Cal West Motors

I have purchased 2 vehicles from Cal West and both experiences were excellent!
About 6 years ago, my husband bought a used Crown Vic from them. It was a pretty easy-​breezy transaction. The car is still going strong!
Just yesterday, we made a huge purchase with them and feel great about the deal we got!
I had emailed Matt after seeing some vehicles online that looked good to us, and we agreed to meet at 1 pm. When we arrived, the lot was jumping! Waaaay more customers than staff, and you could tell they were trying to get to everyone. Matt let us know he would be with us shortly and we browsed while he finished with his customer. Once we had his attention, we had it fully.
We test drove a few trucks and decided on one. We weren’t thinking we would find «the one» so soon so we had not done all our research and weren’t quite prepared to decide about our trade in, etc. We let Matt know we were interested but needed to go have lunch. I am so grateful for what happened next– Matt simply handed us his card and told us to give him a call if we were coming back so he could be sure to be available. This seem like a normal thing, right? I’ve had dealers in the past get all weird to keep us on the lot. One went so far as to conjure up a tear in his eyes «But you’ll go buy a car from someone else if you leave…» um, yeah, if you can’t be a big boy about it, we will!!!
We went to lunch to avoid hunger based decisions and also to give ourselves time to do a little research (dontcha love a smartphone?!) What we discovered was the truck we wanted was already at a very good price, and the one we had for trade in was worth half of what we owed on it (insert shaking fist at sky and crying «whyyyy» moment here.) We knew it would be tight with our budget. We almost just went home, but decided that it can’t hurt to try to get them to our price, so we went back.
Long story short now, Matt worked with us and got us a pretty darn good deal. Not only did they take the trade in for a decent price, we were able to negotiate on the truck as well. It wasn’t like the movies where they are asking 18k and we offered 9k and met at 12k, we were going back and forth over a few hundred dollars. A few hundred dollars is precious to us, even when we are spending big bucks on a truck. I never felt rushed or pressured. It was closing time and we were mostly paying cash, and I ended up having to call my bank to get them to up my daily limit, and that took a looong time, but they were patient, let me do my thing while they got the truck ready for us.
While we were there, we overheard some angry browsers telling them they needed more staff. I run a business that can be feast or famine, so I get it– you can’t staff to be prepared for every rush or you’ll be overstaffed most of the time. I’d rather see them running a tight ship and knowing i got the best price than have too many people around and seeing that reflected in the sticker price. It’s a no frills place, and you see that on the bottom line.
I’d absolutely buy from Matt and Cal-​West again, even though I’m moving east. The caustic salt they use in winter in New Endgland on the roads kills cars, and I wouldn’t hesitate to have Matt ship me a vehicle, because I trust them.

This is the best dealership in the bay area! Very friendly, not pushy and they have the best, most affordable prices on all their cars. I worked with Brian and he was very knowledgeable and accommodating, making the entire process enjoyable. I highly recommend Cal West to anyone and everyone looking to buy a quality, lasting car!

Not sure where all the 5 star reviews are coming from but I have my suspicions. Went there to look at a truck advertised on the web. Price on the sticker was different from the window price which was different from the web price. Not sure what they would have quoted but I didn’t stay too long so never found out. I walked on the lot, found the truck and looked it over. Then the salesman came over (I think it was Matt who emailed me after I inquired about the truck via their web page). I asked him if «he» would turn the engine over so I could hear how it sounded. Nope, he says can’t do it without me «giving» him my driver’s license. WHAT!!! in this age of identity fraud why would I give him my license so «HE» can turn over the engine. The truck was stuck against the fence with two cars behind it. Since he would not do a simple courtesy request, I left.
Realize I haven’t run into this driver license ploy for a long time now. I’ve bought several vehicles since a dealer made me do this in the 1980’s and never had to give up my license till I was ready to test drive a car. Not just hear how a car sounded. The old ploy was to get your license and refuse to give it back for a very long time so they have you captured and must listen to all their reasons why they are giving you such a great deal. Last time I ran into this, I had to threaten to call the police to get my license back from a dealer. Not sure this was going to happen here, but recommend you do yourself a favor and look for car dealers who won’t waste your time after driving 50 miles. I have no confidence in any business who won’t do a simple courtesy request.

I’m really happy with my experience here. Matt was really down to earth and they worked with us find a car and financing option that worked for us. Buying a car is a long process, but I never felt rushed and he took the time to explain things to me– I never felt condescended to. I think I got a good price for the car I drove home. I recommend this place to people who aren’t trying to «strike a deal» but want to be thorough to get something that suits them.

Had a great experience today at Calwestmotors! bought a 2005 GMC truck for my husband with my son ! Our sales person Matt Moran was awesome and worked with me to get the best possible price for my situation. The owner even came in and introduced himself and also Brian who shares the office as well. Very friendly guys who made the overall transaction very easy for me and they were very thorough. I will be going back when it’s my turn to get a vehicle for me, it will be a five hour drive then but well worth it as were moving, but I was very impressed and myself being in Customer Service know the struggles dealing with the public.
I’ve already told over 800 people on my Facebook page my wonderful experience ! My husband was thrilled with the truck when we got home and is exactly what he wanted.
Thank you Calwest Motors! you really out did yourselves and I can’t thank you enough for
Everything you did. You guys rock ! will never go to another used car lot even in my area. The distance is well worth it and inventory was amazing. Keep up the great work Matt!

Picked up a car this weekend from Cal West. They took very good care of me. Matt is the bomb, very helpful and professional. If you’re looking for a car check them out.

Came in to look at an Audi that I saw online. Worked with Chris. Car was filthy, but it ran good so I went in to talk numbers. I planned to pay cash so I told him to just give me the bottom line. He actually raised the price a couple hundred dollars from the advertised price, which I know because I am a finance manager at a real car dealership and know roughly how much taxes and fees should be. Anyways Chris then said, «well maybe if you have cash we can work something else out.» Then said something along the lines of «well anyone can say they have cash» implying that he didn’t think I had the cash to pay for it. Then he proceeded to brag about how he was an engineer and wasn’t «strapped» for cash. Cool story bro, I’m sure that’s why you are working at a used car dealership selling cars. I would have paid retail book for the car cash. You lost your family money douche. Horrible experience and I doubt he was really an engineer as he could barely speak a complete sentence.

I came down to see a car that they posted on craigslist and on their site. I called first and they assured me it’s still there, however when I got to the lot I was told it was sold days ago, and perhaps I’d like to see other cars? This is after I told them on the phone that I’m coming from SF, and on a day the BART system wast down. Not cool.

This is the best used car lot i have ever been to. I have had the worst luck from used dealers in the past from lemons to getting sucked into i loan where i ended up paying triple the amount the car was worth!
THAT WAS NOT THE CASE HERE!!! I WOULD NEVER GO TO ANOTHER USED CAR LOT OTHER THEN THIS ONE! This was the first all american sales team that i had been to ever. I could fully understand everything that was being said to me and never once was anything worded just to sound good. I bought a 2006 ford Taurus from here on july 17^th 2015 with 97 000 miles on it. I got this car for 4995.00 when on kbb it goes for 5200 in the condition it was in. I have never been in a used car that smelled as good as this one did or one that was as clean either. Matt Moran was very respectable and accommodating in working a warrenty in with the car as well within my budget.
Long story short 3 days later a AAA tow truck totaled out my back end and as soon as i get my check i will be returning to Cal West to buy another vehicle from Matt Moran. Keep up the good work guys and just know that not everyone using this Unilocal thing for the right reasons.
Dont judge this place from other reviews go down here first. If you dont go in with an asshole attitude you might get somewhere. THANKS CAL WEST FOR THE BEST CAR BUYING EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD. I WILL BE BACK

My experience w/​Cal West:
Last week I purchased a 2001 Dodge Durango from Cal West (worked w/​Brian). I’d looked to Cal West because a few years back I’d gotten my ’99 Durango through them; that earlier purchase «process» & the ’99 Durango itself worked out great. Unfortunately, the ’99 got totaled a couple of weeks back (other driver was 100% at fault — whew!). This seemed like a good time to get a newer model & I found (online) just what I was looking for at Cal West. I checked their online Carfax report — looked really good. Then I got my own Carfax report and they matched exactly.
Next I went to Cal West and within an hour and a half the deal was done. It was so easy. No
pressure tactics, no sales people swarming. The asking price was lowered significantly. Worked w/​Brian (just one person). For me, the experience was seamless, straightforward, respectful & efficient. Give them a try.
I can’t speak to the issues raised by some of the other Unilocal reviewers. What I can share with you all is that I’m really glad to have made this second purchase through them.

These people are all sick in the head. We drive about an hour and a half on a deal over the phone for a cash deal out the door. HONESTY CANNOT BE FOUND ANYWHERE ON THEIR FACES AND GESTURES NOR THEIR MORALS AND POLICIES. I wish they can all find a way to go back to their houses and families to go learn some morals. I’ve owned and dealed at 2 dealerships and this place is a joke.

After a stressful, unsuccessful day looking for cars all over the Bay Area, we decided to try one last stop to find the car that we were looking for, a Ford Focus Sedan. We pulled up CarGurus on the phone and the first car that came up on the screen was the car that we were looking for and was located at Cal West Motors.
We called them and asked if they could wait 20 minutes for us to get there. Brian told us that they close at 7pm but he would wait for us as we are from Monterey County and don’t drive to the Bay Area very often.
Upon arrival Brian greeted us with a smile, he already had the car ready for a test drive.
Before we started the test drive, we examined the car and it was in great shape. He directed us on a long test drive where we had a great view of the area from the top of a hill. When we came back from the test drive we started talking about financing, Brian submitted my information but, as it was late already (around 8:30pm), we didn’t get an answer on the spot.
We agreed that he would call us the next morning as soon as he had the approval (s) from the bank (s). On the next day, around 11:30am, my financing was approved! We got in the car and drove 2h from Monterey to Cal West where Brian, one more time, greeted us with a smile.
After approximatly 1h signing all the papers, he handed me the keys to my very first car, a 2008 Ford Focus!
The whole process was easy, no pressure at all, and a great deal.
Brian took care of us and helped us with the entire process. If you’re looking for a great car shopping experience (that sometimes can be EXTREMELY stressful depending on where you go,) I totally recommend Cal West!
Thiago and Alexis

I worked with Matthew (Matt) and it was an easy experience. He was friendly and straightforward. The car was a fair deal.
The downside was they took it at the last minute to have it checked at Big O rather than having done it before. The man sharing the office with Matt was loud, played his computer loudly and generally seemed immature. Apparently he is the owner’s son so that might explain his being able to present as unprofessional.
Overall, it was good, ask for Matt.

I recently posted a review about a 2001 BMW 740i that I purchased from Cal West.
The buying experience was awesome, Matt was very helpful in helping me obtain the vehicle that I wanted.
My girlfriend and I had drove all the way out from San Jose to test drive this car.
Long story short, I loved the car…
We bought the car.
Exactly one week later, the car began to leak oil and the check engine light came on.
As you can imagine I was really, really, really upset.
I called Cal West to let them know what was going on and they referred me to a mechanic.
Being that I live in San Jose, I let them know that it would be very hard for me to bring the car out to them and still get back and forth to work.
Matt and the Owner at at Cal West went Waaaaaaay out of their way to make it right.
They supplied me with a «loaner» and it was no «P.O.S.» beater either.
It was a cool little 06 Kia that was in very good condition, in fact it was one of the cars that was for sale on the lot.
Matt peeled all the stickers off and let me know that the car was mine for as long as it took for the mechanic to fix my own.
No charge!
Cal West sold me an awesome car.
A few problems occurred after the purchase, And even though I did buy the car «As Is» Cal West still picked up the tab on the repairs!
Like I said…
Cal West went way out of their way to make it right!
Thanks again!!!

I LOVE this dealership. I would recommend it to anyone. I called after they already closed to ask about one of their Saturns. They answered and said they would wait for me to get there, even though they had already closed! The guy helping me, Brian, greeted me with a warm smiled and didn’t give off any negative vibes that I had called so late. We test drove the car and he told me everything about it. He showed me all the Carfax even without me asking. I felt very comfortable and there was no sense of urgency in my purchase. I love my new car and I love this dealership!

Stopped by here the other day to test drive a car. As soon as I asked to go for a test drive, Matt immediately launched into a series of very personal, and in my opinion, inappropriate financial questions. I told him that the conversation was WAY beyond where I was at because I didn’t even know if I liked the car yet or not. He responded with something along the lines of «well, if I go on test drives with people that aren’t ready to buy, it’s a waste of my time. My time is too valuable for that.» Okay dude. You just talked yourself out of any potential sale by being a douche. Anyway, I still wanted to check out the car so I eventually convinced him I wasn’t a terrible person and we were off. The car was fantastic, however, the interior smelled HORRIBLY of cigarette smoke. When this point was brought up to Matt, he replies with «you know, I’m not a smoker & I can’t smell it at all. We shampoo the carpets but beyond that, we can give you an air freshener to dangle from the mirror.» Good reply, you patronizing jackass. We come to the end of the drive & he still won’t lay off the dated, super pushy sales tactics. At last, we escaped his grasp without the car. In complete honesty, aside from the cigarette smell, I would love to own that car & would do business with a used car lot. Doing business with a guy like that? No way in hell. I’ll keep looking.

Thank you so much for the greatest experience that I’ve ever had from a dealership… very honest and straight to the point when buying a car… I am so in love with my car .I will definitely refer people to your dealership … Disregard the reviews until you try them… I’ll promise your that you will not regret going through them. .thank you so much cal west motors :)

Worst car buying experience I’ve ever had. I didn’t expect much from a Used Car Dealership, but these shysters were unbelievable. Wasted half of my day and an inquiry with their games and BS. I should have checked Unilocal beforehand because no way all these reviewers could be wrong.
Edit:
Mike: I recently saw your comment and wanted to retort and give some constructive criticism.
1.) I negotiated with your son Brian for over an hour prior to running her credit. Your price for the car was thousands of dollars over the Bluebook price on this site:
After finally agreeing on a price with Brian, he said he was going to check with you to see if the price was ok. If the price was acceptable, he would run her credit. As you know, its in people’s best interest to reduce inquiries on their credit report. So negotiating a price prior to running credit or «Putting the cart before the horse» has been common practice in other dealerships.
2.) Its absolutely none of your business why I didn’t cosign my adult daughter’s loan but its definitely not my credit viability sir.
3.) You attack me as if I disappointed my daughter when in fact, she was relieved I came and learned a life lesson. I believe in teaching independence, so I let her choose her car, research prices, and choose the lots to buy from. Prior to heading to your lot, I told her she should have checked Unilocal reviews and asked others about their experiences. After leaving your lot, she thanked me for coming because she saw how many games you guys play and she felt that she would have gotten ripped off.
4.) I have 12 Unilocal Reviews. 5 of them are 1 star, 5 are 5 star and I have 1 of each 2 and 4 stars. My OVERALL REVIEW RATING IS 3 STARS.
Your dealership has 13 Reviews and 10 of them are 1 star and you have no reviews exceeding 2 stars. YOUR OVERALL RATING IS 1 STAR.
I did a quick search of competitors.
Platinum Motors: 55 reviews– 5 star average
Oakland Mitsubishi 58 reviews– 5 star average
BH Car Sales– 6 Reviews– 5 star average
Bay City Motors– 67 reviews– 3.5 star average.
Instead of attacking the reviewers that are giving unbiased opinions for their experience at your business, you would be better served to react to the opinions constructively.

I never even got the chance to step foot onto the lot. Two phone calls were enough for me to hightail it the other way.
I live about 1.5 hours south of SL, and called to inquire about pricing on a car they posted online. Understandably we can’t make a deal on the phone, but I did want to get a feel on how open they were to negotiations.
I was told I needed to bring the money or check, LITERALLY hand it to Matthew, he would take it (again LITERALLY take the PHYSICAL $) to the owner with my offer.
I had to ask a few times, to be clear, that I needed to hand him the money prior to any negotiations? Yes, that’s what I needed to do. He «reassured» me that if a deal wasn’t reached they wouldn’t cash the check or they would hand back the cash.
Uh, what?
I decided to pass after speaking with my husband, as neither of us in all our car buying years have had to do anything remotely similar to that. Not to mention, after dealing with MANY car salesmen, it would be much harder to get that cash back, then to not give it in the first place. Talk about having someone by the short and curlies.
I received a call today confirming that I was coming to look at the car, even though I hadn’t made concrete plans, I don’t fault him for this. I said I had talked it over with my husband and wasn’t going to because of the need to hand over the money to even talk. Matthew asked me how I would like to handle it, I told him how it’s handled everywhere else: We negotiate, make a deal and I pay. Simple, right? He said «yes, that’s how we do it» and I was like «what, no, you said I had to hand you the money, literally hand you the money, you take the deal to the owner» and he said something to the effect of «yes, how else would you expect to do this?»
All that nonsense coupled with his tone of voice, I choose to politely stop banging my head against a wall, and wished him well.

Writing this review based on the experience my Father and Brother had with dealer, Matt Moran, DLR#34 831.
Previewed a vehicle on their website, Father received pre loan approval from his credit union and they went to the dealership with the goal of test driving and purchasing.
#1: When Father requested to test drive vehicle Morans response was, «if you test drive it, are you going to buy it?»
#2: After additional ridiculously discriminating questions and 15mins. later, Father and Brother are being directed by Moran from the backseat of where to test drive, «turn left. Now, right. Don’t go too far from the lot.»
#3: After Father informed Moran of pre-​credit union approval: «we’d prefer you use our finance company. What’s the name of your credit union?» He then asked for Fathers address and telephone number.
#4: Moran calls house to verify the Hercules address was his BEFORE completing any documentation or verbal agreement that Father will purchase car. Moran called the house in front of them. When Mother verified, Morans response: «I have the wrong number. «and hung up in my Mothers face.
#5: Moran continued to barrage Father and Brother with discriminative questions based on the assumption, they we’re wasting his time and couldn’t afford to purchase a $ 5k, used vehicle.
#6: Father and Brother left lot and the car due to Morans disgusting, blatantly crass and discriminative behavior.
#7:Father came home and explained experience to me. I called the lot and asked to speak with the Manager. Moran answered the phone and his response: «his name is Jack and he doesn’t have a last name.»
This is the SECOND negative, discriminative, idiotic experience I’ve heard about Moran that involved an African American being treated as if their visit to the lot was to waste Morans precious time… inspecting a car with the goal to purchase.
Cal West Motors and Matt Moran: Get with the times, people of color have money too.