DCH Toyota of Torrance

I came in to look at a car I saw advertised online. Before I even shut the engine off on my car, I had a salesman approaching me and opening my car door, welcoming me to the dealership. Instinctively, I snapped at him, asking if I could even get out of my car before I got ambushed by salesmen. He laughed, but I wasn’t laughing. I proceeded in, and asked for my internet salesperson, Nancy Esparza.
Nancy was an absolute doll. She showed me the vehicle, and I explained that whatever I got, it would have to have a very soft and smooth ride, because of my spinal cord injury. She graciously took me for a ride with the car, even allowing me to drive the car off the lot. Nancy let me take the car (a used Fiat 500e) over bumps in the road, up hills, into traffic, so I could experience all road conditions. Upon return, I was asked for my drivers’ license, which is a pretty common occurrence when you test drive a car, so I gave it to her.
During our drive, I advised Nancy that I have financing through my credit union, and if I purchased, I’d use my own credit union. She asked if one of her financiers could beat my rate, if I’d consider financing through them. (My financing was at 2.89%) I told her that I don’t think my rate could be beat, but she could look. Nancy excused herself at the dealership for a moment, and when she came back, she said, «I have good news for you! You have good credit, and I’m sure I can get a better rate for you.» I was rather upset that she ran my credit score without asking me. I had a copy of my credit report with me, should I get to that issue. Nancy said I shouldn’t worry about the credit report, because people can run their credit reports up to 10 times a year without it having any effect on the score. It still made me very uncomfortable that this liberty was taken without my permission or knowledge.
Nancy returned with Seth Gibbs, I assumed he was their «finance guy» because he started crunching numbers with me. The car was advertised online for $ 13,331, but Seth used the price of $ 13,770, and he added GAP insurance, as well as an extended warranty. By the time he got done adding everything together, the price of the car was over $ 17,000, with a payment close to $ 400 a month. Not what I was looking for. I clearly stated that I DID NOT want any extended warranty, and I DID NOT want any GAP insurance. Again, I reminded Seth that I was not happy that my credit score was run. He just looked at me and said, «Well, what can you do? Its done.» Finally, because the price of the car was not what I had planned, I was frustrated, and I was upset, I decided I was going to leave the vehicle, clear my head, and decide what I wanted to do. The car had already sat on the lot for over a month, so I wasn’t worried that it would be gone by the next day. I told Seth I was going to walk away today and think a bit. Seth reminded me that the car might be gone if I waited. I told him I’d take my chances, and if its gone, I’d find another. He piped up, «Or maybe not!»
Before I even left the parking lot, I had an email from Nancy, thanking me for coming in, and asking if I had any further questions. I had 4 specific questions I wanted answers for in order to make a decision on the vehicle and my questions were not answered. I spoke to Nancy the next morning, and she had the answers for me so I was comfortable purchasing the vehicle. I told her she has all my information, including financial, mark the car sold, get the paperwork ready, and I will be in that afternoon right after my doctor’s appointment. I explained to Nancy that I cannot miss this appointment. Not 3 minutes later, Nancy called back asking if I could come in right away, because there was someone else who was looking at the car, and if I didn’t go in, that person would buy the car. (even though they had everything in my name already, including my phone synced to it!!!) I told her I was in my pajama’s still, hadn’t even showered, and she assured me it would take «just a couple minutes» to sign the paperwork. I really was not happy about this.
I showed up to handle the paperwork, and Nancy pointed out the person who was trying to purchase my car, and Nancy said she took the keys out of her hand and said, «SORRY! ITS SOLD.» I asked Nancy to charge the car while I handled the financial part. At that point, I met with Valentine, the financial wizard of Toyota. Signing the paperwork was not «just a few minutes.» In fact, it was a 4 hour ordeal. However, working with Valentine was the best part of this auto purchasing event. Because of my credit score, Valentine managed to get me financing at 2% and he manipulated the computer program to include an 8 year warranty at no extra cost. He also calculated the price using the CORRECT price of the car. At the end of the day, I did get a good deal, but getting that deal was a massive ordeal!

Came in to look at a pre-​owned car we saw advertised online. We let the salesman know from the start that we liked the car but it was just a little over our budget, and also that we had pre-​approved financing from our bank. The whole process took longer than it should have — we made it very clear from the get-​go what our offer was, but they kept coming back with the same number, and seemed surprised when after the third or fourth time we finally said thanks, but we’ll keep looking. We liked that car, but would have been just fine with something else for a little less, and after being there 3 hours we just wanted to take our toddler home for dinner. They still asked us to wait and finally brought it down a bit, not to what we asked but close enough. Then of course we had to spend more time waiting to get all the paperwork in order. It just took forever.
What was strangest to me were the assumptions the salesmen made about my role in the process. We did put the car in my husband’s name only just to save time on paperwork, but by the conversation and questions they asked they seemed to assume my husband worked and was in charge of finances and I was a stay at home mom… even after replying that I work full-​time and go to school, and the loan will be in both our names, and even though it was I who did the research and was negotiating and was mostly responsible for the final decision, I still got comments like «oh so you take care of the baby». Um no, were you just not listening to anything I said?
Anyways, we bought the car, but it took way too long, so 3 stars. They did have a nice coffee machine though.

They are happy to call you all the time and make a deal but when it comes to following through with agreements they fail to do so. Not only will they lie to you to get you in their store but they are incompetent on taking the information given and following it. I will never try to purchase a vehicle from this company again. Terrible experience.

We came here one or two years ago. late review, I know. but when it’s bad, it stays with you!
my husband saw online that they had cars we were interested in. So he called them and asked them, «if we see a car we like, can we take it to a mechanic to look at it?» «yes, of course» was their answer.
so we drive there. first words out of my husband’s mouth, «if we see a car we like, can we take it to a mechanic to look at it?» «yes, of course» was their answer.
we find a car we like. so… my husband says, «can we take it to a mechanic to look at it?» «yes, of course» was their answer.
my husband is on the phone trying to find a mechanic to look at it. the manager comes over and says, «well, no, you know, you can’t take it to a mechanic because it’s the weekend. what if someone else wants it?» I don’t know what else they said. my husband was pissed. I tried to use it to our advantage (lower the price). no go.
ok. we went straight from there to toyota in MARINA DEL REY. found a car we liked. the salesman patiently waited until my husband found a mechanic to take the car to. all they way down in torrance. salesman went with my husband to the mechanic and back. and, surprise, surprise. we bought the car. We love the car! and Torrance lost their sale… next time, we know where to go!

Bought a Toyota Prius Here, Back in 2013. Was not planning on writing a review. (This is the first) The reason I’m writing this review is because I feel as though I was ripped off. For Starters I thought the price of the car at the time was fair, but once it got to financing… Well first problem, the warranty. Because of the mileage on the car and the year, the warranty expired in about 1 year, that would have been fine if i did not pay $ 2000 for it. As soon as it expires, turns out my water pump was bad, and my suspension, and a few other things. In Short it would cost me way more than I paid for the warranty just to get it fixed. All of this info right after it expires? Fixed the water pump, After the water pump was fixed I was advised to change the hybrid coolant, so I did, along with an oil change. All was good, even replaced my headlights with some that I brought in. Super awesome. But then I brought my car in for my next service and they brought up that my hybrid coolant needed to be replaced, even though I had just done it the previous service? That was when i stopped taking my car to this Dealership.
Service department: very friendly, but don’t know if the work I paid for was actually done because car makes same noises as when I bought it expect they have gotten progressively worse.
Final Thought: Most stressful car buying experience ever, currently worried my car is going to break down before I finish paying it off.

Went in for a scheduled maintenance last Friday and the car came out with a dent (2014 scion frs). Manager said they’ll give me a call today (Monday) and still haven’t received a call. I called them 4 times today to get in contact with the manager and seems like they have been avoiding my call. Called Toyota HQ to escalate the issue and finally I was able to contact them and speak to the manager that was almost nonexistent prior to contacting the headquarters.
Update: Went in on Monday to drop off my car. Gave me a rental car that is 40% lower value than my car. Pretty much shows how much they care about their customers. I will be picking up the car tomorrow (Friday) hopefully everything is okay.
Update2: Finally went in to get my car after getting a call that my car looks flawless. They damaged my lip, left over paint on the top of the windshield, and the actual parts they repainted has white marks all over. None of the managers were there to talk to me so they asked me to come in again tomorrow. I will see how this goes. Seriously tired of dealing with this guys. I’ve attached pictures below for reference.
Update3: Dropped my car off again (did not tell me the ETA of when the work will finish), contacted the HQ and got the customer service manager involved. Toyota blamed Caliber Collision for the lip damage, so I contacted caliber collision and they blamed toyota for the damage. Toyota decided to take the responsibility and will be paying for a new lip as well as installation. They also gave me a Camry rental which is some what equivalent in value to my car after having to convince them that I am making a payments for a $ 27k car not a $ 16k car. Manager informed me that she had reserved me a Camry rental but the cashier had no idea and gave me a corolla. Had to inform her again and finally I was able to leave with a Camry rental. I was late 15minutes to work due to their lack of communication. I will be waiting until everything is finished to update the review. Hopefully everything can be done right this time and I won’t have to waste my time over their mistakes.
I can provide more information to anyone who needs it. Feel free to email me or message me for more information.

Just came back from the dealership because my girlfriend wanted to buy a car. We only went because they advertised a 2014 Camry for $ 14 991 on their website. Sticker price was 18 and some change, of course, the salesman said that there was a special for 15 something. We told him about the fact that it was advertised for 14 991 and he said «okay that’s even better we’ll honor that if it is on the website.»
A few moments later he came back and said that they took that offer down and that it was only for memorial day weekend; which if I’m not mistaken was about 1 week ago. Today is the 7^th of June 2016. He said his manager wouldn’t budge at all even though I pulled out my phone and showed him that the website still stated that the car was at much lower price than he was trying to get us to buy it for AND he still was going to not even tell us. He made us wait hoping we would give in, took my girlfriend’s license for a long time while he helped other customers trying to bide his time. Came back and said he got the number for the price of the car if we bought it for 16 000.
There were other people looking at the same car don’t know if they know that the price for it was listed online for 14 991. I hope they knew too.
I will never again go here again. Customer service was terrible as the salesman was getting frustrated because we wouldn’t take a higher offer. He made us wait a long time, even though he knew we would pay cash and for the price that was listed. The made up «Manager» who would not personally come out and tell us that it is not advertised; well we’re not sure he existed as he never once stepped out of his Fantasyland office.
People make sure you’re not being pushed over, check prices online first then go in. Just a heads up.

Thank you soooooo much Carla Stiggers and Cristina Madlangbayan!!! From dealing with my parents over the phone to giving us an AMAZING deal, these gal pals exemplified the friendliest, down-​to-​earth, yet exemplary professionalism. I started with the intent-​to-​buy the lease on my 2013 Honda Civic. However, seeing that I had many more financially sound options, neither were pushy nor did they demonstrate the typical car salesperson behavior dreaded by an indecisive and normally carefree-​when-​it-​comes-​big-​decisions individual like myself plus two also indecisive and not so go-​with-​the-​flow parental units and financial backers who rarely finish sentences before moving onto the next thought, who also, among all things, weren’t together nor able to grace DCH with their presence (thankfully). Both Cristina and Carla were extremely patient and supportive after 3 different test drives and 4 hours of back and forth long distance bickering. As busy as the dealership was when I arrived, not only did these two provide extraordinary knowledge and customer service, but the entire sales, management, financial, and ancillary staff provided for a comfortable atmosphere.
The father unit got to pick his white car and half leather/​half cloth interior. The mother unit got to pick her ash gray interior and navigation with Bluetooth and rear view camera. I’m feeling like I’ve got my big-​girl panties on in my new 2016 Camry SE — a smooth 4-​cylinder dream machine that rides like a 6 to help a professional student commuter’s wallet, 2 years of free maintenance (… I KNOW RIGHT?!), an interest rate I could only wish my nursing school student loans could match, and monthly payments that can still allow me to avoid that short-​lived, preemptive heart attack college diet of free Costco samples and salty/​sugary freeze-​dried or canned anything when the father unit retires this fall.
I’ve followed Cristina to different dealerships with every car I’ve ever had, and with Carla and DCH Toyota this has undoubtedly been the most (retrospectively) enjoyable and shortest car buy, thus far. THANKS CRISTINA, CARLA, AND DCH TOYOTA OF TORRANCE!
NOTE: Their coffee machine is AMAZING: very fancy, different coffee/​gourmet/​non-​coffee optionsand a major step-​up from the typical self-​brew coffee pot. The bathroom is SO clean and didn’t make me feel like I needed to disinfect my entire body nor burn my clothes afterward. And I was able to borrow an iPhone charger and play my TsumTsum and Despicable Me on the free WiFi while Cristina and Carla worked their magic
#NewCarSmell #BigGirlPanties #Blessed #ThanksMommyDaddy #byeCooterTheHondaCivic #HelloNewCar #TootieTheToyotaCamrySE #HowLongCanIKeepItClean

Joe Anicete is amazing!!!
He was so sweet and kind. Very knowledgable about the various cars and styles that were offered. He was so patient in explaining the different features and options that were offered and come with each car. He was not pushy AT ALL. He catered to our individual needs and made sure we got the car that WE wanted, not just the most expensive car.
Joe just went above and beyond expectation. He even made some adjustments and wiggle room so that our payment were within budget. Very rare in our experience of car salesmen.
He even spent time programming my phone and explaining the features of our new RAV4. I can’t thank Joe enough for his amazing customer service and getting us to our new car!!!

My girlfriend and I were just shopping for a TRD off-​road Tacoma for my girlfriend. The salesman scoped us out as we drove in and were instantly sizing us up. The salesman helping us didn’t know much about the different options packages or what he even had on the lot quite frankly — I ended up explaining to him some of the differences between trim levels. Another guy mentioned that a celebrity was looking for the same Tacoma with the same options and had bought the one we wanted yesterday.
We test drover he truck, then wanted to see availability of the Tacoma we wanted in the color and options we wanted. Then we had to deal with the sleazy sales manager, Sean. He came back with an offer 10,000 more than the one we wanted — half of which was ‘dealer markup.’ He then preceded to direct all questions to me and not interact with the person that would actually be driving the truck that was sitting next to me. He was short with us, rude, and not helpful in the slightest. He spent a minute or two bragging about the dealership and claiming a ‘Hollywood stuntman’ had to go to Hawaii to buy the same truck. He made us feel like we were a burden requesting certain options and color and not just choosing one off the lot.
Pros: free peets coffee, nice looking building.
Cons: salesman are annoyed with customers, are not helpful, misogynistic, make you feel small and unwelcome.
Update: after email correspondence trying to earn our business back we were told that we couldn’t order a Tacoma as we wanted and that any dealership that told us we could was wrong. Well we got the exact Tacoma we wanted from Manhattan beach Toyota. They tracked down what we wanted, secured the order, and at $ 500 under MSRP. There is absolutely NO REASON to shop here.

I sent out a request on Cars Direct for information on used Toyota Tacomas. They in turn broadcasted that request to several dealerships in my area. Out of all the responses, Aaron Castro from DCH Toyota of Torrance was the worst. So bad in fact, that DCH Toyota of Torrance will be the LAST place I will EVER look for a car, new or used! I requested a certain price and certain colors.
First email I get from Aaron are listing of NEW 2016 Toyota Tacomas. WTH? I just ignored it. The second email was a video to begin my «personal car buying experience.» A video of a woman describing them as «family», and having a «warm family atmosphere.» it claimed that that they have a staff «who knows how to make your purchase a truly enjoyable experience.» Obviously this doesn’t apply to internet sales and/​or Aaron Castro. Basically it’s a video of how warm and fuzzy they all are at the dealership and how great they are with their gourmet coffee that they offer. Seriously, at this point I felt that the emails I was receiving couldn’t have been any more impersonal. I felt like the emails were «auto» responds that are sent to everyone. If I could have talked to that friendly looking lady in the red top in the video I would have said, «Look, not to be rude, but I’m sure all of what you want to tell me is wonderful, but all I want is information on your used Tacomas.» The third email I sent was more specifically what I was looking for in a Tacoma. The fourth email is Aaron telling me he’ll send a list of all the trucks he has. The fifth email is a list of trucks from $ 20,991 up to $ 27,288 that didn’t even match the color I was looking for. I specifically stated I can go up to $ 15,000. What part of FIFTEEN THOUSAND is so hard to understand? And is he color blind? I requested black, white, or red. Not silver, bronze, or blue. What’s even more frustrating is when I clicked on a pic of a truck, the link shot me back to their website where I had to plug all the information to do a new search. The sixth email is a duplicate of the original that explains what I’m looking for but highlighted in red are the colors and the price range. The SEVENTH email is the SAME list of trucks that he sent prior that are waaaaaaay out of my price range and aren’t even the color I’m looking for. He asks in this email, «Will any of these trucks work for you?» Sure Aaron. They’re what I’m looking for as soon as you go to your bank, withdraw 10 grand to make up the difference, and get a can of paint. The EIGHTH email is what I believe is an automatic email, or copy and paste because it addresses me like we have discussed a certain car and that I need to take a personal look at it. THE NINTH EMAIL I had to send because I couldn’t take it anymore. Basically I told him his lack of attention to detail was unprofessional and annoying and that he wouldn’t be hearing from me again.
Now this is where it should have stopped, or I should have received some sort of an apology for maybe miscommunication or… I don’t know… wasting my time with useless emails that have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help me get one step closer to finding a car I would consider buying. INSTEAD, I receive a condescending email from this Aaron character that not hearing from me is OK and that they don’t have Tacomas in my price range anyway… but he was sure to say «thanks» at the end.
WOW. I can think of what DCH stands for, and I can assure you it ISN’T Delivering Customer Happiness!

I found this dealership on the Internet. We needed a car lease quick. I was very specific on what we needed and they had it. I gave them my price target for a lease and they hit it. They beat other dealers. The best part is I was out of there in just over an hour! I am pretty firm with car dealers. They really wanted to make it happen for me. No BS. Thanks!

This is my first time here and I was immediately greeted by Chrissy. Great customer service and she explained everything to me. Thank you!

Just purchased a new hybrid car from my absolutely perfect salesman, Chin Kim. Without a doubt, he made my car buying experience extremely quick, painless, and efficient. He walked around with me and told me the differences between all the cars and the models. But I already had an idea of which car I wanted.
Sat down, got my credit all figured out and the rates for several cars. Now keep in mind, the whole negotiation process usually takes time. It’s a sum of several battles leading to the end of the war. Chin Kim made this process, which usually takes people HOURS UPON HOURS in order to reach an agreement, easy peasy lemon squeezy. BING, rates, BANG, talking, BOOM done. I actually waited longer for my paperwork to finish here and there compared to the negotiating process.
Now before any of you call me an idiot and go «blah blah you don’t know how to negotiate» or «blah blah you got robbed»… no, I didn’t. Car salesmen, like all people, need to make a living. You can’t expect to get an ungodly low price without someone having to take the consequence. Be nice people, negotiate a bit but don’t be unreasonable.
Other than that, I definitely recommend Chin Kim. His name is easy to remember too. Chin Kim.
On a final note, the finance manager, I believe his name was spelled Lyndon (could be Lynden, or Lindon, or Linden), but this guy is extremely professional (as expected of course). You’d think he’s trying to make a few more dollars for the company by trying to up-​sell you on certain packages here and there, but if you do your own research and weigh out the pros and cons, you’ll realize that he’s actually looking out for you. It’s rare to meet people like that now a days. He was extremely thorough on the whole paperwork process and explained literally each and every step.
Still can’t believe how easy it was to purchase a car.

We bought a car here 3 months ago. Our salesperson, Ricardo was great! He answered all our questions and let us test drive just about every car on the lot over a two day period. Then he brought in the closer, this older guy you could tell was a seasoned veteran in the car business. He wasn’t your typical sleazy snake oil salesman. He was very professional and straight forward, treated us with respect and crunched the numbers to get us the deal we wanted.
Then a guy named Ricky did an excellent job getting our car prepped and ready for drive off. He was super accommodating and helpful to make sure he explained everything to us. It was raining the night we bought the car so he didn’t have the car detailed for us, but told he us to come back another day and they would detail it. I didn’t get anything in writing but trusted they would honor it based just on the good vibe from the entire experience with them up to this point.
Turns out my instincts were correct! I ended up calling then 3 months later for that detail. Unfortunately my original salesperson was no longer working there. However, the person I spoke with, Becky was very eager to help. She booked me an appointment the next day and had them do a great job detailing it!
Becky could have easily told me to pound sand, since my salesperson wasn’t there anymore to back me up and due to the fact it had been 3 months since I bought the car. However, she made a decision to do something very easy by simply saying YES and now this dealership has a satisfied happy customer that will continue to do business with them and tell others great things about them.

Due to a terrible traffic crash that left our «sweet’ 2004 Monte Carlo totaled we opted for a Tacoma.
We shopped around but Chevy, and GMC mid-​sized pick-​up are woefully lacking and not liking Nissan’s offering came here to DCH Toyota of Torrance.
We live in Torrance so may as well spend our taxable dollars here.
We were greeted by Aaron Castro who showed us what was available and with the help of the Sales Manager Sean Gibbs got us the deal we wanted with the accessories we desired.
Thanks again, Aaron and Sean!

I would love to say kudos to Chrissy in service who takes the best care of me and my beloved Prius! She is always so upbeat and cheerful and really makes my week every time I see her. I drive a lot so I am in more frequently than most customers and still she’s always glad to see me and takes care of all my checkups in first class style including a recent flat tire! Ugh!
I would also like to say how enjoyable my whole buying experience was with Alex in sales! He gave me such a thorough tour of my Prius that I literally haven’t had to check my owner’s manual! He also gave me a neat tip about turning the trunk carpet upside down, exposing the black plastic side, so the carpet part doesn’t get dirty when I’m transporting stuff. Plus I can’t believe Toyota financed me at all! So thank you Alex and Chrissy for making me a loyal customer!

I usually come here to get my oil change and basic car maintenance needs, but today I was told that the wait for a «car check up» was an hour and a half, to two hours, for only a brake inspection, battery check, and to top off my fluids
Which is pretty ridiculous since I used to work at Carson Honda and stuff like that would usually take about 20 mins to do,
The lounge is nice and there is free wifi
To distract you from how much time you are wasting
All in all, this place is nothing special
Be careful and try not to get ripped off by some of these service advisors, they will try to get you to fix something that is not even broken

My experience at Toyota was great. Jose was very friendly and let me know exactly what I was getting with my car service.
The expected wait time was a little off, but it was within a reasonable amount of time and wasn’t anything unusual from what I’ve experienced at other locations.
They were very helpful in what I could do to improve my car, but didn’t pressure me into making any unnecessary repairs, which I really appreciate.

Torrance Toyota’s service dept is staffed by a group of very friendly and courteous folks. The place is new with lots of amenities to help make waiting for your car a more enjoyable experience. The room is well lit airy and comfortable. It has sofas, popcorn, coffee and a big screen TV for its customers. In fact I may just come here to watch the next ball game.
But honestly, we come here to get our cars fixed not for entertainment and for that I cannot in all conscience give Torrance Toyota a good rating. I came here to replace my Prius hybrid battery which was under warranty but then they tried to sell me into paying for the replacement of the hybrid battery cooling fan filter, over $ 400. Mind you this is a $ 6.50 part that they have had to remove just to get to the battery anyway. So as they are changing the battery they would just have to slip the new filter in. Easy peasy! Not only that, as part of the battery replacement, the procedure called for the mechanic to replace the filter. So they had to do it anyway, which they did and did not charge me for it. It was just the fact that they tried to make me pay for it or should I say over pay for it!
Next time? Sure warranty repair will be taken to the dealer but I will question everything they say to me.