Horrible Dealerships

drone · 15-06-2008, 12:24 AM

I've been looking for a car for a few months now, and it was going to be a toss up between the VW R36, G6ET, XR6T or the new WRX/Liberty STi's.

The VW dealership quoted 66k after corporate allowance for the R36 wagon. Today the car landed but the one they had in stock was apparently not for sale because it was going to be registered as a demo. Other cars in holding or at other dealerships couldn't be guaranteed because they'd have to wait untill Monday to find out if they had been sold else where. Then the price suddenly jumped to 68k if i was willing to put a deposit down and hope they could find me one within the next few days. Apparently i would have to foot the bill for them shipping the car from somewhere else. Walked out.

Then straight to city ford hoping they would actually want to sell me a car. I expressed interest in the XR6T and G6ET only to be promptly told they hadn't received any. Didnt attempt to find out when they would get them in, or offer to reschedule a time to come back for a test drive etc. Floated around hoping someone else would approach to answer some questions. Same salesman walks up again so i asked about pricing and how much i could get off for fleet. He then rudely explained that he couldn't tell me any of those things because it would depend on what options i wanted and the person that could wasn't in. Basically he couldn't tell me anything or do anything, so again i walked out.

Ended the day at Subaru docklands, where i was immediately asked if i needed any help and which cars i was interested in. I told him the Liberty STi, and inquired about the WRX STi which had caught my eye. They have a selected salesman that takes care of the STi vehicles so i was offered a coffee while i waited for him to come back from a test drive. When he returned I was given a run down on both cars, prices/specs and offered a test drive. The WRX STi was first up and the salesman gave it an absolute thrashing, the sheer grip and acceleration was mind blowing! Then my turn. It is truly something special! I could not get the grin off my face when i stepped out of the car. I was sold, so i bought the car then and there. Cannot wait to pick it up!!

I know this is a ford forum so im expecting to get some flaming, but i thought i would share my experience anyway....

:

McobraR · 15-06-2008, 12:46 AM

Nice!

: Thats cool mate, only immature one eyed supporters would flame ya.
This is what most people here agree as to why Ford don't sell much.... they got shite dealerships with shite service and salespeople. All the best with your new ride

Bobman · 15-06-2008, 01:39 AM

Must agree. Out of most dealerships I've trawled through over the years, Ford seem to be one of the worst.

They don't care about selling you a car and usually don't know much about it either. Very sad indeed.

The new WRX is a nice ride. Well done mate.

snappy · 15-06-2008, 01:44 AM

congrats on the new car been in older models and they sure move. Its a shame about the dealerships buying a new car should be a great expierence and thumbs up to subaru for providing it . As for the other delearships well there loss i supose.

efI_Fairmont · 15-06-2008, 02:00 AM

Yeah I think a huge problem for Ford Aus is the service (or rather lack thereof) at their dealerships. We've all either experienced first-hand, or heard from others, just how poor this service really can be. Ford definitely need to address that issue if they are to survive in this day and age. In saying that, there are some good one, too.

Sounds like a sweet ride. The new WRX look quite refined and classy, hope you enjoy it!

wicksy · 15-06-2008, 04:37 AM

i love the new libertys, ford dealerships suck ***, i hate the dicks, only because i put up with them

OLDFORDNUT · 15-06-2008, 07:46 AM

if you can spare the time it would be fun to drive into both dealers who were not helpful and ask to speak to the dealer principle and tell him why your driving the WRX

**buggerlugs** · 15-06-2008, 07:47 AM

I went to the local Ford Dealer last week to check out the new Falcons. I walked in and started looking at a new XR6 when a salesman walks past me and says " Ya right mate " . I said " I'm just checking out the new Falcon " to which he replied "oh , ok " and walked off................

**Falcon Coupe** · 15-06-2008, 09:01 AM

It's a pity you let a Dealership decide what car you should buy, i decide on the car first then find the appropriate dealer.

RATT · 15-06-2008, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

It's a pity you let a Dealership decide what car you should buy, i decide on the car first then find the appropriate dealer.

Best way to do it.

cycle myth · 15-06-2008, 11:00 AM

Good on you.

I had similar experiences lately when buying a new car.

Must say though that President Ford sales guy and Dealership presentation was very good - just the Ford's didn't cut it in the segment I was looking at.

Mitsubishi Dealers were real bad x 2 - Brighton salesperson wouldn't demo the car as they were to close in 20 mins! - I walked out.

Mitsubishi Burnley - just didn't have demo's! - So I walked out.

Honda Dealer was polite, had demo's, were professional, did everything I asked - I bought.

Magna · 15-06-2008, 11:34 AM

ive found bigger dealerships are the worst, the best ones are the family owned smaller ones. i got my car from werribee mitsubishi when they were family owned. there dad was the owner, one son was service manager and the other spare parts. but since they sold out it went downhill and i wouldnt buy another car there.

duhig ford are pretty good, but i think there part of westpoint so id be hesistant to buy from there too.

brodfloyd · 15-06-2008, 02:12 PM

What drone says is true, of many manufacturers.
And that is the whole reason Subaru created "Subaru Docklands."

Subaru AUS Corporate itself owns the dealership. They control everything, that is why it is so good. They know of the risks when they dont own or control the dealership by having profit fixated and disinterested "just give me my pay cheque" staff.

The problem with most manufacturers Retail outlets are that they are owned by 3rd parties with no responsibility or care for brand image. Therefore there is at least 3 or 4 levels of seperation between manufacturer and customer. And with big dealer groups, they trade and sell dealerships with impunity, so if toyota's brand image is down, they may sell their toyota dealerships and focus on their more profitable brands. The More ownership/managerial steps the customer gets away from the Manufacturer, the greater the risk of bad service.

eg, Preston Motors.
Ford AUS, Preston Motors Pty Ltd, Central Ford (subsiduary company), Customer

Subaru Docklands
Subaru AUS, Customer.

Car manufacturs influence on dealerships owned and controlled by 3rd parties is very small.

It is a double edged sword too. If the product is good, the bad dealership can get a free ride. If other dealers are good, their reputation rubs off on the whole brand, even though all the dealerships are owned by completely different people.

Conversely, it doesnt matter how good the dealership is if the product is crap, and if one or a group of dealers are crap, it brings down the whole brand, even though Bob Dodge from Dodgy Ford has nothing to do with Ford AUS and Ford AUS has no control over Dodgy dealerships.

By subaru bypassing 3rd parties, they minimise waiting times, costs, inefficiency, disengaged dealers and can build the kind of dealerships THEY want to show off their brand. It is a far better model.

If ford Rationalized their dealers to 3 or 4 Super dealerships in melbourne for example, directly owned and controlled by Ford AUS, the quality of everything would skyrocket.

The need for a dealership in every suburb has passed, as most ppl do the 'virtual' tyre kicking on the net and most information about new models is so readily available without actually visiting the dealership. The world has shrunk, and driving 3 or 4 suburbs to go to the dealer for the test drive isnt as big a problem as it would have been in the 60's for example.

Test drives would be easier to organise with the specific model YOU want (not something similar), the number of demo cars could be rationalized and all of the savings can be passed on to the customer/used to improve dealerships/be reinvested into improving new models.

Thats why drone went to subaru docklands, when he probably passed 4 ford dealers between his home to docklands. Because he didnt care about how close the dealer was, just how good they were.

Thoughts guys???

and yes i know im a genius

**DJM83** · 15-06-2008, 03:14 PM

Good stuff mate hope you enjoy your new WRX, but i would have decided what i wanted the picked the appropriate dealer. Maybe afew pics when you get it?

Ringo · 15-06-2008, 03:29 PM

....funny how many of these stories are out there.

My story is when we shopping for new car that I was in a Mazda Dealership *cough Penfolds *Cough lookin to buy my Mazda 6 Lux Sports.

Told the salesman was buying today and was only going to visit two dealerships asked him if he wanted first crack at giving me a price. "No" was the answer I got. He flately refused to even offer a price or discuss it any further...I was amazed he let such a hot prospect like me walk out even if he had made his quota that month.

Went to Max Kirwan Mazda, was discussing price in 5 minutes, deal done inside 30 minutes, car delivered two weeks later. Penfolds never got another look in..

Hunter · 15-06-2008, 03:55 PM

Hmm seeing as I've been in and out of dealerships the past few weekends I can comment. I'll say this: Out of the two Ford dealerships I visited, one was 'average', if not uninspiring and the other was just crap. The first was a fairly old Brisbane Ford dealer and fairly well known. They treated me ok, mostly professional except for a few hiccups and the dealership looked a bit run down. But the sales guy I saw first was good, he seemed interested in selling me a car (he wasn't pushy at all). They let me take it for a test drive with my missus and noone accompanied us (apparently they had nobody on hand to go with us).

The second dealership was also a fairly large Brisbane Ford dealer and well they were just fking rude. We walked up at 3:30 to take a look on the way home and they were closed (even though they weren't meant to close till 4pm). When I say closed I mean there was people INSIDE still and they hadn't even closed the gates but they wouldn't come to the door and even say anything to us. We walked off and will never buy a car off them because they couldn't even be stuffed telling us that they were closing up or even bothered to give us a quick look (I would have understanded if they wanted me to come back to test drive).

The Toyota dealership we visited was pretty ordinary at first -we walked around for 15 mins and nobody bothered to come and talk to us so we went off and got lunch. Visited the Ford dealer in between then came back to the Toyota dealership and after another 5 mins someone FINALLY came out and talked to us. The guy was fairly professional but a little too much of the typical salesman (missus thought he was a bit greasy). Didn't really like the Corolla anyway.

The Mazda dealership was EXCELLENT and they were 100% professional - they even had free bottled water (we didn't even get offered a cup of water cooler water from the other joints). On top of this I really really liked the mazda 3, it was much better built inside than the Focus (though the Focus handled better than anything else). The guy was 100% prepared and was really helpful, even let us test drive it without anyone from the dealership.

The VW dealership we went to next was CRAP. Nobody came out to talk to us and worst of all their cars weren't good. The Polo sucked - you have to pay for seat adjustment and the interior was worse than the Focus'. I didn't even need to test drive the Polo because the price and the quality, and the lack of service were enough to make me not want to touch it.

The Citroen dealer was good, we were instantly greeted the moment we rocked up, albeit by a guy from the Dodge/Chrysler section of the dealership. Had a chat to him while we waited for the Citroen guy to come out. Turns out that he was a blue-blooded Ford man who used to sell Fords. Had a quick chat to him about Falcons etc. Citroen guy was very professional, explained everything ( he really knew his product). Was well treated there.

At the end of the day the product itself (IMO) forms 80% of the basis of choosing a new car and the other 20% is the dealership but I feel much more confident putting down a chunk of cash when the person I'm dealing with is good.

I've noticed that Brisbane Ford dealers don't seem to have as many complaints as those down south... don't know why that is.

.bazz. · 15-06-2008, 05:53 PM

i had a bad experiences with 2 ford dealerships in logan city sth of brisbane back in aug/sept last year, i walk in with my list of options for a order built XR6T . springwood salesman was very pushy and the browns plains salesman said people like me are "dreamers" and people like me will never buy a new car. also i never did asked for a test drives or wanted one, as i had to go to 5 ford dealerships in a very short time frame to get a quote.

uranium_death · 15-06-2008, 06:42 PM

Sometimes you'll find a good dealership has bad salespeople.

Back in 87 the VC (or was it a VB?) Commodore was written off and my father wanted a big wagon...nothing beat the old XF.

Went to Melford (used to be in the city..gone now though). On a runout model, the salesperson would not negotiate the price. Refused. Dad walked out.
The head of the team called my Dad back a day or three later and asked him why he didn't purchase the car and my Dad told him, "Your salesperson didn't seem very interested in selling me the car" so immediately, my Dad was offered a price, a MUCH BETTER price, and he took it. We had the XF for 13 years.

At Geoff Brady Holden we generally found most salesmen to be pleasant and knew about the car. There was one bloke though who was abrupt. When my Dad asked why the Commodore was so much more than the Falcon, all he could say is, "Because the Ford will f*cking break down 5 minutes down the road after buying it."

Now, I'm no sales-guru, but I would have thought that if you wanted to sell a car, you'd focus your product's strengths...not the competitions weaknesses.
He also gave an opinion more than anything else. Most taxis are Fords, and they go for a long time!

So the long-winded point is that one bad salesperson doesn't necessarily mean a bad dealership.

Go on another day and speak to somebody else. If they're just as rude/incompetent/disinterested, it's probably fair to draw a baseline conclusion then.

Ives · 15-06-2008, 06:47 PM

Congrats for the new car. Very good choice. The WRX STi is one serious car, looks awesome too. It is softer than the previous models but the current WRX STi is great in its own rights. The grip is just unbelievable.

EDIT :- Which colour are you getting?

Speaking of dodgy dealerships. My friend was genuinely looking to buy an XR5T... we went to Brad Garlick and they just not interested in selling the car.

littlered · 15-06-2008, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brodfloyd

If ford Rationalized their dealers to 3 or 4 Super dealerships in melbourne for example, directly owned and controlled by Ford AUS, the quality of everything would skyrocket.

No !

Ford tried that in Perth by buying all dealerships in the metro area (except nuford and macinery) and called it Perth Auto Alliance.

It didn't work so Ford then sold it to AHG and they on sold three or four back to Toni Delaney, John Hughes etc

Hunter · 15-06-2008, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlered

No !

Ford tried that in Perth by buying all dealerships in the metro area (except nuford and macinery) and called it Perth Auto Alliance.

It didn't work so Ford then sold it to AHG and they on sold three or four back to Toni Delaney, John Hughes etc

Why didn't it work?

I don't understand why Ford dealerships apparently have much more problems/customer service issues than any other dealership. Is it just a perceived problem or is it really so bad that it could be considered the worst around?

It would seem to me that Ford, if it wants to survive long-term in Oz would have to go out and there truly knock the blocks off some of these dealers.

FPV 5TH · 15-06-2008, 07:55 PM

Everybody is different in what they expect when visiting a dealership and the sales people arent mind readers. What i dont like is being jumped on like a seagull on a chip as soon as you set foot in the yard. I like to have time to look around alone and when i want information about a car or two i will look for the sales person. If the sales person comes to me i will say just looking thanks and expect them to back off, not stalk you up and down the yard. Other people get upset if they are no set upon immediately and assume the sales people are not interested in selling cars. All i expect is that the sales person has a good knowledge of the car, but in some places they know less than i do and thats not a lot. I also expect them not to stuff me around by having me sit there for an hour while they pretend to run and back and forth to the dealer principal with my offer and come back trying to bump it up $500 every time when they know full well what price they can do it for. Nor do i like being harrassed by phone and email after i have walked out. Hope you are listening Jarvis Ford Norwood!

flukey · 15-06-2008, 08:02 PM

pretty woman was a crap movie. i just wasted 2 minutes reliving it.

cycle myth · 15-06-2008, 08:02 PM

I can tell you the Perth Auto Alliance did work.

It was the only retail joint venture (RJV) in all of Ford (including the US) this did.

Having the manufacturer being the dealer competing against other non-manufacturer dealers does create problems though. Goes against the general wholesaler model.

Its a shame as many manufacturers have had the chance to set it up right - Ford seem to have stuffed it more than anyone though........

Hally · 15-06-2008, 09:06 PM

Re the idea of having manufacture owned dealerships, this is ok if there are other privately run dealerships in competition.

An example of this eas last year when a close friend asked me to chase around a reasonable price on a Subaru Liberty. The docklands and I think the Brighton dealership came in at the same price. Thought that was a bit odd and after doing some further research found out Subaru Australia owned both dealerships. At the end of the day th esale went to the privately owned dealership in Frankston, Better price and they were just hungrier. The slaes manager admitted that he had feedback from Subbie owners that they excluded his dealership a lot because they thought all dealers were giving the same prices for what they wanted.

Pinch · 15-06-2008, 09:22 PM

I just posted in the good dealerships thread, so won't repeat it all here, suffice to say that I could only nominate 1 Ford dealer as good of the 5 or so dealers that I dealt with with my BA.

Hyundai - dealt with a few back in the late 90's - would buy another as a commuter car, nothing special but no drama's.

Subaru - Fantastic.

Mini (BMW) - Simply outstanding. Every one I speak to never fails to impress.

Ford dealers - big part of deciding NOT to get another new one. Love the Ford's, but will stick with the older ones that I can work on myself.

Rodp · 16-06-2008, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

It's a pity you let a Dealership decide what car you should buy, i decide on the car first then find the appropriate dealer.

While that can be true, I also attempted to do the same but was disillusioned by several Ford dealers spanning a number of my weekends in my attempt to buy a new car. Having been through the same treatment once before when wanting to trade in a Ford, I decided to shop for a different car (just as I had done previously). I value my weekends and I don't want to spend them beating my head against a brick wall if I can avoid it.

Twice I have been put off buying another Ford by Ford dealers when trading in a Ford. I got no resistance when I bought new Fords when trading in another marquis. I was offered *well* below market value when I was trading in a Ghia and an XR8 and well above market value when I traded in a Statesman and an SS.

:

Poetic Justice · 16-06-2008, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

....funny how many of these stories are out there.

My story is when we shopping for new car that I was in a Mazda Dealership *cough Penfolds *Cough lookin to buy my Mazda 6 Lux Sports.

Told the salesman was buying today and was only going to visit two dealerships asked him if he wanted first crack at giving me a price. "No" was the answer I got. He flately refused to even offer a price or discuss it any further...I was amazed he let such a hot prospect like me walk out even if he had made his quota that month.

Went to Max Kirwan Mazda, was discussing price in 5 minutes, deal done inside 30 minutes, car delivered two weeks later. Penfolds never got another look in..

I can confidently say I can understand why he'd be acting that way. I'm a new car salesman myself. Now I probably wouldn't be as rude as what you're describing, but if you were to tell me you wanted my price before you head off to another dealer I'd give you the retail price and let you be on your way.

At the end of the day, I work to sell cars. I don't work to give you a shopping ticket to go elsewhere.

Rodp · 16-06-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCUD

I can confidently say I can understand why he'd be acting that way. I'm a new car salesman myself. Now I probably wouldn't be as rude as what you're describing, but if you were to tell me you wanted my price before you head off to another dealer I'd give you the retail price and let you be on your way.

At the end of the day, I work to sell cars. I don't work to give you a shopping ticket to go elsewhere.

Possibly, but if you don't offer a price you've just guaranteed you're not going to make a sale period and if you throw out the retail price it's probably not much better. At least if you offer a competitive price (even if the punter is going to go to another yard to use it to bargain) there's at least a chance they'll come back and buy from you.

Don't begrudge a consumer seeking out the best deal they can find for their dollar.

Nappa · 16-06-2008, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodp

Possibly, but if you don't offer a price you've just guaranteed you're not going to make a sale period and if you throw out the retail price it's probably not much better. At least if you offer a competitive price (even if the punter is going to go to another yard to use it to bargain) there's at least a chance they'll come back and buy from you.

Don't begrudge a consumer seeking out the best deal they can find for their dollar.

in many ways the first dealer is at a disatvantage. In many cases you can give a competitive price but then have that beaten by the next bloke. I understand people have to get a good deal. However dont begrudge the dealer for not wanting to enter into what could end up a dutch auction.