West Kendall Toyota

by Peter DeMaria on 03/23/2024

Writing to describe recent unfortunate experience at West Kendall Toyota that led to the return of a new vehicle and countless hours of wasted time. I was in the market for a new 4Runner and targeted Google advertising showed me a "new" 2023 4Runner TRD Pro available in last year's special color at this dealership. I called the dealership and was told that the vehicle was already purchased but in case the deal fell through, they would call. A week later, that is exactly what happened. I was told the original buyer was unhappy with the color and walked away. So I went in to purchase the car, assuming all was as advertised. Strangely, the "new" car had 440 miles on it. I was told the vehicle was used in shows but was "new." I loved the color and agreed to the purchase at MSRP, but when I inspected the car there was notable paint damage to multiple panels including scrapes and chips. I was told everything would come out with a buff and they would fix any damaged areas and have the car looking as it should. At this time, I paid for the vehicle with a 20% down payment, financed the remainder, set up insurance, and planned to retrieve the vehicle in a few weeks after I returned from vacation. When I went to take delivery of the vehicle, it was parked outside in the dark next to the dealership. I requested that the vehicle be brought inside to the light so we could adequately inspect the paint and in the light it was evident that the paint was not corrected. In fact, more paint chips were now visible that the car had a good clean. Rather than repainting the panels, it appeared that someone dabbed paint on each of the chipped areas. At this time, the sales manager advised that they did not want to spend the money actually repainting the damage and simply offered to unwind the sale. When I asked if there was another vehicle in another color (the special color was last year's model), the dealership advised that they had no ability to find another car. I was clearly upset. Within a few days, the sales manager called and said that his manager had in turn seen the vehicle, noted that the paint was unacceptable and communicated their plan to paint to vehicle properly. I advised that if the vehicle was repainted, I would still be interested if A) the paint was fixed properly and B) the dealership adjusted the price properly, requesting $1,000 for my hours of wasted time and the depreciation of the vehicle due to repainting. The dealer had no interest in selling the vehicle with the $1,000 requested adjustment. After many requests, I received a refunded check for my down payment and the loan was cancelled. I will say the both the car salesperson and sales manager were polite and professional. But delivering a car in the dark with paint damage is suspicious at a minimum. I wasted hours of my time with this dealership. It's just a car, not a big deal. But I feel it important to notify other potential buyers of this issue, particularly if someone is considering buying that particular vehicle with damaged paint that has been repaired. Whether or not it will be disclosed to a potential buyer is anyone's guess.

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by bijan41796 on 02/06/2017

My mother and sister went to purchase a used Scion FR-S. The internet sales staff was wonderful in setting up a test drive and in negotiating the purchase price over the phone the next day. However, the paperwork for the vehicle purchase had to be re-printed 4 times. The finance agent kept adding in extra items such as Gap insurance and extended warranties, without my mother consenting. Even after explaining that we did not want to pay for extras they were still slipped into the contract my mother was told to sign, she didn't until only the dealer fee, title and tag fees were all that was listed. To top it off, we were originally told the purchase would come with 4 complementary oil changes but, after declining the gap insurance and extended warranty (over a significant period of time and pressure to purchase them) we were told that we would not be getting the oil changes. I understand that selling items for $10, 20/ month is a sales tactic to increase dealer profit, but if a customer politely declines these extras that should not affect the purchase deal, and they should not be continually included in printed contracts without agreeing on it. There was no discussion of these extras prior to printing the first contract to be signed. It took 3 more prints to have everything removed. From my mom's point of view, this was an excellent example to my sister of how dealerships try to take advantage of women.

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by Brooklynjackk on 04/29/2015

I just want to say thank you to Kendall Toyota and AJ for all his help . From start to finish he helps to purchase the perfect car at a great price . Thank you AJ and Kendall Toyota for your help.

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by james267 on 02/28/2013

This was by far one of the best buying experiences that I have had for purchasing a vehicle. I went in not hopeful considering my last experience at a ford dealership here in Miami was terrible. I got in there are was able to be straightforward regarding what I was willing to pay for a truck (I had done my research regarding MSRP and invoice prices before going in as I would never pay full invoice let alone MSRP for a vehicle ever again) and how much I wanted for my trade in and they were able to accommodate me easily. Orlo P. was a great sales guy and respected my wants and needs to find me the truck I was wanting without playing any games. I would recommend this dealership to anyone who has done their homework.

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by toyo2012 on 02/25/2013

Purchasing my new 2012 Camry reminds me why I have not purchased a car in over twenty years. Never a good experience, once again confirmed by this purchase. The dealer was only interested in making the deal. Value added, in my opinion, was all but nonexistent. The quality, or lack, of the detail of the car, pre-delivery, left much to be desired, to the point where the car had to be returned to be re-detailed. The dealer did not even take the time to go over the operation of the vehicle, not that I needed that. Overall, like in my previous purchases, I felt so unsatisfied with the process. What I am saying here is my opinion, and the impression I had as I walked out of the sales floor and into my new car, and as it stands today.

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by GC305 on 01/03/2013

Some history first: Had been to this dealer a couple of months ago looking at possibly buying a new 2012 Camry LE for my wife. She had bought her two previous Camry LEs new from Homestead Toyota but we thought that we would give West Kendall Toyota a try because they are just around the corner from us. Spoke with a fellow there named Tomas, and after suffering through a lot of wasted time dancing around what we were actually asking for, we finally were given their best out the door price for the model we wanted. The price seemed a bit high for us so we decided to go elsewhere and check other options. He didn't want to let us go and asked if we might be interested in a certified used Camry, but at that point we were done and just wanted to leave. We actually ended up buying a used 2011 Camry LE from another dealer later that same week and remain quite satisfied with our purchase experience from them. Recently: I have recently been looking for a used Corolla for one of my sons and decided to use the internet so as to try and avoid the dancing that drives me out the door at most dealerships. I made several inquiries and received many responses to my request which was the same as sent to the various dealers as follows: How much for this car for cash (no financing required) including all fees, tax, title, transfer, new tag, yada yada yada with no surprises out the door ? Most of the responses neglected to answer my price request directly. They either wanted me to go to their dealership for a test drive or wanted my phone number and/or to call them directly. As previously stated, I'm fed up with the dancing and was not about to go anywhere for a test drive or to visit their dealership before I had a price and had an idea of what I was really looking at. However, I did get a response from Orlo at West Kendall Toyota that actually gave me a price that appeared reasonable for a used 2011 Corolla LE as listed. After a couple of emails I again went to West Kendall Toyota, met with Orlo, confirmed the price, confirmed the vehicle, then went for a test drive. I decided to purchase the car and we sat down to do business. Got everything on paper in front of me (including the total price as agreed upon) and signed the paper. Orlo asked me about payment and as previously agreed, I offered up to an instant $5,000.xx down payment by credit card and would bring a cashier's check for the balance the following day. Orlo went to run my credit card and took the paper work. Done deal, I thought, and was quite pleased that Orlo had been very straight forward and answered any questions that I had without all the dancing. Several minutes later he comes back and says they don't want to do the deal unless I pay another additional $600.xx fee. Well, I'm sure that you can imagine how I felt. Deceived might be a way to describe the feeling, to put it mildly. Actually, I can think of much more appropriate words to describe how I felt, but I'd best not put them into print here! I didn't know who or why they thought that they could squeeze more money out of me. I thought the deal was final. I guess they just didn't want this guy's cash. That was it for me. At this point I got up and left. I called the credit card folks when I got home to make sure that my card didn't get charged. Went back to another dealer in Homestead the following weekend and bought a similar Corolla. They actually stood by their total out the door price and didn't try to pull the same stunt as the folks at West Kendall Toyota! Apparently, my cash was good there and they seemed willing to earn my business. We now have in our family, a Corolla, an FJ Cruiser, 2 Camrys and a Scion xb all purchased from other dealers and three of these were bought new, but not for lack of trying to do business with West Kendall Toyota. This dealer (West Kendall Toyota) is not trustworthy. Give your hard earned dollars to a place that will honor their word and are willing to earn your business. Be forewarned!

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