kevinb120

Well, dealers make a big stink about the surveys. A lot of privileges from Ford are dependent on the VOC. Its a pass/fail affair so if it was a good dealer hit em up top marks(almost perfect=fail-it's stupid), if not, bomb the survey. But send it in!

And of course, don't buy another car or get service from a dealer that did you wrong. Survey's and your wallet make the biggest statements. But remember, car buying is always stressful even if the experience is a good one. Just make sure that you 'hate' a dealer for the right reasons and not a simple miscommunication. A lot of times a small misunderstanding rubs someone the wrong way that can easilly be resolved and live can go on. But if they actively do something knowingly wrong?, screw em.

WarBird69

I'm VERY glad I purchased my 'stang from Ed on here (ISELLFORD). 100% painless experience. A GREAT thing for my first (and probably only) new car purchase.

Quite a stark contrast to my dealer experiences in the Dayton area. I'm on my way to work, but here's a long story cut very short:
I was browsing the 05 (or maybe 06...forgot) 'Stangs in a dealer's lot. A salesman approached me after 10 minutes or so and simply said the following:

"If you aren't going to buy, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

'Nuff said with that.

05blackV6

I've had this experience as well. The first dealership I went to was full of ****** who thought they were gods. They wouldn't let me test drive unless I was gonna buy it, and they lost the car I wanted and tried to pawn off a base model with an auto! Guess I should have paid attention to the guy in the lot that had a sign on his truck "Don't buy from these guys they are crooks!"

Anyway, I ended up getting my car from Magarino and most of the people there are very nice. The dealer we dealt with was a great guy and I stop buy to see him and their stock here and there.

97svtgoin05gt

If someone said this to me, I would've called the local paper and had a news crew come down. Do an interview on their lot with the guy who asked you to leave. GREAT publicity.

Tony Alonso

Now that's dorky, unless you were drooling on them too much What dealer was that by the way?

jcthorne

Ford can and does. They also reward great service. Its called Presidents Award.

Still I agree, Ford need to do some major training of dealerships.

GTH395

Somewhere in here you will find my thread on my attempt, though no less than 7 dealerships, to buy a Shelby GT. From not knowing it even existed to crazy ADM, to salespeople telling me I was mistaken and meant the GT500, it was a chore. It's no wonder Ford is in trouble with dealers like this. I hope they go the way of the old rip off computer stores and it all moves to the web. Cut them out of anything but service and even then they should have to compete with other "Authorized Service Centers" etc. Only way things will change!

gofarlow

Guess I got lucky. I bought my 07 stang from the first dealer I stopped at. The sales lady was the mustang specialist and mostly sold only mustangs. She was able to answer ever question about the 07 and even questions going back to older models. The only issue I had was with the loan closing guy. Not a very bright one. I ended up having to remove the ink ribbon from one printer, which they broke the printer trying on their own, and put it into the other printer or I would never have been able to sign for my car.

RRRoamer

When I ordered my car, I placed the order over the phone with my salesman. I rattled off all the option numbers I wanted and he filled out the data in the online order system then read them all back to me. No down payment. No hassles. No waiting in line. All in all, I think it took less than 10 minutes to place the order and less than two hours to pick up the car and get all the other paperwork and inspections done.

Needless to say, I was/am a VERY happy customer. Of course, the fact that my mom has worked at this dealership for 12 years and I have known the sellsman for over 8 years probably helped. A lot!

However it worked out, Vision Ford in Alamogordo NM REALLY took good care of me and my car.

The office manager kept a VERY close eye on my car. She kept the keys to it in her desk and would only let the prep folks move it when they absolutely had to. She made one of the preb guys walk from one side of the dealership to the other to get the cleaning stuff he needed from the detail shop when they found a scuff on the leather. Normally, they would have driven it over there and then back.

When I went to pick it up, it was locked away in a small showroom next to the main showroom. Nice and safe and I there was not a bunch of visitors getting there hands all over MY car! The car only had 3.9 miles on the odometer too. Other than the mileage put on the car during the build and delivery, the only trip it made was the finial inspection when they drove it to the gas station and filled it up, then back to the dealership and into the private showroom.

I was happy.

Webba

No offenseLBP, I am not picking on you but your post just totally reflects the attitude many of us got hwen searching for our cars. The dismissive arrogant, it isnt us attitude. Yes all brands have issues but all brands arent in the toilet like Ford is. There is an issue and ALOT of dealerships downright plain S*CK. We the customer have tried to tell Ford this time and again and if it wasnt for the fact that we love this car Ford would have sold alot less cars the past 3 years. So dimiss this article if oyu want but if it were me Id listen and see what I can do different. The dealer who takes this stuff seriously should be able to really make some $$ taking care of people like they should of in the first place.

05GT-O.C.D.

That was my experience as well. I drove 2 hrs just to find a dealer who I could stand, and didn't want to order the 'hot new Mustang' and mess up their allocations, etc if I backed out. Go figure, I didn't find a nice dealership, just one that didn't realize how in demand the car would be when it was released. After months of waiting, when it arrived they tried to mess w/ the price since that was one of the two or three that they had.

Cryosis

I feel everyones Pain :/

About a month ago I was really wanting to trade in my 06 GT for an 07. Did all my research online through various dealer stocks. I hit up the dealers that had my cars of choice, and finally ended up at Joe Meyer's Ford here in Houston. Spent about 5 hours at the dealership. The salesmen along with his manager finally got to a payment I was willing to accept. Signed the initial paperwork locking in the price, so I thought.

I get up to the financing department, only to have the #'s change. I was told it was due to me not having enough credit history, which I politely told them was crap since I bought my 06 GT on my own only 1 year earlier with no problem (only reason I did not buy from the same dealer again was there inventory had nothing I wanted). Payment jumped $70 a month with there #'s. I ended up walking away from the deal, because I went in knowing what my ceiling was for payments and was not going to give in.

About 2 hours later I get a call saying they were able to get my payment where I wanted it, for the initial terms I agreed upon for the APR I knew I qualified for. After 5 hours of pain I decided it was not worth the hour and forty minute drive back up to the dealership for the car.

Will either try for an 07 again or wait for the 08's. Either way, the experience left a sour taste in my mouth.


P.S My biggest complaint about dealerships is how little knowledge most of the salesmen I have dealt with know about a particular car. I do not accept the argument of there are so many options and car/trucks its hard for a salesman to know more than the customer who studies 1 vehicle. I work in the print industry and there are so many things to know about inks, paper specs and the machines that print said materials. Knowing what is the best solution for a customers needs and wants is key to sales. If you do not know your product, why be in sales?

05fordgt

Hey Jeff, its sad to say, but 95% of salespeople don't even like cars. I (with others) are in a small minority. I'm a car guy 1st, and a car salesman 2nd. Heck, I was at Carlisle and 3 of my customers were with me. They always say to me "not many car salespeople would go to shows with their customers. Your one of a kind". I take that as a BIG compliment. I love cars, and love what I do. Its just a shame that more people can't be into it and care for their customers like myself and others in my same boat. I try to help anyone I can, and I want them to come back again when they need another car. So far, for 10 years, its working good, so I must be doing something right.

n00bstang

+1

SixtySix

We need more like you

Then learn from the experience and take matters into your own hands.

1. Arrange your own financing ahead of time.
2. Configure your car with the options you want.
3. Determine what the price YOU want to pay (Price NOT Payment)
4. Email the Fleet/Internet sales depts with your specs and price.
5. First one to say "Yes" gets the deal.

That's the no-hassle way to get it done. Why spend hours on site, when you can get it done in minutes by either email or over the phone.

GTJOHN

We bought our last two vehicles from a dealership that deals in large volumes. There is no "B.S.", and its a fairly pleasant experience.
The only problem is...the dealership is very far away. My wife wants me to buy my next Mustang at the local Ford Dealer, that is right around the corner.
But, last September, they(local dealer) wouldn't even help me locate a Mustang GT Premium when Ford offered that 0% for 72 months special.
Then another dealership in the area, wouldn't help me. These local guys wouldn't even look on the computer or make a phone call!

I ended up going to a dealership 40 minutes away from me the next day. They were very helpful making which seemed like 30 phone calls trying to find me a 5 speed Mustang GT Premium. But, I was a day late on the deal. All the Stangs were either sold or that dealership didn't want to trade with my dealership.

Amazing! Some dealerships will bend over backwards, while others won't even lift a finger.

Hollywood_North GT

I would agree with all of the above. Do all the groundwork yourself, first, and determine a fair price.

I would also add that if you ARE going to walk into a dealership to do this - and don't already have a reputable salesperson you and know and trust in mind - bypass the sales team altogether and go directly to the sales manager. You eliminate one step right there: you know, the one where the sales person runs back and forth to the sales manager's office as they haggle with you over the price...

05GT-O.C.D.

After spending days going to local dealerships, this (^) is what I did, except for I went to Ford's dealer locater site and printed out all the dealerships within 2 hours of where I lived. Then, I picked up the phone and started making phone calls to sales managers telling them what I wanted and that I wanted it for $500 over invoice. After an hour or so, I found one 2 hrs away and went the next day to order it and drop off my deposit. Most said either I was crazy or they wouldn't negotiate price over the phone, my reply was 'Well thanks for your time (click)' - picked up phone and dialed next number.

05fordgt

Hey 05GT, I'd take a $500 over invoice deal all day long. I don't even need approval for it. I can just get it done. Too bad your not in my neck of the woods! I'd love to have sold it to you.

kevinb120

You could probably go to management and have that dude fired on the spot. If it were here, you'd see him leaving with his Baltimore suitcase(cardboard box) within 5 minutes.