Earl Stewart Toyota of North Palm Beach

1215 US Highway 1
Lake Park, FL 33403-2895
Phone: 800-378-5111
Fax: 561-845-6681

Dealership Information

WPTV Channel 5 West Palm Beach - June 1st, 2009

Washington DC on one tank of gas

NORTH PALM BEACH, FL-- A local car dealer is trying to beat a world record for fuel efficiency.

Spawned by recent fuel prices, climate concerns, and an economic recession, Earl Stewart Toyota has modified a 2009 Prius with an A123 Hymotion Lithium battery.

The auto dealer says the electric, plug-in hybrid should be able to travel 30-to-40 miles at a time without using any gas.  

Rick Kearney, a hybrid certified technician, will drive the car. He will stop along the way to recharge the battery.

During local test-runs the car got 122 miles per gallon and the dealership is hoping it can reach more than 200 miles per gallon.
The goal is to reach Washington DC on one tank of gas

 

Palm Beach Post - June 1st, 2009

By BILL DIPAOLO

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, June 01, 2009

NORTH PALM BEACH — Aiming to drive to Washington, in 11 days on 11 gallons of gas, Rick Kearney eased his green and white Prius onto U.S. 1 this afternoon.

Kearney, with a black and gold extension cord in the trunk, plans to stop and recharge the electric hybrid vehicle every 30 miles during the 1,100-mile trip. That's at least 36 recharges between here and the Capital.

To keep the engine running at its fuel-pinching peak, he'll stick to back roads where he can drive about 30 mph.

"We have to get away from using fossil fuels," said Kearney, a technician for Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach.

Stewart Toyota is sponsoring the trip to increase awareness of the vehicles, equipped with a lithium battery, which can be recharged in about four hours from a standard electrical outlet.

The vehicles can drive up to about 40 miles and about 40 mph on electricity only. Then, the regular gas engine kicks in.

"I'm sticking to the back roads to conserve gas. I'll drive about 35 mph. When I need recharging, I'll stop and hope a restaurant will let me use their electric outlet," Kearney said.

He's traveling solo and packing only a few shirts and pairs of pants to cut down on weight, he said.

Hybrid sales boomed when gas prices peaked at about $4 a gallon last year, Stewart said.

"If you live within 20 miles of your job, which most Americans do, you can drive back and forth using electricity only," Stewart said.

The key to getting more Americans to buy hybrids is building them to last longer without a charge, said Jupiter resident Jose Alvarez, a Prius owner since 2006.

"They have to make it so you can go farther without recharging," Alvarez said.

 

 

Press Release:

Earl Stewart Toyota of North Palm Beach

Launches its Prius-Plus Electric Green Machine

 

North Palm Beach to Washington, D.C. On One Tank of Gas!

 

FACT SHEET

 

WHO:            

Earl Stewart Toyota of North Palm Beach, the number one seller of hybrid cars in America, outside of California

                       

Driver:  Rick Kearney, Toyota Hybrid-Certified Master Diagnostic Technician

 

WHAT:          

Epic 1,100-mile trip from North Palm Beach, FL to Washington, D.C. ON ONE 11.2-GALLON TANK OF GAS!

 

WHEN:         

Leaving Earl Stewart Toyota of North Palm Beach, FL at noon on Monday, June 1, anticipating arrival in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, June 11.

 

In a ceremony at 11:30 a.m., Monday, June 1, Earl Stewart and local dignitaries will fill the fuel tank of the Prius and then seal the gas tank with a tamper-proof cover. (Possibly U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Congressman Tom Rooney) will join Earl Stewart in greeting the Prius-Plus Electric Green                  Machine upon its arrival in Washington, D.C., verifying that the fuel tank has not been opened and the trip has been completed on one tank of gas.

 

HOW:            

Earl Stewart Toyota has modified a 2009 Prius with a Hymotion Lithium battery, creating an electric, plug-in hybrid able to travel 30-40 miles without using any gas. 

 

Kearney will drive the modified Prius 30-40 miles, and then stop and plug in for a few hours to recharge the battery before continuing the epic journey.

 

Follow the Pruis-Plus Electric Green Machine on its North Palm Beach to  Washington, D.C.  trek on the web on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

                       

Through the use of a GPS tracking system follow the Electric Green Machine’s progress at www.earlstewarttoyota.com.

 

WHY:            

Just as automakers at the turn of the 20^th Century staged cross-country automotive road races to familiarize the American public with this new mode of  transportation, the “horseless carriage,” Earl Stewart Toyota recognizes that hybrid and electric vehicles will play important roles in the future of transportation and is staging this trip to call attention to the gas-saving and cost-saving aspects of this technology. 

 

Although electric cars would not typically be used for long trips, this trip demonstrates that hybrid electric cars are well suited to drivers who daily commute less than 40 miles, freeing them from the worry of ever-escalating gas prices.

 

 

 

Earl Stewart Toyota makes the prestigious "Board of Governors".  This award is given to the top 60 Toyota Dealers in the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronnie Lee Cohen, Jay Adelston, and Jamie Drinkwater are interviewed by the Palm Beach Post about how they successfully quit smoking.  Any employee of Earl Stewart Toyota who quits receives $1000.  All you have to do is notify Mr. Stewart when you stop smoking and again on your one year anniversary!

 

 

 

Please congratulate Glenn Ballard, Rick Kearney, Keith Hamill, Jay Adelston, Rex Andrews & Kim Nickerson for achieving and maintaining their Master Status. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"100 Years on the Hill” School Celebration

and Reunion Scheduled November 7- 8

 

 

 

One hundred years ago this year, the first school building was built on the site of what is now Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Downtown West Palm Beach, just north of the Kravis Center.  Over the years, the “School on the Hill” has housed Central Elementary, Central Junior High, Palm Beach High School, Twin Lakes High School, Palm Beach County School of the Arts and now Alexander W. Dreyfoos, School of the Arts.

 

Earl Stewart posing with a 1937 Pontiac.  This is very first car sold by Stewart Pontiac in West Palm Beach in 1937.

 

 

 

Dealership News

 

The Dealer Fee - A "License to Steal"

There is a movement underway in Florida to outlaw the Dealer Fee. Earl Stewart is the leader in this charge. We are gaining momentum every day. After a State Senate investigation was concluded, legislation is in the works that would cap or outlaw these "licenses to steal". The fight ahead will be tough - the car dealer lobby, spearheaded by the Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) is fighting this tooth-and-nail every step of the way.

Let your opinion as a consumer and a voter be known! Contact these state representatives, senators, committee members, and candidates and tell them you want your rights as a consumer protected:

Senator Jeff Atwater: (561) 625-5101; (850) 487-5100. jeff@senatorjeff.com

Representative Carl Domino: (561) 625-5176

Skip Campbell, candidate for State Senate: wcampbell@krupnicklaw.com

Bryan Miller, candidate for State House: (561) 714-8768. bryan@votebryanmiller.com

Below is the contact information for the Florida Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla:

   

First Name	Last Name	Dst	City	Local Phone	Email Address
Victor	Crist	12	Tampa	(850) 487-5068	crist.victor.web@flsenate.gov
Alex	Diaz de la Portilla	36	Miami	(850) 487-5109	portilla.alex.web@flsenate.gov
Rudy	Garcia	40	Hialeah	(850) 487-5106	garcia.rudy.web@flsenate.gov
Charlie	Justice	16	St. Petersburg	(850) 487-5075	justice.charlie.web@flsenate.gov
Evelyn J.	Lynn	7	Daytona Beach	(850) 487-5033	lynn.evelyn.web@flsenate.gov
Steve	Oelrich	14	Gainesville	(850) 487-5020	oelrich.steve.web@flsenate.gov
Jeremy	Ring	32	Margate	(850) 487-5094	ring.jeremy.web@flsenate.gov
Burt L.	Saunders (B)	37	Naples	(850) 487-5124	saunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov
Gary	Siplin	19	Orlando	(850) 487-5190	siplin.gary.web@flsenate.gov

 

A Great Place to Work!

Earl Stewart Toyota's

Above & Beyond Winners

 

MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Hear Don Imus Endorse Earl Stewart Toyota!

 

CNN

October 5, 2007

Story regarding response to Spanish Language ad campaign

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2007/10/05/candiotti.spanish.car.ads.cnn?iref=videosearch 

by Susan Candiotti aired on several stations 40 times.  It ran 22 times on CNN and CNN Headline news, MSNBC, Albany, Charleston, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Miami, Tampa and West Palm Beach. 

 

The New York Times

Deflated Hope for Nitrogen

Nitrogen leaks from tires less quickly than air.

By TIM MORAN

Published: March 9, 2008

EARL STEWART spends about $50,000 a month honoring his lifetime tire-replacement guarantee for many of the cars he sells at his Toyota dealership in Lake Park, Fla. He hoped that using nitrogen to fill those tires would save him money by getting the tires to last longer. It didn’t.

In an eight-month trial, he equipped several vehicles with nitrogen-filled tires. When his staff measured tire pressures and compared the wear with air-filled tires, they found minimal differences.

“It sounds good, and it’s an easy sell, and people want to believe it,” said Mr. Stewart, who decided to stick with ordinary air. “Even my parts department wanted to believe it.”

Mr. Stewart was hoping that nitrogen would reduce the wear on the tires because the gas takes longer to leak from a tire then ordinary air. Tires low on air wear quicker and need to be replaced sooner than tires filled to the correct pressure.

Ashok Mathur, business manager for nitrogen tire inflation at Air Products and Chemicals in Allentown, Pa., said that owners could save up to $100 a year by keeping tires properly inflated, even with air, but that it’s easier with nitrogen, which takes 30 to 40 percent longer to leak out.

In its January issue, Consumer Reports magazine published data on a nitrogen experiment. Over a year, tires filled with nitrogen lost less pressure than those with air, losing 2.2 pounds a square inch, compared with 3.5 for air.

 

Automotive News

Call Me
Toyota dealer Earl Stewart invites customers to contact him directly on 4 store hot lines

Rosland B. Gammon
Automotive News
October 8, 2007 - 12:01 am ET

When Earl Stewart's cell phone starts singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” and a picture of a red phone appears on the screen, he knows the call's origin: his Toyota dealership. Three years ago, Stewart installed four red phones throughout his store in North Palm Beach, Fla. Customers at the dealership can call directly to his cell phone with problems — or compliments. The phones are part of a customer service evolution that Stewart launched to set his dealership apart from competitors. The goal is to attract customers for life. Stewart also hosts bimonthly parties for recent car buyers, passes out business cards listing his home phone number and writes a weekly newspaper column. “You want proactive and fully engaged customers,” says Stewart, who gave up his engineering career to work at his father's dealership in 1968. “They love you and become advocates for you.” Stewart requires that his employees read Customers for Life, a customer service book written by Carl Sewell, who is also an auto dealer. And he gives copies to recent buyers during the bimonthly New Owner events organized by his wife, Nancy Stewart. The catered events usually draw about 100 to 200 people. Although buyers receive Stewart's business card with home phone, no one has called, he says.

 

Taking stock Who: Earl Stewart Age: 66 Title: Owner, Earl Stewart Toyota, North Palm Beach, Fla. 2006 unit sales: 4,200 new, 1,080 used Idea: He put 4 hot line phones in the store that ring directly to his cell phone so that customers can reach him quickly with problems. Quote: "We need to put ourselves in the shoes of customers. ... What needs of my customers am I not fulfilling and how can I fulfill them better than my competitors?"

Red-hot idea His red cell phone, though, has been busy. He gets about 100 calls each month, he says. The hot line concept dates back 10 years when the dealership eliminated phone call screening, secretaries and voice mail systems to make people more accessible, he says. The actual idea to add the hot line phones happened one day while he was looking at the showroom and reception area, Stewart says. He wanted to give customers even more access. Taking his inspiration from depictions of the Kennedy administration's Cold War hot line phone, Stewart installed red phones in the showroom, customer service waiting lounge, the service drive line outside and the body shop waiting room. Hanging above each phone is a photo of Stewart and a note: “The buck stops here.” It encourages customers to pick up the phone and call the owner. His red cell phone rings most often on Mondays and Saturdays. About half of the calls are positive. Stewart's 150 employees know all about the hot lines, he says, and “they don't want me to get a negative hot line call.” But a negative call recently came from a customer who'd brought his car in for a 9 a.m. service appointment. After 10 a.m., he saw his car still sitting in the service drive. He headed for the hot line phone and called Stewart. A customer service manager met the customer, apologized and quickly processed his car, Stewart says. “We have the ability to hear a mistake and correct it right away,” he says. The red cell phone has made Stewart a local celebrity of sorts. Local radio host Gary Todd sometimes calls to see whether Stewart will answer. Mall shoppers often stop him to see whether he's carrying the phone. “My wife gets a kick out of it,” Stewart says. He turns the cell off after 7:30 p.m., he says.

 

More than a vendor When Stewart isn't answering his cell phone, he writes a weekly car buying column for the Hometown News in Jupiter, Fla.; hosts a radio show; and blogs. He has written 66 columns and plans to have them compiled into a book, he says. “I need to be not only a person who can sell Toyota but a person who can know everything about cars,” Stewart says. “It builds our credibility to show we really care about the customer.” Stewart's strategy to expand his customer service and establish himself as an expert seems to be paying off. In 2004, new- and used-car sales averaged 235 a month. In 2006, new and used sales rose to 440 a month. Says Stewart: We don't have a huge amount of floor traffic, but when people come in, they generally buy.”

 

WPTV, Channel 5 NBC, West Palm Beach

Contact 5 Report, March 26th 2008

http://www.earlstewart.com/wptv.htm

Reported by: Shannon Cake Photographed by: Jim Sitton You don't hear it from too many auto dealers, "Take your money and put it in your wallet!" That's what one local dealer said, and he also said he is being met with opposition from other dealer's from across the state. Contact Five's Shannon Cake took a look at the dispute over dealer fees and whether Floridian's will be paying them in the future. Earl Stewart of Stewart Toyota in Lake Park said he's going where most car dealer's won't! He's talking openly about something industry insider's call 'Dealer Fees.' He claims they're tacked onto your bill after you've negotiated the price of your car. "The dealer fee, maybe most people don't know, is an extra charge, a surprise charge coming after the price has been quoted for the car. They range in my experience from as low as 389 dollars to 999 dollars, almost a thousand dollars." said Stewart. "The consumer should have the right to price and compare cars just like they have the right to price and compare TV's, refrigerators, or any item that they buy."Stewart is so convinced dealer fees are misleading. "Every dealer can choose his own dealer fee, there's no state cap." said Stewart. He took his message to the State Capitol, 'Talked out of school' if you will, and told lawmakers all about his industry's sales tactics. "We name it some thing obscure. We always try to get the word fee in there cause that's got the official ring to it," said Ted Smith, President of Florida Automobile Dealer's Association. "Our opinion as a trade association is consumers should know everything that happens with a sales transaction. We have a difference of opinion with Mr. Stewart because we believe people do know what they're paying for cars, we believe the contract stipulated what people pay for cars and to that end, we don't think there's a problem that's broken here." But since Stewart has been running his ads, he's been logging his answering machine messages."I agree wholeheartedly with Earl Stewart. I just stopped by a dealership yesterday and the dealer fee is $2295, on every car they have on their lot. I think this is outrageous and it should be stopped. "But Florida's Automobile Dealer Association believes the sales table is one place the government doesn't belong. "We don't believe the legislature should control the selling point of a vehicle or any component of the sales price of a vehicle," said Ted Smith. "The consumer of today is not this poor unknowledgeable,uneducated person who comes and sits at the mercy of car dealers. My goodness! Gross margins on vehicles have never been at a lower point." F.A.D.A. said this is really a debate about a difference in pricing. One dealer might price their care super low so it looks good in the ads in newspapers, to get extra traffic through their doors. It's a way to compete with other auto dealers in town. But F.A.D.A. claimed the dealer fee is more of a sales strategy than a misleading sales tactic. The Association said that they are in favor of always making sure the dealer fee is clearly disclosed according to Florida Law. Stewart said just by the fact that it's called a 'fee' on the contract, that is miseading and he's hoping one day, dealer fees are banned altogether in this state.

 

The Palm Beach Post 

Car dealer Stewart ramps up fee fight

By LORI BECKER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, March 03, 2008

Ever bought a car? Then along with the taxes and fees tacked on top of the price of the auto, you likely paid dealer services fees as well.

These "documentation fees" are not regulated, vary from dealer to dealer and may range from $50 to $1,000.

They are often lumped in with taxes and other fees at the end of a sales deal. Florida law allows the fees as long as they are disclosed.

But local car dealer Earl Stewart is on a mission to abolish the fees, which he calls "a license to steal."

The 67-year-old owner of Earl Stewart Toyota of North Palm Beach is lobbying the Florida Senate to eliminate or at least cap the fees.

The Tallahassee-based Florida Automobile Dealers Association argues that legislators shouldn't tell dealers what to charge for their autos and says that the fees cover their costs to prepare the paperwork and vehicles for delivery.

Stewart argues it's pure profit.

"It goes right into the dealer's pocket," said Stewart, who doesn't charge dealer fees. "Most people don't even know they've paid it, or they think it's an official fee like a tax."

Senate President Ken Pruitt has asked the state to investigate, and the Senate Commerce Committee will take up the issue Tuesday.

Stewart is rallying consumers by creating a toll-free hot line, (800) 909-9879, and Web site, www.nodealerfee.com.

"One of the reasons car dealers get a bad rap is because of this kind of thing," said Stewart, who has been selling cars for four decades - and who freely admits his high-profile lobbying may bring him more customers.

But he isn't making many friends with fellow dealers.

Even the trade association has called him out, criticizing his efforts in newsletters to its membership - which includes Stewart.

"I don't have any fans," he said. "They say I'm not loyal. They call me a traitor."

 

Miami Herald

October 21, 2007

Opinion column by Pulitzer Prize winning syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts

(Subsequently printed in newspapers throughout the U.S.A.) 

Posted on Sun, Oct. 21, 2007

English language not endangered

By LEONARD PITTS

La gente dice que Earl Stewart lo hizo sólo por el poderoso dólar.

(People say Earl Stewart did it only for the almighty dollar.)

El dice que tienen razón.

(He says they're right.)

What's that? The subtitles are distracting? Fine, I'll stop.

But the point here is, all Stewart wanted to do was sell Toyotas. It's something he's been doing for 33 years as the proprietor of Earl Stewart Toyota in Palm Beach County. Then he hit upon an idea he thought might expand his market: Spanish-language commercials with English subtitles. The spots run on English-language television and, though he speaks no Spanish, Stewart stars in them himself.

The subtitles, he says, were an afterthought. 'I said, `You know, I'm going to be talking to a lot of people that don't speak Spanish so, as a courtesy or to explain what I'm doing, maybe I should use English subtitles.' It was really an effort on my part, albeit a failure, to be nice to the monolingual folks.''

The ''monolingual folks'' were not feeling the love -- putting it mildly. Stewart says the commercial brought him a ''flood'' of angry, often profane e-mails and phone calls, nine out of every 10 sharply critical of his commercial. As described by Stewart, the complaints tended to be longer on emotion than on logic.

For instance, they said that by advertising in Spanish, he encouraged Spanish-speakers to avoid learning English. But he was advertising on English stations, so anyone watching presumably already spoke the language.

And people kept referencing Mexico, usually in sentences that began with, ''Why don't you go back to . . . '' But anybody who knows South Florida knows that, while it is home to many Spanish speakers, the bulk of them are not Mexican.

''I think there's a lot of fear out there,'' says Stewart. ``All of the (presidential) candidates to some extent are using the immigration thing as a lever to get elected. They're appealing to the fear Americans have, some of this 9/11 stuff. And the rhetoric has a lot of the people who are not as informed or maybe don't listen carefully, convinced that most of the Spanish people in this country are illegal immigrants or they're terrorists.''

It's a cogent analysis, but I think there's more going on here. One suspects that at bottom what set Stewart's critics off is a fear so visceral they might not even have words to express it. Put simply: Since when do we need subtitles in our own country?

To which the best answer is probably another question. Who is ''we''? What is ``our''?

The fact is that ''we'' is not what it used to be, and ''our'' reflects a nation more diverse than ever before. The Census Bureau says the Hispanic population of Palm Beach County stands at 16.7 percent, nearly two percentage points higher than the national figure. Isn't it smart business to reach out to them? Why begrudge Stewart's efforts to do so?

Granted, it's not hard to empathize with the sense of dislocation some people feel as they watch the nation changing around them. But to understand what they feel is not necessarily to share it.

In the first place, hysterical predictions to the contrary notwithstanding, it's exceedingly unlikely that English is in danger of losing its position of primacy. In the second place, people will sooner or later have to understand that while change is frightening, change is also life, especially in a nation as susceptible as this one to the forces of the free market. Which is, for my money, the moral of Stewart's story.

He says that as that story has become better known, the public response has done a 180-degree turnabout. The commercial -- and the notoriety -- have brought customers from as far away as Miami. And he's just had his best September, ever. All of which leaves Stewart with mixed emotions. He's disappointed in many of his fellow Americans.

On the other hand, business is good.

Leonard Pitts Jr.

Leonard Pitts Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. He is the author of Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood. His column runs every Monday and Friday. Email Leonard at lpitts@MiamiHerald.com or visit his website at www.leonardpittsjr.com

Ward Dealer Automotive magazine – story pending

 

Fox News Radio

August 30, 2007

Live interview (20 minutes) aired on Fox Radio and XM and Sirius Satelite Radio

Interviewed by John Gibson regarding reaction to Hispanic TV commercial.  Public called in with questions.

 

KSCO AM 1080 broadcasting from Santa Cruz, CA.

October 9, 2007

Conservative talk station that blankets southern third of California.

http://www.ksco.com/listentips.cfm#mswin. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link that says KSCO feed.

 

Toyota Today

Profile of Stu Stewart in March/April 2007 edition of Toyota Today

 

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Dealer fees must hit the road, car buyers say

 

Daniel Vasquez | Consumer columnist

April 14, 2008

 

Note to Florida car dealers and legislators: Car buyers are fed up with dealer fees.

That's the bottom line conveyed by readers since I wrote about the extra charges commonly tacked onto the final price by new and used car dealers. Many said the fees are as confusing as they are costly.

Dealer fees are charged by dealers who say the money covers everything from car preparation to paperwork.

Of 50 readers who contacted me, the overwhelming majority believe dealer fees deceptively add up to $1,000 to dealer profit. Many said the charges are not disclosed until it's time to sign a contract. Some didn't even know they'd paid a fee until they checked their bill of sale. Others said they were falsely led to believe every dealer charges such fees as required by law.

 

"I think dealer fees ought to be banned," said Tom Tuso, a retired insurance industry attorney from Boca Raton.

Tuso said he bought a used Cadillac Seville a couple of months ago from a dealer in West Palm Beach. The price: $5,000. The dealer fee: More than $500.

"It's a ripoff for the customer," said Tuso. "If the fee can't be banned, then it ought to be set at a maximum and should be clearly stated on the window sticker, not just the final paperwork that gets stuck in front of the customer once they've already made a deal."

Good points, Mr. Tuso.

Interestingly, a recent Florida Senate committee investigation found that not all dealers charge these fees, but among those who do, the amount ranges from $189 to $699. One reader told me he paid $999.

Linda Cintron, an interior designer from Tamarac, paid a $679 dealer fee for a $6,000 used Cadillac Catera.

"I didn't know that it was an added charge until after we had settled on a price," said Cintron. "The salesman didn't point it out to me." She said she came across the fee as she looked over the final contract, despite having spent two hours negotiating price.

"I felt like I got the price down only to have that amount put back in the end," Cintron said. "It's like I paid full price."

Jay Shapp, a retired computer technician from Boca Raton, walked away from a Jeep dealership because of a $699 dealer fee. He said he spent three hours dickering over the price on a new Patriot before he felt he had a good deal. Again, he was surprised by the extra fee when he looked over the final contract.

"I was honestly ready to buy the car," said Shapp, adding that he walked away from the Patriot deal because of the fee. "I made it clear to them that was the case."

I applaud you, Mr. Shapp.

Some readers asked to be directed to dealers who do not charge dealer fees.

Earl Stewart, a Toyota dealer in North Palm Beach, is trying to get Florida legislators to ban the fees or at least require that they are posted on window stickers and capped at the same amount for all dealers. Tuso, Cintron and Shapp all agree with him, as do most of the readers I've heard from.

Stewart says he has heard from two legislators, Sens. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, and Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, who have pledged support for new regulations on dealer fees.

"Possible new laws addressing the dealer fee are progressing better than I expected," Stewart said last week.

Thanks for the update, Mr. Stewart.

If anyone should take credit for helping to convince legislators it's you, along with consumers such as Tuso, Cintron and Shapp and the growing chorus voicing contempt for dealer fees.

Daniel Vasquez can be reached at dvasquez@sun-sentinel.com, or 954-356-4219, or 561-243-6600, ext. 4219. To see more columns from Daniel Vasquez, go to sun-sentinel.com/vasquez.

 

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Little-understood fees can add to a new car's bottom line

Daniel Vasquez | Consumer columnist

March 31, 2008

The next time you visit a car dealership to purchase, ask: Do you charge a dealer's fee? If so, how much?

The answer will let you determine before you buy what the true out-the-door price is, along with title, tag fees and taxes.

Many of Florida's 1,000 new car dealerships add a dealer's fee to the final price, which could be confusing and costly — tacking on up to $700 or more extra.

It is among the biggest factors in a car's overall cost behind the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price and trade-in value.

Consumer advocates recommend that you negotiate with a dealer to pay less than the suggested retail price, which is not set in stone. But unlike the MSRP, a dealer's fee, if charged, is not negotiable.

Dealers don't have to charge it, but as a matter of statewide industry policy, when they do, they charge every customer the same fee to avoid discriminatory practices. But the sales price could be lowered to account for the dealer's fee.

"The bad thing about dealer's fees is that most consumers don't know they exist," says Earl Stewart, a Fort Lauderdale native who owns a Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach. "Dealers hope customers won't notice them. And those who do often think the fee is official like a federal, state or local tax. They think they have to pay it by law when they don't."

Stewart does not charge his customers a dealer's fee, and he's also encouraging Florida legislators to either ban them or make them more transparent to consumers and cap the amount that can be charged. Thirteen states have fee caps ranging in price between $45 to $250, including California, Texas and Illinois.

From a consumer's standpoint, Stewart is waging a noble campaign to get rid of unfair fees. But in the view of some dealers, Stewart is making a mountain out of a mole hill and messing with the free market.

His cause is to persuade the Legislature to get rid of the fees, which he says will allow consumers to fairly and accurately compare car prices among various dealers. It's hard to do that now, he adds, because consumers usually don't learn how much a dealer's fee is until they are about to sign a contract.

Stewart testified before the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month, the lone dealership voice against competitors who argued the state has no business meddling in the market pricing of new and used vehicles.

I'm also wary of the state getting too involved in how car dealers set prices. In general, they assume the market risks and the costs to do business and should be able to negotiate their own profit margins.

But it's worth noting that a committee investigative report found that dealers across the state charge dealer's fees under 22 names (including documentary fee, dealership services fee and processing fee). And those fees have no limits.

I am behind Stewart's Plan B: To help legislators craft legislation that will force car dealers to make the fees as transparent as possible by adding them as an addendum to the sticker price and by capping the fees so they are the same for every consumer across the state.

Ted Smith, president of the Florida Automobile Dealers Association, says dealer's fees are clearly disclosed on all car contracts (typically printed below the sales price) and merely represent one way dealers build in profit to sales and cover the costs associated with doing business. Those business costs cover such things as car preparations, inspections and cleaning, he adds.

"People should read their sales agreement," says Smith. "These fees are not hidden. Before the legislation enters into regulating such fees, they should consider whether such a regulation interferes with the retail sales price of the product. This would be like regulating the delivery fees of an appliance retailer."

Stewart contends new car manufacturers pay dealers a pre-delivery inspection fee to make sure vehicles are clean and prepared for sale and that passing those costs onto the consumer amounts to double-dipping.

He argues for doing away with dealer's fees altogether to force dealers to build profit margins into the final price — so consumers can compare prices between dealerships — or by having all dealers charge the same fee.

"Why break profit out into separate items and call it 22 different names and have no legal cap?" he asks. "The only logical reason is to slip the final price past consumers."

Stewart has already accomplished a couple of things: He has educated car buyers about a common sales practice that can easily cost unsuspecting buyers hundreds of dollars. And he's reminded us that doing our homework on car pricing isn't the best way to do business, it's the only way. Never be intimidated during a sales negotiation and always ask for help when you're confused about a charge.

It's not known how many consumers feel cheated by these fees. If you want to add your voice to the issue, for or against, let me know.

Daniel Vasquez can be reached at dvasquez@sun-sentinel.com, or 954-356-4219, or 561-243-6600, ext. 4219. To see more columns from Daniel Vasquez, go to sun-sentinel.com/vasquez.

Contact legislators

Contact Senate Commerce Committee Chair Alex Diaz de la Portilla at: portilla.alex.web@flsenate.govor call 850-487-5109 or

305-643-7200.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Earl Stewart Toyota's principles for customer service

Marcia Heroux Pounds

Business Strategies

August 2, 2007

Service principles

 

Earl Stewart's tips for customer service:

Be accessible. You might be surprised at what you find out when you speak directly to your customers.

Remember it isn't a question of whether the customer is right or wrong. It's whether the customer thinks he or she is right.

Apologize sincerely when a customer complains. Even if the customer is technically wrong, it might have been poor communication on your company's part that led to the complaint.

Empower employees to do whatever it takes to make a customer happy. It's too time-consuming to go through the chain of command.

Trust your customers. Perhaps 99 percent of them are trustworthy. Taking care of them unhesitatingly would be well worth the cost of the other

1 percent taking advantage of your business.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Customer connection is key at Stewart Toyota

Marcia Heroux Pounds

Business Strategies

August 2, 2007

In his dealership in northern Palm Beach County, Earl Stewart is a rock star.

But the mild-mannered owner of Earl Stewart Toyota doesn't let fame go to his head. His focus is on creating "customers for life."

That's why Stewart, not a receptionist or salesman, answers red phones posted strategically in his Lake Park showroom, service department, cashier's window and body shop. And when customers call the dealership asking for Stewart, they get Stewart on his cell phone (red, of course). He even lists his home phone on his business card.

Customers sometimes pick up the red phone at Earl Stewart Toyota and tell him, "I just wanted to see if you'd really answer."

The feedback Stewart has received from customers has changed the way he does business. He feels closer to customers' needs and wants, but also says his customer responsiveness "inspires my employees to handle problems."

"I wish I had done it 40 years ago," says Stewart, who has been a Toyota dealer for 30 years.

His sons Stu, Jason and Josh are general sales managers at Earl Stewart Toyota.

Stewart stopped call screening by the dealership's receptionist. "No matter who you ask for, including me, she puts you through," he said.

Stewart also has learned about service problems, but now finds out about them firsthand instead of waiting for a brave employee to tell him.

His dealership's "shopper satisfaction" is high compared with others in the South Florida market, according to a July survey by J.D. Power and Associates. The dealership also has a higher-than-average "close" rate among customers who visit only one dealership before making a purchase.

But in fielding customer calls, he says, "I learned we didn't do nearly as good a job as we thought we did."

So he is always striving to improve his dealership's customer service and looking for new ways to connect with customers. He writes a car-buying advice column for a local weekly newspaper, which he also posts as a blog (oncars.blogspot.com), and does similar radio spots. His outreach to customers is not always popular.

Stewart recently drew criticism related to his TV commercial directed toward Hispanics that's in Spanish with English subtitles. One viewer called him "un-American." Stewart responded that he's only trying to sell Toyotas. He spoke in Spanish as a sign of respect to Hispanic customers' native language or that of their parents or grandparents, he said.

But complaints more often are car-related. One customer recently complained that she didn't get her "free tires for life," as promised when she bought her car if she kept up regular maintenance at the dealership. Stewart found that the customer had missed her latest maintenance checks. He didn't give her free tires, but did give her a discount.

It's not a question of whether a customer is right, Stewart said, "it's whether the customer thinks she's right."

His use of the female pronoun is no accident: More than half of Toyota buyers are women. His dealership advertises in such publications as the women's magazine Redbook to reach those buyers.

 

 

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