Customer Reviews

I went here based on the reviews they had. Saw Victor's name here on the reviews often so decided to pick him as a sales man. Decided to get a Prius and told him that I wanted to get one on his day off. He came by during his day off which I'm glad he did. We talked over the phone about what kind of car that I was looking for and told him that I wanted the Costco membership price. My needs: Prius III, No Navi, and Dark interior. Victor said he never seen such a combination with a Prius III and no Navi but I seen one out there in San Jose one time so I know I'm not seeing double. I mean, If Toyota's main website allows you to build a Prius III with No navi, why would they put it there in the first place? Usually how dealerships want to work is, they want to sell what's in their inventory and try to avoid the process of getting the car and trading it for another. But I just took a chance. Anyway, Victor is very polite and never felt pressured to buy. But, I DID have to haggle for the price I wanted for my car. I was trading in my 2004 Chevy Malibu and they offered $800 for my trade in@f0 WTF@f0 Victor had no deal with the price and was the middle man going back and forth with the manager but the sales manager low balled me. So your telling me that my laptop in my car was worth more than my car@f0 I have a watch thats worth more than $800. I felt like I was getting ripped off for trading in my car but I needed a new car for work. I did bring a friend of mine whom was a car salesman in the past so he helped me bring the price up for my trade in. The Finance: So I did purchased the car and went to the finance office. Thought it was going to be a fast process but oh hell no. When I purchased my Chevy, It only took 10 minutes and I was out the door, I'm not sure how Chevy did it but it was quick and easy. During the financing (not Victor), the guy tried to sell me warranties left and right. I think in total it was like 7 or it felt like 7. I pretty much shut him down in the beginning when he started talking about warranties. I know it's their job to sell but I think the Financing part was horrible compared to others and maybe it's being pushed by their corp headquarters, I don't know. After that torture from the Warranty King, my car was waiting for me on the outside. Victor gave me details about the car and walked me through the features of the vehicle which was great. 4 Stars to Victor 2 Stars to Sales Manager, had to haggle my trade in 2 Star to Financing

I went to look at a Corolla for my daughter that I found on the internet at Putnam Toyota. I was greeted by Nick, who negotiated what I thought was a fair price on the car. I did not buy it right then, as I wanted to shop around some more, and the color wasn't ideal. Nick did not hassle me to "buy today". I never felt pressured...this could be because I told Nick that I used to be in the business myself years back. So a few days later I decided to buy the car. I called to speak to Nick but he was off. A nice man named Oscar came on the phone and said they still had the car, come on in. I told him the price I had negotiated with Nick and he said he would honor it. I was VERY SKEPTICAL that they would just "honor" the price without trying to get more money. Car dealers just don't operate that way. When I walked into the dealership, I spoke to Andre, the Sales Manager and he said he would honor the price. I bought the car for the negotiated price with no hassle at all. They were 100% HONEST all of the way through. I have avoided car dealerships for years because of the BS involved, but you won't find BS at Putnam Toyota, just Honesty. Wow, now That's a Deal!

The people here are very nice and helpful. Their service is very expensive though, at least in my experience. I brought in my 2010 Prius for its one-year maintenance. I've owned it for a year but it only has around 3500 miles. The maintenance guide said I should maintenance it every 5k miles or 6 months. I wasn't sure what to do so I called and made an appointment. The guy who helped me J. Long was really nice and patient. He said I should at least get my tires rotated and check the fluids since I've had the car for a year, even though it hasn't reached 5K miles yet. So I did that...and they charged me almost $116-ish for "the service." So I asked what did they "really do" because rotating tires and checking fluids can't be that expensive. I know I'm not a car expert, but I've been to places where they offer those for free so it can't be too costly. J. Long said they just rotated the tires and checked the fluids but the invoice didn't reflect that because he didn't modify "the service." Huh. I don't really get it. I'm guessing it's like a flat-rate labor fee. They also washed my car. I thought that was nice but still doesn't justify for $116. Rotating tires, checking fluid, and a car wash (it wasn't even clean) cost me $116 (plus tax) and 2 hours...

Some would equate the car buying experience to visiting a dentist for a root canal or going through an IRS tax audit. Believe me the anxiety of "will I get a good deal", "will I understand the numbers", "can I afford the payments" are all very typical. Especially for those of us that only go through this ritual every 3, 5, 10 or more years. So I feel compelled to share what a great experience I had at Putnam Toyota in Burlingame. After really understanding which model and options I wanted (including general pricing, fees, etc.), I reached out to Putnam Toyota via email. Off the bat, I was really impressed with the timeliness of the response by Eric Brooks. His email was not a generic form letter, and contained a complete offer with monthly cost,drive-off, residual, money factor, etc. Immediately I knew this was someone I could seriously work with, and I did not have any hesitation in coming in. The rest of the process was a rationale discussion of my interests and concerns. Throughout the process, Eric was professional, patient, personable, and truly listened and addressed my concerns. He would explain things in layman's terms, and not try to confuse me with "sales" speak.(And if he didn't know something he would make sure to ask to make sure it is right) Every inquiry to him was answered in a timely manner whether via phone, email, text, in-person, or twitter.(OK I just made up twitter, but everything else was true) I never felt rushed, especially during delivery when he took all the time necessary to walk me through the features of my new Prius. I also have to mention George in Finance who had the most "straight to the point", "seriously no pressure", style I have ever seen in a Finance department. He gave me the options, validated that's what I really wanted, and left it at that. For years I have driven past Toyota Putnam on my way to Burlingame Ave, never really paying it too much attention. So it was such an incredible surprise to find such a gem in my "backyard". I cannot express enough satisfaction of not only getting a new car at a great price, but at a dealer so close to my home. Like a local farmers market, Putnam Toyota did not feel like a "sterile" big box Toyota dealership. It felt more like a dealership that understands the needs of their customers, who works within the constraints of each individual customer, and is really interested in building longer term relationships. Working with Eric showed me that the car buying experience can be a positive memorable experience that you can feel good about. Buying a car is about APR's, monthly payments, invoice price, down payments, etc. But it's also about building relationships and supporting your community, and Putnam Toyota and Eric understand that.

"5 stars@f0 Really@f0" you may ask. Yes, 5 stars for a used car dealership that is part of a bigger, monopoly of a dealership. I don't buy cars often and I think it's because I dread the process. However, this experience changed my mind. I was in the market for a Mini when I ran across an ad for one at Putnam. "Ugh - a dealership" was my first thought. "Ugh - they're going to offer me a penny for my car for trade-in and stand firm on their asking price" was my 2nd thought. Well, to my sheer delight, I was wrong. As soon as I spoke to James on the phone, I felt at ease. He had a laid back, no big deal tone to his voice and I felt comfortable having him as a sales person. I test drove the car, and immediately fell in love with it. More importantly, my dog fell in love with it. I don't know if it was the smell, but she was digging mommy's potential new ride. That's how I knew she was the one. Long story longer, James worked with me to meet my budget and was extremely cordial in the process. I didn't feel haggled, and I was happy with the outcome. Mike in finance was great to work with as well. I was impressed with the whole team, and very satisfied with the experience. I hope to have an experience like this in the future, when my Mini wears out and I'm 85 years old. If I could be so lucky.....

Over the years, my wife and I have purchased or leased six Toyotas fro General Manager Andre Kamenetsky and sales person Noli. My wife swears by Toyota and as a result we have owned a Land Cruiser, two Sequoias (we have kept our 2006' with over 100,000 hard miles to Tahoe, often towing a 5,000 LB boat!) a 2nd generation Prius (my mother now drives it!) and a Highlander. Our 6th Toyota@f0... a 2010 white and tan Prius! Throughout our many year relationship, Andre and Noli, along with their terrific service department, have kept us coming back whenever we are in the market for a car. These are good folks that have earned and kept our business by top flit service, attention, service and common sense. I recommend Putnam Toyota...and most particularly Andre and Noli. You will not be disappointed. Al