Brandon Whitlock

Review of Panama City Toyota Scion

I spoke to a salesman over the phone on Monday abo...

I spoke to a salesman over the phone on Monday about a vehicle they had posted with only one picture. I asked the salesman if he could send me pictures which he did. I noticed a tear in the drivers seat leather but no other blimishes could be seen in the pictures.

I asked the salesman via text if the tear in the seat was the only cosmetic issue on the car? He responded with, "thats the only thing I saw!" So after I looked at the Carfax, which checked good, I set up an appointment to come see the car and explained to them that I am coming from a location which is an hour and a half away so I wanted to make sure the car was in good shape, they assured me it was.

The following day I took off work and made the trip to Panama City to come look at the vehicle. The salesman I had spoke to was off so I was shown the car by someone else. When I walk up to the car the front bumper was obviously damaged from a small accident on the center of the bumper and around the driver side fog light. The rear bumper also had damage around the center and passenger side below the tail light.

Since the vehicle drove great I decided that I could live with these issues until I could repair them and decided to see if we could make a deal.

After looking at my trade in, they came back with an offer $11,000 under trade in value and $14,000 under market. When I scoffed at the offer and started to leave they told me to hold on. I said ok and the came back with an offer just $3000 more than the previous offer. Their excuse was that they didnt know enough about the make and model of the car and that there wasn't a market for them where they were located.

I believe this to be completely false because if you leave thier dealership you will see between 5 and 10 of them before you hit Destin.

There was nothing wrong with my vehicle other than a tire pressure sensor warning. Which is clearly displayed and even tells you exactly which tire it is. To replace a tire pressure sensor would cost less than $200 for all four tires, let alone one. Everything else was great and with great mileage for the year model.

I also seemed to know more about the vehicle I was looking at and more about what vehicles they had on their lot.

The dealership itself is very nice, the people are polite, and they have cool vintage Toyota exhibits. But if you are trying to trade in a vehicle for one of their used cars, you are better off selling it yourself and bringing cash because they are going to low-ball you terribly. I also do not recommend traveling far distances unless there are very detailed pictures sent or posted.

I realize its my fault for not asking for more pictures but you don't expect someone to lie to you, maybe exagerate (car salesman) but a flat out lie is unappreciated.

I am a very reasonable person, I am willing to pay a little more for a Toyota despite blimishes because I know I am getting a quality vehicle and I know how well they hold their value and what people will pay for them, even well into the hundreds of thousands of miles. But I also know my vehicles and do my research prior to going to the dealership. To get such a horrible offer for a quality trade that would sell quickly was very insulting.

Will never attempt to do business with them again!