JalapenoTampon

you had one job, Ellen.

I'll give 3 different, but equally true, reasons.

1 - Customers lie/withhold information. Customers saying "I'm not trading" when they are trading or "I have excellent credit" when they have TERRIBLE credit wastes lots of time.

2 - Dealers think that if they make you wait then you'll get impatient and make an uninformed decision.

3 - Some finance managers are just too slow. Couple this with the slow banks and you have a problem. I've yet to work in a dealership where the finance manager knew how to properly type. One finger can only go so fast! (EDIT: That's what she said)

The Good:

• I'm proud to sell Fords. I'm proud that they didn't take the tax-payer bailout. I'm proud that it's an American brand. And I'm proud of the turnaround Ford has made in the past decade.

• I sincerely think the F-150 is one of the best trucks on the road.

The Negatives:

• Don't buy a 2003-2007 Ford Truck with a 6.0L diesel engine. They suck.

• Lately I've been telling customers to stay away from the 1.6L Ecoboost in the Escape and Fusion. They had some problems a few months back and I'm not satisfied with the "fix" that Ford issued. I believe that engine will still give problems until the properly fix it. We haven't ordered one for our inventory since then.

The Good: The money. The freedom. The challenge.

The Bad: The stigma. The customers who come in ready to fight you but have never met you.

I highly recommend AutoTrader Trade-in Marketplace if you just want to sell your car. It will give you a value after you answer some questions about your vehicle. Then it gives you a list of local dealers that will buy your car for that value. Obviously, they will probably try to sell you something but they sign up for this program agreeing to buy cars from customers.

Also, Carmax.