Sure the other American makes aren't no better but it's tough to live with a Ford after you've owned a few Japanese vehicles. We've had several Toyotas, a Mitsubishi, and a Subaru and the quality difference is very noticable. Tight as a drum, no surprises, easy to live with, never see the dealer.
I like many of the "features" on my F-150 but the quality is poor. My '98 F-150 was almost OK quality wise but it was a simple model without a lot of gizmos. It gave me some headaches and left me stranded a few times but not like my '02. This one has quality/assembly problems from top to bottom.
And maybe the worst part is having to go back to the dealer. The idiots always have to challenge you on everything. As if I ain't got nothing else to do but waste a day screwing with those morons. I've been to several local dealers and their all the same for the most part. It's pitiful.

 

i am a dealer hater also dont know sh#t

 

Dealerships suck. I dread going to them and try to avoid them at all cost.

 

I avoid all dealers like the plague, including import dealers. Do you know where your import components and assembly plants are?

 

There is a Honda assembly plant here in Orangeville Ontario, just south of Barrie. Our cars in the Niagara region come from there, and most, most Hondas have been descent cars. It used to be that imports were more expensive and harder to get work done on them because of the scaresness of dealerships. Now, we build no other cars here. My next car will be a car built in Canada only. The US pulled out and left us building scraps for the industry. As you in the US are also facing, more and more corporations are "globalizing" just nicely. Our towns are also turning into Flint's, but with Tim Horton's on every corner.... You in the US should all purchase US Made only, to send a message to the companies to stay on the continent.

PS. Most people around the globe have seen the original footage of the Pentagon prior to the roof collapse. Nice 16' hole! Where's the plane? A question that won't go away here. Any probable explanations? Also, thanks to all those for spraying aluminum/barium and aluminum/quartz particles over our cities/towns (since Espanola, Ontario in 1999). HARM

 

It's ok that you guys hate dealerships, because I hate car customers!

Why can't you people do your research and then make an informed choice? Why do you come to my lot and spend hours stroking around because you're afraid to make a decision? And how dare you come to my lot and ask me to work for you and make no money? Do you go to Wal-Mart and ask for a discount on milk? No. You pay whatever they have it priced.

Don't forget: Dealerships are private property. You DO NOT have a right to be there kicking tires and expect to be left alone. You DO NOT have a right to waste our time like it's meaningless. And you DO NOT have the right to expect us to discount our products. Go to FootLocker and negotiate with them about shoes, it makes just as much sense.

 

I like my dealer. We don't argue or fight, he knows what I'm going to pay and if he has an available truck, he'll let me in on it. They stayed until well after dark on Friday just to get my paperwork done before, they go out of their way to really help me out.

 

Lone_Signal.....
You sound like a VERY unhappy car dealer!
New or Used????
I've owned 4 car lots (including NEW cars!) and less than 2% of customers ever pay retail for a new car and some 30% pay asking price for used cars.

But as you know, there's a HELLUVALOT more money in used cars than new.... and I've never had the bitterness toward customers as you do..........
why should I !?!...... they paid for my house on Biscayne Bay in MIAMI, a house with 2500 acres outside Charleston, S.C., and my favorite, a 72' TROJAN, not to mention my beach-house in Panama City, Panama.

So you can see, I enjoy my customers, some ARE a$$holes, but those are the ones that I LUV to "play"!

Lighten up, Americans are good people for the most part!

 

Lone signal: you are one sick puppy. I was in retail sales for 20+ years and I had competition and "tire kickers" in droves. I made millions and managed to keep most of it now in retirement. I never hated the customers who put the bread on my table. You have a real problem with your perception of life. Try this for a philosophy> Life isn't; easy, fair or cheap and bad sh*t happens to good people. If anything your tirade will probably stay in the minds of many auto shoppers making it even harder on the unwary salesmen they encounter

 

lone_signal,

You don't have to worry about me visiting your lot or kicking the tires. While the product I purchased is great, my experience with dealerships is no (sorry to the two respondents who were ostensibly dealers telling him to lighten up). I've run across your attitude before ... when times were good for you, you wouldn't give me the time of day or even consider budging on your price; when times were bad for you, your salespeople harassed me repeatedly BEGGING me to reoffer what I'd offered when times were good. Moreover:

1.) Your salespeople were idiots not only in terms of salesmanship, but also in product knowledge. Hire and pay for the lowest common denominator and, well, you get what you pay for.

2.) Your service was overpriced and mediocre at best. Again, by hiring the cheapest labor you got 'mechanics' who could replace a part but not diagnose a problem.

3.) Your financial people are idiots. You really think I don't understand interest rates and the time value of money? How about the money value of my time? Never again will I waste time 'negotiating' with someone who won't tell me what a vehicle actually costs.

:P

 

98blu4by......
You're right on the money!

Auto sales people usually are fighting for a position next to lawyers... (no offense to my legal friends, here!)

I found out long ago that being good, being honest, helping whenever and wherever you can, and respecting people will get you far in this world..... I sometimes think that the main problem with this world is the same as Rodney always said... "I get NO respect!".

But avoiding dealers..... I TOTALLY understand it!

 

Thanks bigdipper,

I am glad I put the apology to you and the other (former) dealer in. In all fairness, not all of my experiences with dealers have been bad - but several have, and I'm rarely an arsehole (tho I can be can't we all?) and resonably knowledgeable about cars and trucks.

Here are a few additional, and less acrimonious observations I've made:

1.) large metro dealers are the ones I've had the poorest experiences with - they seem to have the lowest caliber of employee, highest pressure 'sales' tactics, and lowest ethical standards.

2.) smaller, 'country' dealers seem to be more likely to be upfront with you about what they need to charge for a vehicle - and generally have lower costs they need to cover in their prices

3.) everyone needs to eat, buy gas, etc. dealers should be able to make a fair profit, and buyers should be able to find out relatively quickly what the 'bottom line' is

4.) dealers with the biggest and fanciest showrooms usually have the highest prices, and (in my experience) poorest service after the sale. these are usually in the big metro areas, and they usually have the most obnoxious radio advertisements as well (the guy with the 'MonsterTruckPullAnnouncer'sDisease) - the ads alone not only keep me away from their lot but make me change stations as well. Big dealers also usually need to pass on higher sales tax and property taxes as well.

5.) there ARE truely unscrupulous dealers out there - I find it humorous when a salesman tries to put one over on me, but it really angers me when he suceeds in doing so to some little old lady - and I have seen it happen.

Don't get me wrong - I'm glad you made good money in your business. As you alluded to, the more scrupulous dealers are usually more likely to be the successful dealers. Sell enough cars at the right price and the dealer won't have to resort to shady practices to stay afloat.

Thus endeth my rant in this thread :~)

 

Not to discount your experience, but mine has been the opposite. The domestic vehicles I've owned (all half-tons) have required no more than minor repair up to about 90K miles. In contrast the one (and only) japanese vehicle I bought (new from a dealer) not only had terrible interior fit and finish, but when the rear end lunched at 30K miles they replaced it with the WRONG ratio ring and pinion. That the rear end was geared lower than the front was readilt apparent in 4WD - but I couldn't convince the service manager of this despite both of us hearing the rear rubber 'howl' in 4WD straight line dry pavement. It wasn't until they got a new service manager (several months later) that the problem was rectified.

The problem? Apparently that year and model got slightly different ratios for manuals vs automatics - they ordered and installed the wrong one. Was I bent out of shape? Not after they apologized and fixed it properly. This could have been a Ford, but it wasn't.

Bottom line? (IMHO) It's people - most all the manufacturers make a decent product - but the service departments vary greatly depending on who is working there. Also, you can, by chance, get one that's a lemon, or is 'balanced' and runs like mad for 150K miles - that's just the dice roll.

my 2 cents

 

Hmm, sounds like you're kind of harsh on your vehicles. I've only had to take my F150 to the dealership once to replace the EGR flow position sensor and they did that for free when it was out of warranty. I take good care of my vehicles and know how to work on them, sure saves a lot of money and headaches. I've got a '67 F100 that's never left me stranded anywhere, guess it just depends on how well your vehicles are treated.

 

FYI........
I just took my '04 F-150 (4200 miles) for its first service, although I wanted to get in at 3,000 miles, I just couldn't manage it.

I told the Service Advisor that my A/C really didn't do the job unless it was on "re-circulate"...... his answer????

"Well I ride to lunch everyday in that black one sitting outside and I have to turn down the Air it gets so cold!"

I responded that that was nice but it didn't do me any good, and he never heard of any A/C complaints on F-150's.

Just for fun (you guys are creative) please tell me what your response would have been to the service advisor......
I wasn't impressed with his answer.

I can drive pretty much anything I want but I DO luv this F-150!

THX!