Looking for a GOOD Dealer in the Orange County Area

[Scottopia]

Hey all, looking for some insight. I live in MD, my daughter just graduated from Chapman and is planning to stay out there to pursue her career. I will be there in early August for her graduation and will be looking to "help" her purchase a reliable car. One that Dad does not need to worry about because he is not there to help ?...

Currently looking at used Ford Edge's, Escapes, Hyundai Tucson or Santa Fe type SUV's. Carmax has a weak inventory and is more pricey than most, Carvana may be an option, Auto Republic looks to have decent inventory and pricing, but unclear of their reliability. Would appreciate any recommendations on dealerships to check out and to avoid.

Thank you!!

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[Stevie Gee]

Hey all, looking for some insight. I live in MD, my daughter just graduated from Chapman and is planning to say out there to pursue her career. I will be there in early August for her graduation and will be looking to "help" her purchase a reliable car. One that Dad does not need to worry about because he is not there to help ?...

Currently looking at used Ford Edge's, Escapes, Hyundai Tucson or Santa Fe type SUV's. Carmax has a weak inventory and is more pricey than most, Carvana may be an option, Auto Republic looks to have decent inventory and pricing, but unclear of their reliability. Would appreciate any recommendations on dealerships to check out and to avoid.

Thank you!!

Hi Scott…just sent you a private message

 

[Gizmokid2005]

Whatever you do, avoid Santa Margarita Ford as much as you can. They have been, in no uncertain terms, awful to deal with, their sales practices haven't been great either, constant markups, etc.

I have had good luck with Caruso Ford in Long Beach (that's where almost all of my maintenance has been done on both the Ranger and the Mustang - minus a few tries with SM Ford in the truck), and I bought my truck from Galpin Ford in the valley (North side of LA) - it was a drive but they were worth it.

Best of luck!

 

[Stevie Gee]

Whatever you do, avoid Santa Margarita Ford as much as you can. They have been, in no uncertain terms, awful to deal with, their sales practices haven't been great either, constant markups, etc.

I have had good luck with Caruso Ford in Long Beach (that's where almost all of my maintenance has been done on both the Ranger and the Mustang - minus a few tries with SM Ford in the truck), and I bought my truck from Galpin Ford in the valley (North side of LA) - it was a drive but they were worth it.

Best of luck!

I agree about RSM Ford…I live 3 miles from them, but travel about 10 miles, for the last 11+ years, to TuttleClick Capistrano Ford in SanJuan Capistrano …very good and reliable sales and service.

 

[Gizmokid2005]

I agree about RSM Ford…I live 3 miles from them, but travel about 10 miles, for the last 11+ years, to TuttleClick Capistrano Ford in SanJuan Capistrano …very good and reliable sales and service.

We're close then! It's about 6 miles for me to get there - but I still consistently drive to Caruso (Long Beach) to get service done. I've heard good things about the Tuttle-Click brands as well.

 

[XLT_TREMOR]

Generally agree with suggestions above.
Positive:
Either Tuttle-Click is good for service.
Either AutoNation
Galpin

Stay away:
Huntington Beach Ford
Ken Grody
Theodore Robbins

This mostly based off new car sales and service experiences, not used car.

I don’t have much recent experience with buying used, but if you have the time or inclination, I’d suggest looking at private sales…if you’re willing to beat carvana and carmax offers. It’s a crazy used market right now. Best of luck!

 

[IdahoRanger]

Have bought an Escape at Capistrano Ford and an F150 at Villa Ford of Orange and both experiences were good but both were over a dozen years ago so not worth much.

 

[TheRoushRanger046]

Generally agree with suggestions above.
Positive:
Either Tuttle-Click is good for service.
Either AutoNation
Galpin

Stay away:
Huntington Beach Ford
Ken Grody
Theodore Robbins

This mostly based off new car sales and service experiences, not used car.

I don’t have much recent experience with buying used, but if you have the time or inclination, I’d suggest looking at private sales…if you’re willing to beat carvana and carmax offers. It’s a crazy used market right now. Best of luck!

Amen on Ken Grody… worthless ass-hol**…

 

[Deleted member 15875]

Amen on Ken Grody… worthless ass-hol**…

In 2022, nothing has changed with Ken Grody, at least in Carlsbad. Worthless. I'm gladly giving my business to other Ford dealers now and purchased my new Ranger from another dealer. What a bunch of fools.

 

[TheRoushRanger046]

In 2022, nothing has changed with Ken Grody, at least in Carlsbad. Worthless. I'm gladly I give my business to other Ford dealers.

Amen ??

 

[Djlink]

Hey all, looking for some insight. I live in MD, my daughter just graduated from Chapman and is planning to stay out there to pursue her career. I will be there in early August for her graduation and will be looking to "help" her purchase a reliable car. One that Dad does not need to worry about because he is not there to help ?...

Currently looking at used Ford Edge's, Escapes, Hyundai Tucson or Santa Fe type SUV's. Carmax has a weak inventory and is more pricey than most, Carvana may be an option, Auto Republic looks to have decent inventory and pricing, but unclear of their reliability. Would appreciate any recommendations on dealerships to check out and to avoid.

Thank you!!

 

[Djlink]

Probably a bit late but. I would recommend Fullerton Ford. I started looking for a 20-21 crew cab XLT 4WD a couple of months ago using the Copilot app. Everyday I would go through a hundred or more Rangers I was willing to go anywhere to get the right truck, right color, right packages, right mileage, at the right price. After about 3 weeks I found it at Fullerton. Called them up offered $500. less than what they wanted for a 21 with 19K miles. They accepted I did the credit on line and a couple of days later took Amtrak down 500 miles from Vallejo, wondering all the way if this was a bait and switch, some other kind of scam or what. I got there and 2 hours later I was diving home with it. Fresh wash and full tank of gas. Everybody friendly no pressure. Best car buying experience in a long, long time.

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