Rav 4
Hi everyone,
I’m honestly devastated and don’t know what to do.
I’m a first-time car buyer, and I spent over 2 years saving for my dream car. I specifically went to Toyota Dublin because I wanted a 2026 Toyota RAV4 XLE Premium Hybrid AWD. From the beginning, I made it very clear to my salesperson that I only wanted the All-Wheel Drive version.
We negotiated for a while, and I also requested ceramic coating because I planned to keep this car for many years. I agreed to pay $46,750 out the door and even accepted an interest rate of almost 16% because I believed I was getting exactly what I asked for.
Since this was my first new car, I trusted the dealership and didn’t know every detail I should have checked before signing.
When I got home, I noticed the ceramic coating hadn’t been done. When I called my salesperson, he told me it had been removed from the deal to make the numbers work, but nobody told me that before I signed.
A couple of days later, I checked the vehicle more carefully and realized something much worse.
The car is Front-Wheel Drive, not All-Wheel Drive.
I specifically asked for AWD multiple times, but somehow I ended up with an FWD model without anyone clearly pointing that out before I signed.
I’ve been sick to my stomach ever since. Every time I look at the car, I don’t feel excited—I feel like I made the biggest financial mistake of my life.
Has anyone else experienced something like this with a dealership? Is there anything I can realistically do at this point, or am I completely stuck?
I’m not trying to start drama. I just want honest advice because I’m heartbroken over what should have been one of the happiest purchases of my life.
Posted Jul 11, 2026, 8:52 PM UTC