Westminster Toyota

Was looking at a used 2012 RAV4 for the longest time on Westminster Toyota, and finally decided to go with my mom and sister. I probably looked online at this car for at least 3 weeks and was surprised it was still available. The website is this:
I made an appointment online for 7pm tonight and arrived there about 15 minutes early.
When we got there, it looked pretty empty. Not much customers. I went up to the front desk lady and asked about the online booking and they had no idea that there was any sort of thing happening today. My first impression was «what the hell? They don’t even check their online booking system?» Anyway, I didn’t think too much of it. The front desk lady got me a salesperson by the name of Leo Liang (who seemed nice at first, although his English was quite bad). I asked about the car and about any accidents and he pulled out the CarProof report that indicated that there was no crashes. He also said the car has only ran 45,000 km. It sounded too good to be true.
We went for a test drive and by the time the drive was over, we asked if we could inspect the car. The car looked really good, with only a few scratches on the back. However, I wanted to check the engine but the engine latch will not come up. I asked the guy about the latch and he said «Don’t worry, when you buy the car, we will fix it for free for you». Then my sister asked about the Toyota Certification. She asked him why the car’s hood will not open if the car was certified by the Toyota Certified technicians.
He then said that he wasn’t sure if the car was Toyota Certified. However, the car has the Toyota Certified tag right on the car! How can he be not sure if the car was certified or not?
He then said he needs to go inside to check with a technician. We went inside and the guy came back almost immediately. He said «Oh, sorry the car was just sold 5 minutes ago». My sister asked him how the car can be sold while he was showing us. Why would he allow us to drive the car if he knows that the car was sold? My sister then told him that his business tactic was deceiving to pull a bait and switch and try to lure us in with an unbelievable car and try to sell us his other cars.
He then got angry and started to yell at my sister «I don’t know when the car was sold! The customer gave a down payment and he bought it right now! I don’t have control over that! You should have put a deposit and the car would have been yours! You should go and look at our other cars, but this car is already sold.» Leo Liang was already standing up and already ready to leave.
While we were leaving the manager of Westminster Toyota just watched us leave, without intervening.
All I can say is that they have despicable business practices here. I will never recommend anyone to come here and I hope the place closes down. If you want to buy a new car, DO NOT SPEND IT HERE. Go to a proper Toyota dealership, like Destination Toyota. Not this piece of shit dump.
If you want to get ripped off, this is where you go.
Edit: That car has been listed on their website for probably at least a couple months. It’s their way of luring you in so they can sell you the other junk cars or more expensive cars.

Great service dept. Went there to get a replacement for a flat tire (leased car so all tires must match). They had what I needed and was quickly on my way. I must mention the place was smokin busy !

While the Sales was good, unfortunately, their Service lost me as a customer after about 7 years as a loyal customer. I needed an oil change done on my vehicle and phoned a few dealers close to my area to get a quote. During phone calls, I got the name of the service person I was talking to and the quote. Westminster Toyota gave me the lowest quote and I scheduled for a service. When I arrived, they gave me a higher price. I then told them that the lady I spoke to quoted me a different price. The service guy told me that no, she didn’t. I pointed out to him that he wasn’t in on the phone call and that I got her name and had taken note of the quote. Even with all my years of being a customer and the fact that he was obviously not in on the phone call from a few days back, he didn’t bother giving me the benefit of the doubt and insisted that the lady I spoke to didn’t give me that price. I don’t like bait-​and-​switch and they lost me. I left a message in their website and let them know that it would have been nice to have been given the benefit of the doubt. The manager phoned me offering to give me a discount, but since the only thing I was really looking for was an apology from the service person and that wasn’t forthcoming, I declined.

I bought my 2015 Venza from Ron (he is not there anymore). The Venza is my dream car and I was relieved that they had 2015 Venza in. Everyone from the staff to finance to the mechanics are all so polite and will do anything to make sure your visit is a success. Mechanics here are awesome!

Just bought my RAV4 from here yesterday and my sales person was Melvin. I was treated so politely and my insane requests and neuroses were treated with respect. I couldn’t go over my budget and was soooo nervous! Melvin treated everything with such confidence and friendliness that I knew I would leave happily. I live on the North Shore, but I can guarantee that I will definitely be back not only for other cars, but to service my car too. If Melvin and Roger, the finance guy, were so incredible, I have no doubts about their service department. Really people, there’s a stigma around car salespeople that is completely unwarranted at this dealership (trust me, it’s warranted at some other dealerships) Melvin is the kindest, most professional salesperson and really had my best interests at heart.

Cary is very helpful. He answered all my questions about my 2007 Rav4.

Sometime on Sept. 2014, I went to this Toyota New Westminster to buy a brand new Toyota Camry, 2014. We spotted a beautiful Toyota 2014 LE Camry. The sales man from this Toyota dealer who claimed to be from Malaysia said that the car we liked is not available for test driving but if we came back the following day, we would be able to test drive the car. The car was in the car lot between other cars. He said that there was no key on both cars beside the car of our choice. The following day we came back only to be told that the car we spotted the day before was no longer available and that he showed us SE model which was not what we want. I asked him, «didn’t you say you’ll have the LE car for test drive today?»
He replied, «yes but I found it was not yet for sale. Meanwhile we have this.»
I said,” I don’t like this. You could have told us that the car would not be available and therefore we didn’t waste our time coming here.“
He said he would order the car. Then he came back and said his manager wants a commitment in writing with a deposit.
We left the car lot.
Our conclusions:
the day we came and picked the car we liked, that car was already sold
the sales man agreed to see us the following day hoping to convince us to sell another car
the dealership plan did not work out because we refused so they asked us to commit ourselves in writing with a deposit.
there was no other LE car available. They will still get the car somewhere else.
in the commitment, they want us to shoulder the shipment of the car from somewhere to their car lot
(a contract we could;t get out of if we changed our mind about the car or if the car they brought was not the car we chose)
Bottom Line:
1. before buying a car, put everything in writing and ask the MANAGER (not the sales man) to sign.
2. You’re not the only ones required to sign. They are, too.
3. You have the money. Do not part with it until you have everything written to your satisfaction.
We bought 2 cars from this dealership, One was a toyota camry and another was a RAV toyota.
We are not coming back for our third.
We went to Richmond Toyota. The dealership was very honest and straightforward. They had everything written and initialed just so we can trust them. $ 25,000 later, we were satisfied to recommend Richmond Toyota dealership.

I’ve been a fan of Westminster Toyota both from the sales and service perspective for several years. First we bought a Corolla, then a matrix, and now we have a Prius V. jeering the time that I had the matrix I strayed from servicing at the dealership and actually had several problems with my tires due to the way they were serviced elsewhere. Now I’m back and all is good. The staff is always very friendly, they have a comfortable lounge, free coffee and always provide great service. I love how they clean my car every time. They are also a great phone resource for issues. My brother-​in-​law has a Toyota truck and we found that the collision sensor was going off all the time. I was able to call the dealership and they told me how to adjust it.
Can’t recommend them highly enough. They truly treat me like family.

I started coming to this toyota to service my car around 2 years ago. Staff are always friendly and professional. Reasonable price and efficient!

I have a 4Runner, and prior to that a Venza, from Westminster Toyota, and complete all my service through the dealership. After being a customer for 5 years, I would very highly recommend this dealership.
The service I have received both in my vehicle purchase/​lease, and through the service department, has been nothing but top notch. The staff is honest, friendly, and ultimately very concerned with making sure you leave their establishment both happy and well informed. The absolute best part of my experience, was the time taken by the sales staff to walk me through every detail of my new truck on delivery, and following up on any questions after I had taken my vehicle home
I have recommended this dealership to both friends and family, and they also had similar, positive experiences. If you are in the market for a Toyota, this is the best place to go!

As a former employee to this business I can honestly say I’ve never been more impressed with a car service company. The staff was the best group of people, it’s almost impossible how wonderful they are. The amount of times they have gone out of their way for the customers or even saved them money was shocking. These people really do have their customers best interest at heart. I miss you guys already !

I wanted to buy a new Yaris, and was trying to inquire different locations throughout Greater Vancouver for good deals through email/​phone call. All of them seemed almost reluctant to sell or make offers and was booted off my list — except one. A product advisor, Andrei at New West emailed me back promptly with an attractive email. He was good as a sales person, and informed me more to make better decisions. The location is quite far from where I live, in fact there are many other locations in between, but I decided to meet in person and chat. When I arrived, Andrei was standing outside to greet me.
I was only going in to test drive the Yaris again, but he was good in convincing me to buy one. The white Yaris which I wanted was already sold out — which no other locations had told me about. I panicked a bit. The red was also sold out. Ah! But I was glad to hear that there was one dark grey left — my second choice. I knew that time was running out, and since I was going away for a month, it wouldn’t be long before that one would be gone.
The Sales Manager, Jeffrey with big smiles greeted me, shook my hand and gave me his business card while I waited for Andrei to fetch the Yaris for a test drive. This was on a Saturday. They were closed on Sunday, and I was flying out to Europe on Tuesday! So they had to rush to get the Yaris to the location by Monday. I was really concerned it wouldn’t arrive on time, but it did. Hurray! On Monday night after my work, we dealt with all the documents — well after closing hours and I drove my new Yaris home past 10pm before heading off on vacation the next day!
All the staff there are very friendly and helpful. Complimentary drinks (tea, hot chocolate, coffee, lattes, water) are available. I had been to two other locations, but this is the best. Perhaps many people don’t like pushy sales people (not that they really were), but I found some other locations to lack motivation. The staff here weren’t pushy, but did give me a small shove on making the final big decision — which sometimes you do need, and I did for sure.
Also, their new Toyota owner workshop (free) a few months after I purchased was very informative and helpful! Great staff!
Thank you!

I have a 2008 highlander that we brought over from the states when we moved to Canada. We’re use to taking our car to Toyota dealerships for general maintenance. The way dealerships work here in Canada is ALOT different then in the states. Here you have to make an appointment for everything. I think it’s because the dealerships are a lot smaller? I don’t know. Back in the states we just take the car in, no appointment necessary. I’ve been pretty happy with the service that Cary in the service department has given me. He’s always pleasant and while I’m waiting for my car he gives me periodic updates. Once they got backed up and he told me so I decided yo go back the next day. He gave me some products and a discount for the inconvenience which was nice. Overall I like this place and will continue yo take my car in.

Westminster Toyota: The Worse Dealership Ever!
My recent experience at this dealership has been a waste of time! After researching high and low for a new Rav4, a salesperson named Andrei, informed me that he can get me the car and quoted me a great price on the phone. On a Tuesday, I went in person to close the deal only to find out that he may or may not be able to get the car because he has to double check whether it’s still available on the computer system. The price he quoted me on the phone didn’t go through to management so I left. He called 5 minutes after I left the dealership to inform me that he will talk to his manager the next morning and see if he can get me the deal. The next day (Wednesday) he called to confirm the price we talked about and informed me the car is available according to the computer system. He asked me to come in to fill out the paper work for financing and put down a deposit. I went in that same evening to do this, but before I signed the financing paper work, I called Andrei on the phone with the finance department supervisor listening in. You see he was not working that evening and directed me to another salesperson to deal with me. Very unprofessional! He couldn’t even be bothered to come in to work for a customer! While on the phone, Andrei said the car is available and should arrive in a few days. On Thursday, I called to confirm when I should expect the car at their dealership for pick-​up. He said it will be available in a few days. I didn’t believe him so I asked him to fax me the paper work for this car and a few minutes later, he called me back to say the car is gone. I was so angry and disappointed with how he led me on; thus, making me wait for 48 hours whereas I could have gone elsewhere. It was a delay tactic this salesperson uses! I had to waste my time visiting the dealership twice and NO CAR! The following weekend, I went to the dealership to pick up the cheque that I placed for a deposit. They told me they cashed it and that a cheque was not available for pick up. The finance rep said he needed two signatures to authorize and reissue the cheque so I gave him till Monday to do so and call me back to pick up the cheque. Three business days go by and no call from this dealership! I called the finance rep and asked about the cheque. He said there was a cheque ready for pick up $ 500 Canadian. The cheque we wrote was $ 500 US not $ 500 CDN. I said I wanted the original deposit payment which was in US funds. He said he will deal with it and call back tomorrow. The next day (Friday) came and went and no call from him even though he promised to call back with the news by 10 or 11a.m. Finally the General Manager calls just before 1pm to inform me that 2 cheques are available now. Why two cheques? Since it was deposited in US funds, the bank gave the dealership CDN funds to the dealership. They made a cheque out in Canadian funds and then the 2^nd cheque was the currency exchange rate difference. If I didn’t chase for a US cheque they would have tried to scam me with a CDN cheque. I insisted they return the original cheque or $ 500 in US currency, which is what I gave them as a deposit. They refused and instead insisted on giving me CDN $ at an arbitrarily low exchange rate. Their poor customer service, professionalism, dishonesty and efficiency in dealing with a «non-​customer» was the worst experience in having to deal with any car dealership. This dealership is the WORST Toyota dealership I’ve ever dealt with and I will never return there for any future business. I would HIGHLY recommend you go elsewhere too!

Before taking the time to go to a dealer, it’s best to do your research. This is why I thoroughly searched out RAV-​4s in Metro Van that hadn’t been in previous accidents. I called to ask whether a vehicle had been in an accident and Thomas told me, ‘no previous accidents’. After wasting time on a test drive, the vehicle proof did in fact display previous collisions on every vehicle I looked at. I was not given the truth in my initial phone call.
Also, when discussing final cost I was low-​balled on my trade-​in to 30−40% of it’s true cash value. Naturally I was patient enough not to be sucked into their hard– sell. Expect crafty dishonesty from this place.

And they hit it out of the park again! These guys take the time to care — they found a burnt brake light bulb — and changed it for me for FREE! Yes, I know it’s hardly a big-​ticket item, but still — they cared enough, and realized it’s the little things that matter.
Seriously, the service guys here are so awesome that I’m tempted to ask to have them act as my sales guys when I decide to get a new car — I know they’d never steer me wrong.