TomKat

yes it does matter! Go to one that has good feed back and great customer service with those two cover you should be good to go!

danzcool

Yes, it matters. Why will they change if they can treat everyone like trash and still make the sale? By all means, use them as a bargaining tool at a dealership with a better rep to get the same deal.

rogan01

JMHO - Depends on, like you said, if they have the car you really want. This is most important to me especially if, like I was, looking for a 2012 in August when there were not many left with what I wanted within 250 miles. Most had lots of other options/colors ($$$) I didn't want - that's why they were still on the lots. Buy the car, get the h*ll out of there and never return. Write them a negative survey if you must as long as you are not going back. Dealer trade is an option sometimes but not always possible as they will tell you they can't get the holdback unless it is on their lot so will probably raise the price.

My experience (I have bought 8 new cars since 2004 - 5 Mustangs) is that the dealer you purchase from is not that relevant. As said here, any Ford dealer is supposed to perform warranty work on your car. If they balk or give you a hard time - do you really want them to work on your car anyway? - I know I wouldn't trust them even if Ford got involved and told them they had to.

As far as service/maintenance - any dealer would be happy to have your business. Once you do this (e.g. - couple of oil changes) they will have you in their system and would likely also do any warranty work without a problem to keep your business. I have done this several times with no issues when some warranty covered problem came up.

alkemist

Location plays a key. A small dealership in the boondocks is going to have the ability to be jerks if they want to. They know the consumer has no real choice to go anywhere else. It can go both ways, if course, especially if family owned but I've had my share of trying to deal with small dealerships like that before.

When I used to live in the DC/MD/Baltimore metro area, Ford dealerships were everywhere. Competition is rough and they all wanted your business. I never been turned down or even given the run around for warranty work when one of my shocks went out. I purchased my mustang pre-owned from a non Ford dealership.

And to be honest, I don't really care about dealership relationship, as long as they are friendly, efficient and do their work properly. Otherwise I don't need to take my car in nor do I purchase a car often enough. Most likely the sales guy won't be there 10 years from now. I go where it benefits me the most, where I can get the best deal and what I want.