Star Toyota of Bayside — Local services in New York

Everything you’re told will be empty promises. You test drive the car, drives fine but is barely clean with oily wax applied all over the hard plastics, tree sap and tar stuck to the roof, and tire pressure sensor showing an issue. They tell you the car wasn’t detailed but will be ready for delivery and tire sensor issue fixed.

You will be lured with everything you want to hear when it comes to your budget but when it comes down to the financial paperwork, the numbers won’t match what you told them. Anytime you ask for a total purchase price, the financial manager just tells you the monthly price and feigns fake calls if you persist about the same question and will tack on the compliments and what a great decision and low price you are getting.

You’ll be tacked on with warranties you didn’t ask for or want. Somehow the great reliable car you want to buy is now going to break down suddenly and you have to buy the warranty. They assure you the warranty covers everything with no issues.

But you’re done hunting for cars, tired of finding something right for you and you go with the purchase and pick up the car the next day. Later you notice, the car wasn’t cleaned, all the stains, dirt and grime is still there and the tire pressure light is still flashing.

You review the paperwork with someone whose been through the deceit and lies of these con artists and you realize that $15 monthly extra for the tire and wheel warranty and $50 monthly for the service warranty is an additional $4500 in principal balance (before interest). Your original budget of 12,000 is now $20,000.

You read the terms and conditions of the extended optional warranties, and everything covered excludes wear and tear or if it’s caused by the driver which is determined by them. So that pot hole that bent your rim not covered, tire leak from glass on the highway not covered, transmission making weird noises or issues with the struts not covered. There’s a $200 deductible on any claims made which is more than a price of a new tire or rim but they’ll only repair your existing one. In short, you paid them $4500 for nothing.

Good news, the paperwork says you can cancel the optional warranties. It just has to be done through the dealer.

You come back the next day to cancel those, they refuse. They want to redo the whole financial deal. Take it or leave it. You mention the terms and conditions, they say they are the law, they don’t care what any paperwork says. They will start yelling and slamming the table about how you don’t teach them their jobs. The financial manager will begin his personal attacks on your buddy to discredit anything he’s saying. Paperwork and the law means nothing to them.

You’re tired and need a reliable car. Despite the law and your legal rights which they don’t care about, you redo the financial agreement.

That $1500 trade in value for your old car turns to $500. The 4% interest rate is now 8%. However your original balance of $20,000 is now $13,000, magic right?

Extended warranties should never be tied in the purchase price of the car alone or the financial agreements but here it is. They break the law but know most people aren’t aware of it.

The tire sensor issue persists. It was pre existing when you bought the car, they said but didn’t fix it and refuse to fix it after you bought the car. The mandatory warranty provided by NY state for a used car doesn’t cover it either. Looks like another $300.

These people are scum. They are a living example of all the horror stories you hear and read about dealerships. They’ll do and say everything to get you to knock you up with a car and then drop you and the car like a new born baby once the car has been delivered.

The financial manager I dealt with was Ray.

Thankfully I recorded the whole incident so I can show people what this dealership really is, a pathetic predatory business that preys on any and all of a buyers vulnerabilities and...

BEWARE AND PLEAE READ : They Bait and Switch ! The customer service agents were nice but who knew they were a con artist, lier, corrupts. I am not naming them here personally but, definitely leaving them for KARMA to take care. I honestly do not think the owner had anything to do with how they bait and switched on me. or may be its their culture god knows. Be careful with the finance also because I am starting to think that they may be getting commission from certain banks and they force you to accept the bank they choose.

I am a very positive person, live and let others live. I"d in million years not lie to people even for a million dollars. I have never written reviews, and forget about bad ones. I felt that I must warn my fellow citizen so please read. I can make up the couple of thousand $$ they ripped me today but i'd have appreciated honestly. Therefore I am compelled to write this review so you know who they are. I had a terrible experience with them. They promised me to sell the car for X amount of $$ and that was including taxes. I had been texting with the customer service agent who gave me another $500 discount on the last offer I had so arrived to the dealership. At this point I cancelled a car with another Toyota dealer even though when they had offered me $1000 less. I had sold my existing car and I needed a car in a rush. The other dealer would get me a car in three weeks the earliest. Star Toyota did not know that when they gave me the final rate few days ago however when i arrived that morning I told them that I had sold the car for much better price than they had offered ($2000). Now that they knew my weakness that I needed the car and would buy the car no matter what. After confirming with Mr. W the final price that would include taxes+registration, I sat with the finance. I had signed few pages when I caught a huge cheating ( They had added taxes on top of what they promised it would be including the taxes) Note: The total amount I agreed including takes was more than their initial asking price. But they had additional taxes, bringing the amount to increase by 4K. Basically making me to pay more than their asking charge, plus taxed me again by fraud.

I hope you all stay careful of this bait and switch in the future, I am sure they have probably done same with many previous buyers. Specially if you are vulnerable group of population and they know your weaknesses. I had to buy a car today on 10/31/22. I walked out of there paying few extra K dollars telling myself that I will work few over times and make it up meanwhile this rich dealership owner and his lier scam artists make money from lying to poor people. I am glad I have learned to never trust car dealerships, and definitely these people at this location. Guys you rather take a rude customer service personnel than lier. PLEASE HAVE EVERYTHING IN WRITTEN EVER SINCE THE BEGENNING, they have no integrity, they are shameless. I am sure this dealer is going to put themselves in a huge legal trap with consumer affairs. at this point just wait and watch for KARMA to F...... them. Thanks for reading and...

Service was good with prompt assistance. I was here to purchase service, and it was uneventful. Great.

2-year follow-up review: I later found out they sold me a faulty warranty that excluded my own hybrid vehicle. I purchased a useless warranty from them for $3k. It's basically a fraud. Consumers be aware! After all this time, I am still fighting with them to re-issue me another warranty. Despite Toyota's involvement, they continue to ignore my multiple emails and phone calls!

Have been contacting them since March, and the responses I received from them have always been "please call us" or "bye. Will call you back" then disappeared.

Some tactics that their staff utilized to evade the responsibility?

Nick the sales manager emailed in March saying he would be happy to reissue after the pandemic. Pandemic over? He disappeared!

A staff aka Narcis emailed me and said he's happy to help if I call, but once I call, front desk said, "oh there is no such person working here." Next time I called, she said, "he's busy, and will call you back." Of course he never did.

Carmen called and left a voicemail saying she needed to talk to me about my complaints. When I called back, she denied knowing about any complaint. "What complaint? What voicemail? I never called any people today or, in fact, ANY day."

JT who sold me my warranty never responded or apologized, let alone talking about fixing the policy!

Ray from Sales called and asked how he could help. After I explained the situation, he turned to his manager at the back and was told that "there's more to it" and he couldn't just help me re-issue a new policy. I could literally hear them in the background saying, "there is no such thing as warranty for a hybrid car! She won't get it for her hybrid! Tell her you will call again. It won't happen!" I literally said back, "if there is no warranty for hybrid, why sold me one?" Roy had to come back and said, "I have to call you back." Of course he never did again!

Jackie was empathic when she called to try to resolve the problem. She admitted wrongdoing but also indicated that there wasn't much she could do, as the sales department had to re-issue the insurance and correct the error themselves, not her.

This dealer is a joke! Did I illustrate how most of their staff lied in my face and disappeared? This was beyond being...