I cannot begin to describe the disappointment surrounding the lease of the vehicle I currently have. My car needed a variety of repairs, so I decided to purchase a newer car. A friend of mine recommended a member of the team at the Toyota of Winter Park. Seeing as I had no car for a while I reached out. I was advised Marco would take great care of me as my friend's contact was out of the office for the next 2 days. Marco and I communicated for a couple of hours on December 9th; he sent a listing of vehicles and I advised the ones I was most interested in. When I noted I wanted a better price on the pre-owned vehicles he sent, the communication went dead. It is January 4th and I have yet to hear back from Marco, who was to take care of me, except for a generic "congratulations" email post lease. Instead, I received a call from Luis P, who advised me he was going to take “very good” care of me. Luis was very sweet, yet it was a challenge to understand him as English is not his primary language. I noted the communication with Marco and how I wanted a better price for the cars I had chosen. Luis then informed me this location does not negotiate prices on pre-owned vehicles (which is absurd!) and so I very clearly told him I did not want my credit pulled as I was going to shop around as well as communicate with my friend's contact at the location. He assured me my credit was not going to be pulled. The Credit Karma notification I received a short while after my call with Luis determined THAT was a lie. My credit was pulled... Livid at the blatant disrespect of my request, and the hard inquiry which negatively impacts my credit score, I reached out to my friend to see what could be done. I was advised to wait for her contact to return to work so he would handle it and provide the best solution to the scenario. Credit pulled and unable to get to another certified pre-owned dealership outside of Orlando (as my car was not functioning) I was stuck and put my trust in the contact. Arriving the morning of December 11 at the dealership, I was ready for this contact to make it right. After many hours in what could only be described as the most uncomfortable situation where men lingered about like vultures as my friend and I sat with her contact (it was quite disturbing, as if they had never seen somewhat attractive women before- I even commented as to why there was a lack of females on the sales floor), I was advised a lease on a new vehicle would be the only way to get me in a car within my budget. I had never leased a vehicle before, my knowledge on who a lease works is beyond limited. You would have thought a full explanation of how a lease works would be provided. Instead, I was told I can trade it in within 3 years or outright purchase it – both seemed viable. The “negative” aspects of a lease were not fully disclosed. I have purchased a Toyota in NYC in 2006 and an Audi in Orlando in 2016 – both experiences were absolutely amazing, especially Audi. I recall test driving the Audi and the sales rep explained every detail of how the car functioned. This was not the case with this situation. I then discussed the value of my trade as they have advertised “Get a Kelly Blue Book Instant Cash Offer” yet this was not the case. I got less than have the value… When I sat with the “finance guy”, Tony Geaga, well this is when the transaction took a turn that left a bad taste in my mouth. I was not made aware that a lease allows only for a certain number of miles per year. When I saw this on the document, I made a note stating it was not disclosed. Evidently, this set Tony off into a mood that turned him off to dealing with me; seems a woman who cares to review and read documents prior to signing are not his forte as his tone changed drastically and I became very uncomfortable in his presence. He had the rep come back to explain a few items and I was clear in stating the information on the miles should have been disclosed. Apparently, it was non-negotiable, and the miles did not matter if I were to trade the car early or purchase if when the lease was up. By this time, I was starving (the rep got food for my friend and himself yet I, the one getting a new car, was left with no food), fatigued, distressed (to say the least) and needed to get my son from aftercare on the other side of town before they closed. At this point I just wanted to get out of there, so I proceeded to E-sign the document, – but not without Tony making back-handed comments such as “well because you have to read every detail before you sign anything” – the sarcasm was not lost on me. I would give zero stars, yet my friend’s contact did take care of me, in some way – he did hook up a couple of things, Luis P’s kindness and patience in person was much appreciated and Sebastian was helpful when I had to return to the dealership with title documents. Overall, I am not pleased with the experience and it saddens me when the experience should have been pleasant.
7Sundaze
Jan 4, 2021
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