Maui Toyota celebrating its 43rd Anniversary
KAHULUI – Maui Toyota’s 43rd Anniversary Sale continues this month, offering no additional dealer markup, low annual percentage rate – starting at 0 percent – offered on approved credit, and the dealership promising to meet or beat any written/advertised Toyota price in the State of Hawaii.
Maui Toyota was founded when a former Servco division manager, Damien Farias, flew to Maui in March 1975 and made a deal with the then-Toyota dealer to purchase the store.
Launched by Farias and three other investors, the dealership’s first day of business as Maui Toyota was June 2, 1975 at 32 Lono Avenue in Kahului, in back of the Kitagawa Service Station.
Less than a 1,500-square-foot building, it was run-down with termites and bees in the roof. Back then, Maui Toyota sold 8-9 cars a month, compared to its record of 181 new car sales during one month in 2007.
In July 1978, Maui Toyota relocated to a 53,083-square-foot property at 320 Hana Highway in Kahului. In 1983, Farias was honored with a Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award.
The property was expanded in 1985 to 105,418 square feet with a 17,500-square-foot facility that is now Maui Toyota’s showroom/service/parts department.
They sold both Toyotas and BMWs from 1983-96, then went back to selling just Toyota vehicles.
Farias was a nominee for 2006 Time Magazine Quality Dealer of the Year and was named Hawaii’s Dealer of the Year, and in 2009, Maui Toyota donated six vans to nonprofit organizations.
Maui Toyota’s original showroom was demolished in February 2017.
Today, Maui Toyota is led by Owner and CEO Damien Farias, President Kathleen Hee (Farias’ daughter), General Sales Manager/COO DJK Farias (son), Treasurer Aaron Hee (son-in-law), Chief Financial Officer Sandy Satsuma, Assistant General Manager David Stoller Whitney, Finance & Insurance Managers Chad Llanes and Bruce Fernandez, Service Manager Jason Siminski and Parts Manager Wil Rodrigues.
The 43-year-old Maui business is proud to be one of the few community-based, local family-owned dealerships.