Toyota Financial Services
Complaint 282836 Details

My wife and I are elderly retired U.S. citizens residing in Northern Virginia.

We bought in August 2012 at LUSTINE TOYOTA of Woodbridge, VA, a 2012 YARIS. After overcharging us for the car, which we were told would cost approximately $16,000, it ended up costing $10,000 MORE, due to add-ons that were sold to us as being included in the original total sale.

We admit we were duped for not reading the fine print in what was a hurried and high-pressure sale. Subsequently, within a week we got $4500 worth of the ad-ons deleted from the loan, but still owed more than $26,000.

When we protested, Lustine's General Manager Jim Giddings (703-282-9992) told us the financing firm, Toyota Financial Services (TFS), could not and would not refinance the deal to make the (egregious) monthly car payments ($394.22) more affordable. Imagine -- a $16,000 car selling for $26,000! Moreover, Giddings offered no relief for our unfortunate purchase.

I phoned TFS, headquartered in California. The representative stated that because TFS is an "indirect lender" TFS can't refinance car loans. In a subsequent e-mail, TFS wrote, "As an indirect lender, TFS does not offer loans directly to the public or otherwise engage in the business of refinancing."

Sounded fishy, so I filed a complaint with the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, asking how is it a firm can finance a loan, but not be willing or able to REFINANCE it. The office has acknowledged and filed my complaint, but states it cannot order a firm to take action, and that we would need to hire legal assistance if we feel we've been swindled.

So for six years my elderly wife and I are stuck paying down a usurious loan. I mean what good would it do us to try to refinance through a bank or credit union? What bank would refinance a car with a Kelley Blue Book value of $13,000 for a balance of $23,000? Such a loan would do neither the bank nor us any good.

Bottom lines, lessons learned:

1) DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE FINANCE YOUR TOYOTA WITH TFS!

2) DO YOUR SELF ANOTHER FAVOR BY NOT BUYING A CAR FROM LUSTINE TOYOTA, WHERE GREED AND A LACK OF ETHICS RULE CAR SALES.