Lakeview Ford — Local services in Battle Creek

This was the worst experience/interaction that I’ve ever had at ANY dealership, and I have dealt with many. My husband worked with a salesperson over the phone and through email the day prior to us arriving because we live 4+ hours away from lakeview ford/battle creek.

We were assured that everything was ironed out, there were already X amount of rebates on the car and we had another personal mailer that we were told could be added to bring the price down further. Credit was run before we arrived, it should have been fairly straight forward, just going over last minute details and signing papers.

We got there and that was not the scenario that was presented at all. After driving all that way with children, we were sat down while the sales person left us multiple times to go ask his sales manager or the finance person questions- which totaled 1.5 hours. At no point were we asked if we wanted a drink, a snack, anything to make the wait more manageable (which might sound petty, but I have NEVER been to a dealership, especially not Ford, where I wasn’t asked if we wanted something to drink while we waited).

It wasn’t until just before the finance guy wanted to pull us into his office that he asked if our kids wanted something to drink. By this time we had been there for almost 2 hours. He proceeded to bring us into his office, rushing my husband through signing papers for a car that we haven’t even been told the payment information for yet. He talked to my husband as though I wasn’t even there.

At this point I made it very clear how uncomfortable I was with the tactics being used. He was being incredibly pushy and condescending. “Well, this is to save time. I’m going over it with you now and you’re signing it so it doesn’t have to be done later. Just sign it, we’re getting to that.” okay, but I don’t even know the specifics or cost of this vehicle yet, and you’re trying to rush him through signing things that I’ve made it clear I’m not comfortable with?

At this point he started talking to me like a child who was interrupting an adult conversation. He finally pulled out a paper that had protection plans and pricing on it which showed numbers that we never would have agreed to drive down there for. And when he was told that those prices were not something we were interested in and that our maximum budget for a vehicle was at least $25 less/month (really- closer to $50) than the lowest figure he looked at me and said “it’s just $25… that a $6 cup of coffee per week. That’s not a big deal. It’s $6/week, are you following?”

In what world do I as an adult woman, or my husband who is an adult man need this guy to mansplain how budgeting works or how I should work out my personal finances that he has no idea about. We have children, a mortgage, all of the bills that come along with those things, my vehicle and insurance to cover them. My husband was t-boned a week ago which totaled his car and now we are trying to figure out how to get another one, to be told that “just figure it out and budget better, $25/month over your absolute maximum shouldn’t be such a big deal” by some scummy guy who talked over us the entire time and acted like we were too stupid to understand simple logic.

I have never felt so disrespected and condescended by someone who was trying to pressure me into buying something from them in my entire life. Absolutely disgraceful. Complete waste of time, money, energy.

Even though they tried to screw us out of being able to find another dealership with the amount of our time they wasted, they weren’t successful. We went to another ford dealership (DeNooyer) where we were treated with respect, weren’t talked down to or talked over, where they stayed late to help us work out a deal to get my husband into a new car that he could drive away yesterday. Most importantly, it’s a vehicle that he loves.

All of this occurred because none of the Michigan dealers with Mach-e that could be dealer traded would trade to my local dealership. Brown motors/Ashley in petoskey is...

On 31 October 2017, I called Lakeview Ford to inquire if the Body Shop would be able to begin work on my vehicle immediately or if they had a lot of other cars pending repair. I also wanted to verify if they provided Courtesy Transportation back to my place of employment, similar to what the Service Department does. The female that I spoke with who originally answered my call couldn't confirm if the Body Shop was allowed to provide transportation or not, nor did she even know when the Body Shop opened. I told her that I had been told that the Body Shop was now part of the dealership versus being independently owned, she went on to tell me that she wasn't even sure what time the Service Department opened. On 1 November 2017, I dropped my vehicle off at the Body Shop at 7:30 am. I spoke with the Manager of the Body Shop and told him about my call with the uninformed Receptionist and how it's alarming that the person assigned to deal with Your Public Customers has no idea what time any of the other departments open and what the policy concerning courtesy transportation is. He told me that he would speak to someone about it and also told me that they had the information for my insurance claim and where to provide the pictures, etc., but they would need to wash my car first so that they could evaluate All of the Damage thoroughly. Well this MUST HAVE BEEN the Best Car wash in history because my Insurance adjuster informed me that they Did Not receive the Claim information from the Body Shop until almost 10 am Friday 3 November, I guess it takes 2 days to wash a car and look it over. I made the mistake of calling the dealership back on Saturday 4 November to speak with the Body Shop since I hadn't heard Anything from them. The Receptionist transferred me to the Body Shop and it immediately went to Voicemail. I hung up and called back and asked for the Body Shop Again, since I needed to speak with someone in person because I had my Insurance Adjuster on another line asking me if I wanted my vehicle picked up and taken to another body shop to complete the repairs, this time it rang several times and it was finally answered by Someone in the Service Department, when I told them I wanted the Body Shop, I was informed that the Body Shop was Closed on Saturday... I guess my conversation with the Body Shop Manager three days before concerning the person answering the phone Not knowing Anything about the Dealership's department hours wasn’t taken very seriously. I am All for having a "Family" business but if you’re going to hire a relative to answer the Phone, the least you could do is Print Off a copy of the hours of operation for each department as well as explain All of the Dealership Policies with them. Calling 3 and 4 times just to have someone from Another department tell you that the department that your calling for is Closed, is Not a good way to run a business.

There is More to a Great Dealership than Just the New Car Showroom... Service AFTER the sale is Just as Important, if Not More!

The Next Time I call this Dealership for Anything, I am Just going to Immediately ask to speak with either The General Manager or the Owner, hopefully they "Will Know" what time the different departments open and will be familiar with All of their policies and I would suggest that everyone do the same to save yourself the additional frustration of having to call...

Shortly after leaving work today I heard an unusual noise coming from my car. I initially continued driving, as I wasn't in the best area to pull over. Lakeview Ford was the closest, most convenient and trusted business to pull into so I could get out and see what the problem might be.

I stayed in the parking lot and called my husband, who was unable to come help me right away. He suggested that I go inside and see if they might be able to help me out.

Although I hated doing so, I walked into the Service Department and explained my situation. I was asked to drive my car into the garage. I didn't get names, but multiple people looked at my car and did not at all make me feel like the inconvenience that I felt like I was. They were kind and listened and were very considerate of my situation.

I was told I definitely should not drive any further and then, after further evaluation, they explained the safest approach to helping me out of a bind and proceeded to do so.

In a very timely manner, they had my car taken care of and I was able to continue on my way home feeling safe and confident while driving.

I just want to share how very much I appreciate the way I was greeted and treated in a kind and respectful manner, having randomly shown up in the service department like I did. I'm not usually the one who takes care of our vehicle issues, but this time it was sprung on me and the multiple people I came in contact with today made it so much easier than it could have been. Thank you for your friendliness and for quickly getting me out of a bind while never making me feel like the bother that...