Hunting for a New F150 in the Bay Area
06-22-2011, 05:23 AM
#11
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I wish I'd have seen this thread sooner. I have bought 11 new Ford trucks from North Bay Ford in Santa Cruz since 1997, all at about $500 over dealer invoice. Those included the first Super Duty on the road in the Bay Area (they had their driver take me up to the railhead in Benica when the 1st Bay Area shipment came in and let me pick it up there, it was another week before they started appearing at Capital Ford, Mission Valley, etc. - I would drive by Capital Ford as often as possible and toot the horn at the the gawking salesmen), the first 6.0 diesel picked up the same way, but that didn't get much attention, since it looked the same as other Super Duty's, and a 2003 F-150 Harley, for about $4500 under MSRP. All these trucks, in those days, had huge "Dealer Added Mark-Ups" at other dealers.
My sales-gal for all of them was Bobbie Robinson, though sometimes the owner of North Bay Ford was involved, Bill. They are great to deal with, and you can talk to the owner as easily as you could talk to the car-wash boy at most dealers. They never play those games with you, like going off into talk to someone else, etc. The first one I bought was a 1997 E-250, and it was the best car buying experience I had ever had since I started buying cars in the early 70's (and a LOT of cars). A few months later, I wanted another one, so I called ahead, said I had little time, and would bring someone down to drop me off, but that I too had to get going fast. I had a lot of projects going that demanded my attention. When I got there, there had all the paperwork ready ($500 over dealer invoice, as usual), and I was literally on the road in 7 or 8 minutes. I've spent more time in line at McDonalds.
I really highly recommend folks in the area look at North Bay Ford in Santa Cruz. The last 2 I've bought there involved 3 times the travel as the first 9 trucks, since I've moved to the Central Valley, but it's hard to beat perfection, so I don't even waste my time looking elsewhere. And I HAVE bought several new non-Ford vehicles in those years, including a Pontiac Trans Am Firehawk, 3 Hondas, a Kia, A Power Wagon, maybe another 1 or 2, can't remember. But when it comes to Ford, North Bay is it. I saved about $14,000 on that early-99 F-350 CC compared to buying it at Capital Ford a week later (when they finally got them from the railhead lol)
My sales-gal for all of them was Bobbie Robinson, though sometimes the owner of North Bay Ford was involved, Bill. They are great to deal with, and you can talk to the owner as easily as you could talk to the car-wash boy at most dealers. They never play those games with you, like going off into talk to someone else, etc. The first one I bought was a 1997 E-250, and it was the best car buying experience I had ever had since I started buying cars in the early 70's (and a LOT of cars). A few months later, I wanted another one, so I called ahead, said I had little time, and would bring someone down to drop me off, but that I too had to get going fast. I had a lot of projects going that demanded my attention. When I got there, there had all the paperwork ready ($500 over dealer invoice, as usual), and I was literally on the road in 7 or 8 minutes. I've spent more time in line at McDonalds.
I really highly recommend folks in the area look at North Bay Ford in Santa Cruz. The last 2 I've bought there involved 3 times the travel as the first 9 trucks, since I've moved to the Central Valley, but it's hard to beat perfection, so I don't even waste my time looking elsewhere. And I HAVE bought several new non-Ford vehicles in those years, including a Pontiac Trans Am Firehawk, 3 Hondas, a Kia, A Power Wagon, maybe another 1 or 2, can't remember. But when it comes to Ford, North Bay is it. I saved about $14,000 on that early-99 F-350 CC compared to buying it at Capital Ford a week later (when they finally got them from the railhead lol)
