Does Ford Even Care about the Surveys?

[exilepa]

I had a HORRIBLE experience buying my Explorer and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Ford actually contacting them about their awful experience?

I went shopping for a vehicle to replace my 2008 Edge last Saturday and stopped in at a local Ford dealership and saw the new Explorer. At this point I had no idea how new the Explorer is and how "in-demand" and hard to find the vehicle apparently is.

I test drive and an am thinking I like the vehicle. Couple sticking points, trade value for my Edge has to be right and the Explorer has to fit in my garage. I talk to the sales guy and he agrees to let me take the Explorer just 6 miles down the road to my house and see if it will fit in the garage. Trade value for my Edge is good and we're set on that end. Well, his sales manager of course comes over and tries to get me to commit right away, Ive bought many cars over the years and know the routine. Of course, he wants me to leave them a check, give them some money, etc. in order to drive the car off the lot. I don't budge and am told how in-demand this vehicle is and how he needs something from me to ensure it's not sold while I'm out seeing if it will fit in my garage. I laugh and tell him he can save his games for someone else and head out to and drive of in my Edge putting the day's experience behind me.

Well, 3 hours later I get a call asking if I still like the vehicle and I say of course that I like the vehicle but absolutely will not deal with the same sales manager again. Sales guy agrees and off I go to pick up the Explorer and see if it fits in the garage. It does fit and I go back to the dealership. It's now 5:45 dealership closes in 15 minutes and I say I'm completely fine with waiting to pick up the Explorer on Monday provided we can come to agreement on price. Well I am then of course told how sticker price is the best they can do blah blah blah. This Explorer already had 400 miles on it, it was a dealer trade from another dealerhsip or some story like that. I get them down to invoice and the $1,000 incentive as well as the $500 auto show bonus cash for our area. It is now well past 6:00 and I can tell the finance guy as well as the vehicle prep guys are all set to go home. Again I state I can wait till Monday.

Anyways, I get approved for their "very best" rate of 2.9% for 60 months we get all the paperwork done and now it's time for delivery of the vehicle.

I have owned and purchased over 10 vehicles in the last 15 years and have never seen a vehicle delivered in this condition. Tires aren't armor-all'd or whatever they user to make them look shiney (didn't care too much about this part, it just gets all over the paint anyways.) The plastic bags from the different items they had to open is strewn about, finger prints all over the MFT screen, spots on the exterior still dirty, plastic/sticky film reside of some sort on the outside of the wheels, owner's manuals not even put in the binder/booklet for the manuals. I point all of these things out to the salesman who informs me that his delivery guys have already left and that if I bring it back on Monday he'll make it right and that this isn't how they do business. I say fine, and at this point just want to get home. This is my favorite part, I get in the car, start it up and find that I was only given a half tank of gas! WTF! I have NEVER been delivered a car without a full tank of gas!

I never did take the car back to have it re-detailed as I can see the type of work/quality this dealership cares about. I did call and complain about the half tank of gas and was informed that Ford only reimburses them for $30 worth of fuel. Come on Ford, seriously? I am them informed by the salesman that he only made $250 off the sale of my vehicle as it was on "special" and if I really wanted to push the issue he'd have to fill the tank out of his own pocket with the little commission he made.

Well, of course, the story gets better. I then notice they never cashed my fairly large check for downpayment by Thursday and find it a bit odd. So, yep, you know what call I got on Friday afternoon. I'm called by the finance guy and am told the bank that initially approved me for the 2.9% rate now won't accept my application and they had to get me a loan through a different bank at 5.9% due to my credit rating. I then tell him they can have their car back and to have my 2008 waiting for me when I arrive as I know my credit score is 756 and know what trick they are trying to pull. I'm told they have already paid off my trade and it's already for sale on their use car lot. I say I don't care, I'm not falling for their financing trap. Long story short, I went to my local credit union, got approved for a loan at 2.49% took a check to the dealership and am now done with them and will never go back again.

I know I'll be getting a survey in the mail, will Ford even care about the experience I had? Does Ford pay close attention to how their dealerships are performing or does it not matter as long as cars are being sold?

Thanks for listening to my vent session everyone!

 

[jedimike]

Honestly, I think you're being overly critical. The only part I would find truly offensive is the mess-up with the loan. The rest of the stuff is really minor and like you mentioned, they were closing so nobody was there to detail it for you.

If I'm scoring a really good deal, I can overlook certain things like some smudges on the MFT, detailing and gas. I wouldn't expect Ford to really say anything to the dealership at all for that stuff. Yes, it would diminish my experience, but I wouldn't get too upset about it.

 

[boominXplorer]

To be honest Ford lives by those surveys. I work in a dealership and we have 1 employee that just deals with those. If you leave a bad survey they will call you up and see what they can do to make it right. If you ask me it seems like your salesman / sales manager are to blame along with the finance guy. The salesman probably took it back to prep at closing time (Prep / cleanup guys are paid flat rate, they only get paid on what they do) and so the salesman prob half assed it himself since he pays for the cleanup if the prep guys do it (~$88). The half tank of gas is what was prob left from the trip from the other dealership, we about always fill sold vehicles up unless we really lost money on the deal (happens mostly in used cars)

Also they prep guys usually will not touch the MFT screen, too many blames of scratching even though they use microfibers. It is the salesmans job to show you how to properly clean the screen

 

[swetrid]

Ford dealerships live and die on surveys. Sometimes we are even paid according to our survey results.

 

[elizaud]

I had a HORRIBLE experience buying my Explorer and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Ford actually contacting them about their awful experience?

I went shopping for a vehicle to replace my 2008 Edge last Saturday and stopped in at a local Ford dealership and saw the new Explorer. At this point I had no idea how new the Explorer is and how "in-demand" and hard to find the vehicle apparently is.

I test drive and an am thinking I like the vehicle. Couple sticking points, trade value for my Edge has to be right and the Explorer has to fit in my garage. I talk to the sales guy and he agrees to let me take the Explorer just 6 miles down the road to my house and see if it will fit in the garage. Trade value for my Edge is good and we're set on that end. Well, his sales manager of course comes over and tries to get me to commit right away, Ive bought many cars over the years and know the routine. Of course, he wants me to leave them a check, give them some money, etc. in order to drive the car off the lot. I don't budge and am told how in-demand this vehicle is and how he needs something from me to ensure it's not sold while I'm out seeing if it will fit in my garage. I laugh and tell him he can save his games for someone else and head out to and drive of in my Edge putting the day's experience behind me.

Well, 3 hours later I get a call asking if I still like the vehicle and I say of course that I like the vehicle but absolutely will not deal with the same sales manager again. Sales guy agrees and off I go to pick up the Explorer and see if it fits in the garage. It does fit and I go back to the dealership. It's now 5:45 dealership closes in 15 minutes and I say I'm completely fine with waiting to pick up the Explorer on Monday provided we can come to agreement on price. Well I am then of course told how sticker price is the best they can do blah blah blah. This Explorer already had 400 miles on it, it was a dealer trade from another dealerhsip or some story like that. I get them down to invoice and the $1,000 incentive as well as the $500 auto show bonus cash for our area. It is now well past 6:00 and I can tell the finance guy as well as the vehicle prep guys are all set to go home. Again I state I can wait till Monday.

Anyways, I get approved for their "very best" rate of 2.9% for 60 months we get all the paperwork done and now it's time for delivery of the vehicle.

I have owned and purchased over 10 vehicles in the last 15 years and have never seen a vehicle delivered in this condition. Tires aren't armor-all'd or whatever they user to make them look shiney (didn't care too much about this part, it just gets all over the paint anyways.) The plastic bags from the different items they had to open is strewn about, finger prints all over the MFT screen, spots on the exterior still dirty, plastic/sticky film reside of some sort on the outside of the wheels, owner's manuals not even put in the binder/booklet for the manuals. I point all of these things out to the salesman who informs me that his delivery guys have already left and that if I bring it back on Monday he'll make it right and that this isn't how they do business. I say fine, and at this point just want to get home. This is my favorite part, I get in the car, start it up and find that I was only given a half tank of gas! WTF! I have NEVER been delivered a car without a full tank of gas!

I never did take the car back to have it re-detailed as I can see the type of work/quality this dealership cares about. I did call and complain about the half tank of gas and was informed that Ford only reimburses them for $30 worth of fuel. Come on Ford, seriously? I am them informed by the salesman that he only made $250 off the sale of my vehicle as it was on "special" and if I really wanted to push the issue he'd have to fill the tank out of his own pocket with the little commission he made.

Well, of course, the story gets better. I then notice they never cashed my fairly large check for downpayment by Thursday and find it a bit odd. So, yep, you know what call I got on Friday afternoon. I'm called by the finance guy and am told the bank that initially approved me for the 2.9% rate now won't accept my application and they had to get me a loan through a different bank at 5.9% due to my credit rating. I then tell him they can have their car back and to have my 2008 waiting for me when I arrive as I know my credit score is 756 and know what trick they are trying to pull. I'm told they have already paid off my trade and it's already for sale on their use car lot. I say I don't care, I'm not falling for their financing trap. Long story short, I went to my local credit union, got approved for a loan at 2.49% took a check to the dealership and am now done with them and will never go back again.

I know I'll be getting a survey in the mail, will Ford even care about the experience I had? Does Ford pay close attention to how their dealerships are performing or does it not matter as long as cars are being sold?

Thanks for listening to my vent session everyone!

Wow, sounds exactly like the dealer I bought then return an Explorer from, are you from Ohio by any chance?

 

[drober30]

Any dealer that would try to sell a vehicle at sticker is ruthless! Yes, some people don't know better which is why they are ruthless.

Education cost money... either you pay for school or you pay through life lessons!

 

[exilepa]

Wow, sounds exactly like the dealer I bought then return an Explorer from, are you from Ohio by any chance?

Actually, I am from Ohio.... Dayton/Cincy area to be more specific.

Initially I thought maybe I was being overly critical but the more I stewed on it the more annoyed I was by the whole process. Perhaps I should give them a call before I fill out the survey and see what they say when I tell them how I'm going to fill it out...

 

[Hartman]

You can't expect them to shine the vehicle to perfection when you purchase it after closing time.

 

[Jbmckinley]

Perhaps you should of waited until Monday to pick up your Explorer. Then most of your problems would have been solved.

 

[tmilicia]

My D.O.R.A. says the dealer got $53.39 for fuel reimbursement from Ford on my Explorer, just sayin....

 

[drober30]

He actually stated that he wanted to wait till Monday but the dealer wanted to close the deal and I can easily see the dealer doing that. In addition, if the dealer wanted to close the deal that night then the employees should have been forced to stay overtime to complete the job right.

Once I was told that my truck would not come with a full tank of gas and I quickly straightened that out.

The finance game would have put me over the edge. That's unprofessional and unacceptable. They tried doing that to my mom and I put the brakes on that. It was comical to see the guy backpedal and make up excuses only a true idiot would believe when he was able to give us the original rate!

I would have told the sales guy to fill up my tank and save his bleeding sob story for his boss!

I certainly don't walk into a dealership and think I walk on water and they better kneel to get a sale (some people do) but everything this guy is complaining about is legit, IMHO...

 

[jeeden]

I have near perfect credit, but will NEVER let them shop my loan when I'm buying a car. I have bought a lot of Fords over the years and always walk in pre-approved from Ford Credit with their rate or with a check from another bank/credit union. I just don't like them shopping my credit when I can do the same myself, know I'm not getting screwed, and speed up the whole process.

Removes one more negotiating approach from them as well.

 

[boss377]

Any dealer that would try to sell a vehicle at sticker is ruthless! Yes, some people don't know better which is why they are ruthless.

Education cost money... either you pay for school or you pay through life lessons!

What the heck does that mean? You insult many on this board.
Many vehicles sell for sticker and above. And it can be a Ford or a Porsche. Don't be so bitter about life.

 

[drober30]

What the heck does that mean? You insult many on this board.
Many vehicles sell for sticker and above. And it can be a Ford or a Porsche. Don't be so bitter about life.

Yikes.. I take offense at your statement that I insult many on this board! Please point out where I insult many on this board.

In fact in the short time that I have been part of this form, my posts have been in response to many asking questions and looking for advise.

I also posted the thread about the 2011 incentive protection program that will save many forum members hundreds of dollars. Some will comment that they saved money and others will just take the info and run.

I stand by the statement that dealers that sell cars at sticker take advantage of people and people that pay sticker price are FOOLS!

 

[boss377]

Yikes.. I take offense at your statement that I insult many on this board! Please point out where I insult many on this board.

Some of us here are in car sales. We work hard and earn a very good living if we take care of our customers.
Some cars are not discounted. A few examples would be the Boss 302, the Escape Hybrid, or perhaps a Porsche Cayenne, or GT3.
Or let's use Apple Computer, or a pair of Levis. Never discounted, and no one complains; it's just market value.

 

[waskly]

Ford dealerships live and die on surveys. Sometimes we are even paid according to our survey results.

only blue oval are affected by surveys... every other dealership can do what they please.

 

[chimoman]

Wow drober30,
You don't buy vehicles that often do you. You see MSRP is the suggested price. It's a simple matter of supply and demand. If alot of people want a particular vehicle, and they are in short supply, then the dealer can sell it for sticker. Now you see, there are some people out there that have lots of money. They like to buy their toys. To come on here and call people fools, well, that's just ignorant. It's like Mr. Gump said, St is as st does. Now you can give a witty retort and bend that last phrase into...... say any buddy who buys at sticker is stupid. But let's just leave it at this. It's not nice to call someone a fool. Especially on a site like this. Not everyone is as educated in the art of haggling over cars as you are. Please be polite. It's not nice to talk in such a manner. You see I have an Explorer, a nice one, and I have alot of money. There is only one around here and I paid for it so I could have it. I am no fool, you see, I like, I buy. Cars, trucks, companies. Have a nice day.

Hope you get your Ex soon.

 

[waskly]

people that can afford the sticker pay the sticker people that cant, will still pay more then the sticker even if they quote the price under the sticker. lol financing.

 

[DavidM]

I also had a terrible experience with my dealership. It's in an earlier posting somewhere.

What I learned is that Fords policy is that if even 1 of the survey criteria is not deemed by you as outstanding, or whatever the top mark is, in ANY area, Ford considers it a fail and the dealership is held accountable. If you had an x-plan (as I did) then those surveys are audited and the fire really rains down.

I wrote a letter to the sales manager at my crappy dealership and got a call immediately. Long story short, we had an enlightening conversation, I explained that I didn't want anyone fired or any such nonsense, I just wanted to give him accurate details of their failure for process improvement in the future.

He invited me to come right over when my tank was empty for a free fill and has asked me out for beers. He was a nice guy and took what I had to say quite well without getting defensive and making dumb excuses, which was all I really needed.

But you better believe those surveys are a big deal!

 

[drober30]

Wow drober30,
You don't buy vehicles that often do you. You see MSRP is the suggested price. It's a simple matter of supply and demand. If alot of people want a particular vehicle, and they are in short supply, then the dealer can sell it for sticker. Now you see, there are some people out there that have lots of money. They like to buy their toys. To come on here and call people fools, well, that's just ignorant. It's like Mr. Gump said, St is as st does. Now you can give a witty retort and bend that last phrase into...... say any buddy who buys at sticker is stupid. But let's just leave it at this. It's not nice to call someone a fool. Especially on a site like this. Not everyone is as educated in the art of haggling over cars as you are. Please be polite. It's not nice to talk in such a manner. You see I have an Explorer, a nice one, and I have alot of money. There is only one around here and I paid for it so I could have it. I am no fool, you see, I like, I buy. Cars, trucks, companies. Have a nice day.

Hope you get your Ex soon.

OK... Your right, my intention was not to upset or insult anyone but to point out that there are allot of unscrupulous dealers out there that will stick it to someone who does not know any better. So for those that paid sticker price for your car willingly, I'm sure it was required given the car and market conditions.

St is as st does / A fool and their money soon go their separate ways.

Thanks for the well wishes on getting my Ex soon.

Moving on...