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A-1 Toyota

New Haven, CT

4.8
1,140 Reviews
In the early 60’s, the owners of a local garage received a postcard announcing the production of a new four-wheel drive vehicle. At the time, the automotive industry was producing only one other vehicle in this category, so the owners thought this might be a good opportunity to introduce a new four-wheel drive vehicle that they would be able to sell as well as service. The postcard was answered and the response was the founding of the first Toyota dealership in New England and the beginning of what has become a very successful endeavor for Dominic Galardi, Anthony Buglione and A-1 Toyota. The history of A-1 Service began before this. In January of 1951, Dom joined his father-in-law, Tony Buglione in a partnership that included a gas station and used cars. The station was located on the corner of Olive Street and St. John in New Haven. In the late 1950’s, a new highway system was breaking through the neighborhood, people started moving to the suburbs, and with the limited space they had already outgrown, A-1 looked for a new location. The new site they chose was in East Haven. The partnership grew to include Dominic’s brother, Andrew. Their new location, occupying a city block on Main Street and the sign reading A-1 Auto Service, Inc., became a landmark for many. In 1963, A-1 completed the building of the first Toyota showroom on the East Coast. In 1966, just three years after opening their dealership, A-1 became the second largest Toyota dealership in the country. Toyota’s line-up featured only two vehicles at the time, the four-wheel drive Land Cruiser and one of the first economy cars, the Tiara. Over the years, A-1 Toyota continued to grow and in 1980 moved to their current location on Amity Road in New Haven adding the Dodge franchise that dueled with Toyota until 1990. A-1 Toyota’s line-up looks far different than it did in 1963, but the basis for a successful business has continued. The business is still owned by the same family, and Domin
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50 Amity Road

New Haven, CT

06515

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Showing 1,140 reviews

June 28, 2015

Steering wheel shaking Your comment(s): Ken Perone is awesome! He even explained what was happening to my car that the steering wheel shook and got it fixed. The shaking More

by Joy Paladino
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
June 16, 2015

Why I now have 3 A-1 Toyotas. Throughout the last decade-plus, my family has put over 300-hundred thousand miles on our two A-1 Toyotas. Over all of those miles, almost every bi More

by FrankieT
Customer Service
Friendliness
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Angel Ramos, Rebecca Wheeler, Shamus Rahman
June 13, 2015

Professonal I had the privilege to work with Quincy Smith, where I was very happy with the type of service he provided. Quincy is knowledgeable and professional b More

by cbtracey227
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Shamus Rahman
June 11, 2015

Best dealer and service I've ever experienced! Sunny was an awesome salesman and knows his vehicles. He welcomed me into A-1 after I had a horrible experience with Branch Toyota in Watertown. All A More

by Mpdirtbike
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Carlos Orozco, Sunny Dhawan, Shamus Rahman
Jun 12, 2015 -

A-1 Toyota responded

We strive for customer satisfaction here at A-1 Toyota and we are so glad to see that you enjoyed our staff! Sunny, Gary and Carlos will certainly appreciate your review and we look forward to doing business with you again in the future!

June 09, 2015

Outstanding service I had no intention to buy a car when I went in but this dealership and it's employees were exceptional. They gave me a great price for my trade in and More

by Apeluso92
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Angel Ramos
Jun 10, 2015 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Thank you for taking the time to review us! We're so pleased to see that you enjoyed doing business with Quincy and we will certainly pass a long your kind feedback to him! We hope you are enjoying your new car!

June 01, 2015

No need to shop around. A few years ago, my first car-buying experience with Quincy Smith confirmed for me that, with subsequent purchases, I needed to return to this persona More

by jade1325
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Angel Ramos
May 31, 2015

Best car buying experience ever Quincy did an excellent job! He listened to what I was looking for and he accommodated me. He did not try to oversell. He informed me of other opti More

by RichAvalon
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Carlos Orozco
May 31, 2015

Back for the second time This is the second Certified Toyota purchased from A1. Quincy Smith handled both purchases. Quincy has made the car buying experience very positive. H More

by 2x Toyota owner
Customer Service
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : John Durrani, Carlos Orozco
May 30, 2015

Fast and easy This is my third time buying a car from A1. I was very pleased with the help I received from Quincy, he is an excellent sales person. Even with a few More

by Trace4808
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Carlos Orozco, Shamus Rahman
May 28, 2015

Dedicated customer support- felt like part of the family Persistent but not pushy, attentive and engaging and listened to what I wanted and didn't tell me what I wanted- allowed me to learn about the various More

by Badgers93
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Sunny Dhawan
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