I am a researcher and no car payment is my love language!
So, I only look to buy a new car when I absolutely need to. I make certain that I have done all of the research that I need to do before going to the dealership. I only buy cars from the dealership that represents the manufacturer of my preferred vehicle. I work for a bank, have extensive finance training. I am also in IT and understand the inner workings of financial applications and systems.
That said, I had the worst experience in 25+years of purchasing vehicles with a different Ford dealership. I researched available interest rates with my preferred finance company and compared with Ford Credit. I applied for the loan and received the lowest possible rate approval. I went through the True Car program and received an offer, both on screen and via email from this particular dealership. I called the dealership to confirm that the offer they had made would be honored and received confirmation. I paid $35 for a rideshare to get to the dealership, went for a test drive with the salesman and returned to the dealership, only to be insulted by the GSM when I wouldn't allow him to pressure me into a different deal. My husband had to come and pick me up from the dealership, which is 20 miles, almost 40 minutes (in Atlanta traffic) from our home.
Thank you for allowing me to provide backstory and explain why this experience with Pete at Courtesy Ford was perfect!
The next day, after the terrible experience, I checked my email and had an offer for the same vehicle from Courtesy Ford. Since the offer was $5K less, I was more skeptical about the purchase. However, as I mentioned previously, I had conducted thorough research and knew what I wanted.
I called Courtesy Ford and after I explained why I was calling, I was transferred to Pete (pardon the omission of the last name). I asked Pete if I could please get through my reason for calling, to include my previous experience, before he began selling me a car. He obliged and I recapped my experience and let him know that I was not calling to negotiate or to see the inventory on the lot. I told him that I already had financing and that I had an offer from Courtesy and if he could not honor the offer made by the dealership, please let me know and I would be on my way. Trust that I gave Patient Pete (that's my new name for him, because that's exactly who he was that day) an earful that he did not deserve.
Anyway, I gave Pete a few numbers; the vehicle stock number, the offer amount from Courtesy and the time of day that I needed to be gone from the dealership.
Pete asked if he could call me back after he spoke with the GSM and that's exactly what he did.
Again, I was on my way to the dealership in a rideshare, but this time with my 10 year old son in tow. I was in and out of Courtesy Ford within a few hours. The longest part of my visit was waiting at Navy Federal for the check to pay for my BRAND NEW 2025 FORD BRONCO!
The staff at Courtesy went above and beyond:
- Pete - no hassle, no haggling, no slick talk, no negotiating...just straight up customer service and facilitation of an easy sale. He gave my son a Courtesy Ford cap and that's all it took for him to want to go back on a regular basis.
- Javada - CUSTOMER SERVICE AT IT'S FINEST! He never stopped checking on us until we were out the door and he still gave me a business card in case I needed anything else.
- John - John is just good at what he does. That financial process was so easy. He makes it seamless and engaged my son in conversation about school and sports while I was signing the paperwork.
- Mary - talked through the additions I want to make to the vehicle and made sure that all my questions were answered. Mary is just a sweet lady!
- Kayla - I have a personalized plate on my previous vehicle that I want to be transferred. Since I wasn't trading it in and I haven't sold it yet, we weren't sure if I'd be able to transfer it. She came over and erased any despair and disappointment I had about that. She explained how it will work and gave me her number to call her to walk me through it once the sale was finalized.
Courtesy Ford in Conyers, BRAVO! I purchased my previous vehicle (which I do still own), a 2014 Ford Explorer, one week after my son was born from this location. That was a great experience and so was this. There's no reason to go to any other dealership to purchase a Ford vehicle. So, unless I buy a spaceship or some other automobile, I'll see you all in another 10 years.
Thanks Again, Pete, Javada, John, Mary and Kayla.
You deserved this sale and so many more!
I will be recommending Courtesy Ford to all who will listen.
Marvette Davis read more