Mineral Grey Ragtop

This from the current edition of www.autoextremist.com

Steven Cole Smith. The automotive editor for the Orlando Sentinel had an excellent guest editorial in this week's Automotive News about his attempts to buy a Ford Mustang. Referring to Ford CEO Alan Mulally's recent forays at Ford dealerships to help sell cars, Smith entitled his piece, "Mr. Mulally: Don't sell Fords; try to buy one." Smith and his wife went to four dealerships, fully intending to buy a Mustang, but with each dealer visit topping the one before for frustration and the dismissive attitudes displayed by the dealer personnel, they struck out. The short story? After one too many intolerable cruelties at Ford dealerships, they went and bought a Mini Cooper. Not good.

Has anyone on this board seen this article. I'm curious about Mr. Smith's problems.

RobK

I know my personal experience was abysmal. It took almost 4 hours to get them to order the car that I had already configured. There were no decisions to be made, no research to be done, no negotiations (x-plan) and no financing. They were just ham-fisted, argumentative idiots. I would have walked out if they weren't so darn convenient (distance-wise). After all of that they ordered the car incorrectly and denied that was the case even though I warned them about 4 weeks before the build date. I would NEVER recommend them to another buyer. They had a stiffling air of superiority and had convinced themselves that ALL buyers are idiots. During my time stewing in the showroom I watched them scare off at least 4 potential buyers with their condescending attitudes.

05retro

It all depends on the dealership. I put my order in and was prepared to wait for months, then my guy called me up to let me know that one had come in with exactly the same options i had ordered. I picked it up two days later.

Now my attempts to find a GT500... thats another story...

06VistaPony

With some 20 years since my last new car - I was seeing myself as having a new miserable experience.

But while I was doing all my background research here on this site, it occurred to me, "Why not do my shopping on the internet"? I knew all the options I wanted along with the codes and I had the invoice price from The Mustang Source via a very helpful district manager - so I just sent an e-mail message to the Internet Sales Director at every Ford dealer in the Phoenix metro area.

I ended up ordering from the small out-of-town dealership that I had already heard great things about and it was the most pleasurable car buying experience I have ever had. My salesperson got me my VIN number as soon as the ERL told me I had been serialized and he even tried to get me my rail car number (Ford gave him the wrong one). My very 1st picture of my car was at the dealership with my salesperson standing next to it.

Mustang05

I know my experience was bad. I went all over the state to find the perfect mustang. The first place i went to had a very very nice mustang but i decided to keep going because it was the first place i looked at. I continued and ended up a one dealership that had the mustang i wanted to buy. So i go into a salesmen's office to talk about it and were talking about price and what not for about 40 mins. This makes me believe that i'm getting the car. He goes to his manager to ask if the price we came up with was ok and about 15 mins later he comes back, sits down, and says wel it looks like that car has been sold. Apparently they sold the car underneath me while they were on the phone with another customer who was willing to pay more money for it. I was furious and complained the man who owned the dealership and had him searching for about an 1hr for the same car at a different dealership. I eventually said hold on one second, called the first dealership i went to and told them i would buy it for 21k even and the msrp was 23XXX they agreed and i got off the phone and told the owner sorry im leaving and got my car. .

Little Black Pony

Yeah, we read that article at our weekly sales meeting. You could easily replace Ford Mustang with any make and model and get the exact same article to make a fuss about.

This type of article is not the type of stuff we worry about too much, cos it can be anybody anywhere selling any car.

For being an automotive editor that guy isn't too bright when it comes to shopping for cars. He even admits at the end of the article he should of went to the Ford dealership he bought his F-150 from cos he got great customer service there but it wasn't close to his home.

Vermillion06

It's the individual dealers, not the automaker. With any make of car, of course, there are going to be bad dealers and then there are great ones. And when a car is in demand , it gives the crappy dealers more opportunity to crappier (markups, bad attitudes about test drives, etc).

What can any car maker do directly to punish unscrupulous dealers, since the dealerships are individually owned and not part of the automaker itself?

With any car make, not just Ford, you have to shop around before buying. You have to find a good dealer and buy from them, continue doing your business there and tell your friends. That way the good dealers get sales and the crappy ones don't.

97svtgoin05gt

It's a shame the Ford dealers are so spotty when it comes to customer service. I will say that probably the best experience I've had was getting my most recent Mustang. They did give me a tiny bit of trouble on my trade stating that the trans was noisy. I told them it's because it had a performance shifter and they inherently make more noise but they insisted on screwing me out of $500 because of it. Other than that they were great. I did of course know someone there who set it all up for me, so I'm sure that helped. Most recently with my new Escape, the salesman was nice, but needed to be *itch-slapped to get the deal correct for me. On top of that I wasn't exactly happy with the new car prep job they did. The truck wasn't dirty, but it wasn't clean either. I know for a fact that the premium brands actually have seminars and classes about how to deliver a new vehicle and Ford would be wise to begin to bring some consistancy to that process. Lets face it, it is the last leg in purchasing your new vehicle and it will be the last thing you think about once you're done. The impression left will be talked about, good, bad or indifferent.

Twisted_Reality

I went to 3 different dealerships in my area before buying my mustang. I knew more about the car than any of my salesmen did. I know one of them was offended by it and made it tough to work with him. Another just couldn't come up with the right deal. This stuff happens regardless of brand. I helped my sister shop for a car recently. The local Toyota dealership was a major PITA. They were actually charging a "Fair Market Value" markup on EVERY car they had on the lot and wouldn't budge from that. I could go on and on about her car shopping experience but trust me, its not just Ford or Chevy dealerships with these issues.

If you want to talk issues with getting service completed? Buy a Dodge. You will visit the service center enough to have a fair number of stories about poor service.

slipnotovk

looks like we all had the same kind of experiences. im just repeating alot of what you guys said already but here goes. i must have went to atleast 7 or 8 dealerships. Every place either didnt have what i wanted, said they could definetely get it for me without having to order one or just ignored me as i was sitting in one of the mustangs on the showroom floor. staten island ford actually said, yes we have black on black 5 speed premium with the bullet wheels. i FLEW down there to find out it was a black on red leather and as im standing there saying i wanted black on black the sales man is saying yes this is black on black POINTING to the red leather. i finally asked, do i look like im blind or are you just retarded? needless to say i have never gone back to SI ford for anything with my mustang.

the places that ignored me i either walked out without saying a word or walked out and told a salesman what i was looking for and if they had it i wasnt buying it anyway because of the service. AND that i was paying cash, which i was. that burned a few asses.

but yes, every place is different and i was lucky to find mine at fullerton ford in NJ. very helpful staff, i was greeted immediately after pulling into the parking lot with my old car. i stepped out of my drivers seat without even looking at a car and a salesman greeted me. but since that was about 1 out of 8 dealerships that gave me a pleasent transaction, id have to say ford is really dropping the ball.

i had also been to a few other different car dealers of different brands (mostly japanese) and every single one of them was helpful. if they want people to buy american cars, how about you TREAT THEM LIKE AMERICANS and not some worthless human being that has no right to be there.

just my 2 cents

WhoMe

I got quotes via email...all very helpful. However the first quote was the best and that ofcourse was the first place I went to check out a car; it also didnt hurt that it was five minutes from my house. They didnt have what I wanted on the lot but they very willing to order one. So after some haggling I got my price and was very pleased with how the Dealership treated me. Thanks, to South Jersey's Lilliston Ford.

mrkabc

Couldn't the auto manufacturer just pull allocation from misbehaving dealerships?

(meaning they won't be able to order high-demand cars?)

Vermillion06

That's a good idea...

Hollywood_North GT

Ford shouldn't do anything to set universal customer service standards for its dealership network.

Hollywood_North GT

It's called the "big picture." The attitudes displayed by these dealerships - and let's be absolutely clear, there are MANY of them - reflect poorly on the parent company in the long run because it's incredibly bad PR.

And before you pull the "Yeah, well, plenty of Toyota and Acura dealers offer crappy service, too" card, remember that those companies aren't hanging on by a thread financially.

Ford needs to be doing it better. It would be one EASY way to distinguish themselves...as opposed to extinguishing themselves.

Vermillion06

http://www.automotive.com/features/9...621/index.html

JD Power Sales Satisfaction Index Ranking 2006
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Jaguar 912
Cadillac 891
Lincoln 889
Porsche 889
Lexus 887
Saturn 887
Buick 884
Volvo 883
Mercury 881
Mercedes-Benz 876
HUMMER 874
BMW 873
MINI 873
Land Rover 872
Infiniti 868
Chevrolet 862
GMC 861
Ford 855
Acura 854
Saab 854
Pontiac 852
Audi 849
Industry Average 847
Hyundai 844
Honda 843
Jeep 841
Chrysler 839
Dodge 834
Toyota 832
Kia 828
Volkswagen 827
Scion 826
Subaru 825
Nissan 823
Mazda 815
Suzuki 810
Mitsubishi 794

Of course there's a lot of room for improvement, but Ford as a whole is above average. Notice who are below average and who the bottom 9 (the 9 worst makes as far as sales satisfaction) are.

But for the press, what fun would it be criticizing their current imported heroes while they're in their glory! It's more fun to kick the home team while they're down....

Hollywood_North GT

The problem with statistics like that, IMO, are three-fold: What criteria is used to gauge "customer service," how are the results compiled, and is anything taken out of context?

Also consider the organization conducting the survey. I put as much stock in J.D. Powers' empirical data as I do in Consumer Reports'.

That said, I go back to my original point. Even if you accept the stats as indicated above, Ford (not counting the subsidaries like Jaguar, Lincoln and Volvo) only comes out about mid-pack. They need to be doing things better than everyone else, not saying, "Look, we're right there in the median of the bell curve!"

I'm not interested in what sort of customer service the competition is offering. That's their problem. Ford has its own set of problems, and also has a great opportunity here to institute a simple change that could really be of benefit to them in both the short and long term. Customer service is getting poorer throughout our consumer economy. Those who re-institute it vigorously have an opportunity to recapture some business and separate themselves from the pack.

From the voluminous posts I have read here; experiences I have heard others tell of; and some of my own personal experiences, Ford has a ways to go on the customer service equation.

kevinb120

We never have any of this crap at our dealership I used to work at a Toy *****house, that place sucked to buy cars from, and they raped everybody. I never saw so many people who were 'closed' on a payment at 48 months find out it was the same payment for 72 or 84 and STILL take the car. Its like the toy owners who's motor sludged, payed out of pocket for a new engine, and still say the car has been reliable.

habu

The last two cars I bought from VW had me absolutely dreading buying my Mustang. Then seeing the horror stories here before I started shopping freaked me out, I did not want to get skewered. I, however, lucked out. I got to talk to a Fleet Manager, for trucks no less, at a Ford dealer south of me and from then on any and every problem were handled professionally and with great customer service. She was really wonderfull to work with. This includes me killing an order a year before I bought my car because I was laid-off. The next year came around and she still had my '06 order that she had printed out and was ready for me to order the 07. If I ever have to buy another car again I hope I can find someone as good to me as she was, she has since moved on to another non-Ford dealer.

I hate to see these stories and I know what it's like. I got lucky or happened upon the right dealer. Whatever it was I am grateful. But it's not just Ford with these problems. Ford is easy to kick 'cause they're down, IMO

Hollywood_North GT

Well, I too got lucky. My dealership has been great thus far. No question it pays to shop around if at all possible.

My point was that Ford should mandate that caliber of service from ALL its dealers, by having specific criteria in place for dealerships, and by ensuring that employees meet certain standards when hired...and continue to meet those standards throughout their tenure with the dealership.

Frankly, all automakers should institute something like this, but here is an ideal opportunity for Ford to take the lead on this issue...and it's a simple, common sense step.