[bpascani]

Same for my husband. We bought a Toyota just before we moved here, so under warranty. He went to Ocala first, then tried Leesburg, since it is closer. He never went back. He goes to Ocala now. I will be glad when it is out of warranty so he can start using Accutech Automotive, like I do!

[DAN48]

Are there ANY car dealers in Florida that offer fair deals??
My most recent experience in was a deal in which:
--The price of the new car was over MSRP
--The trade-in for my car was 15-20% below KBB or NADA
--The Documentation and License fees were six times the actual cost
--The quote for the new car included $3500 of "fluff" add-ons that were probably worth $500.

My opinion is local dealers would sell far more cars if they didn't treat seniors like idiots! Needless to say, this dealer lost a potential customer!

[bilcon]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Of course, there are always two sides to a story--and sometimes more than two. But when I see or hear Phillips Toyota brought up, I think back to a series of threads a few years ago that resulted in my not buying at Phillips Toyota--and know two others who also went elsewhere. Possibly more? Who knows?...

Buyer beware phillips toyota, leesburg, fl

Final score of ‘Beware of Phillips Toyota (Leesburg FL)’—Dealership 2, Consumers 0

Buyer Beware Phillips Toyota (Leesburg FL)—the end of the story!

I just bought a used car from Phillips Toyota for my granddaughter and I had no problems, good price and great sales experience. The salesman was Ashley Lane, and he was wonderful to deal with...no pressure, the price I was quoted was the price I paid. The 5 year old car is in excellent condition and looks like it was very well taken car of. When I picked it up, there was no hard sell for extended warrantee etc. I checked the prices of the same car with more mileage at other dealers and their prices were a few thousand more.

[Northerner52]

The worst is Jenkins, they have no soul

[Marathon Man]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Of course, there are always two sides to a story--and sometimes more than two. But when I see or hear Phillips Toyota brought up, I think back to a series of threads a few years ago that resulted in my not buying at Phillips Toyota--and know two others who also went elsewhere. Possibly more? Who knows?...

Buyer beware phillips toyota, leesburg, fl

Final score of ‘Beware of Phillips Toyota (Leesburg FL)’—Dealership 2, Consumers 0

Buyer Beware Phillips Toyota (Leesburg FL)—the end of the story!

Wow. Harboring such anger and feeling a need to inflict damage on a business is doing you much more harm that it is doing them. Move on already. Geez.

[Thaxxx]

Fact.......
If the dealer is willing to sell you a car at whatever price is agreed upon.
YOU OVER PAID!

[Ecuadog]

Originally Posted by DAN48

Are there ANY car dealers in Florida that offer fair deals??
My most recent experience in was a deal in which:
--The price of the new car was over MSRP
--The trade-in for my car was 15-20% below KBB or NADA
--The Documentation and License fees were six times the actual cost
--The quote for the new car included $3500 of "fluff" add-ons that were probably worth $500.

My opinion is local dealers would sell far more cars if they didn't treat seniors like idiots! Needless to say, this dealer lost a potential customer!

I think that you can get a fair deal from Lexus of Orlando and I’ll tell you why.

I’ve had the itch to buy a new vehicle, but I don’t really need one. So, I’ve had some time to do some research and shop around. In a vehicle, I want safety, reliability and comfort. I limited my search to either a Toyota or a Lexus. Rather than run all over, I started by contacting the nearest dealers via email. I went to each website and picked out a specific vehicle, making note of the VIN (vehicle identification number). Then I emailed the dealers with something like this:

“I am interested a 2021 Model-XYZ (VIN-xxxxxxxxxxxxx) that is listed on your website. Please email me with your best out-the-door price including a detailed breakdown of all the options, fees and taxes. A copy of the Monroney sticker and the invoice would be great too. I live in zip-code 32162 (Sumter County) and would probably transfer tags.”

Mostly, I got all kinds of gibberish. Taxable fees, non-taxable fees, Tires/Battery/MVWEA fees, document fees and so on. From my research, I knew what everything should have been.

The best response came from Lexus of Orlando. They wouldn’t email a quote, but, if I gave them my phone number, they would text me one. I didn’t want to give out my phone number, but I did. This was at the beginning of April and Lexus was offering a $2,500 cash rebate on the RX350 that gets applied to your vehicle as a down payment, without using Lexus financing.

They texted me dollar figures for MSRP, discount (about 8.84%), taxable amount, transfer tag, subtotal, rebate and out-the-door. The out-the-door price was about 93% of the MSRP. I plugged the figures into my spreadsheet and it all made sense. I was impressed enough to make an appointment to drive that specific vehicle. We went to Orlando and drove the RX350. I have never been treated better at a dealership. They were great. The RX350 was quiet and comfortable. Rear visibility and road feel were a bit lacking. Quality was apparent. Safety and reliability has been proven.

Then came the closer. He said that they would honor my texted quote, but we couldn’t agree on the trade-in allowance for my 2010 Scion xB. They were $1,500 under what I wanted. I didn’t buy the RX350. Not just because of the trade-in (they upped the trade-in offer another $1,000 after I walked), but mainly because I was uncomfortable with getting in and out of it. I’m tall and having to carefully and consciously duck because of the sloping roof was going to grow old fast.

Bottom line…
--The price of the new car was 8.84% less than the MSRP
--The trade-in for my car was 7% ($500) below KBB
--The dealer fees were $65
--The licensing fees were actual
--The quote for the new car included $0 of "fluff" add-ons

Now it is May and Lexus is now offering $2,000 cash rebate on the RX350 that gets applied to your vehicle as a down payment. They are also offering 0.9% APR financing for up to 60 months, without a cash rebate.

[Joe V.]

Originally Posted by Northerner52

The worst is Jenkins, they have no soul

A business exists to make a profit. It possess no soul. The dealer sells a car at the price you and the dealer agree upon. Paying too much for the car is your problem, no one else's.

[FLgirlNow]

I worked for CarMax as a Sales Consultant just this past year (selling cars was one of my weird bucket list items after I officially had retired from the corporate world). Moved to TV, so left CarMax and retired again.

Anyway, CarMax really is "no haggle" -- no surprises, no games, etc. The Sales Consultants are paid a flat commission regardless of what price car you choose. Most of the cars are 1 to 3 years old; however, there are quite a few that are basically new (less than 500 miles). The 8 weeks of training we received as Sales Consultants was literally all about providing iconic customer service ("iconic" is CarMax's goal and used constantly internally to describe the customer service expected).

The cars are all certified and come with CarMax's free 90 Day-Warranty (which is in addition to any remaining manufacturers warranty). In addition, they started the 30-day full money back guarantee return policy as of January 12th (previously it was 7 days). Again, no tricks, games or anything. You can return a car within 30 days and you will get all your money back including the recording fees (which CarMax will take the financial hit on). Needless to say, they don't expect nor did they receive many returns with the previous 7 days or the 30 days that went into effect.

CarMax also has MaxCare and it's a really exceptional ESP (extended service plan) that covers even more than most manufacturers warranties plus road side assistance (note: some manufacturer's warranties don't transfer the drivetrain warranty over to a new owner on a pre-owned car). And, again, the MaxCare ESP is straight forward and I saw it work for customers numerous times. You can go to CarMax, the Dealership or any licensed auto repair shop and it pays directly and not a reimbursement plan. If you sell your car before the ESP is up, you can also transfer it to the new owner for $50. Or, if a trade-in, you cancel it and get refunded whatever timeframe is remaining no matter how many times it was used.

Bottomline, if you thinking about a reliable vehicle and are considering pre-owned (they do sell new Toyota cars in Michigan & CA), check out CarMax. The one I was at was on Rinehart Road in Lake Mary/Sanford, but they just opened up a cross-functional in Ocala.

Last comment. You can have a car transferred to another location free of charge if the transfer range is 250 miles or less. For longer distance transfers, the charge depends on the distance (for example, $99 from Miami; $149 from Georgia or the Carolina's; $549 from Texas, etc. CA is more around $1,900).

All those questions you probably shouldn't answer at a dealership that negotiates price, at CarMax go ahead and answer them so your CarMax Sales Consultant can really help you. I made President's Club there in record time and I never sold a car to anyone; however, I did assist over 250 people find the vehicle they wanted. And the financing options at CarMax are really good -- better than even most of the credit unions -- with no tricks, games or anything else going on. CarMax also gives you 3 business days where you can switch out the financing with your own financing company for no cost. It's just a couple of papers that need to be signed to cancel the CarMax financing (or one of the other 7 lenders used for financing at CarMax).

Here's a BIG thing to notice. When you sit with a CarMax Sales Consultant to find a vehicle or find financing, you will notice that their computer monitor is FACING YOU so you can see exactly what's being done on your behalf to assist you in getting the best car for your personal needs. You will also see that there's some really amazing proprietary tools like the FBS (finance based shopping) tool that will show you cars that you are literally approved to purchase along with stipulations that may possibly be required (i.e., proof of income, proof of residence, car insurance, etc.). You may or may not have any stipulations as they're dependent on length of employment, down payment if any (you can do $0 down), length at residency, etc. Did I mention that -- CarMax financing does not require any down payment -- down payments always help, but it's not a requirement to get financing.

Okay, one more last thing. Trade-ins. CarMax will appraise your current vehicle at any location or you can also do it on-line with pictures, etc. The appraisal is also "no haggle". The appraised value can be used as a trade-in OR you can also just sell your car to CarMax without purchasing one from CarMax. Sometimes the appraised values are higher than KBB (Kelly Blue Book -- which is just more a suggestion since KBB doesn't actually buy anything and makes money off it's advertisers); sometimes they're the same and sometimes lower. Depends on the vehicle, condition, mileage and also the supply/demand in the area.

Take your insurance policy with you and your driver's license. You'll need those to test drive as Covid prevents the Sales Consultants from riding with you on the test drive. Or, just purchase it on-line and have it delivered to your home. Home delivery is available from the Sanford/Lake Mary location to The Villages. Yes, you still get to test drive it when it arrives and you still get the 30-day return policy.

Happy car shopping! (What you see on-line at CarMax.com is exactly what's in inventory on the lot -- there simply aren't any surprises and the only fee they charge that's not required by law (sales tax, license) is a $399 processing fee. That's it (you'll see signs all over the place at CarMax stating that fee along with the statement "not required by law").

Hope some find this info helpful. BTW, Ocala is cross-functional -- everyone there is paid a salary -- each person is trained to do all the different functions and they do different functions on different days -- so one day they may be prepped cars for inventory and the next day may be working as a Sales Consultant -- same salary, different duties. And, with that said, don't expect them to "sell" you a car based on an extensive knowledge of all it's different features. They will, however, assist you in finding the vehicle with the features YOU tell them you want. Do your research on what you want in a car before going to CarMax and you'll have a lot more fun buying a car than you may have had in the past. I certainly enjoyed the year I worked for them and loved working with so many of my customers.

Originally Posted by Quixote

Of course, there are always two sides to a story--and sometimes more than two. But when I see or hear Phillips Toyota brought up, I think back to a series of threads a few years ago that resulted in my not buying at Phillips Toyota--and know two others who also went elsewhere. Possibly more? Who knows?...

Buyer beware phillips toyota, leesburg, fl

Final score of ‘Beware of Phillips Toyota (Leesburg FL)’—Dealership 2, Consumers 0

Buyer Beware Phillips Toyota (Leesburg FL)—the end of the story!

Toyota dealerships generally have a bad reputation especially their service departments. But we were happy with the sales/service at Phillips for the minivan and two trucks we bought there. Maybe the management has changed for the worst since then. We switched to Ford Escapes which better meet our needs now.

[FenneyGuy]

Originally Posted by John41

Toyota dealerships generally have a bad reputation especially their service departments. But we were happy with the sales/service at Phillips for the minivan and two trucks we bought there. Maybe the management has changed for the worst since then. We switched to Ford Escapes which better meet our needs now.

I never have bought nor will I ever buy any Asian car. Like you, I own a 2019 Ford (Mustang). Perfect car and great performer. My other car is a 67 Chevelle SS396. How much do you think a 55 year old Asian car will be worth in 55 years? They'll all be scrap.

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by FenneyGuy

I never have bought nor will I ever buy any Asian car. Like you, I own a 2019 Ford (Mustang). Perfect car and great performer. My other car is a 67 Chevelle SS396. How much do you think a 55 year old Asian car will be worth in 55 years? They'll all be scrap.

According to this list many "Asian" cars are more American than your 2019 Ford Mustang:

Top cars with the most North American parts content:

1. Dodge Avenger - 83%
2. Chrysler 200 sedan - 81%
3. Toyota Camry - 80%
3. Toyota Avalon - 80%
3. Honda Accord - 80%
4. Chevrolet Impala - 77%
5. Cadillac DTS - 76%
5. Buick Lucerne - 76%
6. Chevrolet Malibu - 75%
6. Chevrolet Corvette - 75%
6. Lincoln Town Car - 75%
6. Acura TL - 75%
7. Dodge Caliber - 73%
7. Chrysler 300 - 73%
8. Dodge Charger - 70%
8. Dodge Challenger - 70%
8. Honda Civic - 70%
9. Chevrolet Camaro - 66%
10. Toyota Matrix - 65%
10. Cadillac STS - 65%
10. Cadillac CTS - 65%
10. Ford Taurus - 65%
10. Ford Mustang - 65%

[Thaxxx]

Originally Posted by FenneyGuy

I never have bought nor will I ever buy any Asian car. Like you, I own a 2019 Ford (Mustang). Perfect car and great performer. My other car is a 67 Chevelle SS396. How much do you think a 55 year old Asian car will be worth in 55 years? They'll all be scrap.

Here ya go

[PennBF]

When we were buying a new car I made a visit to Phillips. After waiting while Salesman had to see Manager he came back with an offer. I questioned the line item Dealer Prep or something to that effect. Told I could not buy a car in Florida that did not have that as an
added price. I said I knew there are dealer's who don't add that to the price. At which time we parted ways. I went to Ocala, bought a new car for cash and am satisfied. In essence the Dealership tired to mislead me and it would be stupid to buy a car from them when it is already based on misleading the purchaser.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by PennBF

When we were buying a new car I made a visit to Phillips. After waiting while Salesman had to see Manager he came back with an offer. I questioned the line item Dealer Prep or something to that effect. Told I could not buy a car in Florida that did not have that as an
added price. I said I knew there are dealer's who don't add that to the price. At which time we parted ways. I went to Ocala, bought a new car for cash and am satisfied. In essence the Dealership tired to mislead me and it would be stupid to buy a car from them when it is already based on misleading the purchaser.

Is their a totally honest dealership in this state?