Blue Oval Blues - trying to buy honestly

[LincolnFan]

no comment.but I partially agree, but the circumstances probably differ from what you beleive....so TAKE THAT LINC! ....LOL!..and Jaguar rocks............

 

Probably, but then again some Ford dealers are complete scum.

[BlackHorse]

they only get pissed off because deep down we want everything for free or as cheap as possible....people would be pissed off at just about every purchase if they new the profit margin being made on every product they purchased....just happens that the car business is the ONLY business where markup is accesible by the push of a button, or purchase of a book.......for instance, there is more profit FULL STOP on those 4500 bling wheels on that Focus than there was on the initial $17000 car.......but 30 seconds on a computer and I can figure out what invoice, holdback etc is.........

 

 

No, they get pissed because like I said, you aren't talking about buying a set of wheels or a small ticket item here. You're talking about buying a 20 to 40 thousand dollar car on average and for the vast majority of people that is a hell of a lot of money. Everybody already knows the real markup on a car was made when the manufacturer sold it to the dealer, about 100% on average. I know full well the markup on say a DVD movie when it's new is probably in the neighborhood of 300 to 400%. I don't care because it's only 20 bucks. But when we start talking about tens of thousands and years of payments people tend to get a lot more particular and emotional about what something costs. Dealerships as a general rule are shitty as hell on customer service, especially the domestic car dealers and that's a huge problem in a market where they are selling what amounts to most buyers second biggest purchase and for some buyers it's their single biggest purchase. It's a industry ridden with shaddy underhanded slick ass car dealers that will rip you off and lie to you and at least I don't have to worry about that when I'm buying a box of kleenex. lol The whole dealership method of doing things needs be revamped from the floor up because frankly it's an abismal failure and I'd wager it's a large part of the reason domestic cars aren't selling well.

[Deanh]

No, they get pissed because like I said, you aren't talking about buying a set of wheels or a small ticket item here. You're talking about buying a 20 to 40 thousand dollar car on average and for the vast majority of people that is a hell of a lot of money. Everybody already knows the real markup on a car was made when the manufacturer sold it to the dealer, about 100% on average. I know full well the markup on say a DVD movie when it's new is probably in the neighborhood of 300 to 400%. I don't care because it's only 20 bucks. But when we start talking about tens of thousands and years of payments people tend to get a lot more particular and emotional about what something costs. Dealerships as a general rule are shitty as hell on customer service, especially the domestic car dealers and that's a huge problem in a market where they are selling what amounts to most buyers second biggest purchase and for some buyers it's their single biggest purchase. It's a industry ridden with shaddy underhanded slick ass car dealers that will rip you off and lie to you and at least I don't have to worry about that when I'm buying a box of kleenex. lol The whole dealership method of doing things needs be revamped from the floor up because frankly it's an abismal failure and I'd wager it's a large part of the reason domestic cars aren't selling well.

name one car that the dealership makes 10 k on blackie...just one............and between you and I, 1/2 of the people buying the 50k cars don't need it, and shouldn't be looking at it they DESIRE it, AND they can't afford it but it doesn't stop them....yet they pi$$ and moan about 2 1/2 -3 % markup......10k no....most is about 4500- 5k on a 58k F450.... don't bring the limited production units into this discussion....

[fxcomet]

goingincirclez, email me. I am personal friends with several folks in management at the largest Ford dealer in Lex. They will get you the car you want with no runaround and no BS. I have no axe to grind and no bird-dog to gain here, just willing to help a fellow ford guy out.

[Deanh]

No, they get pissed because like I said, you aren't talking about buying a set of wheels or a small ticket item here. You're talking about buying a 20 to 40 thousand dollar car on average and for the vast majority of people that is a hell of a lot of money. Everybody already knows the real markup on a car was made when the manufacturer sold it to the dealer, about 100% on average. I know full well the markup on say a DVD movie when it's new is probably in the neighborhood of 300 to 400%. I don't care because it's only 20 bucks. But when we start talking about tens of thousands and years of payments people tend to get a lot more particular and emotional about what something costs. Dealerships as a general rule are shitty as hell on customer service, especially the domestic car dealers and that's a huge problem in a market where they are selling what amounts to most buyers second biggest purchase and for some buyers it's their single biggest purchase. It's a industry ridden with shaddy underhanded slick ass car dealers that will rip you off and lie to you and at least I don't have to worry about that when I'm buying a box of kleenex. lol The whole dealership method of doing things needs be revamped from the floor up because frankly it's an abismal failure and I'd wager it's a large part of the reason domestic cars aren't selling well.

oh....just a PS.....lets just re-vamp to MSRP thats it...no haggling, no rebates, no subveened financing, no freebies, no warranties....NOTHING. ...we will base sales on just customer service......I wonder, and can only imagine what would happen with an industries sucess based SOLELY on people skilss and kissing backsides......

[Deanh]

Probably, but then again some Ford dealers are complete scum.

agreed....but most of the complaints if not all, seem to be ( at least on BON ) in particular parts of the country where perhaps vehicular practices are different than here......weird....then so do some of the whacky posters ( OtisFord sux for example....what is up w THAT whack job? )

[BlackHorse]

name one car that the dealership makes 10 k on blackie...just one............and between you and I, 1/2 of the people buying the 50k cars don't need it, and shouldn't be looking at it they DESIRE it, AND they can't afford it but it doesn't stop them....yet they pi$$ and moan about 2 1/2 -3 % markup......10k no....most is about 4500- 5k on a 58k F450.... don't bring the limited production units into this discussion....

 

Look at you dumb ass, you're blaming the customer. You figure that's going to work? It never works. I'm telling you the reason people get upset about buying cars. It's not about how much money the dealership does or doesn't make on the damn things. I just got through telling you we all know the real markup takes place between the factory and the dealer. When the customers get to the lot they all too often find themselves dealing with the kind of underhand little dick that going had to deal with. It's not the exception, it's the rule. Combine that experience with the fact that this is the asshole you have to deal with in trying to purchase a very expensive item that is usually going to result in about 4 to 6 years worth of monthly payments and you can easily understand why people get so put out with the dealership experience.

 

I've gone into dealerships where the dumb ass salseman knew less about the car he was trying to sell me then I did, and that's not uncommon, espeically at domestic car dealers. I've been on test drives where the salesman tells me where to turn, where to drive and it always results in a test drive that is maybe 5 to 8 minutes long and all the while he's pestering you with questions about your trade. The next thing you know you're back at the dealership and they want to shuffle you off into some cubicle where they spend the next two hours trying to get you to pay top dollar for their car. Happens all the time.

 

But you want to blame the customer. You want to tell them how cheap they are and heap mounds of pitty upon the poor car dealer who's not even going to make 10 grand in profit off this car. Then you want to stand around and wonder why customers don't come to your dealerships anymore. lol This isn't about a customer that's buying a car that's beyond his means or about a customer that's a cheap ass. It's about dealerships that as general rule offer up shitty ass customer service, pathetic product knowledge and are typically low down and underhanded. When you mix that with some guy who's looking at making a major purchase (the customer) I fail to see how you can't understand why people get pissed. I dont' think it's too much to ask for dealerships to actually learn what "good" customer service is and implement it. I mean the average customer is only about to lay down tens of thousands of dollars. You aren't selling light bulbs and claw hammers here buddy. Dealerships need to get their shit together.

[Deanh]

Look at you dumb ass, you're blaming the customer. You figure that's going to work? It never works. I'm telling you the reason people get upset about buying cars. It's not about how much money the dealership does or doesn't make on the damn things. I just got through telling you we all know the real markup takes place between the factory and the dealer. When the customers get to the lot they all too often find themselves dealing with the kind of underhand little dick that going had to deal with. It's not the exception, it's the rule. Combine that experience with the fact that this is the asshole you have to deal with in trying to purchase a very expensive item that is usually going to result in about 4 to 6 years worth of monthly payments and you can easily understand why people get so put out with the dealership experience.

 

I've gone into dealerships where the dumb ass salseman knew less about the car he was trying to sell me then I did, and that's not uncommon, espeically at domestic car dealers. I've been on test drives where the salesman tells me where to turn, where to drive and it always results in a test drive that is maybe 5 to 8 minutes long and all the while he's pestering you with questions about your trade. The next thing you know you're back at the dealership and they want to shuffle you off into some cubicle where they spend the next two hours trying to get you to pay top dollar for their car. Happens all the time.

 

But you want to blame the customer. You want to tell them how cheap they are and heap mounds of pitty upon the poor car dealer who's not even going to make 10 grand in profit off this car. Then you want to stand around and wonder why customers don't come to your dealerships anymore. lol This isn't about a customer that's buying a car that's beyond his means or about a customer that's a cheap ass. It's about dealerships that as general rule offer up shitty ass customer service, pathetic product knowledge and are typically low down and underhanded. When you mix that with some guy who's looking at making a major purchase (the customer) I fail to see how you can't understand why people get pissed. I dont' think it's too much to ask for dealerships to actually learn what "good" customer service is and implement it. I mean the average customer is only about to lay down tens of thousands of dollars. You aren't selling light bulbs and claw hammers here buddy. Dealerships need to get their shit together.

sheesh...had a bad experience somewhere mate...if so keep it to yourself and refrain from name calling, I wasn't responsible for your "adventure"...but then again we are all exactly the same huh? And re-read... I'm not blaming the customer in the slightest...all I ever do is wise up people with blinkers on ( which obviously in this situation also pertains to you ) that although the percepetion is the dealer is ALWAYS the bad guy, that sometimes that is not always the case, and in some cases actions/ reactions are actually instigated BY the customer. In the case of this thread the sales person was a nimrod that basically kept on digging himself a hole based on a theoretical deal with the owner of a trade in that would have worked for the poster.....oh , and I will be the first to raise my hand at NOT knowing some product as much as the customer that is focused on one and ONLY one vehicle...I challenge ANYONE out there to list something as trivial as the gas tank capacity on fords entire lineup, curbweights, tow capacities etc etc ....we cannot be walking Encyclopedia Brittanicas, but YES....some salespeoples knowledge is lacking to say the least.......but a lot of naysayers would do well to rather than criticize , try it for a while....ones opinion changes DRAMATICALLY for better or worse...

Edited October 4, 2007 by Deanh

[BlackHorse]

sheesh...had a bad experience somewhere mate...if so keep it to yourself and refrain from name calling, I wasn't responsible for your "adventure"...but then again we are all exactly the same huh? And re-read... I'm not blaming the customer in the slightest...all I ever do is wise up people with blinkers on ( which obviously in this situation also pertains to you ) that although the percepetion is the dealer is ALWAYS the bad guy, that sometimes that is not always the case, and in some cases actions/ reactions are actually instigated BY the customer. In the case of this thread the sales person was a nimrod that basically kept on digging himself a hole based on a theoretical deal with the owner of a trade in that would have worked for the poster.....oh , and I will be the first to raise my hand at NOT knowing some product as much as the customer that is focused on one and ONLY one vehicle...I challenge ANYONE out there to list something as trivial as the gas tank capacity on fords entire lineup, curbweights, tow capacities etc etc ....we cannot be walking Encyclopedia Brittanicas, but YES....some salespeoples knowledge is lacking to say the least.......but a lot of naysayers would do well to rather than criticize , try it for a while....ones opinion changes DRAMATICALLY for better or worse...

 

Right, now you're going to blame me and the rest of the customer base. Typical.

[Deanh]

Right, now you're going to blame me and the rest of the customer base. Typical.

nope, not blaming you at all, everyone is entitled to an opinion, right OR wrong....but you just seem self immersed in a temper tangent due to a previous bad experience/ experiences...to quote you...TYPICAL...., just remember there are always two sides to every story, yes there are bad dealers, but not all as you incinuate, and from my standpoint same can be said for clientel, although thank god most are great...........so lets get back on subject

[Hydro]

Good Lord, what a mess. No offense but I'm really enjoying your issues with these knuckle heads. It's like reading a good book, you never know what will happen next.

 

Good luck

[Deanh]

Good Lord, what a mess. No offense but I'm really enjoying your issues with these knuckle heads. It's like reading a good book, you never know what will happen next.

 

Good luck

dunno if I'm one of the knuckleheads you are referring too or not if so I probably deserve the title....but hey, regardless, all are entitled to their two cents worth....I may be veiwed as constantly being in the dealers corner , but in reality thats not true, I have heard some shameless stories, on the other hand, doing this for as long as I have just gives me a little different and hopefully not one-sided/ totally biased perspective on reality....and having people blanket ALL dealers with a sometimes unwarranted label/ rapp kinda gets my goat, seems a lot of people are self immersed and cry Foul when something happens to them even when they are partly responsible for outcomes,....dealers are NOT innocent parties by any means, but sometimes one should look under the bed that THEY made.....

[BlackHorse]

nope, not blaming you at all, everyone is entitled to an opinion, right OR wrong....but you just seem self immersed in a temper tangent due to a previous bad experience/ experiences...to quote you...TYPICAL...., just remember there are always two sides to every story, yes there are bad dealers, but not all as you incinuate, and from my standpoint same can be said for clientel, although thank god most are great...........so lets get back on subject

 

 

We are on subject. Also I never said all dealers, I said especially domestic dealers which is true. Yes I have had bad experiences at car dealerships, especially domestic car dealerships. So has everybody so I'm not alone or some exception to the rule. When I have bad experiences with a car dealer, they don't get my money. I know you're going to come here and defend the side of the dealership Deanh because you work at one. But I'm sorry to tell you man, the majority of them suck and they need to learn what customer service is. They can start by not blaming the customer straight off the bat when something goes wrong with a deal. hint hint. You're first response here on this topic was what?

 

"man customers are cheap asses man, that's the real problem."

 

Take a look in the mirror. You wouldn't sell me a car I promise you.

[Hydro]

dunno if I'm one of the knuckleheads you are referring too or not if so I probably deserve the title....but hey, regardless, all are entitled to their two cents worth....I may be veiwed as constantly being in the dealers corner , but in reality thats not true, I have heard some shameless stories, on the other hand, doing this for as long as I have just gives me a little different and hopefully not one-sided/ totally biased perspective on reality....and having people blanket ALL dealers with a sometimes unwarranted label/ rapp kinda gets my goat, seems a lot of people are self immersed and cry Foul when something happens to them even when they are partly responsible for outcomes,....dealers are NOT innocent parties by any means, but sometimes one should look under the bed that THEY made.....

 

This wasn't a stab at "all" salespeople, just the ones I was reading here. I always go X-plan so if I can't haggle lower than x-plan I come back the next day with a PIN#. I only give them three shots to go below x-plan, so basically I only haggle for 20 min and we're usually done. I kinda enjoy it in a sick way, only because they would fuck me over in a minute if I let them. Might as well return the favor.

Edited October 4, 2007 by Hydro

[Deanh]

We are on subject. Also I never said all dealers, I said especially domestic dealers which is true. Yes I have had bad experiences at car dealerships, especially domestic car dealerships. So has everybody so I'm not alone or some exception to the rule. When I have bad experiences with a car dealer, they don't get my money. I know you're going to come here and defend the side of the dealership Deanh because you work at one. But I'm sorry to tell you man, the majority of them suck and they need to learn what customer service is. They can start by not blaming the customer straight off the bat when something goes wrong with a deal. hint hint. You're first response here on this topic was what?

 

"man customers are cheap asses man, that's the real problem."

 

Take a look in the mirror. You wouldn't sell me a car I promise you.

actually you' d be a piece of cake, that is only if you don't beleive is BS backwards and forwards, a few dollars over cost dependent on the vehicle, the ability to walk sign and leave in 10 minutes with the car ready, complete everything by fax/ phone and not wish to feel like you had a blood transfusion...your choice though, you may suspect something afoul due to the ease...........but then again pleasurable deals don't seem to happen in reality according to you do they?.....get over your hostility blackhorse...a deal can be as easy or aggravating as one makes it....like I have quoted before...it is NOT what you know ( but that helps ) it is WHO you know ( also helps if you are a previous customer since you know the ice is broken and the drill is well versed ) Once again....Im not defending the dealerships........I'm pretty neutral......and saying customers are cheap ass's is a pretty sweeping generalization...some are, for some good can never be enough, thankfully most aren't ,just like some dealers obviously aren't the greatest.....oh, sorry I'm defending again..........poor Goingincircles......look what he's created, a diatribe between an obviously dis-gruntled customer and a big bad dealer.....sorry mate.

Edited October 4, 2007 by Deanh

[BlackHorse]

and saying customers are cheap ass's is a pretty sweeping generalization...

 

 

Then perhaps you shouldn't have made it.

 

they only get pissed off because deep down we want everything for free or as cheap as possible

 

As for the rest of your comment, I seriously doubt you'll be selling me a car anytime soon. . . . Hell ever.

[Deanh]

Then perhaps you shouldn't have made it.

As for the rest of your comment, I seriously doubt you'll be selling me a car anytime soon. . . . Hell ever.

excuse me for your misperception re read and you will see it pertains to the thought that regardless we are all getting "RIPPED" at the dealers, they are ALWAYS making too much money on us blah, blah blah, and if you didn't notice I used the word "WE" ( which OBVIOUSLY includes myself )....we are all looking for the "smokin" deal no-matter what...right or wrong? And hey, you reserve the right to buy a car from whomever...your choice, but so far you don't seem too happy w what you have experienced so continue with what you are obviously so comfortable with.....me I prefer quick, easy and painless, for BOTH parties....you would tire me out....

Edited October 4, 2007 by Deanh

[goingincirclez]

CONCLUSION

 

Now, I’m not stupid enough to have all my irons in one fire. While I was waiting for Bob to come around, I spent a lot of time (maybe too much) trolling on Autotrader. I must have looked at 500 Freestyles, all in the name of comparison and evaluation. I considered buying from places as far as Indianapolis. When I discovered that Chicago cars are about $2000-3000 cheaper on average, I considered buying from there as well.

 

But here’s one question I gotta ask: Why the hell would a dealer pay to list a car on Autotrader and then list nothing about it? There were at least 4 cars close to me that had a bare listing such as “2005 Ford Freestyle SE $19,750. You must contact Joe Blow for this price”. No info, no options, no photos, nothing. Yeah, now THERE’S a perfect use of the internet for ya.

 

Regardless, there were 4 other nearby listings I inquired about. Two of them never got back to me (yeah, what are they paying money for again). The third replied quickly but was ruled out for other reasons (no fault of theirs). The fourth was actually the first one I inquired, back when the adjustable pedals were on the “must have” list. The salesman replied to inform me that his car did not have them (it was an SEL). But he was the quickest to reply, very thankful for our inquiry, offered his help in any way and just seemed like a nice guy. His name was Bill. His dealership was in Louisville.

 

This exchange first took place shortly after Bob offered to find us a car. As I said, pedals were high on the want list at that time but as the days went on, we rethought our position. I sort of forgot about Bill in Louisville until I realized that, hey, wow, their SEL is damn near a Limited in every way except for the pedals (and heated seats and 18” wheels). And it is about $4000 less than all the others… is there a reason for that?

 

On Friday Sept 28, when we got to our hotel (after Bob once again dropped the ball) I had an email from Bill, asking if we were still interested. Very nice of him… so I replied and said that we were working on another lead, but thanks to his inquiry I would put his car on the short list, but we would no be able to look until Tuesday (I was hoping Bob would come through on Monday). Bill thanked me for that info and said he would let me know if anything developed.

 

Well, you all know what happened Monday AM.

 

So I called Bill’s dealership to speak to him. Another guy answered and said Bill was in a meeting; what car was I interested in? I told him, and he paused – “Er, huh, I thought we sold that over the weekend – no it’s still here. I’ll let him know, may he call you back?”

 

Now my first thought was “Oh, they’re going to play the “competing bidder” game and work me, forget it.” But there was enough tone of confusion in the salesman’s voice that he seemed genuinely sincere and not up to something.

 

Bill called me back an hour later. I introduced myself verbally as the guy who’d been emailing him about the Freestyle. Bill also had the mometary pause of surprise: “Someone told me it might be sold – let me verify that so you don’t come all the way here then”. Again, he sounded sincere. But it was not sold, so I told him we would be in later that evening, but probably not before 6.

 

Instead, we got there at 5. Bill was expecting us – and had the car staged in the sold lot, waiting just for our test drive. He didn’t have to do that, but he said “I didn’t want you to come here for nothing so I figured I would hide it for a day”. Nice!!

 

Bill was wonderful. Possibly even nicer than Pat Kain. He waited patiently while we fiddled with the blasted child seats, and let us drive anywhere we wanted. It took almost an hour to get the test drive done between installing the seats and trading divers and inspecting the vehicle.

 

How was the car? MUCH better than expected. It truly was a “baby Limited” in every way – fully optioned, $32K window sticker still in the glovebox - only lacking the heated memory seats, 18” wheels, adjustable second row… and cheesy fake wood trim of a true factory Limited. So yeah, who cares?

 

And I don’t know if these venerable Duratec3.0’s are just that tight in the D3s and take forever to break in, but man, this one was SMOOTH! All the others at the Ford Challenge events at KY Speedway (2004 and 2005), my in-laws’ 2006, and the others I’ve test-driven all seemed tight and noisy. But with just 40K on the clock, this one was silk. By far the best-riding and handling of the 7 Freestyles we’d driven. No joke. It was perfect. And in another happy coincidence, it just happened to be blue.

 

So WHY was it so much cheaper than the others? Carfax had it as a one-owner. NADA, Kelly, and other dealer listings had this car priced several thousands higher. Save for a few very minor paint scratches, this car seemed brand new, and was impeccably detailed. Bill explained: “We rely heavily on volume internet sales, and monitor the market. We always price ourselves well below anyone else in the area. We do quick turnaround and have only have cars for about 3 weeks. We have people like you who come from hundreds of miles away. It’s been tremendously successful for us.”

 

He drew up the bottom line in 5 minutes – NO surprises! – and left us to discuss. Everything had been perfect – he provided documentation (carfax, nada guides, the works) and we liked the car. The price really was a bargain even straight-up – nearly $4000 less than others we had seen with the same options/miles/etc. Still, nobody just buys a car straight-up unless they’re made of money, right? So we made an offer to essentially wipe out the tax, title, and license/reg fees. They accepted it within $200 on the spot.

 

Sold! :happy feet:

 

We had our paperwork stamped, filed, and approved, and had the deal done in half an hour. They gassed up the car, removed the windshield papers and we drove it home.

 

Now THAT was a perfect experience! Bill was the consummate professional – respectful of our time and situation. Knew we were coming, had the car saved and ready. No pressure whatsoever. Patiently waited and helped while we fought with the second of our two child seats. We made an offer we liked and they took it on the spot. They had the car in perfect shape and ready to go by the time the papers were signed. It took longer to drive there and back and test drive.

 

So who was this dealer?

 

Perkins Eastside Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge of Crestwood (Lousville), KY. :yup:

 

...Which is kind of funny because the LAST Ford we bought (my green ’97 T-bird) also came from a Mopar dealer :shrug: (but they were scum).

 

So concludes this odyssey. Now that the purchase experience was damn near perfect, I can only hope this 2005 Freestyle is as reliable as our warrior Thunderbirds have been (you'll note we've still kept both of them).

 

For Ford’s sake… since their own dealers blew it… it had better be.

Edited October 4, 2007 by goingincirclez

[Hydro]

"It took almost an hour to get the test drive done between installing the seats and trading divers and inspecting the vehicle"

 

Man, you did get nitty gritty. I don't know anybody who brings DIVERS to inspect their vehicle.

 

Congrats on the purchase. Now that's how a customer should be treated!!

[Deanh]

CONCLUSION

 

Now, I’m not stupid enough to have all my irons in one fire. While I was waiting for Bob to come around, I spent a lot of time (maybe too much) trolling on Autotrader. I must have looked at 500 Freestyles, all in the name of comparison and evaluation. I considered buying from places as far as Indianapolis. When I discovered that Chicago cars are about $2000-3000 cheaper on average, I considered buying from there as well.

 

But here’s one question I gotta ask: Why the hell would a dealer pay to list a car on Autotrader and then list nothing about it? There were at least 4 cars close to me that had a bare listing such as “2005 Ford Freestyle SE $19,750. You must contact Joe Blow for this price”. No info, no options, no photos, nothing. Yeah, now THERE’S a perfect use of the internet for ya.

 

Regardless, there were 4 other nearby listings I inquired about. Two of them never got back to me (yeah, what are they paying money for again). The third replied quickly but was ruled out for other reasons (no fault of theirs). The fourth was actually the first one I inquired, back when the adjustable pedals were on the “must have” list. The salesman replied to inform me that his car did not have them (it was an SEL). But he was the quickest to reply, very thankful for our inquiry, offered his help in any way and just seemed like a nice guy. His name was Bill. His dealership was in Louisville.

 

This exchange first took place shortly after Bob offered to find us a car. As I said, pedals were high on the want list at that time but as the days went on, we rethought our position. I sort of forgot about Bill in Louisville until I realized that, hey, wow, their SEL is damn near a Limited in every way except for the pedals (and heated seats and 18” wheels). And it is about $4000 less than all the others… is there a reason for that?

 

On Friday Sept 28, when we got to our hotel (after Bob once again dropped the ball) I had an email from Bill, asking if we were still interested. Very nice of him… so I replied and said that we were working on another lead, but thanks to his inquiry I would put his car on the short list, but we would no be able to look until Tuesday (I was hoping Bob would come through on Monday). Bill thanked me for that info and said he would let me know if anything developed.

 

Well, you all know what happened Monday AM.

 

So I called Bill’s dealership to speak to him. Another guy answered and said Bill was in a meeting; what car was I interested in? I told him, and he paused – “Er, huh, I thought we sold that over the weekend – no it’s still here. I’ll let him know, may he call you back?”

 

Now my first thought was “Oh, they’re going to play the “competing bidder” game and work me, forget it.” But there was enough tone of confusion in the salesman’s voice that he seemed genuinely sincere and not up to something.

 

Bill called me back an hour later. I introduced myself verbally as the guy who’d been emailing him about the Freestyle. Bill also had the mometary pause of surprise: “Someone told me it might be sold – let me verify that so you don’t come all the way here then”. Again, he sounded sincere. But it was not sold, so I told him we would be in later that evening, but probably not before 6.

 

Instead, we got there at 5. Bill was expecting us – and had the car staged in the sold lot, waiting just for our test drive. He didn’t have to do that, but he said “I didn’t want you to come here for nothing so I figured I would hide it for a day”. Nice!!

 

Bill was wonderful. Possibly even nicer than Pat Kain. He waited patiently while we fiddled with the blasted child seats, and let us drive anywhere we wanted. It took almost an hour to get the test drive done between installing the seats and trading divers and inspecting the vehicle.

 

How was the car? MUCH better than expected. It truly was a “baby Limited” in every way – fully optioned, $32K window sticker still in the glovebox - only lacking the heated memory seats, 18” wheels, adjustable second row… and cheesy fake wood trim of a true factory Limited. So yeah, who cares?

 

And I don’t know if these venerable Duratec3.0’s are just that tight in the D3s and take forever to break in, but man, this one was SMOOTH! All the others at the Ford Challenge events at KY Speedway (2004 and 2005), my in-laws’ 2006, and the others I’ve test-driven all seemed tight and noisy. But with just 40K on the clock, this one was silk. By far the best-riding and handling of the 7 Freestyles we’d driven. No joke. It was perfect. And in another happy coincidence, it just happened to be blue.

 

So WHY was it so much cheaper than the others? Carfax had it as a one-owner. NADA, Kelly, and other dealer listings had this car priced several thousands higher. Save for a few very minor paint scratches, this car seemed brand new, and was impeccably detailed. Bill explained: “We rely heavily on volume internet sales, and monitor the market. We always price ourselves well below anyone else in the area. We do quick turnaround and have only have cars for about 3 weeks. We have people like you who come from hundreds of miles away. It’s been tremendously successful for us.”

 

He drew up the bottom line in 5 minutes – NO surprises! – and left us to discuss. Everything had been perfect – he provided documentation (carfax, nada guides, the works) and we liked the car. The price really was a bargain even straight-up – nearly $4000 less than others we had seen with the same options/miles/etc. Still, nobody just buys a car straight-up unless they’re made of money, right? So we made an offer to essentially wipe out the tax, title, and license/reg fees. They accepted it within $200 on the spot.

 

Sold! :happy feet:

 

We had our paperwork stamped, filed, and approved, and had the deal done in half an hour. They gassed up the car, removed the windshield papers and we drove it home.

 

Now THAT was a perfect experience! Bill was the consummate professional – respectful of our time and situation. Knew we were coming, had the car saved and ready. No pressure whatsoever. Patiently waited and helped while we fought with the second of our two child seats. We made an offer we liked and they took it on the spot. They had the car in perfect shape and ready to go by the time the papers were signed. It took longer to drive there and back and test drive.

 

So who was this dealer?

 

Perkins Eastside Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge of Crestwood (Lousville), KY. :yup:

 

...Which is kind of funny because the LAST Ford we bought (my green ’97 T-bird) also came from a Mopar dealer :shrug: (but they were scum).

 

So concludes this odyssey. Now that the purchase experience was damn near perfect, I can only hope this 2005 Freestyle is as reliable as our warrior Thunderbirds have been (you'll note we've still kept both of them).

 

For Ford’s sake… since their own dealers blew it… it had better be.

good to hear..........hope Blackhorse reads this, doubt it will sway his opinions of dealerships as awhole though....sad thing is a dealership is only as good as its personell, and Ford has ZERO control over whom they employ. Enjoy the car..every Freestyle owner i know of is extremely happy. And thx for creating a thread responsible for an interesting segue....sorry if we got off track, but several of your "good" comments underline what I have said about the dealership experience. Cheers.

[goingincirclez]

Eh, I didn't think it was too off-topic. Even if it were, that's par fer the course on BON is it not? :shades:

 

 

 

Dean, I appreciate your insight. Especially the case of how Pat Kain ended up egging himself... really, I didn't have anything against him or the dealer personally until that came off as a flagrant, stankpile lie. I mean... I'm human. We're ALL human. So a dealer can make an honest mistake. Just own up to it!

 

And Bob's mistakes were many. He was too full of himself, put all his faith in one deal that fell though on his end, apparently kept expecting other people to give him details, and just flat-out wouldn't listen to me toward the end.

 

 

It's a shame because the dealer with "shiny new state of the art facilities" came across as a shyster.

 

And the one whose service department had done everything a customer could possibly hope for, had its sales staff shoot itself in the foot.

 

This all just goes to show that it takes 100% on all sides.

 

And honestly... I could well be in the market for a brand-new car some day. And where might I be inclined to start? Perkins Eastside Chrysler - which wouldn't be good for Ford, would it?

Edited October 5, 2007 by goingincirclez

[goingincirclez]

AHH... I ALMOST FORGOT THE BEST PART OF THE STORY!

 

 

 

 

So, I have discovered that my almost-3-year-old daughter, is TRULY a girl after her daddy's heart.

 

Because at both Ford dealerships we visited, she was INSTANTLY drawn to just ONE car on the sales floor.

 

Each time, it was the Shelby Cobra.

 

(she especially liked the logo: "Look daddy... a SNAKE!") :D

[silvrsvt]

AHH... I ALMOST FORGOT THE BEST PART OF THE STORY!

So, I have discovered that my almost-3-year-old daughter, is TRULY a girl after her daddy's heart.

 

Because at both Ford dealerships we visited, she was INSTANTLY drawn to just ONE car on the sales floor.

 

Each time, it was the Shelby Cobra.

 

(she especially liked the logo: "Look daddy... a SNAKE!") :D

 

 

Is her name Shelby? :D

[ShockFX]

Is her name Shelby? :D

 

You should have convinced your wife you needed to buy your daughter one.

[goingincirclez]

You should have convinced your wife you needed to buy your daughter one.

 

Tried that.... "Wait 16 years" was the response