McCrackin Ford closed on Thursday, 02-15-07. What a shame. Not!! Couldn't have happened to a dealership that deserved it more. The only decent person at the place was the gsm, Tim Dye, who would actually respond to my irate correspondence, concerning items missing from the car at the time of sale (floor mats, owner's manual, etc.) My salesperson SUCKED. Absolutely no follow through, no response to any questions, total bonehead. Even sending a letter TO THE OWNER produced no response. I love the car I bought...I detest the people that I bought it from. Thank God no one else will have to be subjected to these yahoos.

While I can’t comment about McCrackin’s service department as I usually get my vehicles repaired closer to home, I can comment on their sales department as I’ve bought three of my cars at this dealership (1995 Escort, 2000 Windstar and 2004 Focus. ) I’ve got to say that my experience with this dealer’s sales staff has always been positive and nothing like the previous two posters.

When I purchased by 1995 Escort I lived relatively close to the dealer. After looking at what was available at several dealers lots, my wife and I had our choice narrowed down to the Escort or Neon. First, we tried to negotiate for a Neon, but we walked out of the dealer because the sales manager refused to reduce the sticker price of the Neon by more than $300. Since there was a snowstorm at the time, we decided to stop at the next dealer down the road (McCrackin Ford) to see what they had and hopefully wait for the snow storm to pass. The salesman came over to us (in the snow storm), met us and showed us every Escort that they had. We found an Escort that suited our needs, and the price was 1% over invoice, which when combined with a rebate put the car about $1000 lower than the Neon.

In 2000 we were in the market for a Minivan. The one option that I really wanted was the ability to tow a 3500lb+ trailer. Of course, no dealer had a minivan with a “tow package” except on very high-end models, which we could not afford. Once again, McCrackin came through, and traded one of their vehicles for a Windstar LX with a dealer in Cincinatti Ohio, (which is a good 4+ hours away from Pittsburgh!)

This month I was again in the market for a new car (After 140,000 “city-driving” miles, some major components were failing at a repair cost greater than what I was willing to pay). We spent a few days looking for cars at local dealers in the rain. Few salesman would venture out in the downpours to meet us. When we came to McCrackin, their salesman came out in the rain and even brought a spare umbrella! Once again, what we wanted was not on the lot, but they were willing to look & trade. They found us a four door 2004 Focus LX at a fair price.

I guess the thing that I like best about McCrackin is that they are willing to do “dealer-trades” to get you the exact vehicle that you want. Many dealers in the Pittsburgh area (or is it many salesman?) are unwilling to do dealer trades, and really try to push what they have on the lot at you even if what they have is not what you want and even if you are willing to pay a little bit more for the “trade” service. McCracken has also never “pushed” extended warranties at us either, but they did make us know that they are available, what they cover, and what the cost was. McCrackin has treated us respectfully, never sized us up for “suckers” and always offered us fair deals all three times that we purchased new vehicles.