Richard Wilson

Review of Mike Erdman Toyota

I had two unfortunate buying experiences (in 2009 ...

I had two unfortunate buying experiences (in 2009 and 2010) with Mike Erdman Toyota, and I will never buy from them or take my car to their facility for service again.

The first buying experience left me dealing with a rude accountant. She had the audacity to tell me that I wasted her time when I said I needed time to think about the purchase after the final price was shown to me (it was significantly higher than I thought). Everything felt rushed; like she was forcing me to buy without thinking. I was completely dissatisfied with her customer service - to the point where I had to walk out on her the first time. Unfortunately, my brother was working there, and my sale was going to him. Apparently, she was also related to Mike Erdman, so my brother didn't want to say anything to his manager. So, I went back and said that I would complete my purchase if I no longer had to deal with the same accountant. They would not even give me this courtesy. Again, because I wanted to help my brother with a sale, I folded and went through with my purchase. To make matters worse, I couldn't even leave her a bad review on Toyota's survey, because my brother was advised that he would be penalized if I was dissatisfied with ANY of the experience. Not only is this unethical on Toyota's part, it completely negates the validity of their reviews. A member of one functional area shouldn't be penalized for the faults of a member in another functional area.

The second buying experience I had with Mike Erdman Toyota was during the "pedal recall." I decided to upgrade to a later model, because I was told that they would give me a great deal (due to the recall). After I got a quote from the salesman, I made some calls and found some lower prices for the same exact vehicle. The salesman literally called someone else over and laughed at this, saying that there was no way I found a lower price. Why didn't I just get up and leave? Because I was under pressure from the salesman, and I am not the best in these situations. In the end, the deal wasn't much of a deal at all. In fact, I still can't find what "deal" they cut me. It made sense while the salesman was making his pitch, but the numbers just don't add up to what he was selling me. I am a horrible negotiator, and I trusted that they were following through with what they said. It wasn't until I reviewed the paperwork with friends and family after the purchase that I realized that I made a poor decision to trust Mike Erdman's staff.

To top it all off, I got the car home and realized that whatever they used to clean the inside of the car left a greasy smear on the door. That, and there was a scratch on the front bumper. I took the car back and asked that they fixed the smear and scratch. They told me that the smear was nothing, and they didn't do anything about it. They just blamed me and said that I must have used a bad cleaner (I hadn't used anything; I JUST bought the car). They also told me that the scratch was minor. I didn't care. I bought a new car, and it needed to be new. I requested that they buff out the scratch and left my car with them (I also asked that they install some molding that protects against door dings (don't bother with these, they don't really help)). They installed the molding, but they never buffed out the scratch. I told them about this via e-mail and said that I wanted it fixed the next time I brought the car in. A couple service appointments later (with many e-mails in between), the scratch never got buffed out.

I have zero positive memories from my buying experiences at Mike Erdman Toyota. I will never buy from them again, I will never take my car to them for service, and I hope that this review helps caution others if they decide to make a purchase from Mike Erdman Toyota. I am not saying, "Do not buy from this place." I am just providing my review. You may have a better experience, but just be cautious.

Update: 6 years later, I haven't bought from Toyota again.