gopherman

Hi Everyone...
So I recently bought an F-150 from a Ford dealership in the Twin Cities metro area and based on some of the issues I've had already, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a nightmare to continue to work with that dealership. I used to buy from Tousley, and they usually did an okay job taking care of my vehicles, but I now live 60 miles west. Does anyone have any recommendations in the west metro? I'm not too far from Lundeen or Morries....but wanted to see if anyone had issues with them or anyone else in the area.

Thanks,
Brad

Dragonsm

Before moving to Sioux Falls, I lived in Monticello, MN. I never bought a car in the cities, mostly due to the fact that my family had built a great relationship with Nelson Dodge/GMC/Ford up in my hometown of Fergus Falls. Exact opposite of what I experienced in the Cities.

However, while living there, I did deal with Morrie's in Buffalo, MN a bit with some parts and never had any issues with them. I believe my mother-in-law also purchased her latest vehicle from them and was pleased with the experience also. (drove from Hutchinson) I'd give them a look.

Steve

AirBall

I haven't had any issues with North Country Ford in Coon Rapids. Not sure if you are straight west or Northwest.

gopherman

I actually live northwest (somewhat between Minneapolis/St. Cloud), a few miles outside of Monticello. I've thought about North Country...I might stop in there this weekend. Anyone have experience with Cornerstone? I've worked with Morries and while they were friendly enough, we couldn't agree on numbers.

AirBall

Reviews on Cornerstone look great, I've been meaning to try them. Since I purchased my truck at a Luther dealership, I've just used them for warranty work without much thought. If you do go to Cornerstone, share your thoughts on how it goes please.

gopherman

So I just thought I'd report back on the dealerships I was working with...and which one I bought from:

1. Tenvoorde Ford -- Almost earned our sale...at the end of the day, we couldn't agree on price and once they thought they had our business locked down, they got sloppy and didn't feel as though they need to continue to earn the sale. Sad...but true. If you end up checking them out though, talk to Ed...he's an older gentlemen that will not pressure you at all.
2. AutoNation Ford White Bear Lake -- Saddens me that I didn't work with them...they went above and beyond several years ago when my Taurus blew 3 transmissions in under a year. But when we were at the table ready to buy...the truck we wanted had been sold. Definitely a WTF moment that I still don't get...we drove 50 miles and spent 3 hours in the dealership before we found this out.
3. New Brighton Ford -- Stay away...just stay away. They don't want to give you a fair deal nor will they be willing to help you when your truck has issues.
4. New Richmond Ford (Johnson Motors) -- They completely wasted our time and basically hurried us out the door when we tried to negotiate a price. Was really surprised after we made the trek out there.
5. Cornerstone -- They did absolutely nothing to earn our business. Never received a call back and they were rude when I asked for a roundabout figure on trade.
6. Freeway Ford -- See Cornerstone...
7. Metro Ford -- Seemed like honest individuals, they didn't jerk us around and were straightforward about not being able to meet our price.
8. Hudson Ford -- See Metro Ford
9. Morries Ford Buffalo -- Very straightforward dealership with excellent prices. Jeff was our sales rep and he did a good job earning our business, helped us negotiate our price, and get the truck we wanted. Buy Happy seems like a great bonus (we didn't even know about it when we bought the truck). The sales manager wanted us as customers and clearly valued the opportunity to gain a new customer relationship. It was our last stop...but should have been our first. It was...after all...the 9th dealership we had dealt with.

Also...if possible...do not use TrueCar...we're still getting calls from dealerships weeks after the initial inquiry despite me telling them we already purchased.

MNgopher

I know, pulling a thread back to life...

Pulled the trigger on a new 2016 a month ago. Just thought I would put a plug in for Jeff Belzer Ford in New Prague. Used to be New Prague Ford until a few months ago. They had the truck I wanted, and honored their pricing they had on the website, which on this equipment was aggressive. Nobody else was touching the price with the equipment I wanted. At the end of the day, was a low pressure and positive experience.

Also agree - don't bother with truecar. The pricing wasn't all that good, and the three dealerships its offered, only two contacted me, and the two that did, were trying to sell me the trucks they had on the lot - not the truck I wanted.

Platinum6point2

I also agree that North Country Ford has been a good dealership to work with. Although I didn't purchase any of my vehicles here, all of the service work performed has been good. They are a large/modern dealership and always seem busy so I guess that means people keep coming back.

I bought my 14' at Metro Ford. Aggressive pricing but communication and my overall customer experience was not the best especially considering my truck stickered north of $56k.

I have not been impressed with service at Roseville Midway Ford.

gopherman

I'll second that on Midway Ford. I haven't brought my vehicle back there since my Fusion had a new throttle body put in for no reason and then they tried to charge me for it while it was still under factory warranty and ESP. The service manager was a ***** and told me to get lost basically. For service, I've been really unimpressed with Ford in general. Each dealership I've taken it to has acted like they're doing me a favor just looking at my vehicle. Lundeen was highly recommended by a friend (and their only 2 miles from our house)...never will take my vehicle their again. I got charged 250 dollars for them to do a HCU bleed...and our truck looked like it got taken out and mudded when we picked it up (it was spotless when we dropped it off). Morries is currently our primary dealership for service (since we bought it from there and have their coupons it just makes sense to bring it there)...they haven't been terrible but haven't been great either. Our truck is heading in this week for a few things so we'll see how that goes.

Anyone have any recommendations on service departments?

MNgopher

Apple Ford in Shakopee has been decent to work with for service.

I have not brought my current F150 there for service, but they've done good work on my '07 Explorer - not necessarily the cheapest, but they've done exactly what they promised when they promised. Ditto for some service on my previous F150.

Honestly, if they had the truck I was interested in and were willing to meet the price I got elsewhere, I would have bought there again...