Ford Dealers in NWI

[Butch627]

I am thinking about ordering a new vehicle in the next few months. Smith Ford in Lowell sold my mothers phone number to telemarketers 10 years ago and that nightmare has lasted far longer than her car from there did. Went to Art Hill on Rt30 a couple of weeks ago and after waiting for a salesman to approach me for 25 minutes I left. Can anyone recommend a Ford dealer in the greater NWI area and a salesman that treated them honestly? PM's are welcome.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I am thinking about ordering a new vehicle in the next few months. Smith Ford in Lowell sold my mothers phone number to telemarketers 10 years ago and that nightmare has lasted far longer than her car from there did. Went to Art Hill on Rt30 a couple of weeks ago and after waiting for a salesman to approach me for 25 minutes I left. Can anyone recommend a Ford dealer in the greater NWI area and a salesman that treated them honestly? PM's are welcome.

With a new car purchase, I just send a bid request to every dealership in a circle I'm willing to travel to.

https://www.laurafordofsullivan.com/ is who we are going with if my wife decides on the Bronco. They are just outside of St. Louis and will pick you up at the airport if you fly. Worth the quick flight/drive to save the money vs the the 'deals' available locally.

 

[BE Mike]

Good luck! I'm lucky to have purchased a new 2018 Ford F-150 when I did. This is a terrible time to buy a new Ford. BTW, my latest purchase was made through Heritage Ford in Corydon, IN and was the easiest deal I ever made for a vehicle in the US. I saw on their website that they had the new truck I wanted. I called them and verified that the truck was still there. I drove over. The salesman pointed out the features and I took a test drive. After a short negotiation (no back and forth) they knocked off 20% from the sticker price. Unfortunately Corydon would probably be an unreasonably long drive for you.

 

[1775usmarine]

You got Bosak Ford in Burns Harbor, though the service dept went down hill after the they changed from Lakeshore Ford.

 

[Bigtanker]

It's been a number of years (6 I think) but we went to the Ford dealership in Ligoner, IN (right on US 6). Service was fantastic.

Ligonier Burnworth-Zollars Ford | New & Used Ford Cars

Visit us at Burnworth-Zollars Ford in Ligonier for your new or used Ford car. We are a premier Ford dealer providing a vast inventory, always at a great price. We're proud to serve Goshen, Columbia City and LaGrange.

www.burnworthzollarsford.com

Yes, it's a drive for you but what's a few hours for good service and the right deal.

 

[KLB]

Lakeshore were crooks.

Curry in Valpo is horrible. They like to play the old school car selling games.

OP, do you qualify for one of the pricing plans like the X-Plan?

 

[mmpsteve]

Bought two new Fords from Fieldhouse Ford in Demotte. Dealt with the owner, and he was more than honest. Of course, this was back in '96 and '98, but worth a shot.

.

 

[Butch627]

Lakeshore were crooks.

Curry in Valpo is horrible. They like to play the old school car selling games.

OP, do you qualify for one of the pricing plans like the X-Plan?

Last new car was in 1988, I am not familiar with any of their pricing plans, but I work in the private sector not affiliated with the automotive industry, not LE, medical, or military.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Last new car was in 1988, I am not familiar with any of their pricing plans, but I work in the private sector not affiliated with the automotive industry, not LE, medical, or military.

You can join one of several clubs to get X-plan pricing. Note it may or may not be the best deal.

https://mustang.org/about/benefits/ for example.

Also, if you own 100 shares of Ford stock, you already qualify:

https://s23.q4cdn.com/799033206/files/doc_downloads/Shareholder-Relations-X-Plan-Request.pdf

 

[KLB]

Costco does, plus a lot of employers will offer it.

 

[Airtevron1]

Try Bosak, join costco and look at their new car program

 

[Lpherr]

Costco does, plus a lot of employers will offer it.

I looked into the employer discount. It was a joke, at best. I don't remember the specifics, but it wasted my time.

 

[KLB]

If it is a discount, that should just tack onto any others you would get.

 

[Lpherr]

It's been a number of years (6 I think) but we went to the Ford dealership in Ligoner, IN (right on US 6). Service was fantastic.

Ligonier Burnworth-Zollars Ford | New & Used Ford Cars

Visit us at Burnworth-Zollars Ford in Ligonier for your new or used Ford car. We are a premier Ford dealer providing a vast inventory, always at a great price. We're proud to serve Goshen, Columbia City and LaGrange.

www.burnworthzollarsford.com

Yes, it's a drive for you but what's a few hours for good service and the right deal.

The BZ Dodge/Jeep dealer in Nappanee blows. Maybe the Ford dealership is better.

 

[Lpherr]

If it is a discount, that should just tack onto any others you would get.

No, there is a bunch of stuff they put you through. There's something that requires an agreement, but I can't remember what it is.
In the end, we got a much better deal, working directly with the salesman.

The best deal we found, was at Kahlo in Indy. The salesman got us every possible discount, and even gave us one that had expired.
The price was around $4K under dealer cost. But we decided to go to a different dealer in Holland, to get a brand new trade-in. It only had a little over 100 miles, and was $6K less than Kahlo. The guy decided to trade up a trim level to get all the bells and whistles, with a V8.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

If it is a discount, that should just tack onto any others you would get.

Sort of. It's a price plan, not a discount. Dealers are not obligated to participate, but if they do they use a set formula. A/Z plan is the best, Ford employees and retirees. It's invoice pricing, less holdback and advertisement fees, plus $250 program fee. X plan is not as generous, and is currently full invoice - 0.4% + program fee. Both also limit the doc fee a dealer can charge to $100 (some dealers may 'forget' this until reminded).

Then you still get any incentives or rebates.

What is is *not* is negotiate down to $X then pull out the X-plan price and get more money off. You either take X plan pricing or you don't. On some low mark up vehicles, it's not a big savings. On some, it's huge. Sometimes you can negotiate better on your own, as well, particularly if you are ordering and not taking from dealer allocation. If you're buying off the lot, especially in today's environment, X plan is probably an attractive option.

 

[Bill2905]

My wife has shopped Art Hill Ford in Merrillville several times. Although she didn't buy from them, they always treated her well during the process.

 

[Leo]

They like to play the old school car selling games.

I am at a place in life where it is easy to pay cash for a car. Since I got old, the thrill of a new car is gone, no emotions. Simply buying a suitable appliance to do the job. A fair price is easy to determine, I go with that. Having to sit in a cubical for a man I disrespect to save a couple hundred, is just not worth it.

The stinkin' dealerships seem to go out of their way to hire the most wormy salesmen they can find. I don't play the game, I refuse to negotiate. I find a car when they are closed. I determine what it is worth to me before returning. I drive the car, and if all satisfactory, I tell them "I have cash, don't screw with me", "any other answer than yes or no and I leave this lot" and make my offer. I even tell them to go in the back and have a donut and pretend to talk to the manager, but yes or no or I am done. I even understand to let the used car guy look at my trade in. It is amazing how many cannot understand. I walked off 4 lots in one afternoon.

 

[Leo]

My wife has shopped Art Hill Ford in Merrillville several times. Although she didn't buy from them, they always treated her well during the process.

I bought my first brand new car at Art Hill, and a used one before that. That was almost 50 years ago, I am surprised they are still around.

 

[Lpherr]

I am at a place in life where it is easy to pay cash for a car. Since I got old, the thrill of a new car is gone, no emotions. Simply buying a suitable appliance to do the job. A fair price is easy to determine, I go with that. Having to sit in a cubical for a man I disrespect to save a couple hundred, is just not worth it.

The stinkin' dealerships seem to go out of their way to hire the most wormy salesmen they can find. I don't play the game, I refuse to negotiate. I find a car when they are closed. I determine what it is worth to me before returning. I drive the car, and if all satisfactory, I tell them "I have cash, don't screw with me", "any other answer than yes or no and I leave this lot" and make my offer. I even tell them to go in the back and have a donut and pretend to talk to the manager, but yes or no or I am done. I even understand to let the used car guy look at my trade in. It is amazing how many cannot understand. I walked off 4 lots in one afternoon.

I did all of my negotiation over the web. I won't waste my time and gas, driving around and talking to snakes.
I contact the sales manager, and make my offer. They accept or decline, and I either set-up a test drive, or move on.
This is done on my schedule, in my comfortable chair, enjoying my beverage of choice.
I was looking at dealers 3 states away, and had a lot of good prices tossed at me. Going to the dealer, is a waste.