Granger Purchase Experience - my experience so far

[SRMD]

I thought it would be helpful to others to post the good and some area that could be improved, based on my out of state purchase so far. This summary is specific to my experience and may not apply to others.

please note that I have not taken delivery of my truck yet.

First, the good:
- the order process went smoothly. Everything is done electronically and you give them $1K non-refundable deposit.
- my order was entered the next day and I received email confirmation from Ford.
- within a week, my VIN was assigned.
- Ford sent emails providing order tracker, so that was good. Nothing really to do with Granger.

Areas that could be improved:

- I never received one piece of communication from Granger once my order was placed.
- The process, on what to expect when the truck was delivered and when Granger would reach out to me was never disclosed. I had to ask all of the questions as the process unfolded, though the responses were very fast, this should have been communicated initially.
More communication would be helpful:

My truck (23 PB XLT) shipped on 12/5 per Ford with a target arrival date between 12/16 and 12/23

- Granger did not tell me my truck had arrived. I sent email on 12/27 and the response was that it arrived last week (would have been nice to know). No specific date provided, and the Ford Tracker was not updating. It could have been sitting there since 12/19 for all I know.

- 12/27, Granger Sales said “Finance” will reach out to me to discuss various options. I said I would like to get the finance piece finished and then we can discuss delivery. Sales agreed, but said, not their department.

-12/28, I received an email (be sure to check your SPAM ), but did not realize for a couple days. I was expecting a phone call, but I guess that was my assumption. To be clear, Granger said they would “reach out”, which they did, they did not say how, be aware that it will be via email. Keep checking the SPAM filter. ? This was my error.

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[MDPE]

I had some similar thoughts on the post-order side of things. I felt like I really had to tease out information, updates, and the finance group was not responsive to calls/emails until my vehicle arrived. It didn't sour my experience much, but I do have similar feedback to yours.

 

[Pedaldude]

I was called by my salesperson the moment he saw my truck roll by on the transport trailer and I got there before the dealership even inspected it. Did you get a specific person from the sales staff, or was it a group effort?

Granted, they’re making a small fraction what some dealerships are on each sale. So I imagine they can’t hold your hand every step of the way. You would think that you could specify a phone call or text in addition to the emails.

One of the things that always helps is to get a loan set up through a bank or credit union beforehand and then it almost guarantees a better rate from the dealership’s finance department as well as a more enthusiastic response from their people.

Good luck with your truck!

One of the things that I would have a hard time doing is buying a truck that I couldn’t inspect myself. Before I put my signature on the sales slip, I took a 30 mile test drive in the truck on the highway and side streets to make sure that there wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with it. Not to mention about twenty minutes going over the paint and a good ten minutes underneath the truck with a flashlight.

 

[GEN14OWNER]

I thought it would be helpful to others to post the good and some area that could be improved, based on my out of state purchase so far. This summary is specific to my experience and may not apply to others.

please note that I have not taken delivery of my truck yet.

First, the good:
- the order process went smoothly. Everything is done electronically and you give them $1K non-refundable deposit.
- my order was entered the next day and I received email confirmation from Ford.
- within a week, my VIN was assigned.
- Ford sent emails providing order tracker, so that was good. Nothing really to do with Granger.

Areas that could be improved:

- I never received one piece of communication from Granger once my order was placed.
- The process, on what to expect when the truck was delivered and when Granger would reach out to me was never disclosed. I had to ask all of the questions as the process unfolded, though the responses were very fast, this should have been communicated initially.
More communication would be helpful:

My truck (23 PB XLT) shipped on 12/5 per Ford with a target arrival date between 12/16 and 12/23

- Granger did not tell me my truck had arrived. I sent email on 12/27 and the response was that it arrived last week (would have been nice to know). No specific date provided, and the Ford Tracker was not updating. It could have been sitting there since 12/19 for all I know.

- 12/27, Granger Sales said “Finance” will reach out to me to discuss various options. I said I would like to get the finance piece finished and then we can discuss delivery. Sales agreed, but said, not their department.

-12/28, I received an email (be sure to check your SPAM ), but did not realize for a couple days. I was expecting a phone call, but I guess that was my assumption. To be clear, Granger said they would “reach out”, which they did, they did not say how, be aware that it will be via email. Keep checking the SPAM filter. ? This was my error.

"my order was entered the next day and I received email confirmation from Ford."

I never heard a peep from Ford for the NINE MONTHS I waited for my truck after my dealer entered the order.

In fact... I never heard from Ford at all until my truck was parked in my driveway. Since then I've been flooded with offers to sell me a new one!??

I love my new F150 but I'd ride a bicycle before I'd EVER buy another Ford product!
...and EVERY new vehicle I've ever purchased in my life was a Ford.

 

[SRMD]

I was called by my salesperson the moment he saw my truck roll by on the transport trailer and I got there before the dealership even inspected it. Did you get a specific person from the sales staff, or was it a group effort?

Granted, they’re making a small fraction what some dealerships are on each sale. So I imagine they can’t hold your hand every step of the way. You would think that you could specify a phone call or text in addition to the emails.

One of the things that always helps is to get a loan set up through a bank or credit union beforehand and then it almost guarantees a better rate from the dealership’s finance department as well as a more enthusiastic response from their people.

Good luck with your truck!

One of the things that I would have a hard time doing is buying a truck that I couldn’t inspect myself. Before I put my signature on the sales slip, I took a 30 mile test drive in the truck on the highway and side streets to make sure that there wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with it. Not to mention about twenty minutes going over the paint and a good ten minutes underneath the truck with a flashlight.

I have only interfaced with one person.

I am not sour on my experience. The savings is well worth it.

The primary reason for the post was to make sure that anyone who orders through Granger (and does a search on this forum beforehand) has the right expectations, mine were a bit different from my expectations. Once the order is placed, the communication is lacking and you really need to pull it out of them with regard to any updates, even if your vehicle goes on chip hold (as mine did), you will not hear about it from Granger. Ford will send you an email and that is the best communication you will get.

 

[SRMD]

And regarding financing, Ford has 3.9%, so no bank is going to touch that given the inflation repeated issues we are all experiencing.

 

[diambo4life]

"my order was entered the next day and I received email confirmation from Ford."

I never heard a peep from Ford for the NINE MONTHS I waited for my truck after my dealer entered the order.

In fact... I never heard from Ford at all until my truck was parked in my driveway. Since then I've been flooded with offers to sell me a new one!??

I love my new F150 but I'd ride a bicycle before I'd EVER buy another Ford product!
...and EVERY new vehicle I've ever purchased in my life was a Ford.

Are we sure the Dealer didn't enter your information or enter it correctly at the time the order was placed?

 

[Venom4ever4em]

Just recently placed my order with Granger, reading previous posts I thought I was getting a phone call but I didn't mind e-mailing back and forth especially since I am saving some money.

 

[Kodiak]

Here's my 2 cents.

I have ordered 5 or 6 vehicles in my life (used to drive 40K miles a year) and by far this was the best experience I have ever had. Ford should take lessons from this model. Granger does not hold any hand throughout the process but if you need that level of service, buy local and maybe pay for that service.

They did not email me along the way but really they had nothing to report. The truck is in Ford chip or shipping hold and nothing Granger can do about that. Whether it is on hold for chips, or they ran out wheels, or ran out of badges or paint, that is irrelevant, the truck is on hold and all you can do is wait. Ford has a ton of money tied up in the truck and they do not get paid until they get it in your hands. They want it out the door as much as anyone else does. It may not seem like it, but behind the scenes that is the case.

In every other order (Ford, Toyota and Dodge) I was told the same thing. 8 to 16+ weeks and do not call us, we'll call you. Any attempt to contact them was met with the same thing. Not here yet, don't call us, we'll call you. Any email to Granger was immediately answered but really the ball is in Fords court and they had nothing to do with it. Playing the order game in the middle of a pandemic with supply chain issues the like of which were never seen before, will cause delays. Even excessive delays but again, that is the way of the world right now and most businesses are experiencing the same things. Our reliance on China for cheap goods, comes with other costs.

With that said after an initial phone call to go through the order due to the delay Ford had in posting the build section on their website for the 2022 models, everything was done with email. I was told they would contact me with email, and they did. I did 2 prefinance emails (due to chip and shipping delays) and once the truck was received and prepped, finance contacted me by email for finalization.

The only area that I thought could be improved was the arrangements for pickup at the airport. I would like to see Granger develop a "form" letter that finance sends out when they are done that outlines what Granger will do, and more importantly, what you need to do. It should outline what will happen if you fly in early, fly in late, or fly in and spend a night at a Des Moines hotel for morning pickup. I was told to give my flight info and that they would pick me up, but then that was it.

I did contact sales when the day got closer and Chip immediately contacted me with information on what to do. So, IMO the area to look at for improvement is the hand off between finance and sales. Again though, whenever I reached out, I was immediately delt with, but I also did not become "that guy" with emails every day asking the same thing. Just sit back, take a deep breath, and count all the money you are saving. For me I was paying $59,800 for a truck with an MSRP sticker price of $73,000. All things considered this was overwhelmingly the best purchase experience I have ever had.

 

[Cb Mw]

After waiting the many months that is typical for an order in these times, I was antsy yo hear from the dealer after I learned from ford tracking site that it had arrived.

Due to the high volumes at the time I took delivery, they were running appx 10-14 days from receipt to ready for pickup.

I heard from the dealer about 7 days after arrival and it was ready as soon as a could get there, which for me was a few business days.

No complaints at all with the pickup process. Just know it takes a little time from the time your truck gets delivered and when it's ready for pickup.

I believe they wait to reach out until it's actually prepped and ready, which makes complete sense from an operations perspective.

 

[GEN14OWNER]

Are we sure the Dealer didn't enter your information or enter it correctly at the time the order was placed?

Yes, actually “we” are.

Because after the FIFTH rescheduled build date, MONTHS after I placed my order I called Ford to find out WHY I was seeing orders “here” placed AFTER mine, with more options (chips) than mine.. getting built shipped and delivered.

The “customer service” rep already had all my information and after looking up my order, agreed that that it was unusual that my build had been rescheduled so many times but (of course) could do nothing but offer his deepest “sincere” apologies.

And then tried to give me the “chip shortage” BS which REALLY pissed me off but I was prepared and started giving him VIN numbers from some of the above mentioned trucks.

I might as well have been pissing in the wind.

EVERY new vehicle I have purchased in my life came from the same Ford Dealership because THEY are amazing.

I’ve read VERY GOOD things here about Granger as well and if I had a crappy Dealer and was considering buying another Ford, Granger would be my 1st call.

But having had 30+ years of dealing with Ford Motor Company I can say with confident expertise that FoMoCo has become the “Comcast” of retail customer service.

I’ll NEVER buy another Ford again.

 

[Imtheweezel]

How did you contact them to put an order? Through the forum? Sorry for the basic question…

 

[GEN14OWNER]

How did you contact them to put an order? Through the forum? Sorry for the basic question…

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/members/granger-ford.470/

 

[BarryT82]

I’d have a hard time ordering a truck with a $1k non refundable deposit. I placed an order on Jan 27 with another dealership and it still isn’t built.

 

[Kodiak]

I’d have a hard time ordering a truck with a $1k non refundable deposit. I placed an order on Jan 27 with another dealership and it still isn’t built.

If there are Ford problems with your order, they do offer your deposit back. That is there to keep people from just ordering on a whim and if it takes too long to come in (which it will) then just canceling. Thier business model is volume through orders even though they are in the middle of Iowa. They don't sell based on the foot traffic in front of their store. Only go there if you know what you want, know the wait, and are willing to do so. Agree to this and they will offer you the best price going. Fair enough to me.

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