Austin area dealers
 

AutoNation in Austin. Complete and total bait and switch.
Agreed to a great price on a 2017 SR5 Premium 4WD, two rows, cross rack bars and running boards. The bid was actually for one with a third row, but they noted it would be $1,100 less without the third row. I emailed back to confirm and they did. When I went to sign the papers and put the deposit down, they showed me in the computer where they had found one and said it will be here in a week. They asked me to sign the bid sheet, which still had the price for the third row. He went to fix it and came back 30 minutes later saying there was a mistake and the original price was for a two-row. I went to the the sales manager. He tried to turn up the pressure a bit, but when I showed him the email trail, he softened and promised to see what he could do by stripping the paint protection and other profit drivers. I told him I expected him to honor the original deal. Several hours later he offers me $300 more than the original deal. I moved on.

Charles Maund: The other dealer in town, who told me I found my truck when I took AutoNation's original dealt to him, then beat their makeup deal by $50. So I jumped on it. (None of the vehicles are on the lot of course). Their communication while waiting for delivery wasn't great and I was sorely tempted to start looking again when they missed a deadline, but it worked out. It did take 4 hours picking up the car because they really wanted a piece of the financing. They matched my credit union rate and I let them have it. I'll go back to them.

Two weeks later, AutoNation calls, offers me the original deal ($250 less than Maund). Totally worth spending the extra $250.

Special notice to Jeff Hunter Toyota in Waco. Quickest responses, completely upfront. Matched the deal I eventually took. And anyone looking for an Off Road Premium, there's one on the lot and I think they'll deal on it. Wish I could have bought from them.

I've shopped with Charles Maund before, good dealer to work with.

+1 for Charles Maund. They did me right.

Good to know! My wife and I are in the area and looking for a Austin area dealer to work with

I must have been the only guy that had a raw deal from Charles Maund! They ran my credit twice, gave me a really hard time about bringing my own financing, and were miserably pushy in trying to get me into something I didn't want. I backed out of a deal there because AutoNation was able to beat them by a long shot.

AutoNation Toyota South Austin was where I got my SR5 premium 4x4; everyone was great there except for their financing dept (guy who did my deal got canned, messed up the paperwork and had some guy calling and yelling for a while; total a**hole).

Either way I've found unless you're at a BMW/Mercedes dealer it's hard to find a salesperson that's not skeezy as all get out.

That is odd. If your credit is fine it is a none issue. When you bring your check from your financing it is definitely to your advantage.
The SR5 models are very plentiful. Also, how many miles are on the discounted models vs. less than 10 miles on a real new one?

Addendum: Had a flat in the Davis Mountains last weekend (screw in the tire). Took it to Maund to see if they could patch it. They could not and quoted me $250 for a new tire. Checked with Costco and they had no problem patching it. New tire would have been $200.

I think they were too safe with my flat as well. They don't do many tires by admission and recommended a major tire store for mine. They don't do tire trades either. Tire stores will trade good tires in many cases.

you weren't. had been going back and forth with sales guy there. all was good, lined up, in order. get there first thing on a Saturday morning, and we get down to business. 10mins later and i was gone. dicked over on trade-in, cost of 4Runner, model of 4Runner. i was pretty annoyed with the whole ordeal. ended up going to Waco (Jeff Hunter)...they were awesome.

same here!

Ended up buying from AutoNation and it was a really good experience. First sales guy was uninterested but had an email from another sales guy a few days later. He found the truck we were looking for and was within a $100 of what I wanted. No haggling or BS. I will qualify this by saying I didn’t use their financing or trade anything in. I’d buy from that sales guy again.

I found that Charles M couldn't give me a good deal on my trade.

Currently dealing with Charles Maund now. Pretty good experience in that they have found a vehicle I wanted... but communication has been brutal. I've never dealt with a dealership that I have had to literally chase down for updates. Vehicle should be here in a few days.

I'll give my experience with austin area dealers. In 2019 I was shopping for my truck (Tacoma, Tundra, 4Runner) and my wife's SUV (highlander). This year I bought a 4Runner.

Cliffs notes:
Round Rock: pass. I've been out there twice and not a great vibe.
Cedar Park: Great Building, staff easy to work with. Best prices without going 10 rounds with the sales staff
Charles Maund: Somewhere in between. Typical saleguy stuff. They sell plenty of cars, but the building and lot are cramped. Prices are just ok.

Round Rock Toyota:

I got the typical dealer salesman tactics from the get go. The person who responded to my inquiry was not the person who was there when I showed up. The information I gave online was asked for again. After a test drive, I got the push from the salesman and his manager (if there is anything I can do today....) Not the best inventory but a little of everything. I live closest to them and end up dealing with two dealerships further away.

Cedar Park: biggest lot. Nicest building. Lots of inventory. Friendly staff.

In 2019 I tested a Highlander for my wife. They gave me the heads up that someone else would be there from their team but they told me who to expect. That person knew what I was looking for when I walked through the door. They basically said "$4k off this trim, $6k off that trim", both seemed like pretty good deals. My wife insisted on a Ford Explorer. But I liked their vibe.

When I told them the highlander wasn't going to happen, but I was shopping around for trucks I got no pressure and they had plenty of inventory. When I left the lot without working a deal, I did not get the third degree. I told them if I decided on a truck I would let them know. I called them back the next day and told them I was going for a truck elsewhere because of price (40k Toyota vs 30k for a Ford SuperCrew or less for a dodge) and they sent me a listing that had what I was looking for and their best price. Deal done. The finance guy tried a little too hard to sell me the extra service and other plans but I expect that.

I used their free two year maintenance and a decent time each visit and work was done promptly enough. They sent video updates of what they saw and what they did. When I had a leak in the rear seals, they fixed it without any issue.

When I starting thinking about a 4runner earlier this year, Cedar Park was my first stop. Their website listed a Silver 2021 4WD SR5 for 29k. I inquired online "why is the price so low? is it a demo?" Their response: "Some trims get special pricing" I called when they opened that day and asked the same question. Same response. I show up, oh, that price was a mistake. We had 5 calls this morning and it was been fixed. Actual price 39k. Ok honest mistake. I wanted MGM anyway so they offered to get one for me at a great for 2021 price. Three days later, they tell me they will put my name on the next one that comes in. Turns out it would take at least a month. Damn covid

Which brings me to Charles Maund.

In 2019 I walked in through the front door past a table of salesmen telling jokes, climbed into the Tacoma on the showroom floor, decided it was too small and walked out the door to the lot. I never got anyone to approach me so I left. I was really not thinking about a Tundra at that moment (sticker shock) so I didn't go out of my way to find anyone.

In 2021 while I was waiting on cedar park, CM had a listing for what I wanted. I inquired and it was a generic listing on their site. They didn't have it in inventory, just a commonly ordered model. But by me inquiring, I started getting emails. They salesman basically asked if I can find what you are looking for, would I consider buying from them. I told them I was already waiting for cedar park but yeah. Well, CM got my model first. So I thought this was going to be quick and easy. They had the listing on their site with a small discount (a couple $k) so after we look at it, he comes at with me with a price that was higher than the website. I just rolled my eyes and told the guy "you asked me if I would buy from you if you got the model with a better price, and you brought me a price higher than you advertised".
So he changed it to the advertised price. If it weren't a shortage kind of year, I would have gone back to CP. The finance guy didn't put the full court press on me which was nice.

Autonation: only dealt with through email. Their inventory was better than round rock but behind the other two. Pricing seemed ok.

My two cents: Cedar Park is your best bet in the Austin Area

Always go to Discount tire with flats. Some of the most standup people around. If you get a bum employee, ask to speak with the manager or assistant manager and you will walk out feeling better about it all. I have nothing but respect for those guys