Simi Valley Toyota

The Service Department has lost its integrity! I have purchased 3 cars from this dealership in past 15+ years and have always had a good experience. I also have brought all my Toyotas (4) in for s I have purchased 3 cars from this dealership in past 15+ years and have always had a good experience. I also have brought all my Toyotas (4) in for service in the same timeframe. For many years, I had always felt that the Service Department had integrity. While Mike Powell was a Service Advisor and then Manager, he always made me feel that whatever service being recommended was actually needed and the service was completed accurately and professionally. Ever since he left, I never felt the same. Now when I bring my car in for service, I feel as though I am being recommended service that isn't needed and have to question everything. My last service on April 22-23, 2015 proved my fears. I brought my car in for an oil change. After waiting approx. 2 hours, the Service Advisor, Amanda Robinson, greets me with a list of "require immediate attention" service items totaling $912 plus a warranty issue that needed to be fixed. These services included: Brake Flush, Manual Transmission Fluid Change, Battery Replacement, Fuel Injection Cleaning Service, Water Pump, and the usual cabin and engine air filters. After the shock wore off, I made the appointment the next day for the warranted water pump service and told her I would let her know about the other items. I went home and reviewed my previous service records and to my dismay, I determined that I just had my brakes flushed at the last service and it had only been 10,000 miles since that service was performed. The cabin and air filters had also been replaced previously. When I brought the brake flush service to Amanda's attention she was surprised and admitted that she did not review my service history. As a result of that admission, I questioned the validity of the other recommended services such as the transmission fluid change. I asked her what should the oil look like to determine if it is dirty. She didn't know. She called up the mechanic that had worked on my car and he said purple but couldn't show it to me because it had to be raised in a stall. Since my car required warranty service, it had to be sent to the main service area for Pat Schulps, Master Technician to oversee. Amanda had me brought over to that location to speak with Pat about the service issues. They had the car up in the stall and the technician showed me the transmission oil and yes, it did appear dirty since the color of transmission oil is actually like a clear gold not the purple that the original mechanic stated. So that service appeared to be needed, even though the original mechanic and the service advisor had no idea what the oil was suppose to look like. I then proceeded to ask Pat about the other items. Looking at the air filters they were only slightly dirty and could easily be cleaned by an air compressor. On the battery, there was a little bit of acid corrosion. The technician cleaned it and retested the battery. The result was: Good & Pass; state of health 94% & state of charge 100%. The test printout from the previous day showed Bad & Replace with a 62% & 71%. Finding that to be odd, I reviewed and compared both printouts and noticed that the "bad" test had a test date on 4/7/2002 on it with different volts and ratings on it. So either the first test was performed on an outdated machine or they have some old printouts that they use to "trick" the customer??? Needless to say, I don't need a new battery. Pat did mentioned to keep an eye on the battery if the corrosion occurs again. The fuel injection service was not necessary as well. This service was the worst. I waited 2 weeks to write this review hoping to calm down from the experience. I am amazed that DCH Toyota, Simi Valley would hire and retain service advisors that have no mechanical knowledge and mechanics that just want to check the box. I have spoken to other people who have had similar issues with the service department. While I give the service department an "F", I do want to thank Pat Schulps for his willingness to go over my service issues and handle them personally. He may be the only "good one" left. Just by reviewing previous reviews on this site you can see that when Mike Powell left the 5 star review diminished. That should be a red flag for top management!!!! More

Great Sales experience no sales tactics straight nice help Salesman Andy Sasso totally helped us choose wisely. He's very knowledgeable and friendly. You guys 5 more of him. Thanks. We love our Scion & Camry Salesman Andy Sasso totally helped us choose wisely. He's very knowledgeable and friendly. You guys 5 more of him. Thanks. We love our Scion & Camry. More

Great Leasing Experience w/ Ed Idris Ed Idris was such a great help during my leasing experience. I really appreciate all that he did for me. He was so friendly and helpful Thank you so m Ed Idris was such a great help during my leasing experience. I really appreciate all that he did for me. He was so friendly and helpful Thank you so much!!! More

The BEST car-buying experience! Thanks to Brian Lamb, my husband and I had an easy, honest, and enjoyable car-buying experience. Before contacting Brian, we visited and communicated Thanks to Brian Lamb, my husband and I had an easy, honest, and enjoyable car-buying experience. Before contacting Brian, we visited and communicated with several other Toyota dealerships. Each time, we met the usual run-around sales tactics and could not get a straight answer to any of our questions or a bottom line price on the Toyota Highlander that we wanted. We were exhausted and frankly were about to give up on purchasing a new car at all. That feeling quickly changed as soon as we contacted Brian Lamb at DCH Toyota of Simi Valley. From his first communication with us, we knew that he was different. He immediately gave us a bottom line price on the car we wanted, and the price was fair and competitive according to our research! He continued to impress us with how easy he made the whole transaction and how hard he worked to locate the exact car we wanted. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised by his honest and straight-forward nature. No games, no sales tactics. .Brian Lamb has an inherent sense of integrity that is rare. Truly, the industry needs more people like him. More

Need a car? Start with Brian Lamb. End Happy! I've been involved in over a dozen vehicle transactions - New & Preowned. From Dealerships that claim they are the best in radio/tv/print to small in I've been involved in over a dozen vehicle transactions - New & Preowned. From Dealerships that claim they are the best in radio/tv/print to small independent lots. Never have I been so impressed with a Dealer, but Brian Lamb of DCH Toyota Simi Valley earned my respect from the get go. I visited and contacted about 10 dealerships in a 200 mile radius to find this specific model SUV. From my experience, I'm very skeptical and guarded. Brian picked up on it, but was always very friendly, respectful, never pushy and answered all of my questions. I travel very frequently and so the transaction duration from first contact took over a month. Many other Dealers would be put off or could have ignored my sporadic inquires. But each time, Brian would chat as if we spoke an hour earlier. My family and I had a hectic schedule so we arranged an appointment for paperwork and sign off to be done quickly. There were no surprises when we arrived - the vehicle was in detail, we filled out the paperwork, got the TFS credit approved, through Finance without any pressure and into the vehicle for the tutorial. Thank you Brian, you are the epitome of goodness in a sea of sharks. If you think this review is fake, reach out to him and experience the difference yourself. More

Straightforward and honest I had a great experience with Brian Lamb. We pre-negotiated the specifications and price of the car I wanted via email and phone. When I arrived at I had a great experience with Brian Lamb. We pre-negotiated the specifications and price of the car I wanted via email and phone. When I arrived at the dealership everything was exactly as promised. Brian was straightforward, nice, polite and honest - surprising for a car salesman. :) Ricardo was the same with the contract and paperwork. The whole thing was said and done in a few hours. I left feeling like I got a great deal, was respected and treated fairly. Buying a car as a single woman is not a fun experience and one that has not gone well for me in the past. I was pleasantly surprised by DCH of Simi and highly recommend them. :) More