Victory Toyota of San Bruno

I wanted to share my experience (today - 1/26/13) with this Toyota car dealership while it's fresh in my memory. Yesterday, I emailed them to ask about the availability of a new, white FJ cruiser I saw listed on their website. I found it through kbb.org and wanted to verify they still had it. Josh Coates (part of their internet sales team) responded and told me they had it and for me to come on in. I emailed with this car dealership a couple of more times to check on their financing process and a few particular details. Josh again responded and confirmed the details about financing I wanted to know and set an appointment with me to come in and go through the details of my trade in etc.

While we were driving to this Toyota dealership my wife was reading yelp reviews and asked if I had checked this place out on yelp. Admittedly, I had not (bad idea!). She mentioned reading about someone receiving a bait and switch offer among a few other unenticing remarks. I figured we were already almost there, might as well check it out and see if maybe we have a different experience at Melody Toyota.

As soon as we met with Josh he informed us the white FJ had already been sold 5 days ago (even though he emailed yesterday telling me they have it) and chalked it up to some bad internet mumbo jumbo with their website etc (I won't get into the tech details). He did want to show us a different FJ cruiser they had (that just happened to have more options and features we wanted and was $2k more than the white one I originally asked about). We checked it out and we liked it but, it was not the white one we were hoping for and more expensive than what we wanted to pay. He assured us they would give us a good deal because of the mix up with the white FJ cruiser.

Long story short, they tried to bait and switch with us as well. They asked a ridiculous amount for their car they wanted to sell us and would not budge from MSRP. They ran my credit report so they could talk "numbers" with me (that was my mistake for letting them run it before negotiating for purchase price) and they generally tried ALL the old school sales car techniques in the book to get us interested. Bottom line, we walked away because we knew their tactics (thank you internet and experience) and the good deal we were assured was no where in sight.

I would definitely not recommend Melody Toyota to anyone. There are so many more choices out there that you do not need to go through their BS to buy a car. They will take advantage of you at every point they can. Find another car dealership that is much more interested in working up a good all around deal for you, not just them.

A side note; we noticed when they pulled the FJ cruiser out from the show room floor (for a test drive) that there was a good 2 foot crease in the passenger side door. We got the story about how there's too many cars in their dealership, not enough space, the manager knew about it and was just waiting for someone to buy it before they fixed it. My question is, why wait to fix it? It's a brand new car. The only reason I could see is so they could hope the buyer wouldn't notice and when they drove it off the lot the dealership can say it wasn't their fault. This is just a lesson to remind everyone out there, thoroughly inspect the car you buy even if it is new! You never know what you might discover.

Smooth and simple. I had the pleasure of working through the car-buying process with Sam (sales) and Edwin (finance). Buying a new vehicle is never an easy experience or anything anyone looks forward to but dealing with Sam and Edwin made the experience all the smoother.

I knew exactly what I wanted and was upfront about it with Sam. Sam didn't waste any time trying to pitch me alternatives or anything unnecessary. After a few days, the color of the vehicle I wanted came in and after a little of back and forth, we struck a deal. The paperwork process with Edwin was smooth and painless. Fastest car buying experience I've ever had.

I look forward to purchasing future vehicles from Victory Toyota. Thanks again Sam and Edwin!

This review is for my sales person George Sims. I found a rare color used Lexus online. I put in an inquiry and George responded. We negotiated over the phone and he took my deposit. I drove all the way from SoCal to NorCal to purchase, no switch and bait, no added on fees, everything was charged according to what was promised. In and out in less than 1.5 hours. Overall a good experience.

One of the best car sales people I've worked with.

The 5 star rating is only pertaining to salesman Miguel.

While car shopping I visited multiple dealers, including multiple Toyota dealership in the Peninsula. I was hesitant in making an appt. here due to friends and family sharing their experiences with rude staff, but I am from San Bruno, and really wanted to shop local. I made a random appointment with this location and was paired with Bay. Once I informed Bay I was only there to look at cars that day, his efforts in our conversations shifted. He became uninterested and unwilling to answer my questions (short worded). Before leaving he introduced me to Supervisor Ray, whom showed me a Venza, all the meanwhile Bay walked away. After my experience with Bay I knew I did not want to work with him again, and planned to come back to finish looking at cars on my own.

I came back to the dealership with my Spanish-speaking mother and we approached the blessing of a salesman, Miguel Jimenez. He demonstrated so much patience, answered any question we had no matter how small, was culturally competent, supported with the language barrier, and remained professional before, during, and after sale. He was constantly making sure we were comfortable and was attentive to us before we ever shared we were there to buy two cars that weekend. He is definitely passionate about the work he does.

We were at the dealership two full days, and I again want to emphasize how patient Miguel was! He never lost his temper, never became defensive, nor took any of our questions personal. I say this because, unfortunately, during the sale two other male workers we worked with eventually expressed frustration and/or became rude any moment there was a disagreement. Miguel was extremely understanding of all our concerns and questions. He is the only reason my mother and I walked out with our new Venza and RAV4, so satisfied!! Miguel took the photo attached. We were also given two TVs for the purchase (I believe it was due to holiday).

P.S. Awkwardly enough, while I was well into working with Miguel, Bay saw me, then texted me asking if I asked for him when I came in. Through out the day it seemed like Bay was arguing to get of the sale, and it just felt so inappropriate and uncomfortable. It definitely felt as though he wants an easy sale, with no rapport building or effort. I would only recommend working with him if you already know the exact car you want. I really hope Miguel was compensated for his two full days worth of support because he seriously deserved it.

Emilio (sales) and Kevin (finance) at victory Toyota were very helpful in facilitating my car purchase. Originally, I intended to purchase the BZ4X because of the special lease deal advertised on the Toyota website. Emilio informed me that the deal (see attached) does not encompass taxes, fees, etc. -- so basically it's a deal for a stripped down BZ4X that doesn't exist. (Hence my 4-star rating.)

I appreciate that Emilio was communicative, reliable, and willing to answer all my questions. He helped facilitate the installment of leather seats, which I really wanted. Overall, it was a positive experience, and I'm very happy with my 2024 Corolla!

I sent an email to Allan Yee to schedule a service since my maintenance required message came up on my dashboard. Within a few minutes he responded with a date and time for my appointment. Allan remarkable customer service is second to none. Ever since I bought my car at Victory Toyota, Allan has been helping me with the maintenance and since friendly and positive attitude, and kindness has always been consistent. I'm completely impressed with his professionalism and customer service. He's always happy to help and to be of service and that is so rare these days. Victory Toyota is so blessed to have someone like Allan. He is truly an asset. Thank you so much, Allan!

HIDING MANDATORY $2,195 ADD-ON CHARGE BY BURYING IT IN THE FINE PRINT

My experience with Victory Toyota has convinced me never to trust a single Victory-chain auto seller again.

They were TYING the purchase of the car to the purchase of a GPS tracker with no usefulness for us, and upcharging a device that costs $135 on ebay to $2,195. This selling practice skirts the line of illegality.

We offered them a cash offer that was $300 above THEIR full asking price PLUS taxes and they declined.

Avoid at all costs.

We started off on a rocky start, we were super off during our initial discussions and I ended up making the drive to San Bruno on a Saturday with no deal in sight after just 30 min. This was after much discussion before even making the hr long drive up (i.e. after making the drive up, what i was told from a price perspective was significantly higher from what we previously discussed).

However, Sam and Jack really pulled through with me the second day (Sunday) non-stop negotiating on their end, and working a deal that worked for both of us. They went above and beyond and apologized for the initial inconvenience and covered by transportation cost back to San Bruno the second time to make things right.

I look forward to continue doing business with Sam and Jack going forward. Additionally, Kevin from Finance was great to work with making things simple and easy to understand to make the transaction as easy as possible. I hope to continue my business with all 3 going forward!

5 stars for my whole buying experience with Emilio. He was a pleasure to work with, easy to talk to, and responsive throughout the entire process. This was a refreshing change after my initial experience with Sam, who didn't seem to offer me much transparency or response when I began to ask questions about pricing before coming in. Emilio was able to negotiate pricing with me by phone, and then when I came in (the same day, because I was that serious about buying), we were able to negotiate pricing even more to a place where I felt comfortable. Yes, sales people are there to sell you things. If they're not upselling, they're really not doing their job so just come prepared and you'll be good to go.

I had to knock a couple stars down because of a couple factors:

1. The finance guy I was paired with was not personable at all. I didn't catch a name but he rushed me the whole time I was sitting with him, even though I was the one who had to wait on him to be available to process my paperwork. He literally handed me paper after paper to sign without bothering to provide any type of review or summary, so I took my time to review each page on my own. FYI you need to bring cash or a checkbook for your down payment as they have a $2500 limit they can charge on credit/debit. I was not aware of this before hand, so I ended up having to take a second trip down to the dealership the following day to pick up my car.

2. It's kinda janky compared to other dealerships. They don't offer snacks, but they do have tea, coffee, water. If you purchase a car, they don't have bows or signs or anything special for your new car purchase. They do have a big gong you can hit though.

3. I was not pleased at all with my initial experience with Sam, who is supposed to be an authorized dealer for Costco auto transactions. Other dealerships have no issues providing you with a price sheet as Costco members can get special pricing for vehicles, but Sam refused to send this to me unless I came to the dealership first. I live an hour away, so I felt this was helpful for me to review ahead of time so I could save us both the time and hassle but he was not cooperative about things at all. I had to escalate the issue several times, both through Costco auto as well as the dealership itself to even get paired with another sales associate. I honestly would not have even bothered to pursue this specific dealership but it's slim pickings out there for hybrids rn. Luckily I kept at it, because then I got paired with Emilio and found the perfect car for me :)

I can't say I'd be in a hurry to come back, as the location is just way too far from me, but if we're basing this upon the good parts of my experience here, I would not hesitate to return to buy again with Emilio.

Came here to buy a car and my wife's and my time were completely wasted.

My wife was interested in one particular Toyota model that is in EXTREMELY short supply. We called Victory and Bay answered. We asked if we could test drive the model, or at least be able to go inside the car and see if she likes the interior design. He checked with his manager and confirmed that there were 2 models of the one she was interested in at their showroom--one driven by the manager and a "track car" (used to rent out to customers). He said it would be no problem to check out the interior, and we might be able to test drive one of them.

We arrive 20 minutes later. We are told that the manager no longer wants us to go inside his car (much less test drive it) because there are personal items inside. And the track car cannot be found. What the HECK happened in the last 20 minutes?

Clearly we were lied to. I suspect they did this so that we would come to their dealership to give them the opportunity to convince us to buy another car model that they had in stock--but I am only guessing. Needless to say we will never be back. Clearly not a "Victory" for us...

My experience here at Victory Toyota has been nothing but great! Everyone here was very friendly, especially Emilio, the one who assisted me and helped me lease my first car: a 2024 Corolla. Not only was he informative, but he answered all the questions I had albeit it was a lot (haha sorry!). Thanks to Edwin for helping me with finance!

I'd also like to say a special thanks to Andrew from the service department for helping me out through this whole process. Nothing but 5 stars across the board for everyone.

Aside from the people, the dealership was presentable, clean, and it was pretty easy finding everything and everyone you needed.