Forest Lake Ford

Although we did end up buying a vehicle from Forest Lake Ford, the current dealership model of buying cars is tiring. Our salesperson, Austin, was fine. He was a nice person that is just working in the syst Ford, the current dealership model of buying cars is tiring. Our salesperson, Austin, was fine. He was a nice person that is just working in the system. Despite saying they are not a "fixed price" dealership, and that we can "work something out", when it came to the actual negotiation, $500 on the trade-in value was all there was to negotiate. When the trade-in value was challenged, they greatly inflated the cost of a set of tires and two TPMS sensors, in the hopes we were too dumb to know better. Not sure why there are salespeople if the manager has to okay everything anyway. The manager (Brad, I believe) came off as arrogant and condescending, as if we don't have a clue how the world works. The vehicle we test-drove and eventually purchased was very dirty. Although Austin said it just got there, it had been there for about three weeks. Austin said it would be cleaned before leaving, but it was only given a very quick wipe-down. This resulted in me spending over two hours cleaning it once home. The finance person, Michael, was easy to work with. As a whole, this place is fine. Normal sales tactics that are tiring and outdated. More

I called to inquire about a white Ford Expedition. I asked the salesperson what's the estimated trade-in value on my car. He told me I had to bring it in. I called a few other dealerships. They gave m I asked the salesperson what's the estimated trade-in value on my car. He told me I had to bring it in. I called a few other dealerships. They gave me an idea of what it would be traded in. This person did not seem friendly, telling me I had to bring it in just to get an idea. I didn't find the salesperson very friendly or useful. For that reason, I'm still looking for a Ford Expedition Max, but I'm going to check different dealerships in the area. The person that answered the phone named was Joe. More

I originally planned to give 2 stars because the initial purchase went well, but after everything that followed, I’m giving 1 star. I was trading in my low-mileage F150 King Ranch for a Bronco Raptor. This purchase went well, but after everything that followed, I’m giving 1 star. I was trading in my low-mileage F150 King Ranch for a Bronco Raptor. This dealership had the right color and options, and the deal seemed fair, so I made the 300-mile trip on March 14th. My interaction with Kyle was smooth, and at the time, everything seemed fine. However, after getting home and cleaning the Bronco, I noticed multiple blemishes in the paint on the hood—two dull spots about the size of a golf ball or hardball—and the overall metallic finish on the hood was blotchy. I was sick to my stomach seeing this on a $100K vehicle. I immediately reached out to Kyle with photos and videos of the blemishes. He assured me they would make it right. I had the windows tinted, and the tinter found even more paint issues. At the same time, Kyle and I were emailing back and forth. He and his managers suggested I get the hood repainted locally to make things easier for me. I was hesitant because the color is a metallic red with a tinted clear coat, which would be very difficult to match, and I certainly didn’t want to have a $100K vehicle repainted so soon. By this point, there were blemishes on the hood, the ridge of the front fender, the rear fender, and even near the removable top. I emailed Kyle again, expressing that I didn’t want the truck repainted—it felt unreasonable. By now, about a week had passed since the purchase, and I had noticed that trade-in truck was listed for $6,500 more than what I received. It had already sold, so I offered to settle for $2,000 to compensate for the paint issues. I thought this was a fair offer—the dealership still made a profit on my trade-in, and I would be satisfied. However, Kyle never responded to my email. Now, two weeks later (March 28th), I still hadn’t received the title for my Bronco. I checked with the DMV and found that the paperwork hadn’t even been filed. I left messages with the dealership on both Friday and Monday, but no one returned my call. To make matters worse, they transferred my F150 plates to the Bronco, but the plates were still showing as registered to my old truck. I had a law enforcement friend run the plate, confirming this. Monday afternoon, I finally reached someone in finance. I asked why my plates were still tied to my old vehicle and why I hadn’t received the title after three weeks. She called me back later, explaining that the paperwork was sitting on someone’s desk because they had been out for a few days. She assured me everything was fine because I had a 30-day temp permit. I told her that wasn’t the case, as my plates should have been transferred. She promised to submit the paperwork and send me a new temp plate. When I received the new temp plate, it expired in 13 days—not 30 as it should have, since the date on the plate reflected the day I bought the Bronco. On April 4th, three weeks after the purchase, I checked the DMV website again, only to see that the paperwork still hadn’t been filed. I called the dealership once more, explaining the situation. The person on the phone insisted it was normal for it to take up to 30 days to file the paperwork. I explained that while I understood it could take that long to get the title, the paperwork hadn’t even been filed yet. He told me if I got pulled over, I should just explain that I had recently purchased the vehicle. I told him that I’d bought it three weeks ago so that wouldn’t be acceptable. He asked for my number and promised to call me back but never did. I knew he wasn’t going to because he never even asked for my name. This marks the third time I’ve had no response from finance. Finally, on April 5th, I checked the DMV website again, and the paperwork had finally been filed. On the 7th, it showed processed. Title was received on April 14th. At this point, I have a $100K vehicle that requires extensive repainting, a frustrating experience trying to resolve the issue. More