story short…I called corporate Toyota and they wanted the names of dealerships lying and told me to go with the dealership saying I could get the truck. I called James Fappiano. Did I mention he is the sales manager? Hoffman doesn’t play the “manager is above you and behind closed doors” game. Right away, Jimmy was friendly, personable, diligent, and dedicated to making the deal work. They gave me an AMAZING deal on my trade (above all the other dealers), and he helped me add the accessories I would truly need rather than just push a sale and rack up money on my account. Julio Sosa became my sales rep. Julio is the man. He dealt with my endless nagging about when the truck would arrive with a smile. He even called me when he saw a TRD pro on the road to share they look amazing and to keep waiting it’s on the way. Jimmy and Julio were attentive to EVERY question and need along the way. Delivery day arrived! Stephanie wrote a sweet e-mail to congratulate me. Julio was there to greet me as I walked in. Jimmy was caring and attentive to every need. Jamal Alkatib in finance had called the night before and gave me confidence all would go smoothly, Mike Viara who handled the finance was fast, efficient, and no last minute games and BS everyone else does. It was a flawless experience. Julio went over everything in the vehicle with me, helped me set up various items I store in my truck, and had me leaving off that lot feeling as though I had made a new pal. As for the other sales reps…they were all friendly, cordial, speaking with me, one gave me a cap for my tow hitch on the 4Runner, they wanted to make it clear—you’re part of a crew at Hoffman. I now get why they say, “driven by trust,” this is the only dealership where you can let go and enjoy the process. You can ACTUALLY trust them to make everything work smoothly, effortlessly, and get the ride YOU desire….at a cost YOU can afford…with support YOU will cherish. Notice the theme? At Hoffman…it’s about YOU…not just them making another deal.

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Christopher Medeiros

My wife and I purchased a new Highlander and Tundra from Jose Rivera which we feel went well. That positive experience continued with the service department. Hoffman Toyota is an hour away from our home with closer dealerships available. From my wifes and mothers past negative experiences with their Rav4s at a local dealer, we decided to try Hoffman based on a recommendation. After the purchase, my Tundra had a slight interior rattle that I wanted to have looked at as I am very OCD with these types of things. I figured it would be a Warranty claim so why not try the local dealership again.... BIG mistake. They "couldnt duplicate" the issue, refused to go on a test drive with me so I can replicate it and even denied to look at videos I took of the issues. I called Jose and asked if he recommended working with anyone at Hoffman Service and he said Mike Fitzgerald was the guy to talk to and reached out to him to have Mike call me. I heard from Mike later that afternoon, whom was pleasant and listened to me vent about my past poor experience with the other dealer. He assured me I would not experience such behavior with Hoffman service and set me up with an appointment on a Thursday to bring my truck in and provide me with a loaner for as long as the repair would take. When I arrived Mike greeted me and introduced me to Nelson whom I went on a 20 min test drive with after he and Mike both reviewed my videos. While during the test drive the issue didnt occur (figures), Nelson still looked into it further, taking the truck on many test drives over the next 3-4 days. I heard from Mike on Monday and he stated Nelson believes he heard and resolved the rattle in the dash, but wanted to take the truck home that night to confirm the issue was resolved. The following morning Mike called me and said the truck is ready to be picked up and to stop by anytime. Tuesday afternoon I made the trip to Hoffman and Mike suggested I go for another ride with Nelson. We took the same 20 min. route and confirmed the rattle was indeed gone. Nelson explained along the way the amount of time and level of troubleshooting he spent on this issue. Having worked in automotive service in the past, I understand chasing down noises is not a fun job. Upon returning from the ride, Mike confirmed I was happy with results and assured me that I will always see the same level of service from them. I truly do believe that!

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Andrew Lavery

Hoffman Toyota LIED to me!! I brought my car to Hoffman to get serviced and while I was there they gave me a long list of repairs that I needed to get done. They were categorized by color with red be an urgent repair, down to green meaning have it on your radar but you dont need to take of it now. As I mentioned in my original review below one of the items they claimed I needed to get replaced was my serpentine belt for a cost of $208. They even put this repair under the red (urgent) category. About three days later I took my car to another local mechanic to get an emissions test and mentioned that I needed a serpentine, so please replace it. After the mechanic looked at my car he told me that I DID NOT need a new serpentine belt. Hoffman was going to charge me $208 for something that I DID NOT need! One could argue that maybe the technician at Hoffman was inexperienced and made a mistake. Diagnosing a serpentine belt is not hard. It is either cracking (and needs to be replaced) or it is not cracking. According to Hoffman it was cracking but I found out that was a lie, lucky for me it did not cost me $208. I will never return to Hoffman either for maintenance on my car or to buy a new car!! I spoke to an assistant service manager as they requested in their response to my original review. The manager I spoke to told me he stands behind his technician performance despite the second opinion I received from the other mechanic. PS my car is still running great! ORIGINAL REVIEW: Very expensive. I brought my car here to get serviced. Everyone I dealt with was very nice and the business seems well run. However the cost of repairs and maintenance for your car is outrages! The service technicians pointed out that I need a new cabin air filter and engine air filter and to replace them would have cost me $120!!! I went to Napa and bought both filters for $40 and put them in about 3 minutes. A serpentine belt would have cost me $208 to replace. A new belt at autozone cost less than $20!! I might buy a car there but I will never go back to get my car serviced.