Eastlake Auto Brokers - Seattle area (1 Viewer)

[Bukker]

Hi everybody, I would like to ask everybody to beware of a local car dealership in our area. Initially I thought I was the only one affected, but have now learned it’s bigger than just me.

November of 2022 I purchased a 200 series Land Cruiser from Eastlake Auto Brokers, an independent dealership who claims to specialize in LC/LX’s. This truck was cleaned up very well, and had no signs of anything wrong with it. In the last 9 months, I have had several tows to the local Toyota dealership, and spent over $25,000 dollars to keep this truck on the road. After speaking with a trusted tech at Toyota, he mentioned every time a customer’s vehicle comes in with an Eastlake plate cover, they prepare for a big project.

This tech used to work at the Toyota dealership adjacent to Eastlake. He says they were constantly having cars towed in, asking for the bare minimum to get the car running, and turning them into profit.

In an attempt to protect the community, please take this into consideration while looking at a vehicle from this business.

Thank you.

 

[red66toy]

Sorry to hear this! I will share this with the Seattle Cruiser Group if you haven't already.

 

[Bukker]

Sorry to hear this! I will share this with the Seattle Cruiser Group if you haven't already.

Please do, if you need anymore input/further detail I could email you a write up of the whole deal as well.

 

[ScotyDosentKnow]

My sister purchased a GX470 from them a while back. While it has been reliable paint is s*** some panels were cheaply resprayed as evidenced by over spray I found all over the place. Unsure if it was an accident car and poorly repaired or if the paint was failing and they tried to fix it. There were weird things with it too like acorns in the front fenders LOL She put bigger tires on it and asked me to heat gun the fender liners. I must have pulled a hundred acorns out of each of the front fenders. Cant blame that on them but price she paid definitely didn't match the overall condition of the vehicle. All cars I have seen there appear over priced and of poor quality. I would not buy from that dealership

 

[Bukker]

My sister purchased a GX470 from them a while back. While it has been reliable paint is s*** some panels were cheaply resprayed as evidenced by over spray I found all over the place. Unsure if it was an accident car and poorly repaired or if the paint was failing and they tried to fix it. There were weird things with it too like acorns in the front fenders LOL She put bigger tires on it and asked me to heat gun the fender liners. I must have pulled a hundred acorns out of each of the front fenders. Cant blame that on them but price she paid definitely didn't match the overall condition of the vehicle. All cars I have seen there appear over priced and of poor quality. I would not buy from that dealership

I definitely noticed a few strange things while looking at the truck, but bought it because it was admittedly very clean. I notice they oil the frame rails in the wheel wells to make them look perfect. Of course I crawled around on their lot to check the rest, which was spotless. Im glad your sister got a reliable vehicle! Thank you for adding your experience with them to this thread, it helps with credibility for a potential buyer that sees this.

 

[nw_fj62]

Eastlake does seem to take a strong stand on used Land Cruiser inventory in the Seattle market - so I visited them some years back when shopping. Similar to others I got a weird "vibe" after speaking with sales staff and test driving the trucks. The person I worked with did not have an intermediate level understanding of land cruisers, the two trucks I drove seemed more tired than they were represented and did not seem like good value for money. I ended up travelling to & buying a used GX 460 from an Arizona dealership (positive experience). Buyer beware with Eastlake

 

[Bukker]

Eastlake does seem to take a strong stand on used Land Cruiser inventory in the Seattle market - so I visited them some years back when shopping. Similar to others I got a weird "vibe" after speaking with sales staff and test driving the trucks. The person I worked with did not have an intermediate level understanding of land cruisers, the two trucks I drove seemed more tired than they were represented and did not seem like good value for money. I ended up travelling to & buying a used GX 460 from an Arizona dealership (positive experience). Buyer beware with Eastlake

Thank you for expanding this threads worth!

I completely agree, my truck had a perfect frame, and continues to be leak free. I definitely based my decision on those two factors, without even thinking of bad wiring as an issue. In the future I will buy from a dealership with a warranty, and consider out of state options!

 

[pnwfritter]

Thanks for the timely info, been looking into getting into my first lc/lx and was planning on giving them a visit since they have so many listed. Is there a list of known good WA/OR lots that regularly have LCs?

 

[Bukker]

Thanks for the timely info, been looking into getting into my first lc/lx and was planning on giving them a visit since they have so many listed. Is there a list of known good WA/OR lots that regularly have LCs?

Thanks for the read!

Unfortunately I ended up being priced out of another LC, and ended up buying a 21 4R.

My best advice, would be a reputable company with a solid warranty, but that might just be my mindset after this mishap. Safest route would be Toyota (obviously), or carmax, which was heavily advised on this forum.

End of the day, just stay away from this place, as tempting as it may be. Good luck with your purchase!

 

[Brindleboxer]

Thanks for the timely info, been looking into getting into my first lc/lx and was planning on giving them a visit since they have so many listed. Is there a list of known good WA/OR lots that regularly have LCs?

No matter what year or model you are looking at I would advise that a pre-purchase inspection from a reputable service center or Toyota is well worth the price versus finding things out after a purchase. I think the last time I had a pre-purchase it cost $110 and the only hassle was I had to arrange the movement (drop off and pick up).

If you are looking for an older model then I would post up and ask someone local to go with you for a second set of eyes and hopefully some experience with the applicable model. I also like doing this because the second party may see things that an emotional buyer may not see or overlook.

 

[Brindleboxer]

I have looked at Eastlake and they are very proud of their inventory. Quite a few years ago I was looking for a 100 series and like others have said their vehicles looked nice but once driven they felt lacking and I did not buy from them. As for the salesman not knowing details, I chalked that up to the person being really young (I felt like I was being shown the truck by a 10 year old).