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Old 10-06-2009, 02:00 PM
 
Location: Citrus Park, FL
101 posts, read 529,071 times
Reputation: 69

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My husband's car was demolished last week in an accident, and it's looking like the at-fault's insurance company is going to be cutting us a check for the vehicle's market value as opposed to shelling out for the car to be repaired....which means we are unfortunately in the market for a new (or newer used) vehicle.

We're looking for a commuter car--preferably an Asian import (Honda, Toyota, etc.)--and will more than likely try for something late model and used.


Does anyone have any recommendations as to a dealership that is fair to do business with? This nonsense has put us in a bind and I'm trying to avoid being screwed any further.

Thanks!
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Old 10-06-2009, 02:56 PM
 
180 posts, read 554,273 times
Reputation: 140
I just bought a car from CarMax a couple of weeks ago and found it to be a surprisingly good experience. The no haggle pricing was good and you can look up their entire inventory online.
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Old 10-06-2009, 05:37 PM
 
3 posts, read 14,199 times
Reputation: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karamia36 View Post
My husband's car was demolished last week in an accident, and it's looking like the at-fault's insurance company is going to be cutting us a check for the vehicle's market value as opposed to shelling out for the car to be repaired....which means we are unfortunately in the market for a new (or newer used) vehicle.

We're looking for a commuter car--preferably an Asian import (Honda, Toyota, etc.)--and will more than likely try for something late model and used.


Does anyone have any recommendations as to a dealership that is fair to do business with? This nonsense has put us in a bind and I'm trying to avoid being screwed any further.

Thanks!
I was recently looking for a Toyota myself and I was very put off by the major Toyota dealerships in Tampa. First, they soak you with a $699. dealer's fee + tags and taxes to the tune of about $1500. above the price of the car. I was actually looking for a good used Toyota with lower mileage and I found the experience horrible in dealing with them. I finally bought one in Sarasota, which was a much better experience.
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Old 10-06-2009, 05:49 PM
 
Location: East Tennessee
3,928 posts, read 11,570,798 times
Reputation: 5259
I had a similar experience. DH was driving my work van and was T-boned by a driver not paying attention. Thanks to some good internet research, I knew what I needed and how much I was willing to pay. I went to Stadium Toyota and Kuhn Honda. Both dealerships tried hard to find the right vehicle, but I bought the one from Kuhn as it had the lowest mileage and was newer (I can't recommend the sales rep). We have since bought a newer used Toyota truck from Stadium Toyota (Jim Aull was great).
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Old 10-07-2009, 06:06 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
2,637 posts, read 12,605,917 times
Reputation: 3630
I also bought my last car (new, though) in Sarasota (from Suncoast VW) and had a great experience there. We did the "haggling" via e-mail, and the price we were quoted was very fair, right in line with what Edmund's listed. The only fee added on was a very reasonable dealer fee, and they didn't inflate the cost of fees like title & registration. Previous experience with dealers in Tampa was annoying to say the least. If you are interested in VW or Audi, DM me and I will dig out the salesman's card. He is definitely my first choice when the time comes to buy my next vehicle.
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Old 10-07-2009, 10:23 AM
 
Location: Eastern time zone
4,469 posts, read 7,177,736 times
Reputation: 3499
Stay away from Friendly Kia!

One of their salesmen stalked me to another dealership and harrassed me (and ruined a sale) because I wasn't willing to buy a car from him. Despite the fact that I stated clearly my parameters and the sales manager at Kia wouldn't come down $500 to sell a brand new vehicle.

OTOH, the salesmen at Autoway Honda are pleasant and not psycho.
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Old 10-07-2009, 02:03 PM
 
Location: Tampa Bay`·.¸¸ ><((((º>.·´¯`·><((((º>
4,696 posts, read 7,869,606 times
Reputation: 13657
We were in the car buying experience very recently. Our experience with CarMax was that they don't have the haggle , BUT their cars are all OVERPRICED. So it was a waste of time with them.
Then we went to Stadium Toyota, (we were in the market for a new car). They made us stay in the office, and wait and wait...It seemed like hours to me. Then the price they gave us was far overpriced and we walked away.
Our best experience was with Autoway Lincoln in Gulf to Bay with Robert.DH thought he wanted a Honda Accord until he test drive the Mercury Millan. He liked it better than the Accord and we got a good deal from them .
I have seen others around us buy a car, mostly by looking at the web sites and dealing by email almost to the end. This seems to work if you can do it, because when you go physically to the dealer, you have a price and have done your homework. So you are not up to their little games...which, sad to say, many of them are STILL playing with the customers.
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Old 10-07-2009, 08:20 PM
 
17,815 posts, read 25,554,022 times
Reputation: 36267
Just an FYI. We had a family member who was tboned and they were cut a check to get a replacement car by the insurance company.

They decided to go with a used car and bought a 2008 Mercury,they were told one previous owner.

What they weren't told is the previous owner was Hertz.

They found out when they found Hertz information and map of Boston under the car seat. This was their third purchase with the same dealership. Previously they had purchased two new cars from this dealer.

Apparently in FL they don't have to disclose they are selling you a former rental car.

I thought that was a lousy thing to do especially to a repeat customer. While Hertz is known to maintain their vehicles, you have no idea who has driven the car,and most people don't care how they drive a rental.

This was another shocker to me as in most states they would have to release that information to you.
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Old 10-08-2009, 05:10 AM
 
Location: Riverview, FL
86 posts, read 236,495 times
Reputation: 44
Have had good experience with Stadium Toyota, worth checking out........
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