To keep this review fair and honest, I will just provide a step by step walkthrough of my experience and then give some of my final thoughts at the end. Expecting our first child, my wife and I made the decision to purchase a crewmax Tundra for the extra cab space it offers. I essentially wanted an upgrade of my 2011 Tundra double cab. Since we were going to have this truck for a long time, I wanted to get exactly what I wanted. I became very partial to the silver color and decided upon a 2016 Silver Tundra Crewmax 4x4 with the TRD Off Road package. T&C Toyota was the only dealership that I could find that had this particular truck in stock. I made an online price inquiry and within 30 minutes I was contacted by Jim and he quoted me a price of $38, 791. The price was roughly $5000 less than MSRP. I told him I like the price and then he asked me when was a good time for me to come in and take a test drive. This was on a Saturday and I told him I have a 45 minute drive to the dealership and Sunday would be better. He said that would be fine and scheduled me for a "VIP" appointment at 11:00 Sunday morning. I received an email confirmation of the appointment and the email also stated that the vehicle will be parked out front waiting for me when I arrived. It also stated that an associate will do a walk around with me showing all the features and then take a test drive. The next morning I drove to the dealership. I arrived about 15 minutes early for my appointment and I was met by a gentleman named Nicky. He was very well spoken and nice. I told him I have an appointment at 11 and he confirmed it by looking it up on his iPad. However, the vehicle was not parked out front and it took him several minutes to find it. The vehicle was parked in the back but was obviously set aside for me because it had a hanger sign on the mirror that said "I am waiting for VIP Williams". I thought that was a nice personal touch. Nicky drove the vehicle up to the front. However, he did not go through the vehicle with me or offer a test drive. He immediately walked me over to my vehicle to do an appraisal. After he did the appraisal he directed me back into the show room and entered the appraisal into the iPad. After that, while waiting for the trade value to finish processing, he told me about their philosophy of selling a vehicle which is no commissioned sales staff and that buying a car should take the same amount of time as buying a pair of shoes. Trade value came back and they offered me $22,000 which was higher than I expected. Nicky then asked what method I was purchasing the new vehicle with, cash, check, or financing. I told him that I had secured financing through my bank already. He said that will be fine but asked what my interest rate was. I told him (I wish to keep that private) and he said that he could find me a lower interest rate. I inquired about that and he informed that Toyota Southeastern Finance was offering a much lower interest rate than my bank. The credit application was quick and easy and I was approved for the much lower interest rate. At this point, he asked if I wanted a warranty or any dealer options and I must note that I didn't feel pressured into any extras. It was a simple yes I want or no I don't want type of conversation. Before I started inquiring about all this, I did have to stop him and ask if I could actually look at the vehicle. He said of course and then asked if I would like him to go with me. I said sure. As I was looking at the truck, I noticed that the "Sonic Price" they had on the digital sign on the truck was $37,691. I pointed out to him the $1,100 price difference and he said that "well, that is the price you're going to pay". Of my own decision, I decided not to press for a test drive because I had done several before in the weeks leading up to me coming to this dealership. I told him let's do some paperwork and finish this up. We went back inside and finished the conversation about extras. I decided on a bumper to bumper warranty for 10 years/120,000 miles. I also inquired about side steps and he said that they will give me those at their own cost. Ultimately, It was refreshing because the interest rate and monthly payment was way lower than I was expecting to pay. I agreed to the terms and then he showed me pictures of side steps and asked me to choose which ones I wanted. I chose the chrome ones:) He said, let me take all this to my manager so he can review it and while that is happening, he will take my new truck to fuel it up and then do a delivery wash and detail. Thinking that this was going to be a quick process I ended up waiting 45 minutes when the manager came out to me and stated the price was actually my original quoted price but because of the inconvenience he was going to give $500 off the original price. I told them about my objections to the advertised price that was actually on the vehicle and the manager told me that they had made a mistake and put the wrong sign on the truck and that price was for a double cab. At that I point, I should have stuck to my guns and walked away, but I simply didn't want to go through the process again at another dealership and realistically a $600 price difference only meant my payments would increase about $5. I agreed to the new terms and was ready to get this done. Nicky then stated he was uncomfortable that I was uncomfortable and said give him a minute and walked back to the back. About 10 minutes later he returned with his manager and they ultimately honored the $37,691 price. Nicky returned and I signed all my paperwork. I do feel that this process should have been done somewhere more private, but in all that part took only 5 minutes. After that, he took me out to my new truck and switched the tags and then assisted me in pairing my phone to the truck and showing me how to use everything. Before I left, I noticed that I didn't have a radio antenna and Nicky acquired one for me. He then told me that they would call me later in the week when my side steps were in and I could come in to have them install them. Ultimately, I left the lot happy. Now, here are my thoughts. First, I like how friendly Nicky was but the VIP appointment was no different than if I had just entered off the street and did not play out as advertised. I like how you just deal with one person from start to finish, minus the hiccup with the sales manager. Finally, their "streamlined, in and out in under an hour" car buying process is still just as clunky and time consuming as a traditional dealership. I was still there for over 2 hours. Also, a recommendation to the dealership, if the price listed on the vehicle is your "Sonic" price, just honor that price even if by your own mistake you put the wrong sign on the vehicle. Nothing kills a deal's momemtum when you try to back track a mistake made on your part. Overall, I was happy with my experience and Sonic did very well hiring Nicky due to his customer advocacy and warm personality. I do recommend this dealership!
medic0248
Sep 14, 2016