Toyota Of Santa Monica Reviews

I'm not writing this review to impress readers! I'm just relating how impressed I am with the service I receive from Joanna Morgan and the team over at Toyota of Santa Monica. We live in a time when money comes first and "oh by the way did you need some service?" I have 4 Toyota Prius and I wouldn't think of going anywhere else!!!

The service technicians and managers are truly HONEST and AMAZING!

Recently, I leased a prius with the assistance of Mayer Kohan. He was quite knowledgable and supportive giving me the information I needed and respecting what I didn't want/need to know. The environment is user friendly - not something one can say about most car dealerships. Highly recommend the team there.

I just recently purchased a new 2016 4Runner from Toyota Santa Monica. Dane Mcconnaughy assisted me in the process. It was the best experience I've ever had buying a new vehicle. There was no prolonged negotiating, agonizing price haggling, or having to settle on a vehicle that didn't have everything I was looking for. Dane was awesome. He was helpful throughout the whole process...getting a great deal, finding the exact 4Runner I wanted, ordering the extras I needed, and taking the time to walk me through my truck's features once it was delivered. I am happy to recommend Toyota Santa Monica and Dane Mcconnaughy.

Tom Morris

Came in to get a newer car. Couldn't be more happier. Alain Oliva gave me great and awesome service. Real friendly and professional attitude.

Christopher Rinker was incredibly helpful and very friendly. I came in for scheduled maintenance and he got me in, out and on with my life. Dealing with Toyota Santa Monica was really a pleasant experience and he made sure I felt comfortable and taken care of.

Very professional sales reps. Esther Rapoport was very helpful, timely, and thorough when we were negotiating.

Toyota sales management was the only dealer that had accepted my turvy trade in - I was still able to get a damn good deal and drive out w/ a new vehicle at a low rate.

Highly recommended.

I had a service appointment with Terrell Carlton. He was very friendly, and straightforward. He told me the wait would be about 2.5 hrs and offered me a shuttle. I barely had time to grab some food before he called me and told me my car was ready. No issues. Thanks!

Dino Zadeh was awesome, he follow up on everything. Showed professionalism and was very courteous in all that he did. I would completely recommend Dino and Santa Monica Toyota to all. Dino answered all my questions and was very patient with me. I rate him 100% or 5-Stars.

Ask for Joey, he's not too pushy, and gave me a discount without cramming unnecessary options down my throat!

Bought a used car that had problems the first day, but he immediately arranged for a loaner car and repair for me, for free!

Anthony Huerta was tremendous in helping get me get my new RAV-4. He made the entire process simple for me and let me test drive multiple cars in the process. I look forward to remaining a member of the Toyota family knowing that Anthony will be there to help answer my questions and provide some guidance.

My wife had a great experience at Toyota of Santa Monica. The service team always goes the extra mile to make sure her new Camry is in top condition and she feels like a valued customer.

Came to Toyota SM with a bit of a tough/stressful situation and was in need of a new car.... Anthony Huerta and team really stepped up and helped me out during a really stressful time. I now have a new car and I couldn't be more thankful/grateful for all of their help!!!!!!!!!!!

thomas soveg was very helpful in explaining issues to me.

Excellent experience with Krystal, Esther, and Iris. Very helpful and efficient.

As Bette Midler once said, "People are not the best because they work hard. They work hard because they are the best." And Toyota Santa Monica is the best, especially from my recent experience with Mr. Thomas Soveg as a new customer. I am so impressed and appreciated his amazing customer service!

Mark Lewis was an exceptional service advisor; he's definitely my favorite of the bunch.

Excellent service. Karl Kaminski was outstanding. Great communicator and everything was clear. The car wash (albeit complimentary) was not really very good as portions of the car were left unwashed.

Erica Simons was amazing. She was there when I pulled in and kept me updated on my car s progress. She explained everything to me in full detail which was great.

I just bought my first car ever from Toyota Santa Monica. Since it was my first car and since I am an international student I had a lot of questions on how everything works when getting a car in this country. I was very confused and stressed out until I walked in to their office one day and met Diana Loncar. She helped me with EVERYTHING. No matter how silly the question might have been I could always call her, any time. She patiently went thru everything with me multiple times and was there to guide me throughout the process. I am so very happy with my new car and I have Diana to thank for everything. I highly recommend Toyota Santa Monica and Diana Loncar for any future buyers. You will not be disappointed!

Excellent customer service. Highly recommend. Ricardo Rodriguez was highly professional and made my car leasing transaction go smoothly. Mayer Cohan, sales staff, was very helpful and knowledgable. Thank you!

Beware of this dealership!!!
Take your lawyer with you when you want to lease.
They are con artists. Be careful what do you sign.
Lies after Lies. No trustable at all. I leased so many cars from many dealership but Toyota was the worst one and Toyota finance is the worst.
I WILL NEVER BUY TOYOTA IN MY LIFE!!!

Took my car in to fulfill some outstanding recalls. Juan took me through everything that was going to be done, why it was necessary and how long it would take the technicians. Juan was a technician before this role and was extremely knowledgable, also very honest about an issue that may arise because of the recall work and even more issues they found in the process. Because they only use Toyota parts the costs can be up to 10x what an aftermarket part costs, and he let me know exactly what I needed to tell my trusted auto shop in order to get these issues fixed using aftermarket parts (lower quality/lifespan, but on an 11 year old car it might not make sense to pump $1,500 into a fix when my mechanic can get it done for $300). They know that their service center is going to be the best choice as far as knowledge and parts goes, and I appreciated the honesty as I try to milk the most lifespan out of my rav4 that's got 180k on the odo. Not going to lie, was very weary of bringing my car to Toyota because I know they'll charge way more than my mechanic, but had nothing but a great experience working with Juan and will definitely take my car back if a really specific issue to my car arises.

Diana Loncar, Toyota salesperson, is amazingly knowledgeable as well as helpful in every respect. She really listens to her customers and finds them the best deal possible. I can state from experience that she does not give up on trying to make a deal work!
With Diana's help, I acquired an excellent auto. This is the second Prius I have leased from Diana, and I recommend her highly.

Easy and Fast
David Gray was great to work with.

I went there to lease a car. They lured me over the phone by offering a reasonably low price but they changed their quote when I showed up for a test drive. I asked several times for the details of the lease contract they were offering me but the manager did not discuss them and only showed me the final price.

I consistently have a great experience at Toyota Santa Monica. Manny Fernandez always takes great care of my car. Thank you!

I have been going to this dealership ever since I moved to Santa Monica, and I have had nothing but excellent service.

I've purchased two vehicles from here and can day they are pretty price competitive and not full of pushy sales men. Don't be fooled into getting an extended warranty and get your oil changes elsewhere.

We have had Guillermo Galicia service both our Prius and CamryHB for at least two years.
Guillermo can be depended on to do what needs to be done whatever the issues may be, with a result that doesn't require coming back.
When he tells us everything has been taken care there is no question that its been done, including items we were not aware needed "fixing."
He's returned calls to answer questions etc.
If I were running Santa Monica I would put Guillermo Galicia under a life time contract.

Kevin Young provided excellence service when I brought my car in. He had my car serviced and ready to go in less than 2 hours.

I would like to thank the sales team for there hard work getting the vehicle that I wanted.
Special thank to David Gray / Chuck Ueno and the finical advice making this happen.

great work!

Eddie Sandoval is an absolute pleasure to work with. I had to come in earlier than my scheduled appointment and Eddie was able to work it out and still get my car back to me in a few hours. Much appreciated!

Yesterday I had my first service visit at Toyoyal Santa Monica. The representative that helped me is Christopher Rinker. Regarding the service, it was done in the time frame Christopher confirmed when I arrived. He also offered his help in clarifying some issues regarding my contract.

The team at Toyota of Santa Monica all helped create a better experience. Thank you Aaron DeSouza.

The better business bureau could easily audit their books to see that billed hours are at least 2-5X payroll hours on any given day.

Over the last 9 years I have taken my Prius here. This last time was the straw that broke the camel's back. I recently had a wire sensor issue with my brakes. I was initially told I needed an entirely new wiring harness requiring 4.5 hours of labor. I was shocked at the $4,000 estimate. When they could tell I was about to choose not to fix the annoying sensor light, they offered to solder the lose connection instead. It took them 20 minutes and I was still billed 4.5 hours.

From frequently not rotating tires to getting grease on my interior, I am the fool for always thinking they'll do better next time. After all, they always smile after they take your money and those service advisors deserve Emmys for their performances to act concerned.

Unfortunately for Toyota, the service experience will keep me away from buying a Toyota in the future. I just can't accept the over billing practice that has occurred consistently over the years.

Tony Doyle was awesome in showing me the models I was interested in and in comparing the 2017 and 2018 models, I drove both models for about 15 minutes each. After I decided what I wanted, he was direct about the costs. Tony took a great deal of time to show me how everything worked...all the electronics, connected my iphone to bluetooth, and made sure I understood the basics of Prius in vivo, while driving. The finance manager was also straight forward. Refreshing!

I just wanna say I like their service, it may not the fastest during high volume traffic but definetly feel confident with services provided.. they don't try to shove services your car don't need.. but make an appointment for speedy service, as they get busy and may take longer to service your vehicle.

Justin Underwood is the guy to talk to. He is very knowledgable about cars, friendly, and is not pushy at all. He just lays out the facts and lets you make the decision. The rest of the staff is great, too. Just get there early so you don't have a long wait once you decide to buy. I highly recommend this place.

They quoted me one price on the internet, but did not honor it.

This is a great place. I have used them since 1995 and have always felt they took care of my cars. Joanna and Marlon are some of the finest service tecs around. I highly recommend them to anyone.

I brought my 2010 Prius per a pre arranged appointment with Mark Lewis. for 7:30. Mark was prompt and promisd me the work woudl be performed within 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours.. I stayed in the waiting room and in an hour and a half my car was ready. There was a short delay in getting it so Mark himself went and retrieved my vehicle. Toyota SM should be glad to have such a fine professional in its employ. It is for that reason that I request and schedule my service appointmnets on the day or days Mark will be there.
Barry Rubin

I used to like this place but they are charging exorbitant prices on repair and maintenance services. Extorting money from loyal customers is I excusable and wrong

A complete scam watchout for CORY extreme buyer beware warning anything CORY has to say is a LIE. They'll state anything to get you down to the dealer then NOTHING is TRUE. Scammers from Finance to SEAN, General Manager never returns phone calls(10 over a week) to CORY money manager who makes up stuff, bait and switch and switch again puts the screws to you, WALK AWAY! Save your hard earned money.

Great experience at Toyota Santa Monica. I took my Sienna to service because one of doors didn't lock and Yesvin Castaneda assisted me very professional and courteous. Yesvin gave a me a good deal and during the time my vehicle was in service he was keep in contact let me know the status of my van. I really recommend Yesvin, if you have a problem with your vehicle go see him.

I've had issues since purchasing a Prius in April. At the time of purchase the windshield was cracked and I was given We Owe paperwork for a fix.

The night I purchased the car I was told I d receive a follow up call the next day however I did not. I have made many attempts to make an appointment to come in and get the windshield repaired. We started with phone calls however it was very difficult to connect with the sales person. I thought maybe I don t need to speak to sales so I called the service department. When I told the service department that we had We Owe paperwork for a windshield I was advised that I had to come in person and bring the paperwork so that the sales person could review it. I don t live in the area so I decided to send an email and attach the paperwork since it is so difficult to get anyone from sales on the phone. I did speak to Beth that evening and we made the appointment for today.

When I arrived today I was told that the windshield would be replaced and they d call me in a few days. I went back home and received a call advising that the service rep had spoken to Beth and now the We Owe bill will not be honored because the crack is larger.

I don t feel that that should be an issue because I tried to make contact with my sales rep for this repair however it is very apparent that calls are not returned unless it s regarding a sales transaction.

I called service back to ensure that at least the oil change I requested was being done but of course Beth failed to notify the department of the need for an oil change.

I have had issues hearing back from the finance team as well. Last month I received paperwork indicated that my extended warranty was null because the wrong code was used. We made several calls to Hassan in finance however our calls were not returned. We called Toyota Finance and they were very helpful and explained the situation however I never heard from Toyota Santa Monica on this issue.

Since Toyota Finance was so helpful I also mentioned that we have called the sales team regarding the broken keyfob they gave me with the car. I noticed tape on it the night I purchased it however I thought it was a wrapping, not taped up because it was broken. Since it s damaged the key is now missing. Toyota finance stated that I shouldn t have been given a broken key fob. I planned to mention this when I came in today however I have no faith that the sales team will be interested in servicing a customer based on my experiences.

The best Toyota service I have found. I live an hour away and still prefer to go to SANTA Monica!
Sam Mull is friendly, positive and efficient and easy to work with.

It was great working with Joanna Morgan. She got me in and out of the routine service in an hour or so. and Got great advise as well. thanks

Mayer Kohan was knowledgeable, attentive and patient will helping me select my new Toyota. I appreciate the service I received and highly recommend this dealership.

Had a very easy experience in the service department with Christopher Rinker. He made sure I was taken care of in an efficient manner!

Another great experience at Toyota Santa Monica! Great service. Car delivered on time. Aaron Wimberley was professional and efficient.

To whom it may concern,
A month ago I and my daughter came to Santa Monica Toyota dealer to test drive a few car and end up I traded my old RV4 to a new 2015 RV4 Limited. When we arrived, we were greeted by Carlos Rolon. He was so helpful, very patient and he always accommodating.
Therefore, I would like to rate him a five stars for customer service. I look forward to visiting the Toyota Santa Monica again soon.

I took my 2010 Prius in to have it checked out, the car wasn't starting right away after I pressed the Power button. Chris Rinker there helped me out and was able to clearly explain what was happening. He was also very thorough in describing what other service needed to be done and checked in with me through the process. A good guy to work with at Toyota Santa Monica!

I have been a Toyota Santa Monica customer for decades. My recent service was excellent as usual, good communication and notification, work completed on time as promised, routine service keeps my Tacoma running like new. Juan Herrera was a super service advisor, a pleasure working with him, couldn't hope for any better.

Buying a car is one of my least favorite things to do but dealing with Gabe Romero and Santa Monica Toyota has changed all that! He was patient and attentive to my concerns and took a real interest in making sure I was satisfied. I look forward to my next purchase with Gabe and Santa Monica Toyota!

This for the general manager Joel Magania of this store. What's the point of going to your store. Will get you the car! Will get you the deal . We dont want waste your time. All lies ask Ricki and Beth . FOR THE NEXT CUSTOMER YOU DONT NEED THIS. SHOP AROUND IS YOU MONEY AND TIME .

Christopher Rinker was a very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful service agent.
He promised my car would be ready at a certain time, and it was!
Highly recommended

Justin Underwood was extremely knowledgeable about the cars and technology in the vehicles. Justin was also very helpful when it came to pricing and I was in and out with a new vehicle in just a couple of hours. I would recommend Justin Underwood to anyone looking to buy a new Toyota.

Watch out, this dealership upsold Bryan Callen over $7000 in warranty fees.

The car was originally $17,000 but came up to $24,000

Very shady dealership. Stay away

I love my car and am happy with the service at Toyota Santa Monica! Esther was great - very patient and helpful!

It's always comforting to find good people and friendly faces locally. I'd been going to Santa Monica Toyota on and off over the years due to travel. But when I got a notice for a minor recall (that ended up not pertaining to my vehicle) I met Marlon Castillo. Their service had always been great, but the personal attention Marlon gave (over something that essentially doesn't make them money) turned me into a full time customer. I wouldn't trust anyone else with my vehicle now. A previously dreaded task like car service has become a pleasure, and a good visit with a good friend.

Highly recommended! Marlon Castillo's THE MAN!

Big Thank you to Sam Mull!!!

Since 7 years I go in Toyota Santa Monica for the maintenance of my Rav 4 Sport twice a year .
Lately aI started to hear a noise in the direction when turning the wheel , to avoid loosing time going in Santa Monica I have been at the autoshop in Malibu for a diagnosis that cost me 100 $ with the bad news that I would have to change the rack and pinions for $3000 part and labor .This was devastating to me and wanted to have a second opinion .I sent a message to Sam Mull That I see when I let my car for maintenance .He proposed to me to pass by for the technicien to listen to that noise and to have a double check on that issue and this as a courtesy , without charging me just for listening a noise ...2 hours after I had the very good news that the cost for the repair will be only $750 as in fact it was the shaft that was damaged and not the whole rack and pinions ...
For me it is clear now that I will send the time but will go in Santa Monica to have diagnosis done by Toyota !
Sam Mull is very courteous and taking really at heart my concerns making me feel very confident and having my car fix very fast .He also offered me a shuttle service to the promenade and I spent a very beautiful relaxing day.
I am very happy with that Toyota Santa Monica and will recommend it , great service!

Great experience purchasing a vehicle from this dealer! I would recommend Mr. David Gray to anyone. Thank you so much!

Joseph Hernandez was extremely helpful from the beginning of my visit, I would highly recommend him and all of his hard work. :)

Mr. Hamid Zabehi was very nice, professional and very helpful!
Also charming Mar Castro made my day with the way she handled the contract in a very direct and open manner. My overall experience with Toyota SM is very good.

Aaron Wimberly did a great job: courteous, knowledgeable, and fit perfectly within my time schedule constraints for the day. I had to walk around to the finance office in the front of the building, but that was not Aaron's fault, last year the finance employee forgot to upload onto the computer my service care agreement when I bought my Prius. In fact, Aaron is the one who pointed that out. So the finance office rectified the matter in about a 10 minutes and everything worked out perfectly after that. Thanks, Aaron!

Great service department everyone is friendly and helpful!

Once again,Thomas Soveg gave me outstanding service on my visit to your service facility yesterday. He was courteous and very efficient in handling the prescribed 25,000 mile service to my 2017 Sequoia. I brought my car in at 7:30am and was out by 8:45am without an appointment.

So I've been dealing with Tony for a few days over the phone, he disappeared then Danny was helped me and now chuck.. So I gave up, tony seemed pretty cool until he told me if you make so much money how come you don't have the down payment... Like really you don't know my situation, how about getting to know me first..my previous car PT cruze cost me so much money I paid over two thousand in repairs.. So I had no more savings and I submitted an app..and I was pre approved toni says we can work with you we can hold a check but then it turns into...Well the bank isn't blah blah..you need more money..I'm a first time buyer and toyota did not help me out..

These people really let Toyota's popularity get to their head and they forget that what makes the brand attractive to most people is affordability.

Short version: slow to show vehicles, lack of explanation/showcasing features, and quoting significantly higher for a lease than Toyota's website.

My friend was looking for an SUV to lease so we went here, as well as Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, and some other places. First thing is they seemed to not really be ready to show the cars to customers. They took way too long to get the keys to the car, didn't explain much about it or showcase anything well.

Anyway, Toyota's pricing in the end for the lease was ridiculously high, like double the rate of luxury vehicle brands that had a higher MSRP. The sales guy, after having a lot of trouble, explained that this is due to the way Toyota leases vehicles, which is basically lease to own. It seems like something they should mention since they do it differently versus every other car dealership/brand. How I understood it is that they do not do traditional leasing where you just lease the vehicle and that's it, take it or lease it. This isn't really a good deal because you basically purchase the vehicle at a higher than blue book value in the end after paying the same monthly payments as financing but whatever.

So a lot of that isn't the dealership's fault I assume, as it's just Toyota policies/pricing, but where I had a problem is the sales person seemed offended and was borderline rude in explaining all this. It could have been handled a lot better. We asked for a ballpark figure on the lease and the sales person insisted we go inside and he get us a formal quote. Not a single other dealership did this; they all gave ballpark figures. Then when we had the sticker shock his tone changed and he had zero interest or power in working out a deal and basically was shocked we walked out and didn't make a deal and when I asked why the price was so high, mentioned how there's such a high demand for Toyotas or something along the lines of that like it was just so obvious, and only after a few back and forths did he even attempt to explain the weird way they do leasing. And I don't even think that's correct.

On their website if the vehicle price increases by 14% by changing the trim, the cost of the lease increases by 40% so a lot of weird things going on in general that they definitely didn't explain at the dealership. If this is something they spent 30 seconds explaining instead of trying to say it's a great deal because of their purchasing option at the end of the lease, maybe they would have ended up with a sale.

Terrible experience
After waiting for 2 weeks for the right vehicle finally to arrive,. when the vehicle was at the dealership I got a phone call at noon on a Friday from the sales man Tony Doyle telling me about that the vehicle was already there, I told him that I will be getting off from work an hour hour earlier same day so I can drive 1.5 hours to go and pick up the car. Tony told me that I was going to get photos of the car as soon as he could take them, 5 hours passed and when I was about to leave from work to Santa Monica I called him to make sure that the car will be ready. but he never picked up the phone, another sales man answered only to inform me that the car I was been waiting on It was already sold I was amazed how careless they were about a client s time and the lack of seriousness they have dealing with their customers ,the games they play with you and how they preferred to sell their cars to the higher bidder for profit instead of honoring their word to a serious buyer. to this day I had never get a phone call from Tony or his management to apologize for what they did

I did a walk in on Saturday, and was helped right away by Thomas Soveg. Excellent service here, Thomas went through and made sure I understood the details of everything that was part of the service package, and answered all my questions. The time estimation he gave me was also spot on. During the wait, you can also go a few blocks down to the beach and wait for them to call.

Just leased a 2015 Prius from Toyota of Santa Monica. It was a pleasure to work with them on finding the best deal for me. Tony Doyle was very knowledgeable and flawlessly guided me through the process. I have, and will continue recommending them to anyone looking for a hassle free experience on finding their next car.

Brought my car in for an intermediate service at 7AM, with no appointment. Got it back, serviced and washed, by 9:30AM. Hollie Kaminsky was the rep and was clear, personable, and helpful. An excellent experience.

I love bringing my car to the Toyota in Santa Monica. I work 15 blocks away and they always get me there and back promptly. My coordinator Guillermo Galicia takes good care of me and makes me feel comfortable. I will continue to take my Prius there fo-eva!

It was a pleasure meeting Miss Martha Gudino . She greeted me with a big smile. and reassured me that my car will be taking care of in a timely manner. I was called by her with update on my car. She really made my day!

Friendly guys. I was a first time car buyer and they made it very easy on me. Didn't feel attacked or that I was being taken advantage of. Left with the car I wanted at a deal I was more then comfortable with. I delt with Justin, Aaron, Anthony, and Ricky. All guys were very nice and helpful.

Bought a Toyota-certified (used) Prius in June 2012; my first experience buying a car and it was generally very pleasant. Salesperson was Truman de la Cruz, who was very energetic and eager to help. The boss was Bob (unknown last name) with whom we eventually negotiated the price down. I learned to: (i) bring a smartphone to point out what the potentially better deals were; (ii) be willing to walk away; and (iii) demand a spare key! (They said they'd contact me once they had an extra but they haven't yet.)

I rarely write reviews, but I just adore Joanna Tsymbaliuk at Toyota Santa Monica. Getting one's car serviced is often a chore - but Joanna makes it so easy, and she is such a joy. I feel so lucky to be able to work with her!

This will now be my 4th time leasing with Santa Monica Toyota and as always it was a pleasant and smooth process. Hamid Zabehi was my sales rep and was very warm and friendly. He answered all of my questions and was very thorough in going over every detail of my car. Once again I was not disappointed. I recommend Santa Monica Toyota highly.
Alisha B

I arrived 1/2 late for my service appointment with no adverse reaction from Toyota. The work was done in less time than I was originally told, including a car wash.

Although Eddie Sandoval was scheduled to be my Service Advisor, he was busy upon my arrival so Aaron. who was extremely friendly and helpful, checked me in.

First time at the Toyota Santa Monica dealer and had a really great experience. The sales associate, Hamid Zabehi, was very friendly and patient.Absolutely no pressure to make the sale and helped me select the best model/package combination for my needs. And yes, he did not try to push the expensive models. I will certainly go back when it is time to get my next Toyota! Top quality service. I highly recommend!

The Toyota Santa Monica dealer was awesome, great experience friendliest if staff!! Nima Mousavi, sales and General Manager, Jake kalen made our experience simple, easy and fun, we walked away with a 2018 Toyota Camry LE and couldn t be happier!! Will definitely be going back when in need of another vehicle!! Thanks guys for everything!!

Fast service, good communication, and a shuttle service for when you drop off your car. I had a tune-up and recommended recall repair done here and they finished both on short notice.