They just don't get it

[BillyGman]

Here's a letter I just received from the Mercury dealer that I bought my Marauder from......see if you can spot where the rediculous oversite is......like I've said, these guys at the dealer just don't get it. They don't have a clue.....

[Patrick]

ATrilolgy Supercharged Grand Marquis!!! Must be a first!!

[BillyGman]

LOL.......yeah Pat. U got that right......what a joke these guys are. They don't even know the product they're trying to sell. :shake:

[Patrick]

LOL.......yeah Pat. U got that right......what a joke these guys are. They don't even know the product they're trying to sell. :shake:

They are making a sale! Bottom line. So Sad!!

[Marauderjack]

Hell.....LM sent me a letter and survey on my new Grand Marquis!!! :down: :uzi: :flamer:

I told them I'd be glad to respond when they figured out what I bought!!! :confused: :D

Haven't heard another word from them!!! :bandit:

Marauderjack :D

[RoyLPita]

ATrilolgy Supercharged Grand Marquis!!! Must be a first!!

And the only 4.56 gear equipped Grand Marquis east of the Mississippi!!!!!
:lol:

[cyclone03]

You know I didn't even have to read it.
I knew they would say Grand Marquis.

Thats what my letter said too.

[NOMARQUIS]

"Let us know how we can assist you in the future." Um, you could start by sending the letter to someone who ACTUALLY purchaced a Grand Marquis. :down:

Just another sales hungry dealer who doesn't know anything about the cars they sell. Hell, if it were like a grocery store, we could have just went to the "Marauder" aisle drove our purchase to the check out. Who needs a salesman. They hurt the product more than they help it. We knew what we were buying, too bad the sales staff didn't.

Eric

[Bigdogjim]

Not to defend the dealer but, their were no vin #'s just for Marauder in '03.

An oversight that was corrected in '04.

I get the same thing every time the dealer gave me a receipt.

"'03 Grand Marquis Black" :mad:

Computers? Oh well....great car never the less:):):)

[woaface]

Just goes to show how cheap Ford is. They used so many crap parts from the Grand Marquis and didn't even think to replace them when building the Marauder.

They didn't even bother to type a different letter!!!:uzi:

[BruteForce]

All my docs (other than the loan and registration/title) read GM. The explanation I got was that it takes at least a year to get a new model name into the "system." Once '04 rolled around, they found out that MM was discontinued so the system update was canceled.

Form letters and anything else that spits out of the "system" will always have GM on it. Welcome to life in corporate America. ;)

[BillyGman]

To me the insulting thing is that this letter that they sent to me was passed off as a personal touch by the salesman. It has his John Hancock right at the bottom, and I remember when I was in the parts department of that same dealer one day, the guy was all over me asking about how I like my "Marauder" and he wasn't even the salesman who sold the car to me.

So it's just insulting to my intelligence that this is supposed to be some kind of personal touch to get me to spend some more $$ at that dealer. I don't look at this as only "corporate America" but salesmanship at it's worst, and most deceitful. The salesman who sold me this car as well as his brother the sales manager, told me that this was the only Marauder that they ever got in or sold, and that they had it on their lot for 6 months before I bought it. So you would think that they would've remembered that it was NOT a Grand Marquis. In my eyes, they should've remembered.

[gpfarrell]

"Let us know how we can assist you in the future." Um, you could start by sending the letter to someone who ACTUALLY purchaced a Grand Marquis. :down:

Just another sales hungry dealer who doesn't know anything about the cars they sell. Hell, if it were like a grocery store, we could have just went to the "Marauder" aisle drove our purchase to the check out. Who needs a salesman. They hurt the product more than they help it. We knew what we were buying, too bad the sales staff didn't.

Eric

Well put. Did anybody buy their MM because of the dealer or has it always been in spite of the dealer? I tried 3 dealers... had 3 bad experiences... bought from a private owner.

[2005Marauder]

I can't cut the dealers any slack about the confusing a GM with a MM.

Probably because I have purchased two MMs, I have received three surveys from independent research companies. The last one put in a real USA dollar to get me to complete. They all three knew that I had purchased a MARAUDER. They asked very in-depth questions about my owership experience. My insurance company knows it's a Marauder and prices the insurance higher. The state of TN knows it's a Marauder.

When I go to a L/M dealer. I like to ask to see one of those FORD TOWNCARS or the FORD LS. When they tell me it's "NOT A FORD, it's a Lincoln." Then I reply, "Well, I only buy Fords!" then they will tell you that it's really a FORD. Then I say, "Well if it's really a Ford then why isn't it AFFORDABLE?"
About this time some will realize that I'm just kidding but others are just confused as they usually are.

[2003 MIB]

Hell, if it were like a grocery store, we could have just went to the "Marauder" aisle drove our purchase to the check out. Who needs a salesman. They hurt the product more than they help it. We knew what we were buying, too bad the sales staff didn't.
Eric

This strikes a chord with me, Eric. I've never purchased a new car from any salesman that knew as much about the car as I did. I bought the Marauder on the X-plan and only dealt with a human to pick the car up. The "car" guys in the "car" business are few and far between. Don't get me wrong, I love my dealership but the "sales staff " is just a "sales staff".

[BlueMarauder]

Do you wonder whether Ford even knows that it sells a Marauder? I order a replacement warranty booklet from Mercury customer service after misplacing the original. The mailed replacement includes the owner's manual and other documents for the 2003 Grand Marquis. I contacted customer service for the correct booklets. Let's hope it is right the second time.

[2005Marauder]

This strikes a chord with me, Eric. I've never purchased a new car from any salesman that knew as much about the car as I did. I bought the Marauder on the X-plan and only dealt with a human to pick the car up. The "car" guys in the "car" business are few and far between. Don't get me wrong, I love my dealership but the "sales staff " is just a "sales staff".


Dittos, as I wrote awhile back, many dealers just used the MM to attract attention to Mercury just as the Cobra and Mach I attract attention to the Mustang. If you look at last year's Mercury sales figures you'll see declines in all Mercury models except for a spike in the GM sales. I attribute that to the interest in the MM. However, a sales guy will try to sell you what makes him the most money. I heard reports of salesmen saying stuff like, "Yes, the MM is a great car-if you like Black and you know how hard Black is to keep clean, and I can put you in a nice GM for much less." Mercury could care less if they sell a MM or a GM as long as they buy a Mercury--and I agree with that position. Most dealers only had one or two MMs in stock which IMO means most Sales Manager weren't looking to sell them--just use them for 'bait.'

[Bluerauder]

Here's a letter I just received from the Mercury dealer that I bought my Marauder from......see if you can spot where the rediculous oversite is......like I've said, these guys at the dealer just don't get it. They don't have a clue.....

Grand Marquis ??? It happens over and over again. I had my car in the shop for routine service last Friday. When I dropped it off for the appointment, it was listed as a GM. When I noted that "it was a Marauder", the service writer said "same thing". The I told him when his tech got to the part about rotate tires and change oil ... to give me a call. Clueless is correct !!!!

As a parting comment, I remarked loud enough for the service department to hear .... "While my car is here, please do not call it a Grand Marquis. It is very sensitive about its performance and may just bite someone." The staff laughed and nodded yes; but I am afraid that they just don't seem to understand or care or both.

[BillyGman]

both............

[NOMARQUIS]

I never have had a positive experience when purchasing a new Ford product. I could go on and on about the haphazard dealings I had when I bought my MM. First, the clueless salesman, the business office that tried to collect more money than the signed contract was for, the piss poor clean up and delivery, and the fact they lost my licence plates and I couldn't drive the MM legally for 3 months. Those are just some, and there's much more.
It was the same when I bought my Mark VIII new in 98. Same idiot style sales tacts, and a Sales Mananger that told me I was too young to afford a Lincoln, then he told me the LSC had the same V8 as a Town Car.
Mostly, poor service follows the sale. Warranty work? "That's a normal contition" seems to be the only works out of a Service Advisor's mouth. Moisture in the headlamps, "Normal."
Anyway, yes, I hate going to the dealer to purchase, but we have no choice. Ford makes a great car, but if the poor dealerships sour the sweetness of the vehicles.

Eric

[BillyGman]

LOL....not to make light of what you just said, but w/a username like "NoMarquis" I thought you would chime in on a thread like this one.

[Zane]

Hello,

I would like to add a differing opinion here. Do any of you know how infrequently it is that a vendor of anything actually follows up on a sale one year down the line in order to inquire how things are going, ask if there might be any future needs, etc? In my opinion, the answer is "extremely rarely, if at all".

Everyone here is ragging on the dealer because the car in question was noted as being a Grand Marquis instead of a Marauder. Could it have been a computer glitch? Yes. Could it have been simple human error? Yes? (Hasn't anyone here ever made a mistake?) Was any malice likely involved? Highly unlikely. If the letter was not written I wouldn't be surprised if some here would be complaining that dealerships never do anything tangible to followup on past sales: can't have it both ways.

We all know Ford could have done a much better job of marketing the Marauder, but I don't see that that fact warrants the flaming of what was essentially a polite and considerate followup communication. In short, please examine the thought and sentiment behind the letter every bit as much as its substance.

Again, just my opinion.

Happy Driving!

[JohnnyB]

My MM comes up as a GM when the dealer's service dep't punches it into the computer..... don't know why

[jspradii]

Not to defend the dealer but, their were no vin #'s just for Marauder in '03.

An oversight that was corrected in '04.

I get the same thing every time the dealer gave me a receipt.

"'03 Grand Marquis Black" :mad:

Computers? Oh well....great car never the less:):):)
My car was number 260 off the assembly line, and it came with certificate of origination as a "Grand Marquis Marauder". I got that changed when I registered it with the state of Louisiana, but these cars were not user friendly to dealers who have been sleeping for years! My car has only been to a Mercury Dealer ONCE for service in its entire life, and that was John Eagle in Dalls durin MM'ville I in Sept of 2003 to put a proper "after market" harmonic balancer on it. It was a pleasant experience, but my local dealer can't deal with other issues. They have no idea what this car is.:bounce:

[BillyGman]

Hello,

I would like to add a differing opinion here. Zane, you're perfectly welcome to offer any opinion that you want as long as it's done politely which inded you have done.

Do any of you know how infrequently it is that a vendor of anything actually follows up on a sale one year down the line in order to inquire how things are going, ask if there might be any future needs, etc? In my opinion, the answer is "extremely rarely, if at all". Yep, rare it might be Zane, but I really didn't expect a letter at all, so you wouldn't hear me complaining if there wasn't any letter at all.

Everyone here is ragging on the dealer because the car in question was noted as being a Grand Marquis instead of a Marauder. Could it have been a computer glitch? Yes. Could it have been simple human error? Yes? (Hasn't anyone here ever made a mistake?) Was any malice likely involved? Nope, no malice there. You're correct on that.

If the letter was not written I wouldn't be surprised if some here would be complaining that dealerships never do anything tangible to followup on past sales: can't have it both ways.Nope, i wouldn't want it both ways. I really don't care if they send me a letter or not since the only reason they're doing it is to get me to buy anotheer car from them anyway. Let's not be naive about that. But if they're gonna bother sending a letter, they're not showing any personal touch at all if they don't even get the car that I bought from them correct. In my eyes, they're not helping their cause by this letter they sent, but if anything hurting it. Sorry Zane, but I don't look at this as you do. If I spend 30K, then the establishment that received my 30K should atleast get the letter right if they're even gonna bother w/a letter at all. otherwise, they shouldn't have even bothered, cuz it simply makes them look even more indifferent to me as their customer than they already did in the first place. I don't know about you, but 30K out of my pocket is a major sacrifice, and this letter shows me that they're totally oblivious to that fact. NOT acceptable in my book. If I sold you something for 30K, and didn't even remember your name, then you wouldn't be impressed either. And as far as I'm concerned, they might as well have got my name wrong in that letter too.

We all know Ford could have done a much better job of marketing the Marauder, but I don't see that that fact warrants the flaming of what was essentially a polite and considerate followup communication. In short, please examine the thought and sentiment behind the letter every bit as much as its substance. Yep, examine I did, and it's obvious to me that they just want another sale. This wasn't the only letter that I've received from them. But the other ones were from their service department, and I've already had a bad experience w/them, so i wouldn't bother going back no matter how many letters they sent to me since I never got so much as a simple apology from them. But that's another story for another thread.

Again, just my opinion.

Happy Driving!

Well even though i fully disagree w/your viewpoint, that's okay. Thanks for sharing it just the same.

[woaface]

Human error's are corrected before the paper goes out by editors.

What's happened here is this is the same letter they used for the Grand Marquis, they just didn't bother to type up a different one for the Marauder. They send the same thing out to everyone no questions asked.

[Rangero]

I will gladly take these small oversights for the fact that my insurance is charged at a rate of a Grand Marquis being a mid-20's guy that is HUGE. I could not afford this car if I had to pay the insurance rates of a Mustang or the like. I did not read all the posts so if this is off topic I apologize.

[Redster]

I came back from the dealer smiling today. They scheduled me for my initial service today (I bought the MM in Jan.). When I got there they said I didn't have enough miles (1500) and to bring it back later. I said while I'm here there are a couple of scratches in the hood. The service guy said well he would have to get approval from the sales dept. to do anything, this should have been taken care of on delivery. So we went up front, the sales mgr. said can't you guys get the cleanup guy to do something.
So, we went back and the svc. mgr. got the cleanup guy and instructed him to see what he could do and IF HE COULDN'T FIX IT TO TAKE IT TO THE BODY SHOP. After 30 minutes or so the svc. mgr. came back and said they were taking it to the body shop. After another hour or so, they brought the car back and the scratches are gone and they washed the car to boot. It looks perfect now. I sure can't complain, no charge either.