Bad Customer Experience

[HISSMAN]

Koons. My brother bought a Wrangler from them in Virginia. I tried to buy a GT500 from them. Spoke to the sales rep. Worked it out. Told them I was driving the 6 hours to them the next day. I got there, and they had just sold it the night before. The sales rep I spoke to called in sick. The manager was very helpful though and tried to locate another one, but I ended up finding the same one through a private seller in Toledo, OH. So after driving 6 hours East, I finally got it by driving 6 hours North... SMH at dealerships.

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[blakbearddelite]

I wasn't able to read the whole thing. Why did you use that font and spacing? Did you copy/paste from something?

 

[Muff Muff]

I had visited an Autonation Dealership around mid-August last year to test drive a GTPP because I wanted to get a feel for them (sales manager wouldn't let me do it because it was raining.) I actually left my information with the salesman my friend and I were working with because he was a true enthusiast, and I actually wanted to buy a car from him, but my timeframe for actually buying was December. Long story short I didn't buy the car from him, and he actually saved my number to his personal cell phone and sent me spam messages trying to get me to subscribe to his Youtube channel. I reported him to ATT and blocked his number.

Another time, my friend and I were looking at a used 07-09 GT-500, and the overly aggressive sales manager tried telling us that GT-500s were just modified GTs, hence the *GT*-500. We informed him that if we were to run the VIN on the car, it wouldn't show it as a GT, at which point the salesman and manager "went to the back." My friend and I got up and left, and the salesman we were working with called me on my cell, begging me to come back, profusely apologizing. I told him that he was fine, but we weren't going to work with a manager that dense.

So yea, I hate dealerships, too.

 

[Rock&Roll]

Wow super long story. Seems like everyone involved was difficult. I wasn't there so I can't really judge it all.

If you don't need warranty work, then there is not a single reason to ever visit a dealership again for service.

^^^^ this ^^^^

When it's all said and done you don't really need the Dealer unless your getting warranty work. Last new car I bought never went back to Toyota after I bought it and I owned that car for 9 years.


Good luck

 

[Bay1Stang]

Wow super long story. Seems like everyone involved was difficult. I wasn't there so I can't really judge it all.




^^^^ this ^^^^

When it's all said and done you don't really need the Dealer unless your getting warranty work. Last new car I bought never went back to Toyota after I bought it and I owned that car for 9 years.


Good luck

The problem is finding dealers that don't HATE doing warranty work. In my area when I go to get warranty work done I can feel the disdain from the people there because they know they aren't going to get paid as much as ripping someone else off without one. I had to get Ford involved to fix a few things when I first bought my car from the same dealer I bought it from.

I hate car dealerships.

 

[scrubber3]

Do you guys want to know why dealerships hate warranty work?

Because warranty work doesn't pay them anything. It pulls their techs away from earning them money. Also, the techs hate doing warranty work as well because they only get paid a fraction of what the book time is. Usually about 3/10ths what the actual book time they are supposed to get paid for that exact job.

Warranty work is a huge PITA for most dealerships.

 

[Bay1Stang]

Do you guys want to know why dealerships hate warranty work?

Because warranty work doesn't pay them anything. It pulls their techs away from earning them money. Also, the techs hate doing warranty work as well because they only get paid a fraction of what the book time is. Usually about 3/10ths what the actual book time they are supposed to get paid for that exact job.

Warranty work is a huge PITA for most dealerships.

I get it but that isn't our problem. If they're in the same building and share the same name as where I bought a brand new car from, they should be eager (at least make it seem that way) to do warranty work on the car. Otherwise don't sell cars with warranties on them.

 

[OrangeStang]

Typical salesman/dealership assholes. Nothing new. Once your new ride arrives you will be a happy camper and forget everything what happened!

 

[scrubber3]

I get it but that isn't our problem. If they're in the same building and share the same name as where I bought a brand new car from, they should be eager (at least make it seem that way) to do warranty work on the car. Otherwise don't sell cars with warranties on them.

I agree. I just know how they work. I used to be Mr. Goodwrench shortly after I got out of the Army. After that, I swore off working at a dealership ever again. A few years after that, I went to college for the medical field. I was done working on other people's cars. It wasn't so much the working on cars thing that made me stop working on vehicles.....

 

[Rock&Roll]

I agree. I just know how they work. I used to be Mr. Goodwrench shortly after I got out of the Army. After that, I swore off working at a dealership ever again. A few years after that, I went to college for the medical field. I was done working on other people's cars. It wasn't so much the working on cars thing that made me stop working on vehicles.....

lol ... I'd love go back to turning wenches like I did a billion years ago before I went into the Medical field. The stress can't be as bad as dealing with difficult patients, difficult familys, stupid mgmt etc.etc. Seems like everyone feels they have the right to make your life difficult sometimes. :headbonk:

 

[scrubber3]

lol ... I'd love go back to turning wenches like I did a billion years ago before I went into the Medical field. The stress can't be as bad as dealing with difficult patients, difficult familys, stupid mgmt etc.etc. Seems like everyone feels they have the right to make your life difficult sometimes. :headbonk:

If it weren't for the people, I would be sane! lol

 

[airfuel]

Some dealerships are like a dentist visit. Has to be done but sure are glad to be done and walking out.

 

[Meraki Autoworks]

Sorry to hear.. Great write up though.

-Josh

 

[amk91]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! My apologies if too many typos (thanks autocorrect/voice to text) made it frustrating to read.

Good read. Sadly this happens in most dealerships regardless of state.

I guess so, but I wonder how different it would be in some regions/cities of the US?

Well where are you, why r u not saying that? Something seems off.

Trust me, I'm much closer than you think. Just not in the same state.;) However, considering where you are, Koons is actually much farther away for you than it is for me. If not for all the money I have spent this month, I would have spare money+time to do that. At the moment, I am trying to curtail spending until late August at least. Then again, you have a Hellcat.

Luckily I've never had a buying experience this bad. The worst I've had which I remember is the sales manager giving me sass because I ended up deciding I didn't want the particular car they were offering, and that I "wasted the sales rep's time." Hey, I was there for 3 hours because they took that long to work on pricing, and I was there - you weren't that busy and losing any sales working with me.

This story makes me glad I've decided the Mustang is the last brand new car I'm buying. I'm going used from now on after this car. No more significant initial depreciation, no more having to deal with dealers (I'll try to stick with private sale when possible).

I've heard of worse experiences than mine, but yours sounds a little similar to parts of this. I had hoped that the ordering process would be much simpler. I wish I could find the car I wanted locally, but higher-spec GTs seem to be rare on lots.

Most likely my treatment is because I am young and for other unfortunate reasons. In your situation, you did very well in setting them straight. Apologies if any typos made for difficulty reading.

I would also say not to lump the sales and service departments together.

When I bought my 13 ST, the sales department was great, and the service department was deplorable.
A past Volvo had a fair sales yet a good service department.

I found the best of both worlds with my Mustang at Levittown. Excellent sales and top notch service.

Interestingly, in each of these instances, the sales and service were physically located miles apart.

FWIW, once the car is driven off the lot, you will never see the sales department again.

Unfortunately for me, after buying my ST, I made several trips back to the original dealership for service and clutch replacement within 11 months. Usually while there, I looked at cars on the lot especially the new 2015 Mustangs at the time.

That was bought in a bigger city (think the Spurs ;)), where that same dealer shafted me on agreed price upon purchase in December 2014.

I moved to a more isolated city last year, in the interim, where I have been planning on/off for a Mustang/similar or newer Raptor/4x4.

I had a prepaid maintenance plan, that was disregarded (huge waste of money) and being forced to pay for many repairs as of late.

This scenario is why I really wish that we could just buy cars direct from dealers. Seeing as I'm in Texas, I'll likely be one of the last people who will be able to do that. Auto lobbyist run this state.

That non-sense aside, I fear this is becoming the norm. The last two vehicles I purchased, 2015 Explorer / 2016 Mustang I searched online for the exact builds we wanted and just called down the list of dealers within an hour with the model we wanted and asked for their price. Out of about 20 calls, 2, *two* dealers gave me a price. Only one was even remotely realistic, one of them read off the MSRP. It was ridiculous. They all want you to come in. That one dealer I walked in, told the salesman I didn't want to jack around, I was happy with price, bring the car around and let me wife drive it. Went back to the same dealer last summer to buy my Mustang, told them what I wanted. I found out my old salesman wasn't there anymore. No problem, I told them what I wanted to pay and got a ridiculous basically MSRP response. After several calls back and forth and aggressive messages similar to yours, I called a dealer up by my parents an hour away and told them I wanted to drive the black one they had. Got there and told the guy I didn't want any BS, he said cool. I signed a deal within an hour for them to go find my spec'd car. Within two months, he had been let go. It seems if you aren't pushy and aggressive, you don't hang around in the industry. It's essentially weeding out the good people.

Bring on direct sales.

Thank you, as Texas car dealers frustrate me with the auto lobbyist stronghold. You have perfectly described what it is like, that I only wish I was in same position to make it that simple to them.

A lot of them are unusually pushy and bitter when you don't want to buy today, what is on the lot.

All I care about is to sample the vehicle of my choice in a responsible manner and then return it, to buy/order what I do want. For 50 states, it seems cost prohibitive for Ford to set-up a test driving center in various regions.

If you don't need warranty work, then there is not a single reason to ever visit a dealership again for service.

I am only starting to get this now. What would you recommend in most respects, other than myself (DIY) for servicing? The Mustang will truly be my first fully hands-on car, as I feel I'll appreciate it that much. The ST has felt so fragile by comparison. Only my first car (in my name), got DIY attention. Been afraid of touching my Fords so far.

Got my 2016 GTPP from Koons in Baltimore. Great dealer experience. Low price out of the gate, easy chat/IM session followed by a couple emails, flew me up from FL on their dime, picked me up at the airport, and I was out of the dealership in less than 2 hours which included a test drive. I highly recommend them to anyone from any state. They've got the lowest advertised prices of anywhere I've seen, and no hidden tack-ons.

My girlfriend's 2016 Explorer Sport we got from Yeoman's in Daytona. It was a good experience, but took a couple weeks of back & forth through emails on getting the price where it needed to be.

Interesting story, should pay more attention to the boards regarding Koons. I will carefully study their inventory and check in with them, until my order processing completes. If they can get it with little hassle, it's a consideration.

Yes. Two of my three previous vehicles tires never touched a dealer lot after the sale. Same so far for my 2016 GT although on a technicality. I had the battery die and convinced the dealer to replace it without towing the car in with a promise to email them pictures of the car's odometer (wasn't asked but I held the battery replacement paperwork in the frame).

I do all my routine maintenance, even on my cars that come with 100% free dealer service. Which is why I consider those programs a negative when buying. I mean, its obviously not free, its added to what the dealer pays for the car so the manufacturer can reimburse them for the service.

Unfortunately, luck is probably the biggest factor in whether you need warranty work.

Exactly HoosierDaddy, luck is a determinant. My car is likely by chance, going to be built on a Friday...

 

[HISSMAN]

[MENTION=6605]amk91[/MENTION]

Any good mechanic or service station can do the work. Just need to research before you drop off. You would be surprised at the amount of people that believe that they have to have their car serviced at the dealership they bought it for warranty work. I think that any SAE certified service shop can do warranty work as well.

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