Maple Leaf is tops!
To see how good, I need to tell the story with a glance at how it went in comparison at one of the big-name new car dealers, so pardon me, this is long. But you will have a much better understanding about why Maple Leaf is so much better and nicer to deal with!
Buying a jalopy, no matter if it is only 3 months old, or 25 years, is always a gamble. Nobody has X-Ray eyes, including a dealer. The problems you buy from the previous owner are not revealed, until something bad happens. If you are lucky, nothing bad happens. If it does, and if you were smart, you didn't gamble your whole house on that jalopy! I've had 7 old jalopies for little money, and in the last two years financed 2 more of them, because the old 1000 dollar car that runs days are over!
So with the last two now in my drive way, I've had 9 jalopies over 36 years and can sing a ballad or two about them.
So please, buy a warranty nowadays, it is worth it, and I did have to use the one I bought for my 2003 Corolla I bought in 2018, the most expensive jalopy I had ever bought.
You cannot fault a small dealer, for you being cheap. But they have much better deals on the add-on warranties, than Larson Toyota on South Tacoma Way ever did, because Maple Leaf doesn't slap on a huge profit margin to stiff you!
So, to be fair, I blame myself under the "buyer beware" rule, if something goes wrong, especially should I be stupid enough to not cover my rear end with a warranty deal as a safety net.
Nowadays, my budget doesn't allow for any new car anymore.
So this is about used cars. Buying them at Maple Leaf in Spanaway I have this to say:
This dealer is simply honest about what it is they sell! If the doors are falling off on the 2000 dollar wreck-a-car special, they tell you, and warn you not to get into it, unless you want a fixer project. That of course steers you to the more expensive vehicles, but have you spent any time looking around elsewhere?
I used to like the Larson Toyota dealer on South Tacama Way. Those days have changed, as their old people are gone.
I went there to get a van or hatchback a few days ago, so I can carry a mobility chair for my 91 year old Momsy. While the sales guy was ok, the so called "financing manager" wanted me to sign a bundle of papers, including an odometer statement, when I couldn't even turn the key or test drive the vehicle, as it was in the shop being prepared for sale! I told him I wouldn't sign that, until I saw the odometer reading myself. He got argumentative, and wanted me to sign an entire stack of papers, with more commitment hefty signatures, and he flat out lied about these papers having no legal weight! All that, without ever even turning on the engine!
So I walked out, and ended up at Maple Leaf Motors.
Jeb was very nice and absolutely no pressure. We chatted and had a good time. There is no big story, because it all went so pleasantly!
He did all the preliminary work for my Credit Union submission AFTER I had checked out the vehicle, and then introduced me to their financing manager, Jesse.
Jesse did everything right, including a quick introduction to their Covid-19 procedure, and wearing mask and gloves. He took this very serious, and I was happy he did. He also had good reason to do so, as he experienced the loss of three good friends to the virus.
So we went through the papers, which NOBODY pressured me to sign, before I had actually done several checks on the lot, and three test drives! That was so drastically different from the other big dealer!
The new for me 2011 Honda Fit, in a bright fire engine red, is now in my driveway, and tomorrow we will go and get Momsy's mobility chair and stuff it in this small for some opinions, but actually roomy wagon's rear compartment! All I need now is that blue "whoopy light" accessory to haul old Momsy to the grocery story fast, like a fire truck ... just kidding ....
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