Auburn Toyota earns Ambassador award

In an era when plenty of talk is devoted to a lack of financing for those wishing to buy a car, Magnussen's Auburn Toyota's latest award says it can be done. Recently, the new-car dealership at 800 Nevada St. in Auburn was awarded the Ambassador Award from Toyota Financial Services for achieving $50 million in leasing and loans — a feat that many larger dealers with higher volume haven't reached."It's a pretty big milestone. Simply because it's a concentrated placement of paper," said Tony Toohey, vice president and general manager of Magnussen's Auburn Toyota. "But to stick with Toyota through thick and thin like we have through the years, it's made it a lot more consistent … to do business."Toyota Financial Services is the financing arm for Toyota, an institution that Auburn Toyota has built a strong relationship with through the years."It's a good working relationship," said David Harrison, general sales manager for Auburn Toyota. "It's easy to run your business when the person on the other end of the line knows what you're going to do. It's certainly helped with our situation."With that strong financing relationship, which has been cultivated by Harrison and sales manager Bob Farrell for nearly two decades, the local dealership has been able to help its referral and repeat customers get the financing they need for the products they want. Auburn Toyota's relationship with its financing arm has also allowed Harrison and staff to get money for those who might not have perfect credit. "I can still get my non-perfect customers into vehicles," Harrison said. "You've got to set and work in the parameters that you're given."Toohey points out that even though his staff is able to get many of his customers into the vehicles they want, the market for financing is tighter than it has been in the past, meaning not everyone will be able to get the financing they need to purchase or lease a vehicle.Just like many of the auto dealers locally, Auburn Toyota has felt the pinch of the economic times, reducing staff and inventory to compensate for a changing new-vehicle marketplace. But with the solid financial backing of Toyota, the Auburn dealer has an edge that will allow it to assist its customers.And Auburn Toyota won't rest on its laurels, either."I remember when we did $5 million, I remember when we did $10 million, I remember when we did $25 million," Harrison said. "It's nice to hit milestones, but you have to do it every day."The Journal's Andrew DiLuccia can be reached at andrewd@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at Auburnjournal.com.