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New FJ, despite Hayward Toyota's failure to commit...
No thanks to Hayward Toyota (CA), I've got my FJ after 3 months of waiting.
On April 24th, I put in an order w/ Philip Anderson of Hayward Toyota. For my trade in, I was given a quote by Will Amiri, who prices trade ins. I asked that Philip write it down after he assured me that the number would be honored when my FJ would arrive, some time in 5 to 8 weeks. I left them w/ a $500 deposit. The trade in value was very good, good enough that I could wait a few months.
After that visit, I received no updates/phone calls, despite the fact that Philip called me at least once a day before I gave a deposit. Over the course of 3 months, I got very non-committal responses on the status of my vehicle. On July 9, I got notice from Philip that my vehicle was at port, waiting on options to be installed. Delivery would be 2 weeks worst case. On July 19th, I got the call I'd been waiting months for, my vehicle was ready. I went in on July 20th, ready to trade in my car and drive my FJ home. After about 1.5 hours of filling paperwork and waiting, Philip returns saying that Will now is pricing my trade in at $2500 less than previously promised. (Philip did have record of my original number.) I lost my marbles, vented, and walked out the door. Shortly after, I left a message w/ AutoNation (Hayward's owner) about my issue. On July 17, I received a call from Lance, Hayward's GM. He was courteous, and promised to get back to me after he investigated the issue. He called back and admitted they made a mistake and quoted me MSRP for trade in. This is why I HATE dealing w/ car dealers. These are the types of dealers that keep the stereotype alive.
Yesterday I closed a deal for a much lower trade in but with much more courteous sales staff at Magnussen Toyota in Palo Alto. I was willing to take the hit vs Hayward because there was no way I was going to give them my business, even if it meant me losing some trade in value. I value service to the customer above all else.
Today I finally have my Sun Fusion FJ at a bit lower cost than my original order. First stop is to the tire shop to trade up for my 285 BFGs. Finally, I can join the club...
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