White River Toyota

Reviews 3

AN

Andre Souligny

Called WRT and told them wed like to come test a used car out they had listed online. They asked when wed be there so they could get it ready. When we arrived after driving one hour to get there, they explained the car had just been traded in and had been through the mechanical shop, but hadnt been cleaned, and that it was "disgusting" inside, but we could drive it. (This would have been good to know before we drove there, I say, but Im glad we went after all) We went for a drive in the car, the car was cosmetically dirty inside, and had a bad odor of, lets say, an old gym bag. It did not look like anything that could not be cleaned up, no damage, just smelly and full of debris. Clearly a bunch of kids were riding around in it, as evidenced by goldfish crackers in the seat covers, which thankfully it had! However the salesman described "an older couple" who traded it in....? The salesman, however, was polite and courteous and worked with us, assuring us that the car would be cleaned by "recon" and would be "like new". We had been looking for a car like this for a while, and know they are in short supply in Vermont, so we were not hesitant when they said we should close the deal today as they had had a few other calls about it already. We came prepared to trade our car in and make a deal or leave a deposit for something, it being Saturday afternoon. At first they said we could leave a deposit until it was cleaned. Then they changed their mind and said they would not hold any used cars. They told us they would do a quick clean up of the car that day so we could take it home, and trade in our used on the spot, then we could come back for a full deep cleaning they call "recon". We filled out the financing and agreed to the deal. The salesman we worked with had to leave for vacation (he actually let us know he would be leaving early when we first called), he left us in the hands of another nice fellow and we moved on to the paperwork department. The rep we worked with was polite and courteous. He went through all the paperwork, and did his spiel to sell us extras. We took the GAP and were on the fence about the undercoating. He continued to be able to make the undercoating less and less expensive, remarkably, getting it down to $450 from originally over $900. We agreed to get it. He handed us the CarFax among our paperwork. The whole transaction took well over 3 hours, including a lot of waiting around. As we drove off happily in our clean but very smelly new-used van, we looked at the CarFax to see that the undercoating product, which the salesman described as a "once- in the lifetime of the vehicle" product, had already been done...right there at WRT when the car was sold new three years earlier. As I communicated with this fellow later, he advised me that we could get our money back, but, we could not have the warranty on the original undercoating, because the previous owner did not provide the certificate to the dealership. Now wouldnt it seem to make sense that, if they did this undercoating at the dealer, they might easily be able to transfer that warranty to us? When I asked that in an email, I never received an answer. It took them about 10 days to mail us the $450 back. A slight setback. Finally, we brought the car back a few days later for the cleaning. They provided a loaner. They did a fantastic job cleaning the car inside and out, however, the bad smell remained. In fact, it did not really smell better at all...very strong gym bag smell. We were leaving on a trip, so couldnt leave the car longer at the dealer. I emailed with a Rep who assured me they would get the smell out, and fix a windshield molding that was peeling up, when we returned. We brought it back in, they kept it for 2 days, but they did not re-clean the car at all. They simply set a machine inside it overnight, which did nothing to improve the smell, and fixed the windshield molding. Havent heard from them since. All in all, disappointing follow through on the part of WRT.

AL

Alexis Sly

My brother and I are very happy with the experience we had today at White River Toyota. A few weeks back, we had been run in circles by a different dealership while he was trying to buy a used car. The salesmen that had "worked" with us talked like they were reading from the book of "What stereotypical car salespeople say 101". In the end, the deal fell through and we took a step back to reassess resources and priorities when it came to securing a vehicle for my brother. For several years, my brother had bought cheap used vehicles outright. The upside to this was no monthly car payment and lower cost for insurance. The downside was the need for multiple repairs each year and the lesser gas milage older cars tend to have, as well as the ever present risk of the car breaking down. In this way, he had gone through about four or five cars in the last 10 years. After considering buying a newer used vehicle in better condition, but shuddering at the thought of taking on significant debt for an item that will only depreciate in value, he decided to change tactics and try leasing a new vehicle for the first time. My brother asked around at his place of work, and heard good things about the local Toyota dealership. We walked into the dealership and let them know that he was looking to lease, likely a Yaris or a Corolla. In a very short time my brother was in a Corolla for a test drive. Straight forward, no hesitation or suggesting a different, more expensive, vehicle. During the test drive there was no pressure in the conversation, only direct answers to our questions concerning the aspects of the lease and ultimately the price of the lease. When the time came to talk about extra insurance during the financing stage, again there was no hard selling. The moment he heard that my brother was not sure about buying the vehicle at the end of the lease, the gentleman scratched out several policies immediately. And when my brother hesitated over the rise in the monthly cost of the lease for the policies he did want, again there was no hard sell or hesitation - with a stroke of the keys the prices for the each policy were reduced and the overall cost brought down to a more manageable level. We greatly appreciate the people of White River Toyota making this whole experience as smooth, simple and straightforward as they could. And now for the first time my brother is driving a new car, without the added baggage of heavy debt hanging off of it. My brother who has always hated to drive is now finding excuses to take the car out for a spin. I was certainly pleased enough with the experience to the point where I no longer dread having to look for a new vehicle for myself in the near future.

KA

Katherine Pond

My husband and I wanted to look at 2015 Corollas. Dave Bennett greeted us warmly and we told him we were interested in a Corolla sedan, preferred something other than black or white, automatic, with a sun roof if possible. He asked a few more questions and took us out into the cold right to red and green cars. Within a short time we decided on a green model. Off we went for a test drive. Dave took us on all types of roads so we could get a good feel for the acceleration and climbing ability of the car as well as the various methods, such as a special gear for descending a hill. He showed us all the aspects of the car and answered any questions we had. Once we returned we asked him to do up a quote on it and another model that did have a sun roof. He used no pressure or stereotypical hype or spiels --we had a thorough understanding of both vehicles and two fair deals from which to choose. We did choose the sunroof LE Eco --he had it prepped and set up time for us to have in depth instruction on the navigation and stereo systems. Weve never dealt with a salesperson as patient, and thorough--he listened to our needs and our questions and chose, without a parade of multiple models, the one that is absolutely right for us. Ask for Dave Bennett if you decide to look at Toyotas. Ryan Munn then took over the sale, since he is in charge of the paperwork. He, too, was friendly and knowledgeable and thorough in explaining all of the various service programs available and fairly quickly got the paperwork in order and completed. The manager introduced himself, thanked us for our purchase and assured us of the availability of staff should we have any problems or questions about our new car. All whom we came into contact with were sincere and helpful. We feel we made an excellent choice not only in auto but also in the dealership we chose.