Last visit with Parks Ford

[Bucko]

+1

And that other dealer could get the Bronco you want from Park.

Parks Ford did not have the Bronco I wanted. They tried (twice) to sell me another model on their lot. This is one of the many issues I had with their sales department.

Sponsored

 

[rocks]

This is exactly the reason sites like Carvana are successful. If only they sold new ones these dealers would be reduced to Service centers.

and they should be. Some dealers are ripoff liars and some are ok.

 

[sajohnson]

Parks Ford did not have the Bronco I wanted. They tried (twice) to sell me another model on their lot. This is one of the many issues I had with their sales department.

Is there any other industry that operates the way car dealerships do?

For decades most of them have routinely gotten away with lying; cheating; withholding information; outright fraud; and the exploitation of those who are inexperienced, un/underinformed, and/or have below average intellectual abilities.

And they're *proud* of it! It shows a total lack of moral character.

Many of their actions are (or should be) illegal, but they continue to operate with impunity.

In addition to being unethical, it's extremely short-sighted. I bought our BS BL from the same dealership I got my WRX from back in 2001. Buying the WRX was a relatively good experience, so I felt fairly comfortable buying the BS BL from them. That turned out to be a huge mistake for reasons I've listed elsewhere. I will never go back there -- even for service if I can help it. I've also shared my experience on multiple websites.

They way they treated us was particularly stupid, because not only are they bound to lose business, they did not make any additional money on us. In fact they lost money by lying about the fender flares not including installation (installation included clearly stated on the Ford website). Instead of paying the "estimated" $350+ extra for installation, we canceled the flares. The salesman was clearly surprised by that. "Are you SURE?!" Yep, we were sure.

Years ago, Saturn had a "no-haggle" business model. Prices were fixed, the same at every dealer -- kinda like Stihl, Bose, etc. I'm surprised more mfrs have not followed that model. There's no doubt it would be very popular.

 

[davidg4781]

Is there any other industry that operates the way car dealerships do?

Government

They way they treated us was particularly stupid, because not only are they bound to lose business, they did not make any additional money on us. In fact they lost money by lying about the fender flares not including installation (installation included clearly stated on the Ford website). Instead of paying the "estimated" $350+ extra for installation, we canceled the flares. The salesman was clearly surprised by that. "Are you SURE?!" Yep, we were sure.

Interesting they were charging $350 JUST for installation when Ford's Accessory site charges $140 for the Bushwackers and $210 for the Air Design.

 

[sajohnson]

Government


Interesting they were charging $350 JUST for installation when Ford's Accessory site charges $140 for the Bushwackers and $210 for the Air Design.

That was over 3 years ago. I wish I'd saved a screen grab. The fender flares were pricy (for 4 pieces of plastic) at $500. That did include installation though. I could take 'em or leave 'em but my wife liked them, so we initially ordered them.

Then when we were reviewing the order, the salesman insisted that the Ford webpage was incorrect, the $500 price did NOT include installation, and he'd have to check with their body shop to see how much installation would cost. The story he came back with was that the body shop had never installed fender flares (at least not on a BS) and what the actual cost would be was a huge mystery. Apparently there was no book time for installing flares? He said they really wouldn't know until they had finished the job. So essentially, he wanted a blank check!

Fortunately, my wife is a rational person. We both declined his 'generous offer' and had the flares deleted from the order. That was met with a very puzzled/concerned look from him.

County/state/federal gov't can definitely be as frustrating, but for different reasons.

 

[davidg4781]

That was over 3 years ago. I wish I'd saved a screen grab. The fender flares were pricy (for 4 pieces of plastic) at $500. That did include installation though. I could take 'em or leave 'em but my wife liked them, so we initially ordered them.

Then when we were reviewing the order, the salesman insisted that the Ford webpage was incorrect, the $500 price did NOT include installation, and he'd have to check with their body shop to see how much installation would cost. The story he came back with was that the body shop had never installed fender flares (at least not on a BS) and what the actual cost would be was a huge mystery. Apparently there was no book time for installing flares? He said they really wouldn't know until they had finished the job. So essentially, he wanted a blank check!

Fortunately, my wife is a rational person. We both declined his 'generous offer' and had the flares deleted from the order. That was met with a very puzzled/concerned look from him.

County/state/federal gov't can definitely be as frustrating, but for different reasons.

I asked a couple of dealers about the installation price on the site. They all told me they would never install for that quoted amount and they required a minimum of 1 hour. This was on the keypad, not fender flares.

I decided to test the waters... I ordered the keypad and hood protector, added installation, printed the email out, and went to the service desk at my local dealer. I avoided the old grumpy lady that laughed at me about the rate.

I told him I had an appointment for the installation of those parts, handed him the email and asked if he needed it, and about 90 minutes later they were installed without issue. Besides I feel the keypad is slightly crooked.

 

[sajohnson]

I asked a couple of dealers about the installation price on the site. They all told me they would never install for that quoted amount and they required a minimum of 1 hour. This was on the keypad, not fender flares.

I decided to test the waters... I ordered the keypad and hood protector, added installation, printed the email out, and went to the service desk at my local dealer. I avoided the old grumpy lady that laughed at me about the rate.

I told him I had an appointment for the installation of those parts, handed him the email and asked if he needed it, and about 90 minutes later they were installed without issue. Besides I feel the keypad is slightly crooked.

The customer is stuck in the middle between the mfr (Ford in this case) and the dealer -- similar to warranty work.

In your case and ours, it seems as though the dealer was just fishing to see what they could get the mark/customer to pay. Perhaps the thinking is that once a customer has expressed interest in something and is willing to pay the advertised labor amount, they can be suckered into paying more -- because they are "In for a penny, in for a pound."

 

[Bucko]

The customer is stuck in the middle between the mfr (Ford in this case) and the dealer -- similar to warranty work.

In your case and ours, it seems as though the dealer was just fishing to see what they could get the mark/customer to pay. Perhaps the thinking is that once a customer has expressed interest in something and is willing to pay the advertised labor amount, they can be suckered into paying more -- because they are "In for a penny, in for a pound."

What gives me an advantage is that the wife and I are perfectly ok with our current Bronco Sport Outer Banks. When we do decide to look again for our next ride, it will not be with Parks Ford, unless the current owner and management sells once again.

 

[sajohnson]

What gives me an advantage is that the wife and I are perfectly ok with our current Bronco Sport Outer Banks. When we do decide to look again for our next ride, it will not be with Parks Ford, unless the current owner and management sells once again.

Just to be clear, we are happy with our BS BL also. Of course, it gets driven very little. It might be different if we had 75,000 miles on it vs 7,500.

The fender flares were something we considered when we were preparing to order. I was ambivalent about them but my wife really liked the look. Canceling them was no big deal. My wife got over not having the flares quickly, and now prefers the stock look.

My comment was meant as a general statement -- referring to those who do get stuck between the dealer and Ford, whether it's warranty work or the labor cost to install accessories.

 

[Jrl]

Just to be clear, we are happy with our BS BL also. Of course, it gets driven very little. It might be different if we had 75,000 miles on it vs 7,500.

The fender flares were something we considered when we were preparing to order. I was ambivalent about them but my wife really liked the look. Canceling them was no big deal. My wife got over not having the flares quickly, and now prefers the stock look.

My comment was meant as a general statement -- referring to those who do get stuck between the dealer and Ford, whether it's warranty work or the labor cost to install accessories.

Just to be clear, we are happy with our BS BL also. Of course, it gets driven very little. It might be different if we had 75,000 miles on it vs 7,500.

The fender flares were something we considered when we were preparing to order. I was ambivalent about them but my wife really liked the look. Canceling them was no big deal. My wife got over not having the flares quickly, and now prefers the stock look.

My comment was meant as a general statement -- referring to those who do get stuck between the dealer and Ford, whether it's warranty work or the labor cost to install accessories.

That’s all to familiar about install accessories. Also Sherman I have 7700 on my First Edition 2021 Bronco Sport still as new. Put my own flares on and a set of 30 inch 70 series Goodyear workhorse.,no issues and two years on the 30 inch tires. Super great suv. Member here since from Dec 2020 Thinking of a bell tech lift 1.5 that will give me about 11 3/4 underneath.