Painless!
Painless! How often does anyone ever say that about buying a car, right? Well, if you want a transparent, comfortable, seamless and painless car buying experience go see Melanie LaCombe at Berlin City Toyota.* Disclaimer: Let me start by saying I don't throw praise around lightly, I'm a business author and speaker (my subject matter expertise is customer service, leadership and operational excellence).Melanie truly makes buying a new car an incredibly easy experience. It doesn't feel at all adversarial, manipulative or transactional. Melanie conducts herself like a trusted advisor (no gamesmanship or strongarm sales tactics), her follow through impeccable and attention to detail second to none; as a result she creates a win-win situation for all involved. Which is why when I needed a new vehicle this week I didn't even think of calling anyone else.I just bought a 2021 Toyota Sienna from Melanie on Saturday. This is my family's 10th Toyota over the past 25 years. My wife, 2 daughters, my mother and I all happily drive Toyotas. Obviously we are sold on Toyota, as it's a reliable and trustworthy brand. But as importantly we are sold on Melanie LaCombe who is every bit as reliable and trustworthy as the brand she represents.Get your next vehicle from Melanie at Berlin City, I promise you won't be disappointed.
John Brubaker
DO NOT RECOMMEND - DO NOT BUY
I normally don’t write reviews, but my family’s experience with Berlin City Auto Group has been so disappointing and exhausting that I feel obligated to warn others.My son purchased a 2016 Toyota Tacoma from Berlin City in July 2024. Within 2,000 miles, the oil light came on and the truck was already low on oil. By October, Downeast Toyota diagnosed major engine damage — oil leaking into three cylinders, likely from overheating prior to our ownership — and quoted $12,800 for a replacement engine. This is not normal wear and tear for a Toyota with 115k miles, and it certainly shouldn’t happen within three months of purchase.When we contacted Berlin City, we were bounced between managers, given contradictory information, and ultimately told they “couldn’t do anything” because we didn’t buy their extended warranty. We were originally told that warranty work could only be done at their NH location (over 3 hours away), which we later learned was not true.Communication was terrible. Calls weren’t returned, promises of follow ups were ignored, and even during a Better Business Bureau complaint, Berlin City avoided answering basic questions — including three separate requests for them to perform their own diagnostic. Their GM later admitted he simply “missed” the question, despite answering others in the same thread.We also learned through the NH DMV that Berlin City failed to complete the required state inspection when selling the vehicle, resulting in a dealer violation letter. During mediation, they claimed the truck had undergone a 122 point inspection, but the Carfax shows only a 49 point inspection was performed.We pursued small claims court, and Berlin City failed to appear twice, delaying the process even further. After months of back and forth, mediation, and complaints through multiple agencies, Berlin City still refused to buy back the truck or take responsibility for selling a vehicle with a serious pre existing engine issue.My son is a member of the Army National Guard who saved for years to buy his dream truck. Instead, he ended up with a $27k vehicle that needs a new engine after three months, and a dealership that has done everything possible to avoid accountability.I strongly recommend avoiding Berlin City Auto Group. Based on our experience — the lack of transparency, the poor communication, the inspection violation, and the refusal to stand behind the vehicles they sell — I would not trust them with another purchase.
Roger S Moreau
Apparently we "wasted their time" on the Sales Floor
Berlin City Toyota in Portland: The "EASY" thing to do here is go to the BBB site and look at those reviews. It's "EASY" for them to stack the fake five star reviews on most other review sites. We walked out after encountering a rude sales rep who claimed we were "wasting my (his) time" by wanting to take a test drive to determine if we wanted to purchase a Rav4 or Highlander. Apparently his time wasn't being wasted by looking at his phone behind their rear counter as we approached. Pretty unique salesmanship, don't you think? The entire encounter lasted 3 minutes. Competition in Saco took the time to help us and even though we weren't expecting to buy that day - just test drive - we ended up buying a NEW Highlander. They let us drive a new Rav4 and new Highlander, even though we were looking for Certified used ones, so we could compare. Very happy with the deal too - 9% below MSRP ON A NEW HIGHLANDER. STAY AWAY FROM ANY BERLIN CITY.
not_pablum
DO NOT TRUST THIS SERVICE DEPARTMENT
They stickered a vehicle and sold it to me that they knew needed work. I have since opened a file with the BBB> Do not trust them, I do not have time to go in to detail on this experience. Just stay away. (FYI, I bought a Subaru)
Axel
