Toyota on STX

We didn't have a good experience when we went to Toyota and walked out. They gave us a ridiculous price and wouldn't negotiate unless we "promised" that we were going to buy it that day. Silly. We ended up buying a Honda CRV stateside and shipping it. We saved $5000 when all was said and done and got a 2008 instead of 2007 (this was in 2007). The Honda Dealer was nice but was way out of line. You can finance your vehicle and put it on a boat with Pentagon Federal so that shouldn't be an issue. You can now order vehicles in Florida near the dock online and have the shipped, saves you a ton of money.

I'd like to support local businesses but when they are so far out of line with stateside prices even with shipping/taxes I cannot justify it. I'm completely willing to give them Stateside Price + shipping + Customs/Taxes + 4% Gross Receipts that they have to pay, and even tack on a little bit to alleviate the hassle factor but that is not what I found they were looking for.

Funny thing on the Toyota shop, the dealer called me after I had the Honda and said "hey man why haven't you been back, lets make a deal." I told him I gave him a chance to make a deal and they didn't want to so we went somewhere else.

Sean

I hadn't considered buying and shipping, but for $5,000 it is worth considering. Sean, how much time did it take?

I'm still concerned about the quality problems Toyota is having. 8 million cars recalled!

Any Toyota owners in VI with a recall?

There was a story in the news that they (CAM) were still selling toyotas after sales were frozen.

Warranty repairs and recall notifications are very spotty on STX and one has to chase the dealers down to get them to do what they are required (and paid) to do. Irksome. This was true for me @ Metro and CAM.

I don't know anyone who has had a good experience with CAM in either sales or service. One friend took his vehicle in for service, it fell off the lift and was totaled, and they replaced it at no charge. Good for them, but....COME ON!

RKS- How long ago was that experience with your friend? 1 year? 4 years? Things have changed for the better at the service end at CAM with what is written here on the message boards lately. It used to be weeks for appointments and now you get in next day.

Don't Feed rks/troll, he/she has a negative story for everything!(td)

Good question Marlene, it was closer 3 years ago.

Lizard LOL, coming from you that's funny! BTW, I do take your point. But who on STX can claim to have a warm fuzzy story to tell about a car dealer? I've bought two vehicles from Metro, and they have served well, and service has not been horrible, but neither has it been spectacular. Should we in the islands lower our expectations until we are happy with whatever we find? Our power utility and our crime rate prove the peril of that line of thinking.

Has anyone else been on-island and ordered a car from the mainland?

Don't forget about DOMA, the magical mystical term that adds 25% to the price of your car, and if you dare ask what the DOMA is they will act as though you are crazy.

I went to buy a pair of jeeps from the local jeep dealer after moving and after I asked about exactly where the DOMA money goes they had to bring in the manager. The manager couldn't answer and told me that nobody ever asks what DOMA is... then she pulled out a cheat sheet explaining exactly what DOMA is... If nobody ever asks what it is, why is there a cheat sheet?

In any case, they were deceptive and it felt dirty so I said that unless she was willing to explain exactly what taxes and fees made up doma that I wouldn't buy the cars. I was polite but firm and the situation ended with the manager screaming at the top of her lungs about how locals will buy enough cars to support the economy and how she doesnt need rich people like me asking questions about their prices blah blah... it was embarassing for her.

I left, called the gm of the dealership, got a quick straight forward breakdown of the fees and taxes and bought the cars.

Honestly though if I was not in a rush to get a vehicle I would have just bought state side and had it shipped. The Ford dealer was extremely nice and helpful, the Honda/acura dealer was nice but useless and the Jeep dealer was awful and rude.

Shipping a car is not very expensive.

I had the doma explained to me when we bought ours last year. Some of it is real, with the shipping costs and often they come through PR from Japan, and it costs more. But mostly its a cut they get for taking a risk on people with bad credit. We went in pre-finance with our own bank and had no trouble talking them down to a reasonable price. We got ours cheaper then what we could have stateside. This is a good rule of thumb with any dealership. Go in with a pre approved loan. This lets them know your serious about buying a car and it will be an very easy and quick sale for them.

Now the toyota service department here needs some work, but its better then many of the shops on island.

I don't know anything about the Toyota service on STX,
but have owned only Toyotas since 1985. Have had many trucks, a Highlander, and several 4Runners (currently own).
I have found if you change the oil every 3000-4000 miles, and don't
abuse the vehicle, they will last a long time.
I think Toyota makes great vehicles.....would not switch to another make despite the
recent problems. Many car manufacturers have recalls all the time.
I don't think any cars should have to be recalled, but Toyota has had a great track record.
I am very loyal to Toyota, and will remain so!
Good luck in your search!

Don't forget about DOMA, the magical mystical term that adds 25% to the price of your car, and if you dare ask what the DOMA is they will act as though you are crazy.

I went to buy a pair of jeeps from the local jeep dealer after moving and after I asked about exactly where the DOMA money goes they had to bring in the manager. The manager couldn't answer and told me that nobody ever asks what DOMA is... then she pulled out a cheat sheet explaining exactly what DOMA is... If nobody ever asks what it is, why is there a cheat sheet?

In any case, they were deceptive and it felt dirty so I said that unless she was willing to explain exactly what taxes and fees made up doma that I wouldn't buy the cars. I was polite but firm and the situation ended with the manager screaming at the top of her lungs about how locals will buy enough cars to support the economy and how she doesnt need rich people like me asking questions about their prices blah blah... it was embarassing for her.

I left, called the gm of the dealership, got a quick straight forward breakdown of the fees and taxes and bought the cars.

Honestly though if I was not in a rush to get a vehicle I would have just bought state side and had it shipped. The Ford dealer was extremely nice and helpful, the Honda/acura dealer was nice but useless and the Jeep dealer was awful and rude.

Shipping a car is not very expensive.

Okay.....WHAT IS DOMA ?

I "binged" it and then "googled" it and came up with nothing. (Maybe that's why they didn't know what it was?)

I walked into Carib Auto Mart on Stx last year thinking about buying a new Yaris, and they quoted me a very good price.

Caribbean Auto Mart quoted a friend over $3000 to fix an over heating problem. I insisted she take it to MPH. Guess what.......loose wire to the electric fan. That was several years ago but...... Since then I do not trust them!

As for time, I'd say 2 weeks for a car to get here and about 5 hours the day it arrives clearing customs, registering etc. VI Cargo ships cars so give them a call and they can probably give you a better timeline. I didn't use them as they didn't ship cars when I was involved, I used Magic Carpet which got the car from DC to Jacksonville, then on to Seastar to STX for me. They were good and the total cost for my CRV in 2007 was $2300.

DOMA is a scam they use to overcharge. The Honda dealer told me this (they don't charge DOMA, they just over charge on their base price but at least they were up front about their prices). I think at one point the government banned the whole DOMA thing but it has somehow come back.

From what I've seen it is unlikely that I will ever be able to utilize the local dealerships to buy a car as they are generally way out of line on prices. These days you can just buy a car online near Medley or wherever VI Cargo ships from a local dealer getting your price quote via email, then VI Cargo it down. FInance it with Penfed (www.penfed.org) and you are good to go.

Sean