Mike Verbanic

Shawn R

May 30, 2026

Google

What GM calls you 7 hours after you lease a car from his team just to see how you life everything on the new car? Only 1 that I've ever dealt with. Mike and his team have put together three absolute best of the best in all areas. Mike is genuine, his beliefs in taking care of his customers has rubbed off on everyone he works with. The professionalism of the entire stay is unparalleled . They will get you the best deal each and every time. My wife and I have purchased 4 vehicles from New Country Clifton Park. There is no other dealership i would ever go to. They have gained life long customers. Thank you once again for the amazing car and painless experience! Shawn R

Rauf ziya

Mar 21, 2024

DealerRater

I bought this dealer lease truck, it was a test car and even so it was very expensive. I no longer needed it and returned it 2 months early. I paid the money to the dealer on the day I delivered it, but about 3 months later they called me from the Toyota credit company and asked me for a late fee and said that they did not accept the money paid to the dealer. I made the payment again, asked the dealer for the extra money I paid, and the dealer sent me a large refund invoice. I was penalized for returning it early. You should definitely stay away from this dealer. This dealer's problem is not good service, it is to deceive you and take your money out of your pocket Rauf ziya

Classic John

Apr 9, 2021

DealerRater

Why do car dealerships have such a bad reputation? Hint: Mike Verbanic, pre-owned sales manager at Lia Toyota of Colonie is an example. I went to this establishment all the way from Westchester County to negotiate a 2016 Toyota Camry hybrid. According to Cargurus, where I saw the car, it was $643 above market value; the dealer put a price of $17,991 on it. So I used the sites IMV of $17,348 to make a realistic offer of $16,700. If they advertise on Cargurus then they must know how it works. James ODonnell, who I personally think is a respectable and decent salesperson, had told me over the phone that the best price available was $16,991. By the way, the internet representatives also did a good job on gathering information from me so a sales specialist could reach out to me. To be fair, most dealers are competent at doing this. Since I had traveled there from a distance, I politely asked to speak to a manager to see if he would get closer to my offer of $16,700. Thats when captain Mike Verbanic came over to sink a ship that up to that point had been sailing normally. If addressed properly, I was ready to pay that price. Again, it was a 138 mile trip. His first words: Why this car? I answered: Because I like it. Then he started saying what a great color this is! At this point I slightly laughed. Mr. Verbanic didnt take this well and confronted me about it! Parisian blue is a color that nobody buys! Thats exactly why I wanted that car. There are thousands of white, black, and silver Camrys on the road. So I wanted something different. Allow me to digress for a second, please. I once informed one of my students that we dont directly elect the president and his reaction was: What the f***?! When Mr. Verbanic belligerently addressed me, like my student, I thought something similar: What the h***?! So I allowed him to finish and simply left. An anecdote: In September of 2019 I went to Lia Toyota of Rockland with a retiring co-worker to purchase a 2019 Toyota RAV4 hybrid. We were looking for a $2,500 discount at least. The team there would not budge on the price because the car was selling well, everybody wanted a limited hybrid, and so on. In the end, they agreed to a $500 discount on a $37,000+ vehicle! We walked out immediately and got the car elsewhere with a $3,200 discount. I dont really write reviews unless I have to because, by now, I know how the car business works. But at least in this case I have managed to address two birds with one stone. In essence, these cases show that the apples dont fall far from the tree. Avoid Lia Group stores. In the case of Mr. Verbanic, the dealerships own page show that he has a 2.8 rating from customers! William Jr., Michael and Vincent seem like talented and smart guys. So it begs the question: Why do they allow these things to happen? It is my understanding that they run the business now, not Mr. Lia. Gentlemen, customers are important to a business.

Becca M.

Aug 21, 2019

Yelp

I came down to their Colonie location last Wednesday looking to test drive a used car. I was interested in the car, we negotiated the price, and I put down a deposit. But unfortunately I couldn't drive away in it because their people to run the final inspection and to transfer the title were gone for the day (I have never driven away without the car I just bought, but to be fair had never made a purchase in the evening. So although frustrated, I understood). So I made an appointment to return that Saturday morning to pick up the car and was told everything would be ready for me. I show up Saturday morning only to be informed that they in fact do not have all the paperwork needed. There was a missing lien release from the prior owner. They had had the car for almost 3 weeks and it was a clerical error on their end thinking they had it when they did not. Initially it was just a 'Sorry, we screwed up. You can't take the car until we have this and we aren't sure when it will come in' until I asked at least to have a rental for the time being since I had just transferred my insurance to the car I thought I was coming to pick up. Again, I was frustrated, but to be fair it was an honest mistake I don't think they had a way of knowing when it would actually come in. I am called 4 days later and I come to get the car for real this time. It's the 3rd time I've driven to the dealership that's an hour away. I asked to speak with the sales manager (Mike Verbanic) regarding a reduction in price for all the added inconvenience of my experience thus far--my 3rd trip now and a week after I thought I would have had the car. It was by far the most unprofessional male power-trip of a customer service conversation I've ever had. At times he was visibly upset at me, he told me it was not his fault the error happened so it wasn't even reasonable to ask for such a thing--he then blamed the salesman that was working with me. He then told me he "could have sold the car 10x over to someone else in that time" I had to wait for them to fix their paperwork issue. (Mind you, I signed for it and put a deposit on it a week ago and was told I was not allowed to drive the car off the lot until they fixed their paperwork issue). He then stated that "giving any discount would simply not be a good business deal on [his] end." Of course not...but neither is such poor customer service when you are admittedly at fault. In the end he offered me $100 and actually walked out on me saying I didn't have to take it at all. In my opinion this is unacceptable professionalism and customer service and was the final straw in never returning to any Lia Dealer in the future. It's unfortunate because the salesman I was working with up to that point had handled an annoying situation with professionalism.

Becca Mason

Aug 21, 2019

Google

I came down to their Colonie location last Wednesday looking to test drive a used car. I was interested in the car, we negotiated the price, and I put down a deposit. But unfortunately I couldn't drive away in it because their people to run the final inspection and to transfer the title were gone for the day (I have never driven away without the car I just bought, but to be fair had never made a purchase in the evening. So although frustrated, I understood). So I made an appointment to return that Saturday morning to pick up the car and was told everything would be ready for me. I show up Saturday morning only to be informed that they in fact do not have all the paperwork needed. There was a missing lien release from the prior owner. They had had the car for almost 3 weeks and it was a clerical error on their end thinking they had it when they did not. Initially it was just a 'Sorry, we screwed up. You can't take the car until we have this and we aren't sure when it will come in' until I asked at least to have a rental for the time being since I had just transferred my insurance to the car I thought I was coming to pick up. Again, I was frustrated, but to be fair it was an honest mistake I don't think they had a way of knowing when it would actually come in. I am called 4 days later and I come to get the car for real this time. It's the 3rd time I've driven to the dealership that's an hour away. I asked to speak with the sales manager (Mike Verbanic) regarding a reduction in price for all the added inconvenience of my experience thus far--my 3rd trip now and a week after I thought I would have had the car. It was by far the most unprofessional male power-trip of a customer service conversation I've ever had. At times he was visibly upset at me, he told me it was not his fault the error happened so it wasn't even reasonable to ask for such a thing--he then blamed the salesman that was working with me. He then told me he "could have sold the car 10x over to someone else in that time" I had to wait for them to fix their paperwork issue. (Mind you, I signed for it and put a deposit on it a week ago and was told I was not allowed to drive the car off the lot until they fixed their paperwork issue). He then stated that "giving any discount would simply not be a good business deal on [his] end." Of course not...but neither is such poor customer service when you are admittedly at fault. In the end he offered me $100 and actually walked out on me saying I didn't have to take it at all. In my opinion this is unacceptable professionalism and customer service and was the final straw in never returning to any Lia Dealer in the future. It's unfortunate because the salesman I was working with up to that point had handled an annoying situation with professionalism.

Joan Jacuk J.

Oct 2, 2018

Yelp

My experience with Lia Toyota was horrendous from beginning to end1st I was pre-appoved for a loan by sefcu and was told I had to go thru Lia. I decided to pay cash. I called the salesman Brian and was told my car would be ready at 3pm on 9/24. I told him my sister and brother-in-law would be there at 215pm to do the paper work he said fine. We arrived at 215pm and had to wait 45 minutes for him to greet us. He the car was not ready but would be shortly also paper work was not ready. After 1 hour he said the car was ready but not the paper work after waiting another 1/2 hour I got a sales manager Michael Verbanic and he said this is not healthly for me or you he than got up and walk away as he was walking away I asked him how much longer he said i hour when everything was finally ready about 630pm 41/2 hours later my sister said at least they could do is buy us dinner the salesman Brian said go to dinner take a picture of the check and we will reimburse you which I still have not been reimbursed It was a terrible experience I would not recommend Lia Toyota to anyone 41/2 hours to purchase a car

T McGinnis

Jun 27, 2017

DealerRater

Was purchasing my first ever car from Lia Toyota and Allison did a great job of finding the right fit with low mileage at a price I could afford. She was very patient as I was unsure if the purchase was right the first day I went in. But as I was ready to make the purchase. She and Aaron made sure the process was as painless as possible. I do recommend this for first time buyers

Tvanwely

Jun 23, 2017

DealerRater

i had a wonderful experience at this dealership when i purchased my 2014 Honda Accord from Warren Roger. He made the deal so easy for me as I was stressed out because my old car died the day prior. I would also like to Thank The pre-owned mgr Mike V for making my experience painless and his expertise with Warren

carol seigh

Feb 18, 2017

Google

As a singe woman, purchasing a car is a horrible experience to begin with. I knew I wanted a Toyota Corolla, and went to the closest dealership; Lia. I was bullied, lied to, manipulated, and generally treated badly. When I asked about a Prius, Brent told me they started at $25k. My son later told me that there is a model, the Prius C, that lists for the same price as a Corolla. Brent books his time so closely that he rushes you, never taking the time to give the customer what they need. The finance guy Nick was equally deceitful, and rushed through that process also. He pushed me into buying an extended warranty that I didn't want. I went back to the dealership a week later to cancel the warranty. I was given a form to sign by finance assistant, and told it usually takes 6-8 weeks to hit my loan account. After 10 weeks I called my bank and the $ had still not arrived. I waited another week, and still no $, and I'm talking 2450.00, which is nothing to sneeze at. I spent all last week calling the dealership, trying to get someone to return my call. I left messages for Nicole, 2 managers, and multiple messages for Nick. All week long. Finally on Saturday I went to the dealership in person. I spoke with Nicole, who said she had no record of the form I had signed. I asked to speak to Nick, and was told he was going to see a customer and could see me in a half hour, if I wanted to wait. I told her I was a customer and walked into his office. When asked why he didn't see fit to return my calls, he denied getting them. Said the finance team has one mail box and he hadn't had time to check it. ALL WEEK, HE DIDN'T have time. All my messages mentioned his name, my name, and phone number. He was snarky and rude to me and said Nicole handles the warranty cancellations. Rude, and snarky. I finally asked to see Donato, the general manager. I explained my whole situation to him and he seemed concerned about my treatment, and that my warranty cancellation had gotten "lost". He had Nicole fill out another one, and checked it thoroughly, calling her back because one section hadn't been filled out properly. He asked her to fax it immediately and give him the fax confirmation. Nick had already told me that because they lost my first form, they would put a rush on the new one and I would get my money back quickly. Donato was a bit more honest about it and said it would still take a couple of weeks. I appreciated his taking the time to speak with me and hope he does follow through and make sure my refund is issued. So I've been paying interest on an extra 2450.00 for 3 months, and due to their "losing my form" I'll do so for the next month or so. While at the dealership yesterday, Brent passed me several times, and wouldn't acknowledge me. The only redeeming thing about this dealership is Mike Verbanic. I spoke with him when I went in to cancel the warranty, and he was honest, polite, and took the time to listen to my story about how awful my car buying experience was. He said he'd have someone do the paperwork and they would call me to come in to sign the papers, which he did. I received a call the next day to come in to sign. Kudos to Mike for his courtesy and excellent customer service. The two stars are for Mike.

Jamshaid Raza

Aug 9, 2016

Google

I bought a 2016 highlander yesterday. Lia Toyota of Colonie has an amazing team. Michael Verbanic, Warren Roger, Andi, Codi (maintenance and repair dept) and Aaron were all so professional and exceptional in handling and guiding through the process. I am extremely pleased with their impressive customer service and my transaction. They offered me a very reasonable trade in value which made me to leap for the 2016. I will love to refer anyone, especially my friends and family to them. . Thank you all.