I typically do not post “listen to what great thing has happened to me” commentaries, but in the interests of fair reporting I feel that it is good to relate a positive experience from a dealer. At least this way those who have ordered and have not yet been screwed might take hope that maybe they might not be!
About 3 months ago, after my first test drive of a GT, I decided to look into ordering a replacement Vert for my ’97 (I had entended to do this later in the year...). As I am sure everyone knows, the Convertibles had not yet been announced.
Being fortunate enough to live the SF Bay Area with dealers-a-plenty, I had many choices for picking a dealership, so I started calling around and visiting lots for pricing. You can imagine, I am sure, what kind of
I received from many salespeople as well as what mark-ups I saw (from 3K to over 6K). Some dealers discounted slightly for ordering, many did not. After a few days of talking, I had about 3-4 quotes with my specs for the Vert. Despite my having these quotes in-hand, a few dealers refused to put together one of their own or even acknowledge that others were even quoting. Basically, the line was “Pricing hasn’t been announced yet for the convertibles, I don’t know how any dealer can price out a vehicle for you since we can’t. I wouldn’t put too much stock in what those others are telling you.” They seemed genuinely put-out and only seemed interested in discrediting others! Every Ford dealership I went to didn’t give a rat’s a$$ about what I wanted, only if they could sell me something from the lot. This really pi$$ed me off!
One call that I made was to a dealer in Pittsburg, though. He declared that not only could they price out a GT Vert for me, they did not believe in marking up their vehicles! I could not believe my ears, but took the salesmans name and waited to get my quote. I was a little suprised to see no markup listed. I called the dealer once again to confirm the receipt of the quote and spoke to the same salesman who reaffirmed their philosophy. Later in the call I learned that I wasn’t speaking to a salesman at all, but to the owner of the dealership! Needless to say I took comfort knowing that there would be no problem in the future with “salesman’s amnesia”.
Over the next couple of weeks I did a little more homework (shopped around and test drove a couple of other cars) By this time the Verts had been announced, but no one had any yet. Now I started getting calls from all of the dealers who wouldn’t help me 3 weeks before who could now “place my order”.
One dealer in San Jose left me an URGENT message on my business cell proclaiming that they were expecting some Verts in a week or so and therefore wanted to know when could I stop in, while one in Concord called repeatedly and pestered me like a jealous ex-girlfriend to stop by and “do a deal” despite my clear indication that I was not buying from them. Both of these experiences were followed by “quality control” calls from their respective dealerships about the “service received”. Needless to say, both got an earfull. 
I went ahead and ordered from the Pittsburg dealer and was pleasantly suprised to find that the owner put me in contact with the sales manager who worked with me personally to get my order together. From here, the process could not have been easier. I was given a priority of 10 right off the bat when the order was sent in on 3/8. My order was picked up from Ford on 3/16 and scheduled for a build date on 3/28. Although it was encouraging to get my order picked up, I have read enough about build dates being moved and stalled to give me some concerns. Well, I received a call today letting me know that my 05 Vert was scheduled for delivery on 4/15 (5 weeks and 3 days from order) but it might come in on Monday 4/11.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to recount a favorable story (although from reading this again there is a lot of dirt about dealers... oh well ). I am also sorry for all those people who are not yet scheduled, or who are getting shafted or fleeced by a dealer. But for many, take heart, these cars can be had without headaches, delays, wrath or acrimony!
About 3 months ago, after my first test drive of a GT, I decided to look into ordering a replacement Vert for my ’97 (I had entended to do this later in the year...). As I am sure everyone knows, the Convertibles had not yet been announced.
Being fortunate enough to live the SF Bay Area with dealers-a-plenty, I had many choices for picking a dealership, so I started calling around and visiting lots for pricing. You can imagine, I am sure, what kind of
I received from many salespeople as well as what mark-ups I saw (from 3K to over 6K). Some dealers discounted slightly for ordering, many did not. After a few days of talking, I had about 3-4 quotes with my specs for the Vert. Despite my having these quotes in-hand, a few dealers refused to put together one of their own or even acknowledge that others were even quoting. Basically, the line was “Pricing hasn’t been announced yet for the convertibles, I don’t know how any dealer can price out a vehicle for you since we can’t. I wouldn’t put too much stock in what those others are telling you.” They seemed genuinely put-out and only seemed interested in discrediting others! Every Ford dealership I went to didn’t give a rat’s a$$ about what I wanted, only if they could sell me something from the lot. This really pi$$ed me off! One call that I made was to a dealer in Pittsburg, though. He declared that not only could they price out a GT Vert for me, they did not believe in marking up their vehicles! I could not believe my ears, but took the salesmans name and waited to get my quote. I was a little suprised to see no markup listed. I called the dealer once again to confirm the receipt of the quote and spoke to the same salesman who reaffirmed their philosophy. Later in the call I learned that I wasn’t speaking to a salesman at all, but to the owner of the dealership! Needless to say I took comfort knowing that there would be no problem in the future with “salesman’s amnesia”.
Over the next couple of weeks I did a little more homework (shopped around and test drove a couple of other cars) By this time the Verts had been announced, but no one had any yet. Now I started getting calls from all of the dealers who wouldn’t help me 3 weeks before who could now “place my order”.
One dealer in San Jose left me an URGENT message on my business cell proclaiming that they were expecting some Verts in a week or so and therefore wanted to know when could I stop in, while one in Concord called repeatedly and pestered me like a jealous ex-girlfriend to stop by and “do a deal” despite my clear indication that I was not buying from them. Both of these experiences were followed by “quality control” calls from their respective dealerships about the “service received”. Needless to say, both got an earfull. I went ahead and ordered from the Pittsburg dealer and was pleasantly suprised to find that the owner put me in contact with the sales manager who worked with me personally to get my order together. From here, the process could not have been easier. I was given a priority of 10 right off the bat when the order was sent in on 3/8. My order was picked up from Ford on 3/16 and scheduled for a build date on 3/28. Although it was encouraging to get my order picked up, I have read enough about build dates being moved and stalled to give me some concerns. Well, I received a call today letting me know that my 05 Vert was scheduled for delivery on 4/15 (5 weeks and 3 days from order) but it might come in on Monday 4/11.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to recount a favorable story (although from reading this again there is a lot of dirt about dealers... oh well ). I am also sorry for all those people who are not yet scheduled, or who are getting shafted or fleeced by a dealer. But for many, take heart, these cars can be had without headaches, delays, wrath or acrimony!
don't feel too bad, you weren't the only one! 
if that was me, I'd go AWOL. 
) so if anybody interested call ford of dublin and ask for Tim Sandolli. I feel like i put the guy through hell 
