| xcel |
Hi All:
___I just had the privileged experience of purchasing a brand new Ford Ranger for my small business. Not only were the sales personnel far more honest and pleasurable to deal with than any I have dealt with at any local Acura and even Toyota dealerships, they were down to earth without any show, glitz, or waste.
___Since one of the Landscape vehicles is shot, I started looking for a 2.3 L manual tranny equipped Ranger XL w/ Air last month. I tried to stay with a local supposedly HQ Ford dealership (Sessler Ford in Libertyville) with the possibility of a trade through other dealerships but I always came up a bit short of exactly what I wanted. There were quite a few XLT’s w/ 3.0 and 4.0 L V-6’s and Auto’s but very few 4 bangers w/ manuals including cruise and tilt. In fact none from what I could find locally and the sales lady mentioned the same ... Anyway, I saw a posting at work last night that the Ford X-Plan was offering another $1,000 on top of their already generous $4,000 rebate amounts if I purchased by 09/30. I arrived home this morning and found an E-Mail from the local supposedly HQ Ford dealership saying they would add another yada yada yada off there internet pricing if I purchased the vehicle with the huge rebates today. Big whoop. With the X-Plan however, all the BS is removed and you get the vehicle for what the X-Plan says you will ... Ok, I did a few searches and found the exact truck I was looking for (not exactly the right color unfortunately but I can live with that) from a dealership up near Milwaukee. I called the supposedly HQ local Ford dealership and said I found the truck I was looking for and if they could do a trade, I would be willing to purchase it immediately. The supposedly HQ local Ford dealership sales lady said she would call back within the hour. She did call back saying that they could not procure the Ranger from the other dealership because it was already sold and was transferred from another dealership as a trade already :confused: I thanked her for her time and said I would call back if I found anything else further away. She said, “Well, we have an XLT w/ this and that and those options ...” and I told her again that I don’t want a loaded up XLT but only what I was looking for ... You would have thought she would have called the Milwaukee area dealership, right? I only gave her the dealerships phone number and the VIN for the exact truck in question! After I hung up the phone, I called the dealer near Milwaukee myself. I spoke with a lady salesperson (Pam) that said, “Yes, we have that vehicle in stock.” Hmmm. Ok, I mentioned the X-Plan and she said that is even easier for us. She asked where I lived and I told her Illinois. She said we could do most of the leg work via FAX and I wouldn’t have to come until the following day if that was convenient for me? I said, “no, that is Ok, I can finish off the deal in person”. She said, “Ok, no problem, I will top off the truck and park it out front so you can test drive it as soon as you arrive.” She also asked that I make sure to bring my insurance card, 4 references including phone and address’ for the Ford Credit App, and a picture ID/work badge for the X-Plan paperwork. Great and off towards Milwaukee I drove ... At least the Cub’s game was on ;) I arrived and we made our introductions. She had the paperwork all laid out and the keys were in her hand. Yep, the same vehicle I had wanted equipment wise and similar to what I have test drove in the past. The only difference was that now it was $4,975 under Invoice, not just $4,000 off and $200 over invoice! As Pam and the sales manager (Carl) were performing the credit check and finalizing the paperwork, some of the salesmen and myself were watching and discussing the Cub’s at Atlanta (Go Cub’s Go!) on an older 25” TV. I didn’t need Internet access while I was waiting although I had to access the internet to pull a particular PIN number for the X-Plan paperwork which they provided nor did I need a Cappuccino and Croissants. I simply needed the sales paperwork to flow all the while the 25” TV supplied all the entertainment I could have imagined. Pam and Carl simply did all the bull work in the background without any hassles. Even while finalizing the signatures, Carl asked me if I wanted to know anything about an extended warranty plan. I simply asked at what point (miles and years) could I decide to purchase it down the road if I wanted. No pressure and maybe 20 seconds of time wasted on my part and the answer was provided. No more extended warranty discussion was ever brought up. In fact, Carl didn’t mention anything about protection packages except to cross them off the paperwork on his side of the desk. I mean how much less BS could I have asked for? No forced options, no MSRP, no extended warranty hard line, no protection package hard sell, no anything! Just here’s the paperwork and there you go. Even McGrath Acura in Glenview, IL. pulled some of this and they were the best up to the point Acura of Libertyville came though with an Internet deal of their own ... Why can’t all Acura dealerships perform like this small town Milwaukee suburb based Ford dealership? I don’t know what the service would be like at this small town dealership but given it’s a dealership; the only time a vehicle of mine will ever set foot back into their grasp is for a warranty repair or super special deal of some kind.
___Anyway, the Ford Ranger XLT I picked up was a relatively stripped down 2WD w/ Air (included with the XLT package) as well as Tilt and Cruise. Out the door minus the taxes which I still owe to the Illinois state government :( came to just $9,692.32. Not only do I like the truck for its intended purpose, the price is literally a steal. Even the seats are comfortable! The main point I wanted to bring up here is that after purchasing an 03 Toyota Corolla LE in late 02 for $200 over invoice, the MDX in early 03 for $1,500 under MSRP (that is still a rip by today’s standards IMHO), and this Ranger for $6,202 under MSRP and just $25.00 over Invoice - $5,000 in rebates, the Ford dealership and deal was by far the easiest of the three to swallow as well as actually go through. Pam could have been my mom and Carl was just another guy like many of us just trying to make a living instead of flashing a fancy suit or watch all the while discussing how great the amenities of the particular dealership are ... Screw the amenities and the 15 minutes to explain them. I don’t want to be at the dealership for even 15 minutes longer than I have to and if I do have to, just get the work done yesterday. Even the Ford supplied Road Side Assistance appears to work similarly for the sub $10,000 vehicle as it does with the $40,000 Acura from what I see? I hope I will never have to use either ... All the above being said, I would also stay away from Sessler Ford in Libertyville now that I know how they operate.
___I hope that your next car buying experience is as pleasurable as mine was from this smaller town Ford dealership just outside of Milwaukee. I wonder if it has something to do with the beer they drink vs. the swill we drink here in the Chicago area :D
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| xcel |
Hi All:
___Here is the bottom half of my Ranger’s info sheet ...
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| xcel |
Hi All:
___And the X-Plan ;)
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| DaleB |
| Congrats on your pickup. That is quite a deal. I was going to say, "I can barely remember when pickups sold for under $10,000..." |
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| asn |
| I bought my wife a Ford Explorer about 4 months ago. We got it at $2,200 under invoice, and then received $3500 in rebates. When it was all said and done, we paid about $9000 under MSRP. And it was one of the easiest car deals I ever made. |
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| mckb32 |
I hate to bust one's bubble but...
F O R D
Fix Or Repair Daily |
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| asn |
quote:
Originally posted by mckb32
I hate to bust one's bubble but...
F O R D
Fix Or Repair Daily
yea, yea, yea - that's why I bought the 7 year, 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. I don't like fords, and I won't drive my wifes car, but that's the only car she wanted, so that's what we ended up with. |
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| nwaring |
Sounds good Wayne.
Before my Tundra (which was purchased only because I wanted a full size and the Tundra was 10" shorter than Ford or GM trucks) I had a Ranger. it was the 4.0 with a 5speed. I had it 5 years and put on a lot of miles and It was never back to the dealer. In fact I sold it to a guy at work and it's still going strong.
Niles |
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| RonH |
My new X got me out for under my last Ford .. and I mean LAST. Every one I've oned has all but fallen apart. Had a 94 Ranger which had endless trouble with the front end ... tranded that on a 95 Explorer. The tranny went out a 44k (but out of warranty due to age). Sold it off for the X. Also had a 96 Windstar which replaced my 96 Merc which was totaled (therefore never had a change to mess up). The tranny in the Windstar started going out at about 60k miles. Traded it on the 00 Odyssey.
On the flip side, Ford and I must just not like each other. My uncle's 74 Ford Econoline with 200 some odd thousand is goung strong, and a friends 93 Ranger with more than half that is chugging along as well. (Yes, I do very good maintenance on them, so it's not that ;))
Go figure. |
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| xcel |
Hi Mckb32:
___Have you seen the Acura MDX.org Problem forum? Not that the Ranger will be as reliable as an Acura but for my uses, this was the perfect deal and it is the greenest of the small pickups according to Green Cars.com. Why a LEV rating is green is anyone’s guess given the F150 is a ULEV. When looking at the Chevrolet, Toyota, and Nissan compact P/U trucks, their engines appear to be even less advanced so that is probably why? As for the Ranger w/ manual’s mileage, 24/29 city/hwy doesn’t hurt. To bad in Landscaping business, actual mpg will be more like 15 or less :(
___RonH, I owned an 87 Mercury Sable that went 162,000 miles without too much trouble. Front brakes after 18K hwy miles took a bit of arguing with the dealership to cure however ... My father’s Expedition went 5 years without ever seeing the dealership after leaving the lot on day of purchase. Ford has been good to my family as my father has owned them all of his life (he now owns a brand new Yukon?) but I don’t think I would touch a loaded up Ford ...
___As it is, I felt sorry for Ford. I know they lost a ton of money on that vehicle yet the experience was the best in comparison to the Toyota and especially the Acura. As comfortable as the seats and overall ergonomics feel in my short time in the Ranger, Toyota and Acura could learn a thing or two. Then again, the interior plastics don’t look nearly as nice as either the Corolla or the X. I am not complaining given the < $10,000 price as you can tell ...
___Anyone know about accessorizing a Ranger? I think the tent accessory looks cool!
___Tim, do you have any relatives in the Ford Accessories business ;)
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| RonH |
quote:
Originally posted by xcel
___RonH, I owned an 87 Mercury Sable that went 162,000 miles without too much trouble. Front brakes after 18K hwy miles took a bit of arguing with the dealership to cure however ... My father’s Expedition went 5 years without ever seeing the dealership after leaving the lot on day of purchase. Ford has been good to my family as my father has owned them all of his life (he now owns a brand new Yukon?) but I don’t think I would touch a loaded up Ford ...
FWIW, I seriously thought about getting a new Explorer to replace the 95 ... they looked really nice. After a lot of pondering on it however, I decided to go with the Acura. The Ody has been good to us so far, so thought I'd try another Honda/Acura. Hope it proves to be a wise decision ... it has so far. ;) |
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| BaldEagle |
Hi Wayne:
My wife bought a Lincoln LSE V8 last year. The buying experience like yours was also positive. So far, with 10000 miles on the odometer, have not had one problem.
Discounts were great and even financed it for 2 years at 1.99% We were going to pay cash but at that rate we simply paid 1/2 down and financed the rest. With dealer rebates and discounts got about $7000 off MSRP but somehow I doubt that it will have the high resale pecentage of the MDX after 5 years.
Lincoln even does all the maintenance for the first 3 years or 36000 miles. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by RonH
FWIW, I seriously thought about getting a new Explorer to replace the 95 ... they looked really nice. After a lot of pondering on it however, I decided to go with the Acura. The Ody has been good to us so far, so thought I'd try another Honda/Acura. Hope it proves to be a wise decision ... it has so far. ;)
I have friend that is going for the 2 door Explorer fully loaded under 30K. Fully loaded includes leather seats that LOOK like leather seats. He likes my X, but can't justify another 12 to 15K at this time.
I rented a 2002 Explorer over a 3 day weekend, and found it very satisfactory transportation. Gulped a little more gas, and was not as refined as 'X' but not a bad vehicle at all.
Time will tell on reliability but so far they seem to come out better than the GM's. |
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| BlueStreak |
Wayne - I hope your positive experience continues. Ford has had some problems lately and they're working to fix them. I just hope they're doing it fast enough.
The Focus model recalls on top of the Explorer situation was like pouring salt into an open wound. The new Expedition and Navigator line struggled to start, and the new t-bird (years ago) had a number of recalls on that just after release.
Our family experience was not what they should have been, but we just may have purchased Friday afternoon vehicles.
You got a STEAL on your truck, so enjoy it. |
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| Blackura |
I think that any work truck for under 10 large is a steal, regardless of the brand name on the back. That said, when I rent American
cars I usually try for a Ford. Somehow they just seem a bit better than the GMs or Chrysler products to me.
Rented a funky/fugly Focus about a year ago and loved driving it. Two days with a Taurus were quite pleasant. The Escape was pretty cool too.
I doubt I'd buy one for personal use, but they seem like pretty decent vehicles... especially for the money. Good luck with yours Wayne! |
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| xcel |
Hi All:
___Thank you all for replying with your own Ford automobile purchase experiences. This story is not over quite yet however ...
___I received a hand written thank you letter on Hiller Ford letter head tonight in the mail with the following message ...
**********************************************************
10/17/03
Dear Wayne –
---Just a note to thank you again for allowing me to work with you on the purchase of your new Ford Ranger.
---It was a real pleasure to deal with such an organized and well informed consumer. Your kind words in the Internet letter were well appreciated and we shared them with the “crew”!
---Hope your father enjoyed the ride home in your new truck!
---You are wished many safe and happy miles in your new vehicle. Do stop in and say hi when you are up this way for this oil change – Ok?
---Your patronage is greatly appreciated.
---Sincerely –
---Pam Wolff
**********************************************************
___Not only did they send me a free oil change certificate; I have never received a hand written response similar to what Pam sent me from any car dealer that I have ever purchased a vehicle from. I sure hope some of the Acura dealership sales personnel many here have dealt with have sent out hand written letters like this as well because what a surprise it was. I am sure some MDX owners have received similar but again, this dealership was working on a few hundred dollars in holdback on one of the least expensive vehicles you can possibly purchase, not thousands of dollars over Invoice + Holdback on a very expensive luxury automobile. Boy do I have great respect for this Ford dealership and Pam in particular.
___As it stands, I will soon purchase a Class 3 Hidden Hitch from E-Trailer for ~ $100.00. The Ford Ranger includes as a std. feature a trailer wiring harness already installed and attached under the bumper just waiting to be connected to a trailer’s harness. What a deal is about all I can add once again. Ford sure did me right on this one ...
___Good Luck to you all.
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| X4ME |
| I bought my first Ford in 1994 (was 22 then). It was a 5.0 paxton super charged beast (Mustang) with a 5 speed manual . I loved that car but hated the fact that I had grown up and did not fit the teenagish profile that became associated with it. I think in all honesty Ford has the awesome V8's - I blew away many a Camaros, Corvettes (incl C5's). Ford can do things better and it would give them the edge they need in today's market and time. Maybe I'll post a pic here if I can locate one - been about 4 yrs since I sold her. |
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