Avoid Larry H Miller Toyota of Corona

Was ready to purchase a 4R TRD SPORT They had in transit. They weren't taking deposits but they informed me car would be coming in within the week and was on first come first serve basis. I called just about every day and finally got told by my rep that the car was being taken off the truck. Perfect, I made an appointment to come sign the papers and drive the car home. I got this confirmation at 12:30pm made an appointment to go in with my wife at 6:30pm.

At around 3:00pm I get a call that the car was no longer going to be honored at the price I agreed upon and was coming in to sign off for. They added $6,000-$8,000 of MISC parts (that they could not tell me over the phone) and told me to expect between a $6,000 - $8,000 of added accessory costs to the car I had an appointment made for to finalize in 3 hours time.

Keep in mind, this dealer says MSRP + 1,400 of added dealer accessories. This included an updated alarm system, tinted windows, and PPF on door handles (what a joke). They said the car didn't come with Tint when my rep sent me pictures of the car with Tint on it (15 minutes after it unloaded). I can deal with the $1,400 tint job but telling me that they will no longer sell me the car as is from the factory and will need to add thousands of dollars on parts... what a joke.

Sales Rep: Josh - not attentive and unhelpful. He said he would talk to management and let them know that we already had a deal in place. Ha, never heard from him again.

Manager: Iran - Told me that it was my loss and that he doesn't care about what was already agreed upon between myself and the sales rep.

Great business practice if you ask me.

 

And this is why there should be a rolling list of dealerships to avoid like the plague, and those ok to do business with.

 

Everything I've ever heard about a LHM dealer has been bad. Since they're from Utah we have them all over for a lot of brands. I avoid them unless absolutely necessary.

 

Email them a link to this thread so that they know how upset you are, they should be more professional than that.

I would also file an official complaint with the BBB. Its amazing how much of an impact that has

 

I let them know that I will be letting the Toyota Forums know my experiences.

Their response: The thoughts of the people on these Toyota's Forum Communities has no implications and impact to their dealership.

What a shame.

 

I would still file a complaint with the BBB and share that quote; I would also email that to Toyota.

 

Oh I will definitely be going the extra mile on this one. Thank you @mac1usa !

 

It's sad how many dealerships I hear about pulling this kind of crap.

In addition to the above suggestions, give them a bad Google review.

Sure, the forum people are a small percentage of customers. But, we talk to other people, and they talk to other people, etc.

I wouldn't want to give my business a bad reputation just to make some extra cash in the short term. What a shitty business practice.

 

How interesting. Last time I checked, public perception of a business, namely the number of potential customers who see poor PR material regarding that business is very much implicated and impactful if said business wishes to remain in business long term. There's a reason why I only go to two Toyota dealerships near me for parts, and they aren't the closest ones either.

But, what do I know... it's not like there aren't hundreds of other dealerships with the exact same product who would gladly screw another dealership over to make a sale... even in these wacky car buying times.

I'm not saying to do this, but if one were to get a window marker and write on the back of your new 4Runners tailgate window/quarter panel windows "I didn't buy this at [insert dealer name here]" and drive it around or park it on the lot for a few minutes, no one could blame you

#zerosympathyforstealerships

 

Added to the list of shame here:

https://www.4runners.com/threads/msrp-dealerships-list-them.20301/



Sounds like bad business and hope this brings other people awareness

 

If every thing works out, I plan to visit the multiple sales people who have dragged me along or dealerships I backed away from due to market adjustment prices. I won’t have any signage or anything, but a nice new 4Runner sitting on a dealerships lot will gather enough attention, especially if it’s parked near the road.

 

Years ago I bought an Accord; my local dealer wanted $3k more for the same vehicle I could drive 30 miles for and save $3k. I called the sales manager and said hey I would like to buy from your dealer since you are close to my home so I can come for service and hopefully establish a good rapport and buy more cars from you.

He told me no way sorry cannot sell at the lesser price and he thought I was bsing him about the price.

Two weeks later I pulled up with my girlfriend in my new car from the other dealer. I was walking around the lot and he came out and said hey are you here to buy that car finally. I said I need to show you somthing.....I walked him over to my new car and said see you thought I was bs ing you about the new car and you did not even want to budge on price. So I thought I would show you I was serious, I made a bit of a scene in front of other customers. My girl friend kept trying to get me to leave and was embarassed but it made me feel better. No bs here.

Subsequently I have purchased 5 cars from the other dealer and referred 7 others who bought cars at the other dealer. So being fair, up front and honest and not playing games cost that sales person a lot of commissions and the dealer a lot of lost sales.

The market will someday turnaround and people will remember such poor treatment.

 

This sounds like a great idea.

I really wish the car will sit there at the dealership collecting dust but knowing the market now, I know someone will get the car and walk away without any issues.

 

Ha hahaaa That is the exact same issue I had with the Larry H Miller Toyota of Murray Utah when I was all set to close a deal on a New Trd Pro Toyota Tacoma in 2018 except I saw it on the Truck and they told me that the "add on" was part of the package from Toyota and that they have to do them.... I called Bullshit and went somewhere else and got a better deal all the way around.

 

If you are going to visit the sales people specifically, you really should write on the windows with the marker. Dealership lots are full of nice new cars, you have to make it stand out.

Park it right in front of the show room windows where everyone trying to buy a car from the dealership at the moment can see. Maybe "accidentally" hit the panic button on the fob, let it sound for 30-60 sec. Might make the salespeople nervous, and help those looking to purchase make a wise decision/get a better deal.

 

I personally dealt with Larry h Miller corona and can vouch they are sleazy. Sad thing is they're in a working class city and prey on a lot of poor people there. Also if you buy from them they force a karr alarm GPS (look up why they're bad) and refuse to take it out. For all the socal people go to longo. Valley hi in Victorville used to be honest but they got greedy during covid so avoid them as well

 

A little off topic, can anyone pour some insight on the difference between a trail edition and trail SPECIAL edition?

 

I bought my 4Runner from that same dealership in August and actually it was the least painless dealership transaction I ever had. Sad and sorry that you went through all that. The salesman I dealt with admitted that the inventory shortage is making their management do things that the sales staff hate and makes them look bad…like additional mark-ups and what you went through. Sounds like maybe I got lucky. Don’t give up on your 4Runner quest!

 

Actually, one of the sales folks has been awesome, and I don’t blame them at all. The dealership wanted mark ups because people are paying, is what my understanding is.
It’s my more local dealership that I’m more frustrated with. They have had a deposit since August with the request of a spring delivery. They offered me stuff that didn’t even come close to my request, during mid winter at that. My latest emails have gone unanswered, so I’ll have to stop by and collect my deposit back.
If all works out, I just get a nice couple hour ride home and save money.

 

Jeez. A lot of shitty dealerships around. Anyone who goes out of town for the honest price should go park in front of these assholes dealerships with their sale price in the window. Once consumers realize that they control the market, prices will get back to normal.

 

I’m probably not supposed to say this but I heard from a bank rep at my dealership that all the LHM dealers in the area got bought out by a Canadian company… I feel like that’s just going to make their customer service get worse since they will lose the close connections dealers should have with their clients. Just my .02

 

They were sold but to an Atlanta based dealership group called Asbury. It was all over the news here when it was announced last year. Now perhaps they've sold again since the deal closed in December but that'd be a quick exit from something you just paid 3.2B dollars for.

 

My buddy used to be a service manager at a Ford dealer back in the 80s and 90s when quality really sucked.

He had photos and reminders all over that said things such as “It takes years to gain a customer and only minutes to lose one”. This is still true today. It’s common sense nobody wants to get screwed and what comes around goes around. Very simple.

We just have a crazy time where there is shortage of vehicles and people are willing to pay Absurd amounts of money for a 4R. Some day it will change.

 

PPF behind door handle is not a joke mister

 

Whittier Toyota tried to add 20k to a 4runner I was interested in. I told the sales guy to Phuck Off! Literally, Felt way better after.

 

You know they're pricks because they use their middle initial

Only pompous self righteous douchebags do that

 

Call Toyota Customer Experience @ 800-331-4331 to get best response. They WILL follow up with that dealership. I am not naming my dealership and was able to settle my issues without having to get TCE involved which is good because now I don't have to worry about somebody pizzing in my gas tank when I bring it in for service.

 

and even then the business gets to bad mouth you with lies in their reply. I can tell you about a RTT company that did just that.

 

You can file a complaint even if they are enrolled. Then if someone uses their site to look at a business or calls a flag comes up about a report that is either resolved or unresolved.

The BBB has helped me out a few times and its ashame more people do not use it more frequently.

 

Hmmm, back in 2019 I traveled almost 1000 miles to buy my 4Runner (sufficiently under MSRP) from a LHM dealer - back then it was all (email and phone) professional and when I got onsite the salesperson I worked with simply asked if I was interested in any of their standard upsell items and my simple no dropped the subject. Two and 1/2 years later sure changed a lot of things.

I will say, that even back then, they had a Taco with lots of bolt-on "off-road" upgrades (lift, wheels, aggressive looking tires, bed rack, fr & rr bumpers, etc...) on the showroom floor but that was waaay over priced for what they added even considering the $100+/hr shop rate plus the parts prices. When I asked about it, the salesperson simply stated that somebody always buys these dealer upgrades.

Still, to this day even after opting out of their email and text "services" I continue to get email spam and voicemails telling me I need to purchase their aftermarket warranty and "I'd better hurry before my factory warranty runs out".