Sam Mull gave me excellent customer service, giving me a call to confirm when the car would be ready after its service. He answered all my questions. They were faster than they estimated, so that was nice too.
Aaron Wimberly and the team were great to work with. They honored my appointment time and the car was finished as promised, on time and without an issues.
I do NOT like that this review is through Google; they have a poor reputation keeping email addresses confidential.
I love this dealership! I brought my Mirai in for some quick repairs and so they can get some requested data from it - as usual everyone was super helpful and made sure everything was taken care of. Brandon Donis was great in getting all the paperwork, taking my information and making sure all my questions were answered. Thank you Brandon. Steve Claude was awesome for taking such good care of my daisymobile. I even got a gift card for my trouble. Your service department is top notch! Thank you!!!
Aaron, a salesperson, was great! He gave me a great price that no other dealership in the LA area seemed willing to match. He was very helpful as well, and made the leasing process easier on me.
We bought a new car on Friday. Thank you, Beth, for making the whole process simple.
We have been customers at Toyota of Santa Monica for many years. We are very happy with Chris Rinker who works very hard to make sure we are pleased. In addition to being very professional, he also is very personable. We appreciate his attention to our car and making things work!
Very reliable service, kindness and efficiency, too.
I was helped by Hollie Kaminsky with a tail-lights problem and other than being incredibly sweet her info was reliable, helpful and quick!
I feel safe knowing I'm supported by such people!
I dealt with Sheri Atkins today! It was great. I made an appointment online last night, but it didn't show up on her computer, but she took me anyway. I just needed some servicing done to the car. They took the car, were friendly, were done on time and washed my car. I go here fairly frequently and it's conveniently located, has a free shuttle and does a good job. Sheri in particular was very helpful. She went out of her way to make sure that all of our contact information was correct in our account so we would have smoother sailing in the future. I didn't realize there was a problem and she went out of her way to fix it.
Eddie Sandoval was terrific polite, good-humored, straightforward, and helpful.
Just bought my second car from Toyota Santa Monica, updating my 2007 FJ Cruiser to a new 2014 model. Compared to other dealers I was negotiating with Patrick Quiroz was a joy. No pressure, no hassle and no crazy backwards and forwards bargaining. I was offered a great price and a fair trade-in right off the bat.
Thanks Patrick for making it easy. I'll be back to update again in about seven years! :-)
Hamid Zebehi did a fantastic job in helping us make the decision to lease a 2015 Prius plug in , and in crafting a deal that made sense for us. My wife and I never felt pressured and it always seemed as if he had our best interest at heart. He truly feels a part of our family now, we couldn't be happier with Hamid as our contact with Toyota.
My thanks to the entire team at Santa Monica Toyota, especially Nima Moldavia, for their professional and great service with my car buying experience.
Service was very polite, efficient and quick.
Thanks!
Tony, thank you for your patience and excellent service!!
Mayer Kohan was a great salesperson -- he made me comfortable about my purchase and was willing to negotiate with me. The whole staff was very friendly and knowledgable about their products. I would definitely recommend them to my friends and family.
Ray Ramirez was thorough and insightful. He did a great job.
Got my Mirai here, great deal considering the car I got. Thank you Hamid Zabehi and Hassan from finance for making the process painless, smooth and give me a good run down of all the offers available. Overall had a very pleasant experience :)
Mayer Kohan was great to work with. Nice, simple process. We found the right car for our family!
Great experience leasing my first Toyota from here. Ray Ramirez treated me well, and took the time to listen to my concerns and we worked out a deal that was affordable. I truly felt that everyone here cared about their customers and were not just trying to push whatever deal they could. I recommend Toyota SM to anyone, especially if you're a recent college graduate making your first purchase/signing first lease because a lot of places can and will just dismiss you, but Ray and the guys out here worked through the nitty gritty of the lease with me.
As I said before, great place, friendly staff, and an array of options.
Love my new Toyota.
This was our second time at Toyota Santa Monica./ Our 3rd Prius.
This time Anthony Doyle was our agent. Excellent service,very knowledgeable and he wanted to be sure that we understood all the details of our new car so that there wouldn't be any unpleasant surprises. He made a great effort in explaining the differences between the new car and the old one and educated us in the plug in technology excellent experience and really very efficient as well.
Theo Van de Sande & Michele Ohayon
Toyota of Santa Monica service department rocks! They were quick, efficient,and my cars runs great.
I was looking for a new car and thought I would test drive some Toyota's. The car was great but my salesman was THE WORST I HAVE EVER HAD! Do not buy a car from Joseph Bonaventura! I did a lot of research and I am a fairly car savvy person. He was blatantly lying about Toyota's in general as well as their competition. On top of that, he was insulting! He said "you obviously don't know anything about hybrids, so lets talk about something else." And after all that he wasn't willing to make any kind of deal on the car. I went to 7 different dealerships this week and this was by far the worst.
Lina Martin was the best! She exceeded my expectations as far as financing options and placing me in a new 2015 Prius. I now have my dream car!
Terrell Calton supervised the work done on my 2008 Prius on April 16. I was not an easy client because of my experience with an other situation I lost my sense of trust when expensive work was recommended. But Terrell not only convinced me of the importance of this work, he photographed what the mechanic had done so I could see for myself. Well, it was such a revelation that I am convinced that I an trust this man and Santa Monica Toyota with my service. I recommend Terrell Calton without reservation and know this pleasant, cheerful and knowledgeable man will take care to give you the best.
Sincerely, Gilda Frantz
The last few times I have taken my 2008 Prius in for service, I have asked for Hollie Kaminsky specifically. And I will continue to ask for Hollie's help. She is honest, honest, honest! I hate it when Service Advisors try to upsell me on things, always making it sound as though the car will fall apart soon if you don't have the extra service done. Hollie has never done that, and only suggested a few things as preventive maintenance, never pushing me beyond that. I cannot say how much I appreciate being treated as a reasonable car owner. Beyond that, Hollie is personable and a pleasure to work with. I cannot imagine anyone having anything but a topnotch experience with her.
Mr. Mark Ashtani provided the most stellar car buying experience in my lifetime. He is a professional of unmatched dedication to his profession and handled the entire transaction with complete grace and ease. Make no mistake - if you want to buy a car, Mark Ashtani is your guy!
Came back for a service after 3 years and was very impressed. I m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to car service but my rep, Caesar was friendly, communicative and came across as someone who has a large amount of integrity in how he operates.
I will return to Toyota Santa Monica thanks to Caesar and would hire him in a heartbeat.
Well done! I hope his manager sees this review and gives him a paid day off for serving the business so well ;)
Great place. Great service. Only bad thing was the coffee machine wasn't working. The process was quick and painless. Thanks Aaric, Hector, Hamid, Mayer and Hassan.
Anthony Doyle is amazing!! We have been loyal Prius drivers for over 7 years now so when we head into a dealership, we know exactly what we want. Anthony listened to us and had us out of there with a brand new lease in under 4 hours...I think it's a record! He gave us an incredible deal and was so thorough in explaining everything. And once all of the paperwork was signed and the deal was done, Anthony sat with me in my new car and made sure I knew how to use very single feature. Overall the experience was painless, pleasant, and we walked away smiling! Thanks Anthony!!! We will definitely be back!
These guys are too good in terms of sales and service.. :)
Bought car from: Mark Ashtini
First service: Veronica
Both of them were extremely helpful. :)
My experience of stopping in at Toyota Scion S. M. was better than expected because of being helped by , Francesco Fregola. My cousin and I were headed to a different dealer when he suggested stopping just to see what they had at this closer dealer. We were wandering around, looking at new RAV4 Hybrids when we were approached by Francesco. His manner was so friendly, not pushy like some car sales people can be, and he easily answered all of our questions. We went for a test drive and never made it to the other dealer!
They didn't have color/model combo I wanted so he and his manager found it .The car arrived the next morning and by the next day I purchased my new car. A pleasant and easy transaction, the easiest car purchase I've ever made! Thank you Francesco!
I was going to add a new review but just saw that this one did not get posted! So here's an update:
I love my new Rav4. But after going out of town for a few weeks, I returned and in new lighting, noticed that the driver's inside door panel has about 4 med. deep scratches so I drove to the dealership to show them and see what they will do for me.
The manager was called out and offered to try to have someone try to buff them out if I would wait 20+ minutes. I said I didn't have that time at that moment so he took photos of the scratches to document that they were there, made notes and said I could bring the car back to take care of it when I had the time.
About 3 weeks later when I had the time, I returned and after a 1/2 hr. wait to be helped, I was told that no notes, no photos, no documentation at all of my having been there since buying the car had been made. They made me wait longer, then asked me to drive around to the front to have the salesman, Francesco, help me. After another wait, he came out with a big smile and handshake, looked at the door panel and said that I probably scratched it with my ring! I showed him that that was not possible.
Then he said that the manager as well as the financial guy I had seen when I bought the car, had been transferred and he was pretty sure that the new manager would not do anything for me. But he had my email and would let me know. (I never heard back from him)
I was so angry at having wasted at least an hour of my time, and realized that the policy of this dealership is to make sales and then not do anything to take care of their customers after the sale.
DO NOT BUY YOUR TOYOTA HERE!
Buying or leasing a new vehicle can be overwhelming. My lease on a 2011 Corolla was about to expire and I was shopping around for a new car. I visited other car dealers in the area, and did a little research before talking to a sales person at Toyota Santa Monica. Lina Martin was the first person that met me once I came in. I did not know her, but she was very nice and what I liked the most was the fact that she is not the stereotype of a car sales person. Lina Martin and Mark Johnson (General Sales Manager) were able to help me finalize the deal with a reasonable lease rate (better than the other car dealers in town). Thank you guys!
I serviced my new car here for 2 years and didn't have good experience, just had to use them since they were close and I though they will do their job correctly.
1. One time they forgot to stamp the car maintenance booklet and after 6 month they did the same maintenance since the booklet was not marked.
2. They seem to be too busy to recommend repairing breaks that make squeakiness noise. I had to deal with that for 6 month.
3. They charged me 140$ for their recommended alignment which my new dealership (northridge) is offering for free!!
Just stay away from this busy overrated service center.
I have always had positive experiences getting my car serviced at Toyota. But Joseph Hernandez made it the best and quickest ever. He was very attentive and efficient.
Smooth drop off and pick up.. All issues taken care of + a clean ride!! Thanks again Joanna Morgan, see you soon :).
If you're ever looking for a quality car and great customer service Toyota of Santa Monica is the place you're looking for kevin is a excellent salesman he Was very knowledgeable about the car and was over all a pleasant person he made us want the car even more. Then Gene came over from financing introduced himself and thanked us for coming all the way from Carson that alone was great he was fast And efficient with our paperwork and had Us out of there in two hours that's amazing I've Bought many cars over the years and by far this has been the best experience as well as the fastest experience that I've ever had and I want to thank Kevin and Gene for the great customer service
thank you
Mahogany p
Great dealership, service and price. Def recommended
Thank you Jose Alonso of Toyota Santa Monica for your guidance and responsiveness in helping me select the Toyota Rav4! You were a pleasure to work with.
Their dedication is evident. I was not sure this was going to work out but, WOW, they all, General Manager, Aaron Youn, The FInance Director, ALL of them and Toyota, went above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. They are there to HELP YOU! And that is what they did. They helped me!
I had a wonderful experience at Toyota Santa Monica. I leased my very first car with the help of Mark Astini, who assisted me in the whole process! He helped me pick the best car for me, let me test drive as many vehicles as I wanted and shared what the best deal would be. He helped me realize that I could get more of a deal and a rebate being that I am a recent college graduate. He was very patient and communicative and I appreciate his energy to help me find the right car. I couldn't be happier with my new Prius C!!!!
I took my FJ Cruiser in to Toyota Santa Monica with a burned out tail light bulb, they got me in and out in 20 minutes, no hassles and big smiles. They will be my dealer ship forever and Gary Benson is my guy, you got to go see him.
I just bought a car tonight, Kevin and Bijan were awesome.
Joanna Tsymbaliuk was the friendliest most helpful and efficient
Service Manager I ever experienced at any Toyota service plant..
Thank you
H.Y.
Every one at Toyota Santa Monica is super friendly and attentive.
Chris Rinker is the best especially!
When you leave your car in his hands, you can be sure he will provide the best options, recommendations, care and attention!
He truly cares about giving you the best results!
Thanks Chris!!!
Antonella
I was very please with the service and they guys their were very friendly.
Dear Guillermo Galicia,
I'd like to thank you for the excellent service you provide me this week.
Sincerely,
Patricia Costa
My experience with Santa Monica Toyota and service rep Christopher Rinker was excellent. It was my first time using the maintenance package included in my monthly car payments and was relieved that it was easily displayed as Mr Rinker showed me. He quoted a wait time and it was exactly as he mentioned. Hopefully all future routine servicing will be the same.
Working with Mayer was so easy and the best car buying experience.
Eddie Sandoval treated me very well and made the service flow easily and without problems. Even though it was a very busy day Sandoval made the service experience smooth, quick, and painless which is exactly what I look for in these situations.
Last week I bought a Toyota Prius V from Lina Martin. I have bought from this dealer a few times before, finding them to be professional and reliable. Lina was a pleasure to deal with from start to finish.
I only hope to love this Prius as much as my last Prius 3. It was a little smaller, but a super car. Of course, it is too soon to know.
Also, I highly recommend Richard Smith in the finance department. The after sale/ close of a car deal can often be the worst part of the experience, but Richard kept the process pleasant to the very end.
Ricardo Rodriguez was polite, knowledgeable and trustworthy. His directions were clear and he was punctual achieving a job of putting in leather seats well done.
R. Lackey
Terrible process and customer service. I call to make an appointment and then show up and they say it will take 4 hours to change my oil! If you are backed up, then don t make appointments!!
Oscar Romero was my service representative on May 12th. I've never been to Santa Monica Toyota before and it was a terrific first-time experience. He is a terrific service representative - police, knowledgeable, thorough and made sure I understood the process and recommendations. He's an asset to the company.
Terrell did a wonderful job of taking care of the Toyota that my children drive!
Mr. Ricardo Rodriguez in service department took care of me when i came on a busy saturday without an appt to help with my prius i just purchase. the knowledge he gave me was very helpful on understanding what my issue was on my car. i got a free alignment inspection n fix when i notice after purchasing the car it had a pull. i am very thankful to mr. park used car manager to give me that. i am a satisfied customer.
Had an amazing experience with Mayer in purchasing our new Prius. He was one of the first real honest and caring car sales person we had met and from the beginning he took us seriously and respected our time. He never pressured us and on several occasions helped us decide on a less expensive model, as the higher trim was not in our best interest. He made us feel like part of his family, as cheesy as that sounds. He is definitely the main reason why we bought at Santa Monica dealership and will recommend to our colleagues and friends. He is a true asset to your dealership. Also had a good experience with the sales manager and financial manager to complete our buying experience.
My experience was great all thanks to Juan Herrera. He was broke everything down so I could understand and was honest with what repairs were more urgent and important than others. He earned my trust and am thankful I got to work with him! Thank you, Juan!
We absolutely LOVE this dealership.
From the time, we bought it thru Eric Howard to the service we just received with Hollie Kaminsky, the service is impeccable.
Hollie went beyond her required service to assure we were well taken care of when I forgot to bring my paperwork with me.
We feel as though we are at a friendly "neighborhood" business where everyone is knows and is there for US.
Thank you to everyone from sales to service for your caring service.
(I know there are many "behind the scenes" mechanics and service people whom we never have contact with ...thank you for ALL you do!)
Trung Tran at Toyota Santa Monica, So great service. We love it. He is very kind and nice guy. help us to find a nice car. We satisfied. Thank you again. Hide
Patrick Quiroz was beyond helpful throughout my entire car buying process. I appreciated his straightforward, genuine approach. It didn't feel like your typical car salesman pitch. Glad I bought my car from Pat.
They lie to you to get you to buy unnecessary things
Love my 2010 Prius and have had great service at Toyota Santa Monica. Joanna Morgan is my service rep and she is great. I highly recommend!
Sheri Atkins was professional, excellent customer service skills and I was in and out promptly. I wouldn't hesitate to go back and Toyota is lucky to have Sheri as an employee! Rick Powell
Great customer service and awesome shuttle service that we didn't have to wait along time for. Yesvin Castaneda from the service department was very helpful and kind.
I was looking for Prius but really no time to spend searching for best shop to buy. I was anticipated that it would take a couple of days or weeks to get and may have to spend additional time for negociations. However, all my concerns has gone after talking with my sales person Trung Tran!!! He was very trustworthy, helpful and quick. Even if I change my mind about couple of major things after making decision that needed more work for him, he kindly helped me much more than what I expected.
In general, Toyota Santa Monica had a smooth and a perfect system for customer and provides more than perfect service to me.
I decided to buy a car there in 30 minutes and am enjoying new car now.
I really appreciate Trung's help!!!
I cant believe it. My girl car battery died she did the jumpers in a wrong way then 2 fuses blowned. Shed towed to this dealer ship they diagnosed the car and asked for $800 to fix the car. I went and towed the car out and bought 2 fuses for $30 and changed them myself. Compare the $30 with $800 and be really careful when you deal with these people.
Be extremely careful, I not just overpaid by 1000$ the used toyota I did buy, I was forced to make repairs hundreds of dollars, not to have engine breakdown, the Mgr. Of the sales dept. Sold as is, could care less, not even a free oil change were offered for my trouble,
Lie to there teeth to make a sale, just polish the use car enough to make it of the lot!
If that was not enough finally after over a month of waiting, my suppose lic. Plates arrived in the mail, but the sales dept. renews the old plates, which do not exist anymore, had a paper dealer lic. In my window not actually plates! So know I have to go to the DMV spent time and money, fixing there incompetent mess up, again no-one cared...
You are better off, buying elsewhere!!!
The Champ
Anthony von Sager
I bought a car from this location a few months ago, during the buy everyone was nice and very helpful, post sale is a completely different story.I have had several problems with my contract all due to something not being processed or filed properly on their part, I also still haven't received my registration or license plates from the DMV because they haven't completed the process with them. Every time I try to contact them for help, I've contacted numerous people, they've ignored me and/not contacted me back and they try to push the blame onto someone else.
I don't recommend buying a care from these guys at all. Like I said they're all happy to help during the initial buy but after they're very unprofessional, I wouldn't count on them helping with anything.
This was our second car leased with Anthony (Tony) Doyle and it was as seamless as the first time. His patience, straight forwardness and willingness to make a deal is the reason we will make a 'habit' of using Tony for all our car needs. AND he took the time to make sure we understood all the new car's bells and whistles and changes. He is the BEST!!!!
Guillermo Galicia was very prompt, courteous, and knowledgeable in his servicing my car for 40,000 miles. And the car was ready within the time frame promised.
Had a good experience here. High fives to Justin Underwood.
For the last six years I have leased two different Prius' for my wife, so this was my third trip to Santa Monica Toyota for another one. The last salesperson that has helped me in the past was no longer working there, so I was a little skeptical of getting someone pushy. Luckily, I connected with Dan Burns and he was great to work with. He was not pushy and made my wife and I feel very comfortable and informed throughout the entire process. My wife got a new Prius and I have a great guy to work with there....
Leasing a vehicle from Santa Monica Toyota was easy, returning a previously leased vehicle was not. The dealership's failure to complete their paperwork in a timely manner caused endless and time consuming difficulties with the bank. Their failure to provide us with information caused a costly issue with the Department of Motor Vehicles. It appears that they want to make money leasing a car and that they don't care about receiving a returned leased vehicle and the ensuing paperwork.
They engage in bait and switch practices even though they know what they're doing is illegal. Stay away
great service, our car drives like new! Was fantastic working with Thomas Soveg and felt very taken care of. Thanks!
Mark Lewis has been my Toyota service advisor at Santa Monica Toyota. It speaks well for a dealer to have continuity with their employees. I know that when I bring in my car, I will have a fair and competent representative managing the repair. We're up to 100,000 miles with our Matrix.
Stay Away! Horrible Experience! Fake Advertising!
Go everywhere except this dealership. These guys are possibley scammers. Please don't trust them at all.They wasted my time. They gave me the price, then they changed the price on the next day, and they asked me to pay the down payment couple days in advance when still don't have the car.
Joanna Morgan was my service specialist. She is terrific a real pro and super nice as well. She took care of my problem in a timely manner and found me the best possible price.
I dropped my car off at 8:30 in the morning and Joanna personally gave me a ride to my appointment. My car was done in advance of the time she projected, plus, she gave me a few helpful tips about my Prius that I was not aware of.
I am very happy with my experience at Toyota Santa Monica and Joanna facilitated the process.
I will most definitely contact her directly the next time I need to visit my dealer.
Thanks - Roger Bellon
I always drive from Silver Lake to this Santa Monica Toyota location because the service is so efficient and reliable. They're quick to diagnose any problems, and you're never left waiting around aimlessly. It's a little gift to spend an hour or two on the beach while the car is getting worked on. Only in LA.
mark Ashitini was most helpful and a delight to work with!
I had leased a Corolla in 2011. My lease was to be up in September, 2014. I was really bringing it in that day to find out if the $1300 worth of scratches and dents was covered by my wear and tear policy. THEY WERE!! The good news was delivered to me by Kyle Stevens, the youngest and best salesman I've ever encountered. A very PRESENT young man. I said I was thinking I might trade in early for a Prius and right away he began helping me figure out what I wanted. I never felt pressure from him----only support. He arranged everything so I could pay what is possible for me to pay. I'm sending all my friends to Kyle Stevens. It really was a complete pleasure doing business with him. Couldn't believe his age!!! Amazing!! Thank you!!
Diana Loncar helped me go through every step to make sure I make the most use of all the functions for my new car. She is very kind and caring. I highly recommend Diana if you are thinking to get any Toyota car!
Very good service, the Toyota staff of Santa Monica very professional and above all very friendly, and have the cheapest prices. Thanks Toyota of Santa Monica.
Guillermo Galicia was service man. He was excellent serving me from the time I entered into the service center and listened to my issues with the car and make sure everything was taken cared on time. This is why I continue to buy Toyota cars. I love the cars- Corollas.. and the service . Thank you.
Special Thanks to Guillermo Galicia for the world class service with smile.
Erica Simons helped us and she made the experience easy and painless. She was professional and kept us informed all along the process.
Dear Toyota,
Mayer Kohan is a 10++. His number one objective is to deliver outstanding service to
the customer. He is the paradigm for what it means to be at the top of your game as a
service provider and the personification of the word salesman. Everyone can learn by his example. Thank you Mayer and Thank you Toyota!!
Sincerely Jeff B
Thomas Sovag and the entire team at SM Toyota did a great job for me and continue to keep my Prius in wonderful health. plus they are really good people over there. they'll even feed you breakfast
The service I received from Sam Mull was excellent.
He organize everything very fast. He was really nice with me and very professional. I'm using Toyota SM service for 15 years and for a very first time after paying the bill the car was waiting for me. Thank you Sam. Good job.
Guillermo Galicia was very kind and personable! My car came out fast and the waiting room was nice and quiet.
They run a tight ship here at Toyota Santa Monica. They are courteous and complete. However, I treat dealerships like doctors, I stay away as long as I can. That being said, if you have to go to a doctor, go to a good one. If you have to go to a dealership, go to Toyota Santa Monica.
toyotasantamonica.com
