2006 Toyota Avalon
Follow Up

Thanks to all who responded to my posts about the poor GPS and the constant drop-outs experienced in the new Toyota Avalon.

Allow me to make this fact very clear. For the three weeks I owned this vehicle, I really liked the car and it was a fantastic value. It was comfortable, delivered a smooth ride and had acceptable handling characteristics for a FWD vehicle of this wheelbase size. This is what pains me most about having to return the Avalon Limited due to the defective GPS and poor satellite reception. I read complaints about the lack of comfort of the perforated seating, but since I put very few miles on my Avalon, I never experienced any discomfort whatsoever. I loved the inflatable leg extension and for someone my size, it was one of the best comfort features of the car.

I will say this about the seating, the salesperson was adamant that the seating was Heated and Air Conditioned. I tried to explain to her that it was not truly Air Conditioned, it was Ventilated. There is a difference. She did not grasp this concept. Maybe I'm being too detailed, but what would you do if you went to Best Buy or Circuit City to buy an HDTV and was told it was 1080i, only to learn later it was the lower 720p?

This points to the lack of knowledge from car sales people in general. Last week I test drove a Cadillac DTS and having spent 15 minutes on the Cadillac website, I knew more about the vehicle than the salesperson. All he cared about was, "What's it going to take for you to buy this car today?" To me, I would haggle less on price if I was gaining good, honest information and was made to feel very comfortable about my purchase. When you spend so much time questioning the facts obtained from car salespeople, it's difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Since cars are major purchases for many of us, I truly think it is reasonable to expect honest information from a salesperson. After my experiences with Toyota (and Cadillac) I think the fault is with both the dealership and the Manufacturers. It seems that Toyota provides little if any training to the sales staff and feels it is the responsibility of the sales management. The dealership does basically nothing in terms of training. The materials provided to prospective purchasers are designed by ad agencies and are nothing more than pretty pictures. Have you seen the brochure for the Lexus LS? It talks more about vineyards than it does about the car.

At Palm Beach Toyota, each salesperson has these large binders that contain many more facts about the vehicle than what is available to the consumer. The problem is, the average salesperson does not take the time to read them and it collects dust on shelf.

One suggestion I might make is to have the manufacturer provide a DVD of all the information contained in those binders and require that all salespeople watch it. If they aren't reading the materials supplied by the manufacturer, maybe they will watch a DVD.

I spoke to the General Sales Manager of the Toyota Dealership and he told me that after the misinformation I was given, he was going to start having training seminars (with incentives) for the salespeople. The sad part is, although his intention and demeanor was good, I truly doubt that this plan will ever be executed as they are more concerned about quantity than quality.

Car dealerships have had a bad reputation for as long as I remember. But in this era of information, consumers such as us are more educated than ever. An educated consumer, is becoming a car dealership's worst enemy. We can't blame them as we allow them to take advantage of us.

It's online forums that allow us to trade stories and obtain information, both good and bad, that could someday force dealer management to take the high road provide for more pleasant purchase experiences. If it wasn't for the JD Powers surveys, dealers really wouldn't care how we felt about our purchases.

When GM's Saturn was first introduced, many (such as myself) thought that the one-price, no haggle purchase policy was the roadmap to the future of car buying. After all, nobody wants to know that their neighbor got a better deal than they did on the same vehicle. Sadly, this concept was not welcomed by other manufacturers.

Much of the problem today lies in all those dealer and advertising fees that are tacked on at the end of the sales process. Since when did we as consumers become responsible for these expenses?