Chicago Northside Toyota Scion

Elie made this easiest and most positive car buying experience we have ever had! My wife and I went in after searching on Autotrader for a used Toyota Sienna, and had at first assumed that there must have been some kind of catch, as they were by far the most reasonably priced out of all the listings in the area. No catch — the price we paid was the price that was listed, and we couldn’t be happier! Elie took the time to answer all of our questions about the car and financing options, even though it was already late at night, and expedited the paperwork when we told him that we did not have much time due to our babysitter. In addition, when we discovered that the removable 2^nd row seat was not in the car, they made sure to get one for us the next day! We would definitely go back in the future!

Avoid their parts and repair departments like an Autocross driver avoids a pylon. Swerve. Brake. Do anything to stay away. I came in to get a new key for my «vintage» Supra (over thirty years old — I LOVE my Toyota) and a new remote fob and key for the ten year old «mommy van.» Told the parts guy that the local locksmith no longer had blanks for the old sporty car. «The new aftermarket ones are too short,» I explained. The parts guy makes me a key. From a new aftermarket key. Too short. We look up my vin number, which is both on my registration AND my insurance card. It’s an old car. It’s not in the system any more. «You need to bring in your car so we can read the VIN number,» he tells me. «They sometimes enter them wrong in the state’s registry.» I’m not so sure my insurance company has my VIN number wrong, but OK, I go home and take a photo of the VIN number on my car. I also discover I have left my ONLY functional key AT Northside Toyota. I call them. «No. It’s not here.» Since that really IS the only key (which is why I wanted to buy another one), my Supra is not drivable until I return in person and discover… that the cashier has it hanging on her bulletin board, right where I told them to look. They have also called to say my blank keys have arrived from Toyota. BUT… again, they have ordered the wrong blank key. «You didn’t give me the right VIN number,» parts guy (same parts guy) tells me. I show him a photo of my car’s ID plate on my phone. It was the right VIN number. He says, «I didn’t call Toyota, because I didn’t have the VIN number.» «Then where did you get THESE (wrong) blank keys? And why did you order more of the ones you knew were too short?» «You wanted me to.» If any of you reading this can give me a shred of a good reason why I would pay in advance to order a key that we have already established will not work, there’s a ride in my vintage Toyota for you.
ALSO, they messed up my order for the minivan key fob («We didn’t know you wanted one. We thought you only wanted the key, and we have that in stock.») AND they didn’t tell me there was a programming fee for the key AND the fob – EACH, and they… oh, you get the idea. But mostly, the parts guy wanted me to be wrong. He was sure I was wrong. Why? Apparently, Chicago Northside Toyota is a place where the customer IS always wrong.

Horrible customer service. I read all the horrible reviews and decided not to listen to them. Big mistake. Went in tonight after calling ahead in advance and waited 15 mins to view a car that I was told was being pulled up for me. Sales person brought wrong car, and clearly didn’t listen to the car I had requested to see. I verbalized multiple times during our interaction that I was there to see a specific model and trim. In addition I had previously discussed viewing the vehicle prior to my arrival with two separate sales representatives. As an avid car lover and professional customer service representative I give this business Zero stars.

I schedule an appointment for servicing my vehicle, got confirmation number. I drove down only to be informed that they could not keep the appointment. Bravo. I wasted my time and oh the customer service is also equally shitty. Zero star because one star is too generous.

I was looking to buy a new Toyota and after getting a TrueCar quote of $ 17,700 for a Corolla, my friend and I went to Northside Toyota to close the deal.
Although we met our salesman right away, they started working on us in the usual way that car salesmen do… making us wait an excessive amount of time, trying to run my credit before we’d even agreed to a price, asking me to sign meaningless offer slips so that they could try to force us into a transaction, emphasizing the monthly payment while trying to toss in extra fees, undercutting the value of my trade-​in by $ 2000.
We endured the fiasco for three hours, finally getting them to agree to honor their original TrueCar quote, only to have the final offer come in $ 900 higher. Why? Well the transportation fee of course. My friend, who was doing most of the talking at this point (I had tried to walk out twice already), tried to point out to the hapless sales manager that the TrueCar quote as well as MSRP include the transportation fee.
«There’s nothing I can do,» said the sales manager, «this is my bottom line.»
This is about the time my friend lost it. After three hours of enduring Northside Toyota’s shady sales practices he started calling them out on their unethical behavior. Yes, he was being loud. Perhaps too loud. But nothing he said was inaccurate. Finally the owner came out and started threatening my friend, demanding that he leave. Being a peacemaker I tried to settle the situation, apologizing for the outburst, to the salesman, the sales manager, and finally the owner who turned to me and said, «Get the fuck off my property before I call the police.»
Having not raised my voice, and even having tried to apologize for my friend’s temper I was a bit surprised by this sudden turn of events and I told the owner that I was still negotiating the price of a car, to which he said, «Get the fuck out of here, I don’t want your business.»
So I left, drove up to Kenosha to Carmax Toyota and without haggling (Carmax does not haggle on prices, financing, or warranty) bought the exact same brand new 2016 Corolla I had intended to buy at Northside. My price? $ 18,500 for the Corolla, but Carmax gave me $ 2000 more for the trade in. All-​in-​all I was in and out in 45 minutes with a new car and extended warrenty with a 0% financing rate.
Want to know the best part? That same sales manager from Northside Toyota called me later that day to ask when I wanted to come in to finish my deal. Greed knows no limits.
My advice? Go anywhere but here when buying a car.

The service is horrible and a nightmare. I left my car for a service at 7 am and they told me that it will be done by 11 am the latest. When I am to pick up my car at 11 am, they told me it will be done in 1 hour and 15 mins. I have to work at 12 noon, so I ended coming to work late. At least they provide me with a car to use,
The next Day I pick up the car, the passenger side air bag is beeping like crazy, (one of the service they supposed to fix is the recall of the passenger air bag). Now I have to go back and have my car check again. The dealership broke instead of fixing my car. Also, they don’t care if you will be late for work. The dealership is freezing cold to their customers.
There are so many car dealerships in Chicago area, try to avoid this dealership. The service and staffs are horrible as hell.

I liked how helpful everyone was and how willing they were to get me into the right car.

MAJOR SCAM WITH SERVICE OFFERS! BE CAREFUL
Went for my appointment for oil change. The big almost bald guy ignored me at the service counter, after 5 mins of trying to get him back to me, I asked another service specialist to handle my oil change appointment. I had the service coupon that advertised oil +filter change for $ 18:47. He tells me that is for cab drivers who want quick oil change and that I pay $ 37 for oil change and fluid top offs. I told him no. Maybe he thinks I am too stupid & will pay more than what is advertised on their own coupon I guess.
After leaving the car for a while, the guy calls me and says I should pay $ 1400 for new brakes, pads, rotors. Told him no.
They have been saying I need new brakes, pads, and rotors ever since my car was only 20k miles and every time I go for oil change with their coupons. My car wasn’t washed even though they mentioned free complimentary wash in the paper work that gave me.
They will lie to you about services/​repairs your car needs such as new brakes, brake pads, blah blah even if your car is around 30K miles and almost new. The fact is Cars don’t need these new brakes unless it is 100K miles or more. Don’t be gullible to them and don’t believe in their lies. If you have questions, ask the experts online and they will give you free advice. If you have doubts, go to independent repair shop to see if and what actually is wrong and the potential cost. Always read your manual book and know what you have to do and services your car needs.
If you need oil & filter change, just stick to it and don’t agree to their free inspections because that’s where they will try to scam you

Called the service dept at dealership on Decemer 18^th. Asked how much a full synthetic oil change and filter would cost for my 2013 Toyota Prius. Was asked for my VIN number. (Now they know everything about my car and that toyota requires ONLY synthetic oil). After a bref hold. I am told that there is a only coupon for a Oil change Filter, tire rotation and inspection for $ 38.07.
I asked Does this deal include Full Synthetic Oil?
Was told YES «FULL SYNTHETIC OIL»
So I said, good i will take that special. And made a appointment for the following Monday morning at 7am (they open at 7am)
Monday I arrived at the service dept early. Gave them my keys. Waited on there dirty coffee stained chairs. After 2 hours later my car is ready.
And told the final charges are $ 61 dollars. I ask why. And then told that the $ 38.07 special is for non synthetic oil. Full synthetic is $ 54 + tax.
Simple Bait and Switch dealer tactics.
Iasked why I was quoted $ 38.07 when you knew at the time of booking (VIA VIN check) why knew full well my car can only take synthetic oil.
And I was told like a robot «Da I dont know sir «and was told «The $ 38.07 Deal is for no synthetic old. I dont know why?
Well we know why. Scan Bait and Switch.
GO SOMEWHERE ELSE

I echo the previous poster’s comments about buying a car with Phil! I initially planned to avoid Northside Toyota when buying my RAV4, because I had some bad experiences at the dealership when servicing my old car. However, True Car listed thus dealership with the lowest price and they had the blue one left, so I hesitantly went over there not knowing what to expect.
We had a great car-​buying experience! Phil Martinez was a top-​notch salesman. He didn’t try to pull anything over on us and he immediately acknowledged the price we found online as our purchase price and made it really easy to do business. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy who wanted to do what was best for us, versus a guy just looking for sale. If you actually buy a car, expect to be there a few hours-​valuing you’d trade in and setting up financing takes a awhile. We chatted with some other staff who gave us tips in transferring our city sticker. We are very pleased!

Beware! They are horrible! They advertise that they have many cars on site ready for you to buy. When you get there, they don’t have any. They want you to put money down for a car in 3 weeks. When you change your mind, they refuse to give your money back. I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company (do not EVER put money down with cash or check!). Apparently this is the way they operate, as my friend told me the same story when he wanted to buy from them a couple of years ago.
Apart from the terrible way they do business, the facility looks old (at night) and there does not even seem to be a customer waiting area for servicing your vehicle.

I would give this place 0 stars If I could. We started going here because we thought their customer service was better than Grossinger Toyota in Lincoln Park. We were wrong.
We had a full set of tires replaced… and found out later when we switched to an independent dealer that they gave us mismatched tires. Needless to say, that cause a bunch of other problems we needed fixed. Definitely wouldn’t recommend. Dishonest and expensive.

I liked the first salesman I met there when I did my initial scouting, a Russian gentleman. Unfortunately, when I was ready to purchase the car, I came in on his day off. The big turnoff was getting yelled at by the finance manager for «low balling» him. He was so angry at my offer that he could barely keep his composure. Maybe I should have yelled at him for «high balling» ME. I thought buying a car was all about haggling. So, I took my money to another dealership that same day and bought a nice new car enjoying a completely different experience; one that was low key, with a sales staff that was not pushy, slimy, or impolite and in a clean and professional environment. Plus, I got a good deal to boot! Good luck, Northside. I hope you can learn from your mistakes. There is something askew.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this dealership!
I’m a mid twenties female who came to this dealership to lease her first car. I was nervous about being pressured, or taken advantage of, but everyone at Northside treated me with the utmost respect and patience walking me through the whole process. And, I got a great deal! If you’re able to get an appointment with Phil — that’s who helped me and he was absolutely AWESOME.
I’m honestly shocked that this dealership has such a bad Unilocal rating– I almost didn’t go there because of it (but I’m so glad I did!) — I read through the reviews and most of them are totally unfair and not a reflection of the dealership itself!
Like I said, I really can’t say enough good things about this dealership. And, I love my car! Thank you to Phil and everyone for making this a great experience.

If you are a woman, then this is not the place for you.
When my husband comes with me to service appointments, we are always magically offered all these amazing «discounts» for literally no reason. (I put «discounts» in quotes because the prices are marked up so high that they are really just bringing them down into the normal range.) We don’t even ask for deals, yet they are showered upon us!
When I go by myself, I am given ridiculously high estimates. Last time, I was quoted a number ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS higher than Sears for the same exact same service. When I heard this price, I was floored and asked if there were any other options. The sales person definitively said no.
Clearly this is just another place that attempts to take advantage of its female customers by incorrectly assuming that they know nothing about cars. Women, if this often happens to you, just know that you are not crazy! This is a REAL thing:
. Don’t fall for it!

I am typically not one to write bad reviews… but unfortunately my experiences with Chicago Northside Toyota have been one of the most frustrating and infuriating I have ever encountered.
I bought a used 2006 Hyundai Sonata from this dealership in May of 2013. At this time, I also purchased a supplemental warranty to the tune of over $ 1,000 for extended coverage that explicitly states that brake calipers are included as a covered part. As a condition of my purchase, I requested that Chicago Northside Toyota replace the rotors and brake pads, since this was the only issue my mechanic, who inspected the vehicle, noted. Chicago Northside Toyota was accommodating and fixed the brakes right up. I signed the paperwork, purchased the extended warranty, and left feeling pretty good…
About a year later, and less than 20k miles, my rear brake pads and rotors started making a loud scraping sound. I was rather surprised since they were just replaced, so I hopped online, did a little research, and found that there is significant documentation identifying defective brake calipers as a common problem with my make and model car. I brought my vehicle back to Chicago Northside Toyota and asked them to check it out. I let them know what I had read about the caliper issue, and let them know that I had purchased the extended warranty that covered that specific part… They told me that my rotors and brake pads were worn, but the calipers were fine. Charged me $ 463.00 to replace them, since rotors and pads are a wear part, and refused to look into the issue any further…
Fast forward about 3 months: same issue, except now from both the front and back.
I was weary to bring my car back to Chicago Northside Toyota, since they were so dismissive of the issue in the first place. (Seriously. I know I am a woman, but do you honestly think I can’t google what a reasonable wear mileage is for brake pads and rotors??) I should also mention that for a $ 100 deductible, claims can be submitted to my warranty from any mechanic; it is free, however, if Chicago Northside Toyota submits the claim. (How you actually get them to submit a claim is beyond me… I bet this is part of the design.) I decided that $ 100 was worth the alternate opinion, so I called the number on my extended warranty to ask how the process would work if I were to take my car to a mechanic and not the dealership. They informed me that Chicago Northside Toyota NEVER PROPERLY SUBMITTED MY PAPERWORK, and they were not able to process anything until they do. If I pay $ 1000 for something, I expect it to exist.
At this point, my front brakes were causing such severe vibrations and noise that I needed an immediate solution. I headed back to Chicago Northside Toyota to see if they could submit my warranty paperwork, and fix my brakes once and for all. After going back and forth (I still cannot explain how this is even possible) FOR 4 DAYS (a 4 day brake job???), they finally replaced the rear rotors and brake pads again, charged me for front rotors and brake pads, and insisted that the calipers were fine. After sitting in their waiting room for an ungodly amount of time that week, getting the run around, and in general, a lot of BS answers as to why, after repeated brake jobs at their service center, my brakes were still failing… I simply asked what their warranty is on parts like brake pads and rotors (one year), and was happy to leave.
Present day: it has been 6 months, and the loud scraping and loss of braking power is back. I am angry that I have had to waste so much time trying to fix something as routine as brakes. I am angry that they refuse to acknowledge that there is probably an issue with my brake calipers. I am angry that they refuse to honor the warranty that I paid a lot of money for. I am angry that I had to drive down my street and pull into my work parking lot for the 4^th TIME THIS YEAR with a car that is embarrassingly loud. I am angry that they are not concerned with my safety and would rather put my life at risk (for what, some paperwork, since this is a warranty covered part???) than do what is right and fix this issue.
Seriously Chicago Northside Toyota, get your act together.

This dealership sucks. I’ve shopped at a few dealers in Chicago and this is the worst. We walked in to look at a sedan. The salesperson turned us to another one as soon as we arrived and that guy made us wait forever. Then when he finally starts talking numbers it’s like he had to check every other thing with his manager. I didn’t realize I was a practice customer for them to train people on.
Then random salespeople are making comments about the deal we are trying to negotiate. I didn’t know this was a group effort otherwise I would have not come in. Pressure sales tactics, poorly trained sales staff and waste of time. Ultimately he came to a price we could live with but I didn’t want to give my business to a dealer that treats customers like this. Gave my business to another Chicago dealer and we couldn’t be happier that we switched. Ultimately any dealer can do the price one can with a little negotiation, but not every dealer treats their customers as poorly as this one.

A little update. It’s been a couple of months since the 3 hour oil change ordeal that I reviewed a couple weeks back and time came for another oil change. Now that the weather is nice I’m back to doing the job myself.
The main reason I decided to go to the dealership the last time (other than the snow) was because the dealership is supposed to replace the gasket to the oil plug. The quick lube places never do that. After unscrewing my oil drain plug I realized that there was no gasket! Not only did that not replace the one that was there, they didn’t even bother to put the old one back.
All that time and money for a crappy oil change job? Wouldn’t trust these guys with anything.

They refused to give me a new key after I lost mine and generally acted like they hate Their customers or don’t believe they are smart enough to do research before coming in.
They lied to me about my car having an engine immobilized and told me I needed to get my car towed here to program a remote. Do not ever shop here.

Northside Toyota recently cold-​called me about trading in my Scion. I was trying to determine if they’d be interested in buying it outright instead, because Chicago (who needs a car?) Their sales tactics:
[1] Pretend to agree with the customer/​mark, while what you’re really saying is the opposite.
[2] Either you piss off the customer when they realize what you’re doing, or you mislead them into coming in, which pisses them off even more.
[3] PROFIT!!!
Other than that, they’ve persuaded me to Unilocal around for a good repair and upkeep shops. They WILL find 5 things wrong with your car, every time. Get an estimate, then farm it around for a heavy discount. But more than likely, an honest mechanic will shrug and say «Nah. That can wait.»