DFW car dealship info... (Houston, Fort Worth: fit in, sales, loan)

[5stones]

OK my van is dying a slow death. 135k miles etc...(faster than we wanted though..was hopping to make it till fall)

Since we are pretty new to the area I'd like the vetrens opinion on what dealerships are the best to work with and what ones are the "STAY AWAY from" ones.

Are the ones in Grapevine more expensive because of location?

Looking for another minivan (sigh) or maybe an SUV ....
(nissan, toyota, honda etc...) NEED to have 7 passanger seating due to family size.

I am willing to drive to Weatherford, Denton etc...if those dealerships offer better pricing.

Would like a dealer demo etc...rather than new, but won't cross new off the list.

[AmberMarie]

My dad is a car salesman for Toyota of Fort Worth. He is not your typical salesman, he's very fair and will do his best to get you the fairest deal. He just sold a Highlander to my fiance's mom. This was only their third meeting (they live in two different states), but she trusted him completely and left very happy. I've ridden in it, and it is niiiice.

His name is Lawrence Perry, and I would specifically ask for him. I'm not saying the other salesmen there are "unfair," but my dad is the best at what he does and has been doing it the longest.

[hypocore]

Our best experiences have been with Freeman Toyota for a new Corolla in 1997 which we then traded for a Camry there in 2000. Both times we were never pressured nor held hostage like other places have done. We had really wanted a Sienna and they let us take one home for a day before we had to take it back since we simply couldn't manage it financially. haha We chose the Camry instead. They had it brought up from Houston somewhere. Both cars were both a dealer demo type and we got some pretty good discounts on both.

Then hubby's car died and he took over the Camry and we embarked on getting a van. Got a2000 Ford Windstar from CarMax and that was such an easy buying experience that we went back when the Camry was rear ended and totalled. He got a Malibu that he ended up taking back to them less than a year later and came out with a Taurus instead. Goofy man.

When the van needed more repairs than we wanted to deal with, we went back to Freeman after seeing an online deal for a used Sienna. Of course it wasn't there, but they made us a deal on a newer Ford Windstar and that's what I have now.

So good experiences in both places in the most recent years.

The place(not even gonna name it) on 121 at Brown Trail...never again will I try there. That was a nightmare, along with the financial guy suggesting we lie on the loan application. Um, nope.

Had some good work done at Five Star Ford recently, but haven't bought anything there.

Years ago had a terrific buying experience at Classic Chevrolet. Was shopping for a Surburban and had a considerable sum to put down. Told the guy we wanted the best price possible as a bottom line and he wrote something down. We went to several places and every single one told us we'd be crazy if we passed that up. One guy even called the first guy and asked him what the heck he was doing! haha
It had a door damaged in shipping which had been totally replaced but the color didn't match exactly. It took alot of looking to see it was a shade different, so we didn't care in the least!

I guess it really depends more on which van you think you want,and can afford, to get a starting point.

[SMUJeremy]

Whatever you do, don't go to Alan Samuels Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler off 35W by Alliance. They will just waste your time and talk it up but not come through with any numbers even remotely reasonable.

[LQQKOUT]

Really good deals at Lute Riley Honda..but they are in Richardson

[buyerdawn]

Take 15 to 20 minutes and send out a mass e-mail to all the internet managers telling them what you are looking for and ask them to give you a quote via e-mail. Once they give you a quote you can go back to each one telling them the lowest price (see if they will haggle with you) until you have one you like. Make sure you tell them that you want to know EXACTLY what is on the care (extras) so they don't surprise you with extras once you get there....if they do, tell them you are not paying for them since they did not disclose them in the e-mail.

Go in with a firm price....don't tell them what you're willing to pay or what you want your payments to be...

This is what we did and got a good deal. We went to Grubbs Nissan.

[5stones]

thanks everyone keep them comming!

We haven't had a car payment for years and am hoping not to again...but since my current one needs about 3500k in repairs (incl AC) i don't think it will hold out until fall and saving to get high enough!

great advice on the e-mail! I need to finish test drving to see what I want.
Love the new Chevy Traverse....but since it just came out this year no used ones out there and therefor a bit out of our range. (it owuld be nice to be out of a van!!)

Really like the looks and the handleing of the NIssan Quest, but no nobody who has one.
the Sienna is nice as well and people seem to really love it.
Honda is the most popular so sales are slim...and for some reason the drivers seat makes me feel like I am leaning into the windshield! lol But they get rave reviews.

Would love a suburban...but won't fit in the garage and gas is only going to go up again!

Looking to spend around 20k

Thanks again!!! keep the advice and reviews comming!!

[hypocore]

I hear ya on the Suburban not fitting and the gas issue...ex hubby got it in the divorce, so I didn't have to deal with that! haha

If money was no object I'd go for the Sienna no doubt. Next choice would be the Honda then Ford. I would never own a Dodge van or Chrysler at this point.

We did look at the Kia, but the motor being almost right underneath your feet was a bit too much for me.

Happy hunting!

Oh and if you do the email thing...expect to be bombarded with phone calls and emails for months to come. They are fierce sales peeps!

[buyerdawn]

When I did the e-mail thing....I created a hotmail account specifically for it and I didn't include my phone number. That way when I was done I didn't have to check the account anymore.

[momof2dfw]

Decatur to James Wood. Been buying cars from them for decades. He just opened up a new line dealership there recently as well and I can't rememer which make but it wasn't GM. He also has a location in Denton. He does all of the GM lines and then this new dealership that I can't remember.