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Review content:
First off, let me say that my past experience with car dealers has been horrific; they have left me sitting at the dealership for hours and hours on end, as if I have no life or nothing better to do. This experience was completely different!
I perused the autos online and sent an inquiry; I immediately received an internet sales quote on an Escape from Faisal Aziz, and a follow-up email to make sure it was received and not sorted to my SPAM folder. They were not pushy, which I completely appreciate. Give me time to mull it over and let me get back to you, don't breathe down my neck!
I continued to ask questions via email, and Karen Ruvalcaba stepped in. She was very helpful in answering all of my questions - can we do as much prequalifying as possible before I come in there (given my past experience, this was very important to me.) When she had answered all of my initial questions, we made an appointment for me to come in for a test drive.
I visited the dealership Monday evening, arriving about 6:30 PM. I was greeted by Ignacio Toscano, who led me to Karen. She introduced Ignacio and asked him to show me some vehicle options. He was most helpful and friendly. Even though I looked at a couple of used Escapes, they didn't have very many bells and whistles and had the old body styling. He took the time to find out what it was I wanted and needed in a new (to me) vehicle, and then showed me a 2010 used Ford Edge, which is an upgrade from the Escape. Although it was a 2010, it only had 36000 miles on it and was a Special Edition Limited with many, many amenities.
I test drove the Edge and it was great! I have a friend who has one so I was already familiar with the vehicle. Once I decided that was the one I wanted, we went inside and although he was technically off the clock and supposed to leave at 5:00 PM, he waited with me and we chit chatted about many different things while we waited for finance. There were several other folks there looking to buy, so I knew I'd have to wait my turn.
The Finance Team was great - they worked quickly and within my budget to get me what I wanted. They were friendly, respectful, and professional. When I met with Tom to complete paperwork, he explained everything I was signing and even noted once I added the extended warranty (5 yrs/100,000 mi), it dropped my monthly car payment by $42!
I was there for a total of 90 minutes...when I came out to the washed, full tank vehicle, Ignacio was already there and had cleared out old navigation data and took the time to show me some preliminary steps to programming and using the navigation, satellite radio, voice commands, SYNC features, and reviewed other buttons and instruments.
Overall, it was a - dare I say - "pleasant" experience! In fact, I have already referred one of my coworkers who is looking for a new car to the folks at San Leandro Ford. The car is beautiful and was very well maintained by its previous owner. It honestly looks like a brand new vehicle!
I am hopeful that whomever was the problem in the service station has since been let go; I plan to at least try them out initially as I would prefer to have a Ford dealer service my Ford vehicle and would like to stay in my home town if at all possible. I may write another review after that initial visit so stay tuned!
For now, I highly recommend San Leandro Ford/Lincoln to anyone looking for a new or used vehicle. I found them to be quick, professional, respectful, and most helpful. Be upfront - tell them what you want and they won't waste time showing you cars that you're really not interested in. My time is precious to me and I appreciate that they made every effort to get me out of there as soon as possible in the vehicle that I wanted.
Thumbs up! :-)
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