Visit to the Ford Dealer

Where I live the Ford dealers are very friendly and so is one very small Dodge dealer we have here as well. The GM dealers are PITA except for one and that's only the parts guy who has always been very helpful to me.

The worst dealers are the Japanese ones with Mitsubishi at the top. I took a 2006 Eclipse Spyder vert for a test drive, about 2 hours after I had just driven a 06 Mustang GT Vert AND a V6 coupe. So after the ride, the Mistsubishi salesman asks me what I thought and I told him, nicely that the car was a real looker but it felt kind of flimsy to me.

He took a look at my Dodge Caravan soccer mom special parked in the lot and said something like "compared to your Dodge" ? To which I replied, no...compared to the Mustang GT I just test drove an hour ago.

You should have seen the look on his face :)

Then he comes back with "Well if you wanted to buy a Ford, why did you come to a Mitsubishi dealer?"

I ended the conversation with "Don't worry, I won't be back"...

And Mitsubishi wonders why they are considering pulling out of the USA market if sales don't improve?

Reply to
lymee
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I was going to add that I thought DC is in the best position to turn things around for themselves. They think outside the box when designing cars and aren't afraid to take a chance. The PT Cruiser, 300M, Crossfire, Viper etc. are cars that Ford or GM wouldn't think of building. Plus, DC has Mercedes' engineering to take from which is a big help to their model line and is why the 300M/Charger is so successful.

I can't see much of anything coming out of it. Renault has no influence here in the US so what is the purpose? GM needs a sit down with the UAW more than Renault. ;)

Reply to
Michael Johnson, PE

Same here, I bought my first Ford in 1971, A Gran Torino station wagon (UGGGGGH) but it was the "family thing at the time. Since then. Before that I drove GM products, I've driven Fords ever since with no exceptions. On my third Mustang, wiht a Mercury Mountaineer and a F250 HD diesel 4X4 in the garage. All told, it's been close to

30 Fords since '71. Like you, before I let my "pride" get screwed buying a 45K car for 65K, I'll revert to my "pre '71 days" and mosey on over to Southern Chevrolet and talk seriously about Corvette. Might be some "swallowing" going on with the folks that look at me as the "FOAD NUT" at work, but I'll manage that with a smile.

I just simply AIN'T gonna get screwed by any "stealership" regardless of "brand loyalty"

John

Reply to
nobody

I did exactly that late last year. My wife wanted a new Explorer E/Bauer package. We went to the local dealership (same one I've been trading wtih for 20 years) and walked in as usual telling the sales manager we want "that Explorer" and asking, "how much" well, he insisted on sticker price. I told him I wanted to buy the car, not the dealership... To make a long story short, he wouldn't deal, I went to the Merc/Lincoln dealer, we bought a new Mountaineer. Drove it off that lot over to the Ford dealer, parked in front, walked in past the sales manager right to the owner's office. I asked him to come outside and see my "NEW CAR" when he did, he almost shit. Asked me what happened, I told him, he was visibly upset... The next time I was in the dealership, a couple of weeks later (to have coffee with some friends that work there) the sales manager was gone. I asked what happened and was told that he didn't come back the day after I bought my Mountaineer.

So, the moral to that story is, let bullshit walk and go somewhere else to spend your money, BUT make sure you go back and let the MANAGER/OWNER know what happened after the fact. That's when you have the most clout, when they KNOW you mean business by dealing with the competetion. Tell them then and there, if they want your business "next time" to make sure they act like it and treat you like they want your business or you'll go "across the street" again. That tactic has worked for me. I walk in now, the current sales force knows not to play games...

They might screw me without me knowing it, laugh behind my back and call me "whatever" but at least they talk seriously and don't try to sell me over sticker or at sticker because I look "hungry"

John

Reply to
nobody

Another thing people may not realize is that the followup survey calls that often arrive a couple of weeks after a purchase are taken VERY SERIOUSLY at the management level by most companies.

I know one large company (not automobiles) where getting a "satisfied" instead of a "very satisfied" is considered a bad mark against the person whose work is being surveyed.

Reply to
lymee

Lymee:

yeah, "Top Box" satisfaction scores have been the big deal with a lot of companies for a while (think they'd rather spend the big bucks on surveys, research, consultants instead of better service/products).

Got my survey from FoMoCo a couple weeks after I got the new 'Stang.......gave the dealer I finally bought it from very good marks.....mostly top box.

For all the cars I've bought, tho', just once I'd like to get a survey on what I think of the CAR......I'd mention no light in the glove compartment or cigarette lighter for $35,000 or the chintzie top "boot" that cost $180 that I'd be ashamed of anyone seeing! But it sure do go down the road good.

Reply to
Itsfrom Click

When Germany's Daimler took over Chrysler and moved the lions share of their production to Mexico, didn't Chrysler cease to be an "American" car maker???

Reply to
My Names Nobody

"Michael Johnson, PE" wrote in message news:nqSdnYe-nbeBhibZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com... Joe wrote: > "Michael Johnson, PE" wrote in > news:yr-dnaZhhPIpJCfZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com: > >> My Names Nobody wrote: >>> "Michael Johnson, PE" wrote in message >>> news:j72dnWZ8TdcC4SfZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com... >>>> Joe wrote: >>>>> "Michael Johnson, PE" wrote in >>>>> news:cIednTxtwoaiXSTZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com: >>>>>

Ford, GM and DC are really in a bind right now. They are paying the price for shoving SUVs down our throats and ignoring the car market. I don't see the price of gas going lower and, if anything, it will go higher for the next several years. Now where will most of the ex SUV owners go for their new fuel efficient cars? I'll give you one guess... Honda, Toyota, Nissan etc. Look for the domestic makers market share to erode further in the coming years.

Plus, I'm not sure if it really matters much what brand we buy. Hell, Toyotas' probably have more domestic content than cars from Ford or GM. I see Ford/GM management and the unions just whistling past the graveyard. When it comes to their vehicle lineup, Ford is like the NBA and NFL is with players. They change model names so fast that no one knows what the hell they sell anymore. If someone asked me to name the models of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles I really couldn't tell you half of them. Do you think Toyota has plans to rename the Camry or Honda to rename the Civic or Accord any time soon? They would consider it marketing suicide.

IMO, there was nothing wrong with the Taurus (or Thunderbird) name. It was a great car at one time and the top selling model in the USA for several years. What killed the Taurus was Ford's lack of innovation and engineering toward the car. It had nothing to do with the name. Look at Toyota, Honda, Nissan etc. They continually fixed their cars with every new generation and now reap the benefits of decades of model name recognition. The Corolla was seen as a cheap econobox 20-30 years ago but not anymore. It is a great little car. Aside from the F truck series and the Mustang I can't think of any FMC cars that have any continuous, long term, name recognition. Now aren't the Mustang and F truck series two of their most popular offerings? Hmmmm.... maybe there is a correlation to this after all.

IMO, what is wrong with Ford, GM and the "C" in DC is they need to regain the confidence and trust of the US auto buying public. Personally, I think they offer cars that are very close to what the foreign makers build but they can't market for shit and the dealers practices are further hurting them. Most people don't separate the Ford Dealer from Ford Corporate. If dealers, and Ford, went out of their way to make their buyers happy then they would regain market share. Unfortunately, short term (and short sighted) greed is killing them.

Reply to
BradandBrooks

I guess I can say this since I have two fords and two volvos (now fords).

BMW 2006 M3 MSRP 50.5K

I think in almost any situation road or track the BMW will keep up with the GT500. That and the Corvette are the GT500's competition. Again I am a Ford owner but the GT500 is just a gussied up Mustang. The corvette is built from the ground up to be a high performance sports car and I imagine the the Motorsport division of BMW is at least as sophisticated as Ford's SVT. For me the Mustang tops out with the Cobra. Probably worth about 33K out the door. But the market will decide.

Howard

Reply to
Howard Nelson

Well, we bought a Sable in 1988 when you couldn't deal on an Accord or Camry. We've been with Ford pretty much since then.

But I am always astounded by threads like this one. If the dealer finally has a hot car, people scream when they try to sell if for a score. I never hear anyone crying when Ford dealers (or any brand) are giving away Windstars and Taurus' when the demand is weak. Customers armed with not only invoice info, but holdback figures really beat up dealers (their right) when the market gives them the leverage.

Let the moron's buy the cars over MSRP, it's also their right.

John

Reply to
John-Del

People beat up the manufacturers in that case ;)... but anyway, the reason has everything to do with the dealers themselves and how they treat people in general. If it weren't an adversarial system then you'd have a valid point, but it is. And people are happy with victory, not defeat.

Electronics, toys, whatever have an MSRP. Some stores sell at MSRP, others well below it. It's extremely rare to see anyone sell above it. With cars however it's an entirely different story. For some reason cars are 'different'. But imagine you had to find research and handle every purchase you made like buying a car. Shopping would be quite chore wouldn't it?

true, but it's same regarding complaining about being priced out of the market by dealers fleecing said morons.

Reply to
Brent P

It is even more far reaching than that. Ford Motor Company gets a great big black eye for allowing it's dealer (Did I type Dealer? Should read Stealer) network to fleece their customers in this fashion. I have lost a lot of respect and loyalty for Ford Motor Company over this asinine Shelby GT500 pricing fiasco.

I have actually seriously entertained jumping the Ford ship for the first time in my life, and buying a Corvette over this BS.

Reply to
My Names Nobody

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