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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

April 11, 2014

Gary Dos Reis was extrememly helpful with trying to get me out of a current lease and into a new lease. He totally understood my dilemma and did a great job assisting me with my new lease. Quincy was ver More

by jjking1414
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
December 11, 2013

I just purchased a used Toyota Corolla at A1 Toyota. My sales man was Eddie. I must say this was the easiest car buying experience ever! No pressure, no haggling and no B.S. I felt right at home. While More

by kwalsh76
Customer Service
Quality Of Work
Friendliness
Price
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Eddie
November 26, 2013

I had found the car I really loved on the internet, after doing some research I knew I wanted it because of the quality of Toyota's automobiles and the safety. As a single mother of a young child - that alon More

by Chell115
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Other Employees : Frank Crisafi
November 08, 2013

This was the best experience I have ever had buying a car. Very courteous friendly service from the minute I walked into the dealership. Frank was recommended by a friend and I am glad that I followed th More

by Jill13
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Frank Rosado
October 25, 2013

My daughter encountered an emergency warning light on her way home to Maynard, MA and was 2 1/2 hours away from home. She had to spend some time there while they diagnosed the problem and offered her their More

by JaneCaracciolo
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Barry
August 07, 2013

I would like to thank the A-1 service department for saving my vacation on Saturday July 27th. Me and my daughter were driving our Land Cruiser from Boston to Florida when we had a major failure on the More

by dalewj
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
Marshall Sampietro
July 31, 2013

In 2011 we purchased a new Sienna. The sales experience was fine, however, our service experience has not met expectations. We have had several "non-maintenance" issues and for each one we had to make m More

by cdnemec
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
No
Aug 15, 2013 -

A-1 Toyota responded

Again, we're sorry that you were unhappy with your experience at our service department. A-1 Toyota prides itself on top-notch customer service and quality maintenance, and we maintain a good reputation throughout the New Haven area for such. Our Service Manager was sorry to hear of your experience, but was very pleased that he was able to resolve matters with you and we hope that this resolution will maintain our reputation for service. We were very pleased to see you return to our dealership for maintenance and we hope that you will continue to do so in the future. Thank you for your patience and your patronage. Most importantly, thank you for choosing A-1 Toyota.

April 01, 2013

Ms. Taylor was extremealy rude with me and did not work at all with my needs. Didn't know anything about a good customer service. More

by guipill
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
No
Employees Worked With
Danielle Taylor
February 21, 2013

After comparing other brands for quality, reliability, looks and resale value I had things narrowed down to a Toyota Camry or a Nissan Altima. This was the sixth new car that I have bought, but the first More

by captkev21
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Quality Of Work
Recommend Dealer
Yes
Employees Worked With
John Durrani
February 20, 2013

I came to A-1 after a terrible experience at Barberino Nissan, so I was skeptical about all car dealerships in general. Well, A-1 Toyota, I found out, pays all their employees salary which meant that they More

by anony200
Customer Service
Friendliness
Price
Recommend Dealer
Yes
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