Ford's problems may still rest with the dealerships

[Tico]

I have to say Griffin Ford in Waukesha WI has been just the opposite of what has been said here. I bought two cars in the last 5 years and have been window shopping again in the last 6 months. I have shopped Chevy, Chrylser/Dodge and Ford deals. Griffin was the only one that knew there product and the competitions. They allowed us to drive several cars and never pressured us to buy now. And service after the sale has always been good there. The GM and MOPAR guys either we too pushy or didn't care that we were even there. Also Ford always bested the competition on price.

 

Just wanted to let you know they are not all bad.

[ibinubu12]

Just wanted to let you know they are not all bad.

 

Absolutely! It just sometimes takes some work to find the best ones.

 

After my Dad's 1991 Ranger's bed practically rusted off because Village Ford didn't have a under-the-rail bedliner available, and used an exacto knife to cut the excess off of a over-the-rail bedliner, allowing water to puddle under the bedliner for 11 years, and after the paint came off of the doors after taking it through a carwash (and Village Ford repainted only the doors in a different shade of green and refused to acknowledge their mistake), my Aunt was scared to buy a Ranger, but when she went to Pat Milliken Ford in Redford, she walked out with a Ranger simply because of her salesman. It's 10 years later and she can't stop praising her salesman - she still remembers his name, something that I doubt many car owners can claim.

Edited April 17, 2009 by ibinubu12

[LoveTaurus]

I was at the "auto mall" in a neighboring town today wanting to look at a 2010 Mercury Milan....as I was chatting with the salesman out in the parking lot (They didn't have any yet...grrrr) an older couple came up to where we were standing and asked the salesman if Ford had any minivans, his answer? "No...Ford doesn't make them anymore....try our Toyota dealership next door..." WHAT?!?!?!??!

 

As they walked away,........."

:banghead:

 

If I was at that situation, as a Ford Fan, I will say something suggest to the couple about the Flex and blab out some of its advantages; also suggest the TaurusX!

Edited April 17, 2009 by LoveTaurus

[twintornados]

I would prefer to deal with my "usual" dealership...but alas...they are Ford only and cannot get me a Mercury.....my salesman is a true gentleman. I get Christmas cards and Birthday cards from him every year....classy joint.

[tommyturbo]

Dealerships frustrait me too! Everytime I walk onto a lot I see 4-5 guys chain smoking in front of the building, and the minute they see me they make a mad dash and swarm me. I hate that! I also hate that every time I have bought a car, I know more about it than them. In 2003 I wanted a PT GT with the turbo, I asked about the boost level, how man psi it was, and a few other things, they had no clue what I was talking about. I already knew but I wanted to see anyway.

 

In 2000 I wanted a ZX2. I wanted the bright blue color or black. With a stick and all options. The only car they had was a orange stripper. I said i wouold drive it, but not buy it. They tried every pressure tactic out there to get me to buy that car. My favorite was that ford stopped making the escort and there would be no more coming. I already knew this was a lie, and had seen the 2001 brochures/press stuff etc.

Another dealer had what i wanted.

 

I still would like a way to configure and buy and bypass the dealer and their cost markup totally. For those who want to pick from dealer inventory fine, but I want to special order, and avoid the inevitable markup.

[Pioneer]

So the Sienna is cheaper when comp. equipped? You know what trim level they were looking for?

It's been shown here time, and time, and time again, that the Flex is comp. price wise with most other options.

 

I don't know what is cheaper than what, and it doesn't matter. They wanted a minivan, so he told them where to go get one.

 

The main reason for wanting a minivan are the sliding doors that make it easier to get things into or out of. Ford doesn't offer it.

 

They named it a "people mover" for a reason. They didn't want the minivan stigma, but not being a minivan will work for and against you.

[Pioneer]

Odds are, the Flex & Sienna price out dang comparable

 

 

Except for the sliding doors. There are older couples on both sides of my house. Kids are long gone. Both have Chrysler minivans.

 

Why, you ask? So when they go to the home improvement store, or the nursery, or the grocery store, it's easier for them to load/unload. The feature they enjoy the most is being able to close the sliders from inside the house.

Edited April 18, 2009 by Pioneer

[TomServo92]

I don't know what is cheaper than what, and it doesn't matter. They wanted a minivan, so he told them where to go get one.

 

The main reason for wanting a minivan are the sliding doors that make it easier to get things into or out of. Ford doesn't offer it.

 

They named it a "people mover" for a reason. They didn't want the minivan stigma, but not being a minivan will work for and against you.

 

Then again, they may have just said minivan as a general term. The salesman didn't even bother to find out if a Flex might have been a viable alternative to the customer. He just pointed them to a competitor. It was pure laziness.

[Pioneer]

Then again, they may have just said minivan as a general term. The salesman didn't even bother to find out if a Flex might have been a viable alternative to the customer. He just pointed them to a competitor. It was pure laziness.

 

People complain if a dealer tries to sell them something they don't want when they walk in knowing what they want.

 

People complain that the salesman didn't push them into something they didn't ask for.

 

Man, I guess they can't win. :shrug:

[TomServo92]

People complain if a dealer tries to sell them something they don't want when they walk in knowing what they want.

 

People complain that the salesman didn't push them into something they didn't ask for.

 

Man, I guess they can't win. :shrug:

 

I didn't say he had to be pushy. He merely had to ask.

[dwford]

It's all about product and price. That couple came looking for a product, and the salesperson directed them to it.

 

I see nothing wrong with what he did.

 

The salesman obviously doesn't understand that his paycheck is created from the commissions he earns from SELLING CARS! And to have a customer express an interest in a car and then bad mouth the very reason the customer likes it is absurd. Fire him today.

[Ron W.]

The salesman obviously doesn't understand that his paycheck is created from the commissions he earns from SELLING CARS! And to have a customer express an interest in a car and then bad mouth the very reason the customer likes it is absurd. Fire him today.

 

 

Where did you read that the customer expressed an interest?

 

I do think it could have been handled better, something along the lines of

I'm sorry Ford doesn't offer a "mini-van" (makes quote marks in the air with his hands) at this time would you like to see an alternative that might interest you.

 

Or something like that.

[TomServo92]

Where did you read that the customer expressed an interest?

 

I do think it could have been handled better, something along the lines of

I'm sorry Ford doesn't offer a "mini-van" (makes quote marks in the air with his hands) at this time would you like to see an alternative that might interest you.

 

Or something like that.

 

Exactly.

[blksn8k2]

I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find out that the salesman who handled my 07 Sport Trac is still at the same dealership. That is rare in this area. He spent several years as a service dept tech before moving into sales. When I called him recently to ask about the F150 SVT Raptor he told me he knew all about it but did not have any pricing yet. He also said that he was extremely busy which also caught me by surprise. When I took delivery of my Sport Trac he drove it home for me since I had to drive the Ranger I had just sold. He went nuts when he saw my collection of Fords. Next time I was at the dealership every employee that I talked to commented that they heard I had some cool Fords. No doubt I will buy there again. His name is Joel Mullins and he works at Mullinax Ford in North Canton, OH.

[Ron W.]

I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find out that the salesman who handled my 07 Sport Trac is still at the same dealership. That is rare in this area. He spent several years as a service dept tech before moving into sales. When I called him recently to ask about the F150 SVT Raptor he told me he knew all about it but did not have any pricing yet. He also said that he was extremely busy which also caught me by surprise. When I took delivery of my Sport Trac he drove it home for me since I had to drive the Ranger I had just sold. He went nuts when he saw my collection of Fords. Next time I was at the dealership every employee that I talked to commented that they heard I had some cool Fords. No doubt I will buy there again. His name is Joel Mullins and he works at Mullinax Ford in North Canton, OH.

 

I sincerely hope you take the time to write a letter to the dealer principle and let him know that. From what I've seen at the 3 dealers I've worked at it's very rare the owner gets a letter of praise towards a good employee.

Unfortunately it seems a lot of dealership owners listen only to their management team which may or may not give an honest opinion of a fellow employee due to politics, favoritism, etc.

[SVT_MAN]

I have to say Griffin Ford in Waukesha WI has been just the opposite of what has been said here. I bought two cars in the last 5 years and have been window shopping again in the last 6 months. I have shopped Chevy, Chrylser/Dodge and Ford deals. Griffin was the only one that knew there product and the competitions. They allowed us to drive several cars and never pressured us to buy now. And service after the sale has always been good there. The GM and MOPAR guys either we too pushy or didn't care that we were even there. Also Ford always bested the competition on price.

 

Just wanted to let you know they are not all bad.

 

Amen! I agree 100%. I have my 2006 Ford Fusion SEL serviced at Jack Griffin Ford of Waukesha and Curt Vossekuil is a great service manager! I've loved that dealership since I was a young lad. They've always been one of the few SVT certified dealerships around and it shows!

 

On one occasion, I brought my car there because I noticed too much whistling from the windows. I read a TSB about it. They fixed it spot on, AND they fixed my door handles that were warped WITHOUT ME ASKING!

 

Back in January, I brought my car in for a rattle that was happening between 1600 - 2000 RPM and he did a ride along with me. Since it was raining, he did not correctly diagnose the problem on the spot, but had a service technician drive it the next day when the weather was clear. (Also provided me with a rental from Enterprise.) They actually still did not diagnose it properly until the second time I brought it in, but I appreciated all their efforts. (They actually installed a new cat shield for me because they thought that was the problem originally. Turned out to be that a line needed to be insulated.)

 

Some of you might say "hey, they must be dumb - it took them two tries to figure it out." Not so. I would rather it took them 5 times to figure it out than what happened to me at my dealershp near my house. Jack Griffin Ford actually tried to figure out the issue whch is much different than my experience at the dealership in Oconomowoc, WI. (I won't name names, but you can do a Google search if you want.) It's unfortunate that I cannot take my car to the dealership in Oconomowoc since it is literally right down the road from where I work, but alas, their customer service is awful.

 

For example, when I took my car there, the service manager immediately stopped me when I described the wind noise problems. He told me that they would not fix anything that was related to normal wear and tear on the vehicle. I asked him how wind noise was related to wear and tear on the vehicle and he said "Rubber gets old after a while and it breaks down." I said, "If you're saying that Ford's weatherstripping dry-rots in less than 2 years, I need to purchase a different vehicle." I don't remember what he said, but he didn't sound like he even cared if I purchased a different vehicle. Needless to say, I never wanted to deal with them again. They have never treated me right once. They've lost a customer forever now because of an incompetent service manager who treated me poorly because I look young. Just because I'm 22 and look green behind the ears, doesn't mean I'm stupid. Funny enough, I knew about several TSBs that he had no idea about. It's called research, grow a brain. I get this "I have to talk down to you because you are young" routine from a lot of service managers, except the ones at Jack Griffin Ford ....

 

Anyway, if you live in greater Milwaukee, I would highly recommend Jack Griffin Ford. Their service is second to none.

Edited April 18, 2009 by SVT_MAN

[one2gamble]

It's all about product and price. That couple came looking for a product, and the salesperson directed them to it.

 

I see nothing wrong with what he did.

 

 

Shouldnt he have attempted to find out whether or not a ford product fit their needs before sending them to a competitor? I dont think I have ever seen a salesperson avoid a potential sale like that.

[Edstock]

Your signature reminds me, we don't get any noise from Ford??-LOL! these days.

[fordworker]

I was at the "auto mall" in a neighboring town today wanting to look at a 2010 Mercury Milan....as I was chatting with the salesman out in the parking lot (They didn't have any yet...grrrr) an older couple came up to where we were standing and asked the salesman if Ford had any minivans, his answer? "No...Ford doesn't make them anymore....try our Toyota dealership next door..." WHAT?!?!?!??!

 

As they walked away, I asked him, "Why didn't you show them a Flex?", his reply, "You mean the Edsel??" I could not believe it! Then he returns to our conversation by telling me that he thinks I would like a Fusion better than a Milan. I told him I really like the look of the new Milan over the Fusion stating I thought the grille and powerdome hood are not to my tastes...he says, "That's crazy...everyone loves the powerdome hood."

 

Needless to say...I got the hell out of there......

:banghead:

F/CK them dealers they are all arogant fools, they act like they did something. They didnt build the car they dont do nothing but cost Ford to loose sales...period.... Nassar had a good idea "his only one" when he wanted to buy all of the dealers.

Ford needs to fire these dealers who think they are above everyone.....

[Marginal Economist]

F/CK them dealers they are all arogant fools, they act like they did something. They didnt build the car they dont do nothing but cost Ford to loose sales...period.... Nassar had a good idea "his only one" when he wanted to buy all of the dealers.

Ford needs to fire these dealers who think they are above everyone.....

 

Do you actually recall the "Ford Collection"? The dealerships were run into the ground and marketshare in the areas where they tried this still haven't recovered. Many dealerships need to improve their processes. They are the front line for FMC and without them Ford could not sell cars. Many are stepping up and buying invenotry to keep you working. Ford needs them more than they need us in many scenarios. We are trying to consolidate dealerships to right size in ceratian areas, but many could be just as profitable with their used cars, Toyota, and Honda franchises. All dealers are not bad. Please watch what you post, many dealership employees read and post on these boards. Thanks!

[timmm55]

I was at the "auto mall" in a neighboring town today wanting to look at a 2010 Mercury Milan....as I was chatting with the salesman out in the parking lot (They didn't have any yet...grrrr) an older couple came up to where we were standing and asked the salesman if Ford had any minivans, his answer? "No...Ford doesn't make them anymore....try our Toyota dealership next door..." WHAT?!?!?!??!

 

As they walked away, I asked him, "Why didn't you show them a Flex?", his reply, "You mean the Edsel??" I could not believe it! Then he returns to our conversation by telling me that he thinks I would like a Fusion better than a Milan. I told him I really like the look of the new Milan over the Fusion stating I thought the grille and powerdome hood are not to my tastes...he says, "That's crazy...everyone loves the powerdome hood."

 

Needless to say...I got the hell out of there......

:banghead:

 

 

The operative word is OUR Toyota dealership next door......probably the same owners. We don't know the complete conversation the Ford salesman had when he refered the customer to Toyota. Maybe he already knew them? He could personally not view the Flex as a "mini-van"....Ford doesn't market it as one intentionally. He is out of line calling it an "Edsel" but it may have been an off the cuff remark to another "Ford fan" who would know the history of the Edsel (market timing, recession of '58 etc.).

 

 

 

A couple things I'd like to add:

 

1) The customer is not always right! There are some real dumb and demanding people out there LOL. I sold cars many years ago, was a real estate agent, and a service advisor and I have been a bartender for a long time. While 99% of the public is fine, good and respectful.......1% can be hell.

 

 

2) I've usually researched a car I'm interested in. Fanatically so in some cases LOL. So I really don't expect the salesperson to know everything, especially future products. Neither does the dealership, as they'd rather sell 2010 Mustang GTs NOW with a 4.6 than a "future" 2011 5.0!

[RichardJensen]

Your signature reminds me, we don't get any noise from Ford??-LOL! these days.

He got banned in a 2-fer with P71.