Efficent way of searching for New Explorer...?

[Fordusay]

Is there a website/app available (other than the Ford website) that allows you to search/query dealer inventory? The Ford website is limited on its search parameters...and it also only pulls information from five dealers associated with your area code...you put in another area code... five more dealers. There has to be a better way to search.

I know the dealers have this functionality, but if they arent going to be selling me anything, then they don't have any reason for spending the time searching for what we are looking for only for us to go and buy it at that other dealer (dealers can sell inventory cheaper than they can sell one that they might have to go get from another dealer)

tried autotrader and cars.com and have gotten some leads...but of course not all dealers advertise on there
thanks

 

[peterk9]

Is there a website/app available (other than the Ford website) that allows you to search/query dealer inventory? The Ford website is limited on its search parameters...and it also only pulls information from five dealers associated with your area code...you put in another area code... five more dealers. There has to be a better way to search.

I know the dealers have this functionality, but if they arent going to be selling me anything, then they don't have any reason for spending the time searching for what we are looking for only for us to go and buy it at that other dealer (dealers can sell inventory cheaper than they can sell one that they might have to go get from another dealer)

tried autotrader and cars.com and have gotten some leads...but of course not all dealers advertise on there
thanks

I'm not aware of any other way. Not saying there isn't one though. I prefer to check in my own local area and buy there as well since it would be handier for getting service. When I ordered my Explorer, I only visted 2 dealerships. The first was about 2 miles away and the other 20 miles.
I ended up getting it at the second dealership (family run 62 years) mainly because of their service reputation. Price was secondary.

Peter

 

[Fordusay]

Price is not #1, probably #1a... #1 in our book is that you have to like what you are buying, if that means driving 200 miles, so be it. Most dealers are pretty competitive on price. Our problem is finding the color/option combo that we are looking for. Out of 10 dealers around us (within 100 mile radius - and half of these are in a metro city) only 2 have any blue explorers in stock, and a couple of those are base models. Once you go to the larger markets, you can drive on a lot that has 50+ explorers and a better selection. No one around here has more than 15-20.....

 

[peterk9]

Price is not #1, probably #1a... #1 in our book is that you have to like what you are buying, if that means driving 200 miles, so be it. Most dealers are pretty competitive on price. Our problem is finding the color/option combo that we are looking for. Out of 10 dealers around us (within 100 mile radius - and half of these are in a metro city) only 2 have any blue explorers in stock, and a couple of those are base models. Once you go to the larger markets, you can drive on a lot that has 50+ explorers and a better selection. No one around here has more than 15-20.....

When I was at the dealer to get my Winter wheels/tires put back on last week, they only had 5 new ones in stock. It is a small town dealership. When I ordered mine, the Explorers weren't even on the lots yet. First vehicle I've ever ordered without seeing it in person first. Absolutely no regrets. I can see if you are looking for an already built one that it may take a lot more work. I know that the Toyota dealership I dealt with previously did do swaps with other dealers on a regular basis to get what the customer wanted.

Peter

 

[VinceL]

My recommendation is doing a factory order and getting exactly what you want Takes more time, but we got the car we wanted. We were having trouble finding a car equipped like we wanted in the color we wanted. It was our first ordered car, and won't be our last if we can help it.

 

[noXcuses12]

There really isn't a good way to do it.. Here is what I thought was best...

Ford.com --> Crossover & SUV --> Explorer --> Search Dealer Inventory..

This allows you to put in zip codes which will bring up more dealers. I got a zip code map and put in zip codes of the regions I was willing to drive to get it.

I only found about 3 in my state with configuration I wanted, so be ready to drive. I agree with VinceL, best thing would be to Order from the dealer close by that has best reputation. If I had time to wait I would have done that..

 

[CulturalInfidel]

Just go to a dealer you want to buy from and tell them THIS is what I want ... find it!

It took several days, but my dealer finally found exactly what I was looking for on another dealer's lot ... the dealership went and got it from a them (an inventory swap) and brought it back to town for no additional charge. (It was 180 miles away.)

 

[CulturalInfidel]

My recommendation is doing a factory order and getting exactly what you want Takes more time, but we got the car we wanted. We were having trouble finding a car equipped like we wanted in the color we wanted. It was our first ordered car, and won't be our last if we can help it.

PLEASE tell me you didn't get it from Planet!

 

[VinceL]

PLEASE tell me you didn't get it from Planet!

LOL, no we didn't. Actually, we ended up walking out on the salesman. They are a bunch of chumps there.

 

[FordService]

Is there a website/app available (other than the Ford website) that allows you to search/query dealer inventory? The Ford website is limited on its search parameters...and it also only pulls information from five dealers associated with your area code...you put in another area code... five more dealers. There has to be a better way to search.

I know the dealers have this functionality, but if they arent going to be selling me anything, then they don't have any reason for spending the time searching for what we are looking for only for us to go and buy it at that other dealer (dealers can sell inventory cheaper than they can sell one that they might have to go get from another dealer)

tried autotrader and cars.com and have gotten some leads...but of course not all dealers advertise on there
thanks

I'm not aware of any other way. Not saying there isn't one though. I prefer to check in my own local area and buy there as well since it would be handier for getting service. When I ordered my Explorer, I only visted 2 dealerships. The first was about 2 miles away and the other 20 miles.
I ended up getting it at the second dealership (family run 62 years) mainly because of their service reputation. Price was secondary.

Peter

Price is not #1, probably #1a... #1 in our book is that you have to like what you are buying, if that means driving 200 miles, so be it. Most dealers are pretty competitive on price. Our problem is finding the color/option combo that we are looking for. Out of 10 dealers around us (within 100 mile radius - and half of these are in a metro city) only 2 have any blue explorers in stock, and a couple of those are base models. Once you go to the larger markets, you can drive on a lot that has 50+ explorers and a better selection. No one around here has more than 15-20.....

Here are some useful options...

Checking dealer inventory:
http://www.inventory.ford.com/model/2013-Explorer?branding=1&lang=en&zip=48120

Build your own:
http://bp3.ford.com/2013-Ford-Explorer?branding=1&lang=en#/ChooseYourPath/

These are great resources to find what you are looking for! Happy Searching.

Gina

 

[rin-ford-aic]

I too get frustrated by the zip code game.

I figured out searching inventory through a third party site like cars_com was my best bet. Searched inventory for a new car x amount of miles from zip code. Started narrowing by features such as color etc. If I couldn't find what I wanted I just expanded the search.
Then had to click through any of the promising results to find out the dealer and see if it matched.

Tedious but eventually effective...

 

[k9gold]

No one in our area had what I wanted. I contacted the closest dealer thinking that they could search for the vehicle that I wanted. They didn't respond by the following day so I used the Ford site and used zip codes. I knew what I was looking for so kept searching within a about a 4 hour drive. Then presto on the 77th dealership I looked at I found the exact vehicle. Did everything by email. Got over $5000 off the price and everything was ready when we drove to pick it up. The one dealer in our area that I had contacted finally emailed me back on the day we were going to pick up the new Explorer.

 

[noXcuses12]

Just go to a dealer you want to buy from and tell them THIS is what I want ... find it!

It took several days, but my dealer finally found exactly what I was looking for on another dealer's lot ... the dealership went and got it from a them (an inventory swap) and brought it back to town for no additional charge. (It was 180 miles away.)

I did research up front and found the lots who had the configuration I wanted. I went to the closes dealer and said THIS is what I want (knowing he would have to get it from another lot). He gave me his absolute bottom line price which I wasn't too happy with. I went to the dealer that had the car on the lot direct and got $2000 off the first guys price. The first guy declinded to match, so the drive was worth 2K to me. The funny part is the same company ownes both dealerships. Not sure why the first dealer wouldn't match the price of a sister dealership???