Shottenkirk Toyota San Antonio — Local services in San Antonio

Wow. What an experience to purchase a vehicle here.

Before going into the detail of what happened, just remember few things:

GOOGLE THE VIN# ON THE CONTRACT BEFORE SIGNING IT, MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING WHAT YOU WERE TOLD. I MEAN CHECK EVERYTHING THEY TOLD YOU.

NEVER TRUST A WORD FROM THEM. NEVER.

If you're EVER considering buying a vehicle here or even stepping into this place, please hear my story...

I came here trying to locate a brand new 2025 4Runner as a surprise for my girlfriend.

The sales rep I was dealing with were Anthony & Michleal.

During the negotiation (6 hours in 2 day span), we're negotiating for this specific 4Runner with Everest green. (TRD Off-Road Premium with i-Force Max)

After the first 5 hours and 50 minutes of back and forth, I was going to get this Everest green 4Runner.

But Michleal suddenly offered me another option: Another 4Runner with all the same spec, Hybrid, just in a different color (Heritage blue) with better pricing.

So I thought through about it, thinking that it was a good deal so I said let's go ahead with this blue one.

Little did I know what I got myself into..

Up until this point, I was thinking they're all nice people. Just doing their job and being patient along with my negotiation. Numbers were not where exactly what I wanted but I thought we met somewhere in the middle.

So when I signed the contract, I was under the impression that I'm getting a 2025 Toyota 4Runner Off-Road Premium i-Force Max. Which is what I've been discussing with Anthony & Michleal.

Everything seemed to be good when the car arrives. I was busy looking through all the add-ons and new features and missed the biggest problem - that it was not a hybrid.

I found out the day after I took it home and called them right away. Michleal double checked and admitted that this was not a hybrid and promised me that he would source a hybrid one for me. He told me to just drive this one for now until he can find a hybrid one.

At first I trusted him and waited.

For the first 2 weeks he would somewhat call me and give me "updates" that he's still looking for it. I haven't heard from him afterwards. 2 more weeks later (which is now a month after the vehicle pick up), I got a call from them that the plate is ready to pick up.

So I went to pick up the plate thinking that if I can at least to get an update for my situation.

Coincidentally that both Anthony & Michleal weren't there when I was there, but I was able to talk to the sales manager Patricio. I explained the situation, and all I wanted is to get what I was told.

He said he would go look into it and let me know. And even at this point, I still naively think that there is a chance that something might be done from the dealership...

What Shottenkirk did to me after definitely told me otherwise.

The next day after talking to Patricio, I got a call from Michleal (finally) to tell me that he would want to schedule an appointment at 9am last Saturday to go over the options.

My girlfriend and I arrived that day only knowing that Michleal was not even at the dealership and were thrown first with Anthony and all the other sales rep that were never involved into our deal.

The last person that came out was Jorge, he pretty much just shoved the paper with new payment plan for the hybrid (of course I'd have to pay more) and telling us that there would be no other way around it.

That's when we realized that they're absolutely not going to do anything to fix their mistake, and I'm going to be the victim of their dishonesty.

You probably think that I'm too naive to deal with dealership. But coming to a dealership with a scale as big as Toyota, I'd think that there will be certain level of honesty & integrity in their business.

That is definitely not the case here. I was told with the wrong information, which mislead me to sign this contract.

At first I thought it was an honest mistake, and they'll be owning it up like a grown man.

But it all turns out that once they mislead me into signing the contract, I was just a dust in their rear...

First google review, buckle up boys and girls. I want to start off by saying that technically nothing was done “wrong”. But stay with me. I purchased a Toyota Gold Certified 2023 Highlander from a different dealership 4 days ago. The vehicle has 32,000 miles and I purchased the Toyota Platinum protection and Prepaid Maintenance plans. I then discovered over the weekend that the front passenger door was not locking. Not a huge deal but certainly an issue since this vehicle is for my wife and two small children.

I decided to bring the vehicle to Shottenkirk Toyota since it is significantly closer to my home and I figured it would be a great opportunity to get the vehicle into the system. Since I purchased the maintenance plan, I had planned on bringing my vehicle here to be serviced for many years to come. I WILL NOT GIVE THIS PLACE MY BUSINESS AGAIN. They discovered the issue with the lock was a disconnected cable that they blamed on the previous dealership from some previous repairs. They stated that since the issue was due to a dealer error, not the manufacturer, the cost would be out of pocket.

You can imagine my frustration after purchasing a Gold Certified Toyota, Toyota Platinum Warranty, and Toyota Prepaid Maintenance plan, that I was charged to simply reconnect a cable. Again, I understand everyone has policies and procedures, but I thought this was a great opportunity for this dealership to earn my business as a happy customer returning for the rest of the life of this vehicle (hopefully over 100,000 miles). Call me old school but I want to have a positive experience with the businesses that I give my money to. The person at the register was very kind and my service advisor, Arthur, was also kind and understanding. Arthur stated the charge was out of his hands but stated his Service Manager, Pete Gascon, may be able to help me. He did not. Again, technically they performed a diagnostic on the vehicle and wanted to be paid. So they get two stars for I guess being able to identify the problem, fix it, and bill me. But if you are looking for a business that goes above and beyond to give you a positive experience, puts the customer first, and tries to earn your business for the long run, Shottenkirk Toyota is not that place. Pete’s best suggestion was to pay them, and then go to the dealership I purchased the vehicle from, blame them for the damages (based on another dealerships word) and beg for reimbursement.

I did in fact call them, and they immediately stated that was totally uncalled for from a Toyota dealership and that they would make it right. The sales guy even offered to pay for it himself because he didn’t feel that was right. That is the way I wanted to be treated. Shottenkirk Toyota did not do that today. But Cavender Toyota did. I live right down the street from Shottenkirk but I will now drive all the way across town to Cavender Toyota for all service and maintenance for the life of this Toyota and all subsequent vehicles.

If you made it to the end of this review, I again want to be clear that no errors were made by Shottenkirk Toyota. And they will happily service your vehicle and request payment. But they are not the type of place that makes you feel good about doing business with them. In a city with several other Toyota dealerships, I would recommend you find a place willing to go above and beyond for you. Maybe start at Cavender…. Ask for Dominic....

I am very upset with the new Toyota dealership. It used to be Alamo Toyota, but the name changed to Shottenkirk, along with its employees. My husband, mother, and I went to purchase a new vehicle this year. My mother has purchased over three Toyota vehicles from this dealership in the past, back when it was Alamo Toyota, and she has referred multiple family members there as well. Unfortunately, our recent experience has been far from satisfactory, and I am very disappointed.

To begin, after selecting the vehicle and sitting down to discuss numbers, the salesperson offered us a VIP package that the vehicle supposedly came with. We told him we had never seen a VIP package being added to a vehicle in the past. When we refused the package, they removed it but acted like they were doing us a favor by “getting us a good deal” for something we never wanted in the first place.

Once we finally agreed on the price, we moved to the finance department. The finance representative refused to work with us on the interest rate unless we purchased GAP insurance and an extended service agreement (other warranties). We told him we didn’t want any of those, but he insisted he couldn’t offer us a better rate. We left the dealership and found the same bank they were using but at a MUCH better rate on our own.

The salesperson then told us to return the next day because the vehicle still needed inspection, so we couldn’t take it home the same day. After signing the paperwork and taking photos with the car and bow, we noticed a small scratch on the vehicle. The manager came outside, apologized, and assured us the vehicle would be buffed and waxed at no cost since it was brand new (it still had plastic/film on it). They also promised us floor mats as compensation for the inconvenience and asked us to return that Friday.

Friday came, and nothing was ready. When I called the following week, we were told the mats still weren’t available. Finally, today, my mother went back to pick up the mats and have the car buffed and waxed as promised. Instead, she was told the mats were still not there, and they refused to buff and wax the car, claiming it could damage the vehicle. The salesperson then told me to “call it even” since the car already had tint—something that was part of the original deal and offered before we even noticed the scratch.

Adding to the chaos, I learned today that the manager who made those promises was fired. This entire experience has been frustrating and unacceptable. Can someone please assist my mother and ensure the dealership provides what was promised at the time of purchase? This is not the level of service we expect from Toyota.

This level of service is unacceptable, and it has left a lasting negative impression on my family. I strongly urge this dealership to prioritize customer satisfaction and honor the promises made during the sales process. I hope others have a better experience...