Ask a Salesperson pt. 2

[imccrea]

I want to thank the admin for setting this up for me first off. I'd like to help contriubute to this site and help new Focus owners get into a vehicle so we setup a buying program through the site.

What I can offer is if you would like to purchase your new Focus we can do a few different options:

1. Buy a vehicle through me and we can have it shipped to you or you can fly into Denver and pick it up.
2. Order a vehicle through me and we can have it shipped here or to your local dealer for pickup depending on your wish.

We are the number 1 volume dealership in the state so take me your current offers and I'll go to work to see what I can do for you. We'll work to see what works for you and find the right vehicle. Also I'm talking to my management to see what we can offer on the ST when it is released so stay tuned.

Please e-mail me directly or call/text and I'll be happy to assist. Hopefully this will help a lot of people and it will take off.

Ira McCrea
303.944.1832 (work cell phone)
e-mail: imccrea@phillong.com

Here's a link to our website for inventory, just click on the Focus and it will pull our network (102 Focus currently in stock). Just remember to contact me and not submit a inquiry otherwise they won't know what forum you are talking about!

http://www.phillongdenver.com/Vehicl...450003BA192DF4

[Sponsor]

[kelscar]

Nice job Ira, you've been a big help here on the forum.

How do local dealers tend to react when someone orders a car from you and then has it shipped to their dealer for pickup? I am assuming that dealer would do the PDI, but without the sale? Seems like it could be awkward, but maybe not really that big of an issue?

Although I already have a new car, I am curious for future reference, and someone is bound to ask about this eventually.

[imccrea]

Originally Posted by kelscar

Nice job Ira, you've been a big help here on the forum.

How do local dealers tend to react when someone orders a car from you and then has it shipped to their dealer for pickup? I am assuming that dealer would do the PDI, but without the sale? Seems like it could be awkward, but maybe not really that big of an issue?

Although I already have a new car, I am curious for future reference, and someone is bound to ask about this eventually.

The "delivering" dealer gets paid a fee for doing it so things aren't always awkward. I've done it before with friends who are X plan and live in KC, I told them to just say they have a close personal friend that sold them the car if they ask (and we won't be friends if they don't buy a car from me!). Usually the dealer won't ask but I'm sure it's bound to come up.

Big dealers do many courtesy deliveries, some are for overseas military and some are like what I do.

[kelscar]

Thank you, good to know!

[ericrz]

OK, so looks like I'll be the guinea pig here. Ira has been super helpful via email, and it appears as though I'm going to purchase a car from his lot and have it shipped to me here in Birmingham, Alabama.

Having a hard time finding the model I wanted locally -- Titanium hatchback with the 401A package, nav, and a moonroof. Not interested in the parking package or the handling package, but most dealers seem to either have no Titaniums, or loaded-all-the-way Titaniums.

I will update here throughout the process, for those of you who might consider a similar arrangement.

[ericrz]

Originally Posted by ericrz

OK, so looks like I'll be the guinea pig here. Ira has been super helpful via email, and it appears as though I'm going to purchase a car from his lot and have it shipped to me here in Birmingham, Alabama.

Having a hard time finding the model I wanted locally -- Titanium hatchback with the 401A package, nav, and a moonroof. Not interested in the parking package or the handling package, but most dealers seem to either have no Titaniums, or loaded-all-the-way Titaniums.

I will update here throughout the process, for those of you who might consider a similar arrangement.

So, this ran into a snag and it looks like this deal won't happen. Ira was very friendly and helpful -- the finance department is where this is hitting the rocks.

I already had pre-approval from Capital One, and I told Ira I'd likely stick with them, since it was a solid rate and I didn't think they could do any better. He agreed it was unlikely.

When the finance guy (Vadim) called me last Friday to work up the papers, he tried to push me into financing with them. I said I'd stick with Cap One. "No problem," he said.

Paperwork arrived via UPS on Monday. Included in the packet was a Phil Long credit app. I chose not to fill it out, since financing was already arranged.

Yesterday, Vadim calls me and tells me they can't do the deal without a credit app. This confuses me, since my financing is pre-arranged. I try to get him to explain why, without much success. Today, Ira calls me and we go around in circles for a bit, me explaining that I don't want an unnecessary credit check, since each check dings your credit score a bit.

So we finally get that resolved. Then, the finance MANAGER has to get involved. He insists that for an out-of-state deal, Capital One has to send me a contract agreement which I can sign and send to the dealer. Cap One insists no such document exists. The manager (Vito) says Colorado law changed January 1 and this is now needed for all out-of-state deals. "Unless, of course, you want to fill out OUR credit app," he says.

Uh huh.

So I finally get a Cap One rep, Vito, and myself on a 3-way call. Vito and the Cap One guy go round and round in circles. In the interim periods, when Vito puts us on hold for 10+ minutes at a time, the Cap One guy tells me he's highly skeptical that Colorado changed their financing laws January 1 and Cap One knows nothing about it. He tells me their legal department is usually right on top of things. He suspects that this is a way to coerce me into filling out their credit app and financing through Phil Long Ford.

We bang our heads together a bit longer -- Vito insisting they can't do the deal without this contract, signed by myself and my wife. Ryan from Cap One insisting that no such document exists, except for the note/security agreement contract included in my paperwork, which is an agreement between myself and Cap One. Has nothing to do with the dealer. He highly recommends against sending this to the dealer.

So at the end, we reach an impasse. Vito says they can't do a deal without this document, Cap One says no such document exists, and I start looking again at Foci at local dealers.

I don't know what to recommend for those of you thinking of buying from Ira. He's certainly very friendly, knowledgeable, and responds quickly to emails. There wasn't much haggling to be done, as I'm on an X-Plan deal, so negotiations weren't necessary. Ira provided the X-Plan price per invoice, took off the $2000 Ford rebate, and only added the doc fee and tax.

But, these out-of-state deals may be complicated by Colorado's lien laws, if that part of the conversation was true. If you've got your own financing lined up, I recommend against a deal like this. It seems needlessly complex.

If you're looking to finance through a dealer, Phil Long certainly has a wide selection of cars, and so you might find a hard-to-find vehicle on their lot. That's what drew them to me originally, they had a black Titanium with the 401A package, moonroof, nav, and winter package. I didn't care so much about the winter package, but I was trying (still am) to find a 401A Titanium with roof and nav. (Don't want to pay for the parking or handling packages.) There aren't many of those around.

Looks like I may need to "downgrade" to an SEL with 303A, roof and MFT/nav, which is OK.

[red2009se]

F&I Depts at dealers can be....I just can't say on a family website.

[Nik00117]

Really? That's strange.

[ducrider]

OK, here's what may be a new question...do you expect Ford will A-Plan (or Z-plan) a new Focus ST?

[imccrea]

Originally Posted by ducrider

OK, here's what may be a new question...do you expect Ford will A-Plan (or Z-plan) a new Focus ST?

I really think they will offer plan deals because I know a few sales guys that will buy one on D Plan.