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A-1 Toyota
New Haven, CT
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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This rating includes all dealership reviews, with more weight given to recent reviews.
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Trade-in Experience
Purchase Time
Finance Experience
Workmanship
Service Time
Hours
Sales/Showroom
Monday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Friday 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM
Saturday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday Closed
Service
Monday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday Closed
Parts
Monday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday Closed
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Showing 1,140 reviews
March 18, 2015
Wonderful buying experience Just picked up a 2012 Prius C for my son. Quincy did a really good job of keeping me posted on available models until the perfect one came to the deal Just picked up a 2012 Prius C for my son. Quincy did a really good job of keeping me posted on available models until the perfect one came to the dealership. Having bought 3 cars from Quincy in the past, I knew I could trust his judgement. The car is really wonderful and Carlos make quick work putting together the financing. Lastly, they have awesome blueberry muffins in the snack bar. What more could you want from a dealership? More
by Georged
March 18, 2015
Top-notch experience! I worked with the A-1 family and Quincy Smith to purchase a vehicle this month. I could not be happier with the overall experience. Quincy knows his I worked with the A-1 family and Quincy Smith to purchase a vehicle this month. I could not be happier with the overall experience. Quincy knows his stuff and took care of us with thorough attention to detail and excellent service. I highly recommend visiting A-1 Toyota! More
by berathbun
March 18, 2015
Wonderful!! Quincy is a helpful honest person! He defies all the negative stigmas car salesman have. Carlos made the paper work simple and easy to understand. Quincy is a helpful honest person! He defies all the negative stigmas car salesman have. Carlos made the paper work simple and easy to understand. More
by JamieM
March 16, 2015
Second vehicle purchased at A1 Toyota!! Purchased my second vehicle through A1 and Dealt with Quincy a second time as well, I highly recommend this dealership for anyone in the market for a Purchased my second vehicle through A1 and Dealt with Quincy a second time as well, I highly recommend this dealership for anyone in the market for a new vehicle. Every time I go to A1 whether to buy a vehicle or get a vehicle serviced it is a great experience! More
by Jasonmrod
Employees Worked With
Other Employees :
Angel Ramos, Shamus Rahman
March 12, 2015
Exceptional customer service This is my second experience with Quincy and as always he is extremely professional, makes you feel like home and made a sales experience an easy one. This is my second experience with Quincy and as always he is extremely professional, makes you feel like home and made a sales experience an easy one. Quincy goes above and beyond to find you the car that you need at the best deal they can offer. Quincy strives for customer satisfaction and provides highly customer service. He is a pleasure to do business with. More
by vera
Employees Worked With
March 10, 2015
3rd purchase o a vehicle at A1 My sales representative Danielle Taylor was thorough, very knowledgeable about the vehicle, patient, and took all the time necessary to complete the My sales representative Danielle Taylor was thorough, very knowledgeable about the vehicle, patient, and took all the time necessary to complete the transaction. There was minimal negotiation as that is the business model for A1Toyota. All possible cost saving aspects were explored and considered. Carlos was very experienced, knowledgeable and because we were previous purchasers we were familiar with the documents so he was accommodating in expediting the process. Same day delivery of the vehicle with a clean vehicle full gas tank and all unnecessary wrappings and packaging removed. More
by jjfijal
Employees Worked With
Carlos Orozco, Danielle Taylor
March 05, 2015
2009 AND STILL DEALING WITH A1 TOYOTA MY WIFE AND I HAVE STARTED DEALING WITH A1 IN 2009 AND NOW ALSO HAVE OUR GRAND DAUGHTER DOING BUSINESS WITH A1. IF YOU LIKE HONEST PEOPLE AND GREAT SE MY WIFE AND I HAVE STARTED DEALING WITH A1 IN 2009 AND NOW ALSO HAVE OUR GRAND DAUGHTER DOING BUSINESS WITH A1. IF YOU LIKE HONEST PEOPLE AND GREAT SERVICE YOU WILL LOVE A1 TOYOTA. WE WILL BE BACK THIS COMING AUGUST TO TRADE OUR 2012 TOYOTA VENZA FOR A NEW ONE. WE ARE L@@KING FORWARD TO SEEING JOHN DURRANI., DADO,(SALES) PAUL W., CARLOS AND ANGEL (FINANCE) AND ALSO THE BEST SERVICE MGR., IN CONNECTICUT MIKE QUERFELD. More
by POPPY
Employees Worked With
Other Employees :
John Durrani, Carlos Orozco, Angel Ramos
February 27, 2015
John Durranni disappointed me. I had a very bad and unexpected experience with their salesperson named "John Durranni". It was our first encounter. Before today, i was a good custom I had a very bad and unexpected experience with their salesperson named "John Durranni". It was our first encounter. Before today, i was a good customer of A1-Toyota but not anymore. John made me change my mind to step out the dealership without buying the new car. More
by nicebuyer
Employees Worked With
John Durrani
February 25, 2015
Excellent Experience I purchased a new Corolla in mid February after looking at other cars and other dealers. Mr Dadic was an exceptional salesman: low key, patient, arti I purchased a new Corolla in mid February after looking at other cars and other dealers. Mr Dadic was an exceptional salesman: low key, patient, articulate knowledgeable. He spent his time willingly and without pressuring me. He answered all my questions fully. At the final sale Mr Orozco carefully explained all the finance issues. He too was patient and unhurried. Now that I have had my car for nearly a week I have no complaints and would unqualifiedly recommend these two gentlemen and A1 Toyota. P.G. More
by brianphig
Employees Worked With
Carlos Orozco
February 22, 2015
Our Car repair experience My son is a college student in New Haven. He took the 2005 Toyota Camry (engine size 2.4, 74,000 miles) to this dealership because the car vibrates a My son is a college student in New Haven. He took the 2005 Toyota Camry (engine size 2.4, 74,000 miles) to this dealership because the car vibrates a little when driving above 60mph. The shop performed a multi point inspection and found that the root cause of the vibration was due to a bent rim. He was also told of several other problems and was given an estimate of over $3000 (70% is labor). The estimate was shown to him on a sheet of paper and no written itemized estimate was given to him. He naively agreed to the repair. When I learned of this matter the next morning, I asked him to call the shop right away to cancel the job. Unfortunately, the shop told him that the job was done already when he called. There was only 7.5 hours between the time that the car could be worked on and when the car was made available. But the invoice shows that 22.4 hours was charged. The largest item was the oil leak fix. This job alone clocked 18 hours. I consulted with a seasoned car expert who's been in the repair business for years. According to him, the standard amount of hours charged for an oil leak fix for this car model with this engine size is 7 hours. If the car was still under warranty, the manufacturer only pays 4.7 hours. I called the service manager and tried to get some insights as to why they would charge 18 hours. The answer is that they opted for doing a cleaner job and so it's more labor intensive. They not only removed the timing cover as usually is done, they also removed the subframe and so had to re-align the gear and the timing chain. He also told me that 2005 Toyota Camry is known for the oil leak problem at low mileage. There's no way for us to confirm if they did what they claimed that they did. My only question is whether they still would have opted for using this cleaner method if the car was still under warranty. The only thing that we are certain about is that our wallets got cleaned very well. More
by dw
