Ford trucks are not only handy vehicles, capable of aiding the handyman on the go, but also something of a statement—of Americans, for Americans, buy American. Of course, scholars will tell you this tradition of patriotism spirals through the annals of history when Henry Ford began rolling out Model T’s (maybe not Henry Ford as much as his employees) to average American families. There is no snobbery with Ford trucks—no frills, no lace, no gaudy names. The appellations of Ford’s truck lines are ordinarily numbers and letters (F-150, etc.), not like the chintzy names of competitors ( Toyota’s Tundra, for one). It seems that the Ford Motor Company is intent on not putting on airs—rather, simply giving consumers what they want: dependable trucks.
Now that the praises have been sung, where do interested parties go to catch a glimpse and land a test drive with one of these cars? Toss a virtual stone and you’ll wind up hitting an automotive dealership website that sells, you guessed it, Ford trucks. The ins and outs of electronic car shopping are immensely different from a visit to the actual lot. First of all, consumers don’t get the hands-on demonstration and the constant fiddling most websites require may drive away. For these reasons, many eschew purchasing vehicles online, opting instead for the reliability and comfortableness of the dealership.
But, the beauty of shopping electronically is that consumers can have the best of both worlds. That is to say, you can spend some time kicking around the dealership, learning the brass tacks and nuts and bolts of the car you’re interested in, then you can high tail it to the World Wide Web where you can research general price trends, consider which options you need and want, and read advice and essays pertaining specifically to the make and model that caught your eye.
My advice is to stick to the informational side of the Internet—meaning that consumers should view cyberspace as a bulwark of product knowledge and price ranges, but buy in person. Some might dismiss this advice as conservative, but I stalwartly believe that customers should spend considerable time tooling around with the actual truck before purchase. This advice goes doubly for consumers potentially buying used trucks—it doesn’t matter how dependable the car is on paper, get out there and take a look at it yourself. The problem with buying automobiles online is that consumers don’t have the chance to see if they are comfortable with the vehicle. This is an underrated process—getting acquainted with your car is, in fact, quite necessary, and it should typically happen before you cut the check.
Finding Ford trucks online is something to be encouraged, but let the buyer beware when it comes to e-commerce. With such a colossal investment, be sure to take the time and use the informational capacities of the internet to their fullest extent. Find out typical problems associate with the truck model you’re interested in. Find out Ford’s record with warranties and repairs. Find out everything you can before you pick up that pick-up for good.
By Jean-Pierre Lacrampe