There are many men and women who do great things in our Baton Rouge community day in and day out. Every once in a while we are given an opportunity to honor these amazing people! One of our own, here at Team Toyota, was honored this week by being named one of the 2011 Marketer of the Year Honorees.  Victor has truly had an impressive career, contributing to several organizations and receiving numerous awards for his accomplishments. What is really impressive about this man though is his involvement in giving back to our community. As you will see in the following article written about Victor, he has contributed much to both Baton Rouge and Louisiana as a whole. We are excited to be able to honor his efforts and know that there is only more to come as Victor continues on with his careers both with CST and with us here at the Team Automotive Group.

Congrats to Victor Howell

Article written about Victor in the 2011 Marketer of the Year Honorees brochure:

Today we are going to discuss the use of GAP Protection as a tool to protect against potential loss of value from a vehicle being wrecked while the owner owes more to the financing company than the vehicles actual cash value. We at Team Toyota offer many tools to protect our customers financially, but GAP is one of the essential tools that many customers need in order to get financing approval.  GAP Protection protects from the possibility being “upside down” from complete loss of vehicle due to either theft or collision damage.

Some potential scenarios:

1) You owe $21,000 on your loan or lease and you total your vehicle. The value of the car is $15,000. Without GAP coverage, you will be on the hook for $6,000 to the financing company. With GAP coverage, you owe nothing.

2) Your car is 4 years old and you are close to paying off your loan. The payoff amount is $8,500 and the current market value is $11,000. You total your car. GAP coverage is useless here since you will actually pocket $2,500 after getting a check from your insurance company.

GAP Protection is not going to provide a gain as was explained in the second scenario, but instead is a tool meant to provide risk management.  This can be purchased for both new and pre-owned vehicles and is very highly recommended or sometimes even required.  The potential for loss due to fluctuations in market value of vehicles can be incredibly burdensome for some people.  Give yourself peace of mind today by purchasing GAP Protection. GAP is available on every vehicle purchased at Team Toyota so make sure to ask your Finance & Insurance Manager about what is involved in making sure you are properly protected when you leave the lot with your New or Pre-owned Toyota!

Team Toyota  1788 O’neal Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70816

www.team-toyota.com 888-719-6871

For all of your Sales, Service, Parts or Collision needs

www.facebook.com/teamtoyota and www.twitter.com/teamtoyotascion

The finance manager Curtis went above and beyond to get me approved.
A Robinson

Tried to help with expenses I am especially appreciative the work with Curtis Hopkins.  He is an asset to Team Toyota.  Henry is nice too.
J. Goodwin

This was the purchase of my fifth Toyota from Team Toyota and the staff, both sales and service, have always treated me with the utmost respect and courtesy. They have gone out of their way to keep my business.
M. Ibert

Simply excellent experience!
R. Warren

Fair and honest. Easy to deal with. THANKS!
M. McCaleb

Very friendly   Mr. Lee Hogan is a great person and  cares  and follows  up   This is my 3rd  vehicle in 2 yrs!
F. Ragsdale

When the original vehicle I had negotiated a price on was unavailable, the dealership was able to immediately locate another very similar vehicle. Even though it had an additional option worth several hundred dollars, they did not increase the price agreed upon.  Also, a FULL tank of gas–need I say more?
D. Thomas

Courteous, fast to greet us, helpful!
D. Stevenson

Up to this point the majority of our postings have consisted of product information, but today we are going to make a change! This will be our first ever Team Toyota Service Tip. These tips are designed to help you better your fuel economy, keep your car running at optimum capacity and over all, to make sure you have the most enjoyable ride possible.  We at Team Toyota strive to offer you the best service and part of meeting this pledge is proper education.

Service Tip: 10/24/11- Nitrogen Tire Treatment

Nitrogen Tire Treatments will replace the air in
your tires with nitrogen. This will ensure that your Tire
Pressure Monitor Sensors are not activated as often, especially during seasonal
temperature fluctuations. These tire pressure changes are caused impurities
like moisture found in air, which expands and contracts at different
temperatures. These contractions will cause loss of air pressure in your tires
and can become very inconvenient for those who must often bring their vehicle
in to refill air pressure. When using nitrogen, there are virtually no
impurities, which means you will see a substantially lower occurrence of tire pressure
loss. In additions, be sure to always keep current on service visits. Regular
tire rotations and oil changes are a necessity to keep your car running at peak
performance.  Nitrogen Tire Treatments mean less time on the sideline, and more time doing the things that really matter!

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Even better than winter driving tips        By Matthew Wright, About.com Guide

Winter is upon us, and winter driving comes with it. While safety is an important consideration all year long, there are certainly some auto maintenance jobs and safety checks that are specific to chilled air and winter driving that are a good idea to check into before we’re knee deep in the season. To be sure you don’t end up a road popsicle, or even worse end up with your holiday budget on ice thanks to unexpected repairs, have a look under the hood to be sure things are ship shape. As with any change of season, you should go to your regular maintenance log to make sure you are up to date on the maintenance items that should be taken care of throughout the year. The change of seasons is a great time to go through some once-a-year or twice-a-year auto maintenance tasks.

In addition to the added perils of winter driving, the change in weather can bring peril to your car’s systems. Freezing temps, salted roads and wintery precipitation can gang up on your car if you don’t give it a baseball-bat sized maintenance session. These winter maintenance jobs will keep you out of trouble:

Check your antifreeze
Your antifreeze (the juice that goes in your radiator) is an essential part of your car’s winter protection. Your car contains a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. Make sure the level is full and the mixture is close to 50/50. Many service stations and repair centers will check this mixture free, or you can buy a tester for around $5. You did remember to perform a radiator flush last spring, didn’t you?

Inspect your tires
The last line of defense between you and an oak tree are your tires. Winter is not the time to get cheap about your tires, so take the time to check the tread depth. The National Highway Transportation Safety Board says you need at least 2/32″ of depth to be safe. It’s been my experience, especially in winter weather, that anything less than 4/32″ (1/8″) be replaced soon. The old penny test is as reliable as anything to find out whether your treads are ready for winter action. Also, be sure to check your tire pressure. Believe it or not, they lose a little pressure when it gets cold, so pump ‘em up.

Replace your wipers
Wipers? What do your windshield wipers have to do with winter weather? Two things. First, anything falling from the sky is going to end up on your windshield, and unless you have a team of beavers riding on the hood of your car the task of clearing it falls on your wipers. Second, in areas that see snowfall in the winter, you’re also driving through that soupy muck that’s left on the road once the highway department does their thing. This muck includes a lot of sand and salt, both of which end up on your windshield. It takes wipers that are in top shape to keep your windshield clean and safe.

Check your windshield washer fluid
You’ll be using lots of washer fluid as you try to keep your windshield sparkly. A mile stuck behind an 18-wheeler will have your windshield looking like a Desert Humvee if you’re low on washer fluid. *Tip: Don’t fill your washer fluid reservoir with anything except washer fluid, it won’t freeze!

Annual Maintenance Procedures
On top of the checks you need to perform to ensure safe winter driving, now’s a good time to do some annual maintenance. These aren’t necessarily specific to winter driving, but it’s a good point on the calendar to get around to doing this stuff.

Clean your battery posts
Starting problems are a bummer any time of year. Regularly treating your battery to a cleaning can keep electrical gremlins at bay.

Inspect your spark plug wires
Cracked up plug wires affect performance, gas mileage and general reliability. Be sure yours are in top shape.

Inspect your brakes
Brakes are not a good area to cut corners. Be sure your brakes have enough meat left to get you through the season.

Check Your Engine Oil
This should go without saying and should be done at least monthly. But in case you’re an amnesiac … you should also do an oil change!

Cold weather safety should be a concern for anybody living in a cold climate. These tips will give you the upper hand when Old Man Winter tries to put a chill on your winter travels. If you’re extra curious about staying generally safe in winter weather, the National Weather Service has an excellent Winter Safety & Awareness guide that covers everything from how storms brew to a list of history’s billion dollar winter wonders.

If you haven’t been to our site lately, take another look. http://www.team-toyota.com/ 24/7

Shop after 6:00 p.m. the evening before a sale is advertised to begin. Many retailers program the registers the night before, so the sale may already come up in the register even if they have not changed out signs on the selling floor yet. Ask the associate in advance for any possible upcoming sales, especially on big ticket items.

Prepare a list to use while you are shopping. Make sure to include alternative selections in case you are unable to find some of the items on your list.

Avoid crowds by shopping during stores’ early and late extended hours.

If you are looking for specific advertised items, take the complete ad with you so that you don’t end up in the wrong store looking for a specific price.

Staple a gift receipt to the merchandise tag in case it needs to be returned or exchanged. Keep your original receipts with any warranty paperwork for the life of the warranty.

Remember when gift shopping you are buying for someone else’s wants and needs, not your own. But don’t be afraid to take full advantage holiday promotions treat yourself to something nice!

Shop safely! Watch your personal belongings at all times including handbags and purchases. The stores are not responsible for any lost items so be careful, especially at the register when you can get easily distracted by the transaction itself.

Save yourself the headache: let the charity group at the mall wrap your gifts for you. This will save you a lot of time and free you up to do other things on your holiday to-do lists.

When shopping online, have your credit cards and address book handy. Many websites have timed windows to complete a transaction, so you need to have shipping information at your fingertips.

When walking through the mall or down Main Street, wear comfortable shoes! You’ll be walking on a lot of marble, concrete and tile.

If you haven’t been to our site lately, take another look. http://www.team-toyota.com 24/7

The Toyota Prius received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s “Top Safety Pick” award based on front, side, and rear crash testing. The rating dispels the myth that high fuel efficiency always requires a compromise in terms safety.

To earn the Insurance Institute’s “Top Safety Pick,” a vehicle has to earn good ratings in all three tests—and must offer electronic stability control, which comes standard on all Prius models.

The Toyota Prius, a midsize sedan with a combined city/highway rating of 50 mpg, is the most fuel-efficient car on the market today.

The insurance group’s side test simulates a collision with an SUV or pickup truck moving at 31 mph. The frontal test mimics 40 mph crashes with vehicles of the same weight as the test car. The IIHS also simulates a stationary vehicle being rear-ended by a vehicle going 20 mph. Side crash test results apply no matter what size vehicles you are comparing, but front impact results are meaningful only when comparing models of about the same weight.

In the Prius’s front crash test, the driver dummy’s head hit the pillar between the front and back windows, but the impact was relatively low. The dummy’s head suffered slightly more of an impact when it hit the steering wheel through the air bag.

Plan Ahead. Having a set list of gifts you intend to buy helps minimize confusion, especially if you intend to make multiple purchases through several websites. Shop.org encourages consumers to start their online holiday shopping at http://www.cybermonday.com/, a site that will offer current promotions of more than 500 online retailers throughout the holiday season.

Use common sense. A golden rule of online shopping is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is and you should avoid it. Shop with retailers that you trust. If you aren’t familiar with an online retailer, look for privacy and security seals, which indicate that their security and privacy measures have been verified, or use a site like BizRate.com to determine other peoples’ shopping experiences from that merchant.

Ensure your gifts arrive in time. Check retailers’ shipping deadlines, which are featured prominently on most retail websites. The information often lists the last day that customers can place orders for arrival by Christmas or Hanukkah.

Know retailers’ return and exchange policies. Return policies vary, so knowing ahead of time whether or not you will have to ship back returns or exchanges or if you can return them to the physical store in your area will help in the long run. Also be sure to find out who covers the cost of shipping if you need to return or exchange an item.

Ship gifts directly to the recipient. Most online retailers can ship items to a different location than your billing address. During the holiday season, when many people are traveling, take advantage of this feature by sending gifts ahead of your arrival. Some companies can even ship pieces from a single order to multiple locations so you don’t have to lug holiday gifts all across the country.

For instant gratification (or holiday procrastinators), buy online then pick up in the store. Many retailers offer a “buy online, pick up in store” option. Check with your favorite retailers to see if this is a service they offer, then skip the crowds and head straight to the customer service counter where your items will be waiting.

Read the fine print. Retailers list important information such as privacy policies, warranty information, item descriptions, terms of agreement and company information on their websites. Much of this information is very useful, but is displayed in a smaller font.

If you aren’t comfortable paying with a credit card, research other payment options. Retailers place a tremendous importance on keeping their websites safe and protecting customers’ information. But for shoppers who are still nervous about paying by credit card, other options are often available. Online retailers offer a variety of services, from letting customers fax in an online order to accepting third-party payment options. Some retailers also allow gift cards to be redeemed online.

“Check it Twice” before confirming purchase. Before you complete an online purchase, double-check billing and credit card information, shipping address and total cost of the order. This will eliminate any potential panic after you’ve hit the final “confirm” or “submit” button. And remember not to click “submit” twice.

Start a file folder. First, print and save all confirmations of your purchases. This will help in many ways, from returning or exchanging items to verifying credit card or bank statements. Also, write down each purchase. It’s easy to forget how much you’ve spent if you don’t keep track. This will help both holiday spending on a budget and balancing your checkbook.

If you haven’t been to our site lately, take another look. http://www.team-toyota.com/  24/7

Protect Shopping Bags. Never let anyone else “watch” your bags while you are shopping – always keep your bags in eyesight. This can even apply to spouses and children, as no one else may appreciate your purchases as much as you do!

Gift Card Safety. Only buy gift cards from reputable retailers, not through online auction sites. Gift cards sold through online auction sites are more likely to be counterfeit or obtained through fraudulent means. It’s even possible that these cards could have no value when purchased.

Keep Receipts. Consumers should keep the original receipt for every gift they purchase and ask for a gift receipt to give to the recipient. Receipts guarantee proof of purchase for both you and the gift recipient in the event that an item needs to be returned or exchanged.

Educate Children. Teach kids what to do if you get separated by instructing your child to look for a security guard, police officer, or go to the customer service desk where people are trained to help. Also make sure that your children know what to do if approached by a stranger while shopping.

Store Credit Card Information at Home. Make sure you have your credit card customer service phone numbers, account number and PIN written down at home in case you lose a credit card while shopping or you misplace your purse or wallet.

Stay Alert. Even though you are rushed and thinking about a thousand things, pay attention to your surroundings.

Auto Safety. Keep doors locked and windows closed when leaving your vehicle. Remember to turn off lights and take your keys. Store packages, electronics, and other important items in the trunk of a vehicle. Leaving them visible inside the car is an invitation for someone to break in.

Be Careful With Your Cash. If you prefer to pay with cash, never bring out the entire stash from your wallet. It’s best to count your money discreetly out of sight from others. Also, consider bringing only what you might need for the shopping trip. If you’re only spending $50, there’s no sense in putting $600 in your wallet.

Park close to your destination. If you know it’s going to be dark when you return to your car, try to park under a street light and always take the most brightly lit path to and from your car.
Be Vigilant. If you see something suspicious, report it to store personnel, mall security or your local police department.

If you haven’t been to our site lately, take another look.
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