Am I wrong to be upset with local dealer ??

[Larry Zoller]

I truly love my 2007 ST Limited. I just put on some new Mickey Thompson Baja's on it. I'll use the Michelin Cross Terrain in the summer on the highway. But buying ithe ST was a total hassle.



I got a call from my salesman last night who was upset that I gave him a low rating in the Ford Dealership ratings evaluation.



First I thought it would be in poor taste for this guy to harrass me on a Friday at 8:00PM. At the end of the conversation he told me not to bother to bring the truck in for service because I gave him a bad rating. My opinion was already made up that I wouldn't of even considered that anyway. I am not hard to get along with but I can't stand being taken advantage of by a salesman's 'BS".



Here is why I gave the dealership a "2" rating. Tell me what you think? In my opinion this guy was the worst typical "BS'er" I have ever dealt with. We have new ownership in our local dealership. I wanted to give them my business so I didn't shop around as much as I usually do. I think I made a mistake.



1. He told me I got the lowest price I could of possible get. I don't think so. Not including the Ford rebate I paid $33,953 on a ST that had a sticker price of $34,840. I think I paid too much.



2. I hated the Michelin Cross Terrain tires. They are OK on the highway but are overrated in the snow and useless offroad. I already knew that and asked to have different tires put on the truck. The salesman would not return my calls. We are talking over a period of 2 weeks. When I went to the dealership the salesman was not there. I got sent to the parts department and the parts man said he would order me some Dunlap Grandtrek SJ5. I told him so check with the salesman first. I never heard anything more so I had assumed that the parts man talked with the salesman and worked out an even swap. When the tires arrived I found out they were going to charge me an additional $800 for the tire change. And of course the salesman told me that was at dealer cost so it was the lowest I could possibly get the tires. I quickly found out the local tire shop could get them for $150 less.



3. He told me he could get me the best interest rate because he had dealer connections and started to pressure me into signing the papers right then. I refused and the next day I found that the same bank actually charged a percent point less.

 

[Matthew W]

Hate to say it, but invoice alone would have been about 2,000-2500 under sticker. As for the salesman, you can do 2 things:

1) a follow-up letter to Ford and detail your experiences (this worked for me in the past)

2) file telephone harrassment charges with your local police (may stop him from doing that to someone else)



Don't count on Ford to let you know what they do to the salesman/dealer ... I found out thru the grapevine, and the results were more than I had expected ...

 

[Frank Marano]

how would the police consider that harassment? No, he didnt have say what he said, but that was in no way harassment. The salesman and the dealership can easily say he was doing a follow up call to a sale.

 

[Tom Schindler]

I would write a letter to the GM/Owner of the dealership.



Also, a letter to the Newspaper about the salesmans actions would help you out.



If you felt you were paying too much, why did you buy?





Tom

 

[Gypsy me]

I think you were correct in your score, buying a new vehicle should be smooth and a happy experience even buying used should be that way. I can't understand why salesman feel the need to "LIE" The truth is ... Dealerships don't make much over cost on tires. I would say somebody wanted more money out of you.



That sales man had no right to call you and say that to you. What you do now, is go down there during business hours during the week and ask to speak to the Customer service manager of the dealership AND the owner, and in a calm demeanor explain all that you just posted here. That is total BS what that salesman did.



Believe me if it's a new dealership owner, he/she does not want a sales person like that on their lot. Make sure you point out why you bought from your local dealer (the owner will love the compliment) and I am sure they will make things better. Half the time they don't know what their sales people are saying or not saying and they need to know. They look at numbers what they are selling or not selling... give the manager and owner the scoop.



now....If you don't feel satisfied after telling them ( meaning your story falling on deaf ears or they are rude) Your next step immediately after is FORD themselves. Their customer service hotline. Because THEY do want to know.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Zolman,



You are wrong.



And here is why, taking each of your points seperately.



1) You expected the salesman to be your broker for the best possible price on the truck. That's simply unrealistic. Clearly he is your adversary in that arrangement. It is YOUR responsibility to be a savvy customer and to know what the rock-bottom deal is, and deal towards that...not his. To expect a salesman to do that is unrealistic.



2) After the sale you said you didn't like the tires and wanted them replaced. That then becomes a service issue. You should have been working with the service dept, not sales at that point. His unresponsiveness could have been because he was out of the office, or recognized it was a service issue and hoped you would get the hint. Yes, he probably could have directed you better, but that's really a service issue after the sale and shouldn't affect the salesman evalution of the sale.



3) Again, the salesman is not there to broker you the best interest rate possible. You should be walking into the showroom knowing the manufacturer financing available, and the bank financing available, and preferrably be pre-approved for bank financing.



The salesman is there to make the deal, and make the most money he can. He is not there to help you get the lowest cost or lowest financing...that is what websites like edmunds.com and eloans.com are for.



If you gave him a low eval I think it was because you have unrealistic expectations of what his job was/is.



TJR

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

If the Sales Person was rude during the sale then yes he deserves a low rating. However, I wouldn't put up with a rude sales person. And, I don't have a problem telling a sales person if he has an attitude.



What he did after the sale was wrong and I would take every step to let the dealership know about it as well as Ford Corp.



Pricing goes, I have to agree with the others, that you should of done your homework on the pricing and finance rate as well as the tires.



I've had a service guy fired on the spot by an Acura dealer. For being an ass and not servicing the car correctly where it was huge safety issue.

 

[Tom Schindler]

There are a few things you can do that a dealer doesn't like. I do them all the time.



First off, every car salesman is a liar. They will say anything and do anything to get you to buy. They don;t care if they tell you that your vehicle will fly, jump bridges, get 100 MPG, or anything else. They want your money.



As TJR said, a salesman does not try to givew you the lowest pricve possible, but the highest price you are willing to pay.



Know what you are buying. When the salesman tries tell you something and you know he is wrong, correct him. You can not imagine how mad it makes salesman.



Know your intrest rates. When they tell you they found the best rate, they are lying. That intrest rate gives the dealer the most kick-back.



You wanted different tires, find them on your own or negotiate the tires with the sale and get it is writing in a legal document.



Dealers know what they can and can't do, you don't. They use it to their advantage.



My final stab is when I realize I no longer want the vehicle and want to have fun, I become a real jerk to deal with. If I know I have nothing else to do, I will drag it out for hours. Once I am bored, I tell them nope and I walk out.



You should hear them cuss.





Tom

 

[Rick Kent]

How you rated your buying experience is your opinion alone. If you thought the salesman was not being above board or in some instance outright lying then a 2 is generous.



The issue I would push is the salesman calling you at your home to complain about how you rated him. I would definitely follow up with the owner of the dealer or his GM and I would send something to Ford Corporate about the incident as well.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I'm in agreement with the idea of sending a letter to the owner of the dealership describing what happened, and copying the Ford corporate customer service folks on the letter.



In your letter, be to the point, courteous, and professional. State what your issues are, and tell them what you would like to see happen to make it right for you. Try not to be unrealistic, punitive, or get personal.



Good luck.

 

[Wayne Fajkus]

I wouldn't lose any sleep and I wouldn't call him my salesman for future deals. I hope the process didn't fall you out of love with your truck.



The one thing that irritates me is the interest rate. Once I find the better rate they want to match it. After all we are "buddies". Give me a break. I'd rather hold the deal for a couple of days sourcing financing than to give them the luxury of matching the work that I did while they tried to pull a fast one on me.

 

[Keith Lewis]

I never really dealt with a salesman for my ST...just the ordering person I built up a rapport with her (fellow Mustang enthusiast that was also getting a GT500 any day) and she went the extra mile for me. It also helped that I had to go inside the 2nd time I was there to find a salesman, so she wanted to make damn sure I got the help I needed (I already knew what I wanted walking in there, so the salesman wasn't much help at all...he had to buy her a steak dinner ). We didn't even discuss payment options (other then what incentives were out there) until the truck had been built and was in process of shipment. If I knew I could go there and order a GT500 from her, I'd do it in a heartbeat, even though I know live in another state.

 

[TomT]

Sounds like you got the "salesman from hell". But your also every salesman's dream customer. You were not prepared. Before you step foot in a dealership, have a loan approval and know exactly what price your willing to pay for the vehicle. As for the tires, that should have been taken care of by yourself. Your only giving the dealer an incentive to make more money off you. Still, the salesman is an a-hole and I would do everything possible to get his butt fired.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

To a certain degree you are Wong. That said, the after actions of the salesman are in serious question.



Bottom line is,you agreed to pay whatever price. If you felt/feel you paid too much, you should have simply walked away.



The tire issue is a 50/50 thing. He knew, you knew, the parts man was involved, etc etc etc. You needed to get it is some sort of writing to protect yourself. Once the vehicle is sold, and there is no writing to confirm an agreement, you pretty much on your own.



I do feel that the salesman was probably a low rating kind of guy. You should address that with a letter to the GM of the Dealership with a copied letter to Ford. But to complain about the items/issues that you had choice over, it probably not fair to complain about...

 

[Geoff Barker]

By giving him a low score on the follow-up survey you've already given him some of what you feel he deserves. I bought my ST from a salesman that my whole family has dealt with for 30 years. This is the fourth time I have dealt with him in the last 10 years (my last 3 vehicles were leases) and everytime he has made a point to me about filling out the questionaire when I get it and please checking in all the boxes as "excellent' not just "good". Apparently Ford takes these thing seriously and the career salesmen do worry about them. Your salesman is probably not going to last long. The fact that he got upset enough to phone you means he has already felt some consequences for the bad survey results.

 

[Dingo]

I equate it to when a server is crappy and then follows you outside to confront you about a poor tip.

That being said, if the salesman sucked badly enough to deserve a poor rating, I would've demanded another salesman on the spot.

 

[Jessica Miranda]

Gosh I feel your pain..I hate car salesmen. I recently had an issue as well that fired me up and has tempted me to go back and say something. I went into the dealership knowing exactly what I wanted (of course their job is to try and change what you want). After an hour and a half of waiting for what I thought was them trying to get me what I want, but with no success...I was irritated and proceeded to leave. Walking out of the dealership I had THREE salesmen follow me to my car harassing me AND the car I was driving at the time...I couldn't beleive it! THEN they had the nerve to call me back the next day STILL trying to make the sale!



You're right, all they do is try to take advantage of you. And it's really shitty to be taken advantage of! Don't feel bad!