Horrible Experience at Ford Dealer- Is Tesla’s Non-Dealer Model Better?

JellyBelly

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I am with you! I am also confused, as the X-Plan support person that I received a response from told me to review the plan rules and to review the list of ineligible X-Plan vehicles. There is no mention of any version of the Mach-E in the Ineligible Vehicles list. I guess I am going to follow back up with the support rep.
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The person that responded to you just gave you a plain vanilla response - you are right MME is qualified for Xplan unless they list the in the exception list
 

TheLight75

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They asked if I would take a picture with the car, as they ask all of their new buyers to take a picture for social media. I said sure, but did not actually see what the sign said until the picture was taken.
Since, as a discerning adult, you didn’t see what was on the sign you were holding, it’s a good thing that the sign didnt have some racial epithets or other horrific language on it. ?
 

TheLight75

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I disagree that it is "just as much" on the customer to ensure they are not conned as it is the dealer to not con the customer. It's *FAR* more on the dealer to know what they're doing.
The dealer knew EXACTLY what they were doing. This is how they make money. Caveat emptor.

Check out the videos posted by Kevin Hunter (ex dealer sales guy). He lays plain many of the tactics that dealerships play. Be warned: you might want a long shower after you learn about how the sausage is made.

https://youtube.com/c/KevinHunter
 
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Mgayle83

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My vehicle was ordered back on reveal night in 2019, so I didn't have the issues of tracking the vehicle down, but still had issues with the process.

I had to inform the dealer that Ford Options existed.
Then I had to clarify to the dealer that Ford Options is *not* the same as Flex Buy.
Then I had to clarify to the dealer that Ford Options was 2.25% not like 9%.
Then I had to remind the dealer that there was a $100 rebate on the CoPilot whatever it's called
Then I had to remind the dealer I had already given them a $500 order deposit and that needed to be included as a down payment.

But eventually, after a few hours of phone calls, multiple visits to the showroom, and a final hour sitting there with the finance manager and the salesman, I took the car home.

Once we were all on the same page, it went easy. But I was absolutely their guinea pig, I had to teach them about the car itself.

That said, with Options there is a higher interest rate (2.25%) and unlike a lease, you are paying the sales tax on the entire vehicle's price.

Actual Options residual varies with the mileage chosen, but that should be something they *should* be able to tell you easily.
Yea was my dealers guinea pig but even though I told them everything, I still could not get a confirmation of what I expect. So I will be cancelling and ordering from a different dealer.
 

Mgayle83

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I do have one on order with a May build date. Thanks....just seems crazy to pay over MSRP for ANY car.
I just found out that mine is also going to be built in May, but I am canceling to get the ER and to buy from a different dealer. Probably will not get mine for another 6 months or so. :(
 


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Brademcee

Brademcee

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When I first saw this picture yesterday, it reminded me of a former boss who praised commodity hardware to the heavens and preached strongly against proprietary systems for years, then a month after leaving the company he came back to pitch for a vendor of proprietary systems. ?

I am so glad that OP got the car he wanted without markup, but the process also shows exactly why many consumers prefer Tesla's business model: the same price is available to everyone, without wasting anyone's time on back-and-forth and high pressure sales tactics.
Yep,
I just found out that mine is also going to be built in May, but I am canceling to get the ER and to buy from a different dealer. Probably will not get mine for another 6 months or so. :(
well at least many of the issue and bugs us owners are seeing will be resolved when you get your car.
 
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Brademcee

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Since, as a discerning adult, you didn’t see what was on the sign you were holding, it’s a good thing that the sign didnt have some racial epithets or other horrific language on it. ?
My attention was focused on playing with my new toy and not the photo. Thankfully I was not holding a sign that said I got suckered because at the end of the day, I got what I wanted. First Edition Grabber Blue off the lot with no ADM. Now I should say that I have been having some charging issues at my house and this dealer has been really responsive and even drove the 70 mile round trip to my house with another MME to test on my Level 2 EVSE.
 

Mgayle83

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Yep,

well at least many of the issue and bugs us owners are seeing will be resolved when you get your car.
That is very true and I am hopeful for. Not too mention I am sure there will be an update or two that will help a lot of things.
 

theblueone

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To call my dealer useless is inadequate, I'm starting to think that they are actually trying to get me to walk away so that they can mark up my car for the open market. I was originally one of the lucky few with a build date in NOVEMBER and I am still waiting for the vehicle.

Let me put Towne Ford in Redwood City, CA on blast for a few minutes:

I have never tried so hard to give a company a large amount of money and found them so totally uninterested in helping me complete that transaction. I reserved a Mustang Mach E First Edition almost 15 months ago, and while I don't hold the local dealer accountable for the Ford Corporation's manufacturing struggles, Towne has been beyond useless in terms of keeping me updated on the status of the vehicle. These cars are in incredibly high demand, and dealers that fail to convert a reservation are able to mark the vehicle up significantly and still sell it in days or even hours. I can't tell if Towne is actively trying to get me to back out, or if they are just hugely indifferent about all of their $60,000+ transactions.

Over the past five months (since seeing a unit in the showroom and meeting Kevin the Internet Sales rep) I have called dozens of times in search of information on lead times, financing, and other logistics, and I have received a single return call from Kevin. Other staff who are not in Internet Sales positions have been more helpful in terms of fielding my questions and following up. When I have been able to speak directly with Kevin, he told me that "there is a lot of interest around this vehicle, so I check on these orders 2-3 times a week". The information that he is able to give is no different than what I can see using online tools, and I can check it at a single URL in seconds. I don't expect him to care about my particular car as much as I do, but if I had his VIN list (and none of his internal tools) I could check the status of every single Mach E in transit to Towne in a matter of minutes. I've also had to drive the conversation on electric vehicle rebates, on Ford's A/D/X/Z-plan pricing, and on test drives (which I still haven't had).

The vehicle's delivery window has been moved four times. That's not Towne's fault, but they have NEVER reached out to inform me of that. I have been the one driving communication with Towne, and sometimes informing them of the changes rather than the other way around. The lack of information means I have had to keep tens of thousands of dollars earmarked to pay for the vehicle since late December (the original delivery date). The latest delivery window is three days (and counting) past due. The best Towne can tell me is "we see it was due to be here, but it's not".

I don't enjoy giving bad reviews, but I'm very frustrated by the fact that if I do walk away from this sale, Towne will profit even more by selling the car on the open market. I'm not going to buy a $60,000 car out of spite if it's not a good fit, but I do wish that Towne would give the appearance of caring about my customer experience.
 

VegStang

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My experience with the Sunnyvale dealer, while not as bad, is probably about as helpful. They will respond to my emails about the status or other requests but don't want to take the time to look up VV so I will have more specific info- like you, I get the same ETA date I can get from the tracker.

They did allow me to come in and take a look at an available FE (declined order), and test drive it a little over a week ago. It's just not the experience you imagine when you decide to spend this much on a vehicle. I was going to give my sales person a call today about it since it's now "past due", but not really sure what the point would be since I wouldn't learn anything.

Good luck with yours. I suspect mine is in Richmond possibly with yours but it's just a guess since I did get an update from a fellow forum member that many of the cars with an ETA around 2/27 were traveling through New Mexico on the train on 2/19.

To call my dealer useless is inadequate, I'm starting to think that they are actually trying to get me to walk away so that they can mark up my car for the open market. I was originally one of the lucky few with a build date in NOVEMBER and I am still waiting for the vehicle.

Let me put Towne Ford in Redwood City, CA on blast for a few minutes:

I have never tried so hard to give a company a large amount of money and found them so totally uninterested in helping me complete that transaction. I reserved a Mustang Mach E First Edition almost 15 months ago, and while I don't hold the local dealer accountable for the Ford Corporation's manufacturing struggles, Towne has been beyond useless in terms of keeping me updated on the status of the vehicle. These cars are in incredibly high demand, and dealers that fail to convert a reservation are able to mark the vehicle up significantly and still sell it in days or even hours. I can't tell if Towne is actively trying to get me to back out, or if they are just hugely indifferent about all of their $60,000+ transactions.

Over the past five months (since seeing a unit in the showroom and meeting Kevin the Internet Sales rep) I have called dozens of times in search of information on lead times, financing, and other logistics, and I have received a single return call from Kevin. Other staff who are not in Internet Sales positions have been more helpful in terms of fielding my questions and following up. When I have been able to speak directly with Kevin, he told me that "there is a lot of interest around this vehicle, so I check on these orders 2-3 times a week". The information that he is able to give is no different than what I can see using online tools, and I can check it at a single URL in seconds. I don't expect him to care about my particular car as much as I do, but if I had his VIN list (and none of his internal tools) I could check the status of every single Mach E in transit to Towne in a matter of minutes. I've also had to drive the conversation on electric vehicle rebates, on Ford's A/D/X/Z-plan pricing, and on test drives (which I still haven't had).

The vehicle's delivery window has been moved four times. That's not Towne's fault, but they have NEVER reached out to inform me of that. I have been the one driving communication with Towne, and sometimes informing them of the changes rather than the other way around. The lack of information means I have had to keep tens of thousands of dollars earmarked to pay for the vehicle since late December (the original delivery date). The latest delivery window is three days (and counting) past due. The best Towne can tell me is "we see it was due to be here, but it's not".

I don't enjoy giving bad reviews, but I'm very frustrated by the fact that if I do walk away from this sale, Towne will profit even more by selling the car on the open market. I'm not going to buy a $60,000 car out of spite if it's not a good fit, but I do wish that Towne would give the appearance of caring about my customer experience.
 

BillK

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I had a bad experience at my dealer who is a few blocks from where I live
...
I traveled 14 miles to another Ford dealer who didn't even know me but accepted my X-Plan. If you have a bad experience, walk away.
This is key to any major purchase. You, the buyer, are the decision maker. At any point you can break off and go elsewhere.

Dealers do perform a service for us and reasonably expect compensation for that. Unfortunately even the best dealers usually have cheesy finance departments so I always arrange financing myself before going to dealerships. Many credit unions offer great rates w/o requiring membership, but don't mention your financing until you have a firm price.

Some cars in high demand or with unique desirable features will sell for well over list with no discounts whatsoever. The last 2 new cars I bought were like that and I paid list plus a reasonable premium for dealers to go get them from other states. Some cars are unobtanium and sell for that kind of price (ask for a quote on a Mustang GT 350).

With limited supply and high demand it is not surprising we are starting to see dealers getting greedy. Ford has pressured them to sell w/o excess markup. If your dealer won't make you "the first kid on your block" with the newest sexy toy for list price it's your call whether to buy or walk away. It all comes down to how badly you want/need that particular car and what you are willing to pay. There is no "fair". Find the seller who will give you the car and price you want.

TLDR: It's just business. Buy or walk, but don't let your emotions rule your decision.
 
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Brademcee

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To call my dealer useless is inadequate, I'm starting to think that they are actually trying to get me to walk away so that they can mark up my car for the open market. I was originally one of the lucky few with a build date in NOVEMBER and I am still waiting for the vehicle.

Let me put Towne Ford in Redwood City, CA on blast for a few minutes:

I have never tried so hard to give a company a large amount of money and found them so totally uninterested in helping me complete that transaction. I reserved a Mustang Mach E First Edition almost 15 months ago, and while I don't hold the local dealer accountable for the Ford Corporation's manufacturing struggles, Towne has been beyond useless in terms of keeping me updated on the status of the vehicle. These cars are in incredibly high demand, and dealers that fail to convert a reservation are able to mark the vehicle up significantly and still sell it in days or even hours. I can't tell if Towne is actively trying to get me to back out, or if they are just hugely indifferent about all of their $60,000+ transactions.

Over the past five months (since seeing a unit in the showroom and meeting Kevin the Internet Sales rep) I have called dozens of times in search of information on lead times, financing, and other logistics, and I have received a single return call from Kevin. Other staff who are not in Internet Sales positions have been more helpful in terms of fielding my questions and following up. When I have been able to speak directly with Kevin, he told me that "there is a lot of interest around this vehicle, so I check on these orders 2-3 times a week". The information that he is able to give is no different than what I can see using online tools, and I can check it at a single URL in seconds. I don't expect him to care about my particular car as much as I do, but if I had his VIN list (and none of his internal tools) I could check the status of every single Mach E in transit to Towne in a matter of minutes. I've also had to drive the conversation on electric vehicle rebates, on Ford's A/D/X/Z-plan pricing, and on test drives (which I still haven't had).

The vehicle's delivery window has been moved four times. That's not Towne's fault, but they have NEVER reached out to inform me of that. I have been the one driving communication with Towne, and sometimes informing them of the changes rather than the other way around. The lack of information means I have had to keep tens of thousands of dollars earmarked to pay for the vehicle since late December (the original delivery date). The latest delivery window is three days (and counting) past due. The best Towne can tell me is "we see it was due to be here, but it's not".

I don't enjoy giving bad reviews, but I'm very frustrated by the fact that if I do walk away from this sale, Towne will profit even more by selling the car on the open market. I'm not going to buy a $60,000 car out of spite if it's not a good fit, but I do wish that Towne would give the appearance of caring about my customer experience.
I would look up the GM of the dealership and email them. They probably would prefer you back out because they know they will make more money off the car selling it on the street with ADM. It is crazy that they are trying to put ADM on a car you pre-ordered. My next move would be to post something on the Facebook site of the dealer. That is what I did and that changed everything for me. My situation was different, as mine was not my order but one that I was trying to buy off the lot.
 

RyZt

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Let me put Towne Ford in Redwood City, CA on blast for a few minutes:
I received delivery of my Mach E from Towne 2 weeks ago. Mine is a launch-night reservation of non-FE.

Over the past five months (since seeing a unit in the showroom and meeting Kevin the Internet Sales rep) I have called dozens of times in search of information on lead times, financing, and other logistics, and I have received a single return call from Kevin.
Below is my experience. I want to defend Towne and Kevin because they met my expectations, and was very pleasant to deal with.

Could they have done better? Yes. But they've met my bar. Would it be nice if they reached out to me more proactively? Sure, but at the end of the day, that's not something that matters to me. Kevin kept communication to a minimum, but did communicate adequately and extremely timely where it matters.

  • I made reservation on launch night without talking to any one at Towne Ford. I didn't call or email Towne Ford, nor did I receive one. And that's totally fine with me. (For comparison, I didn't receive any personal call/email from my local Tesla store either for my Model Y reservation, which I later cancelled. I did receive a lot of personal-ish emails from my VW dealership for my ID.4 reservation, which I have since cancelled.)
  • When I learned that order conversion will start soon (from this forum), I emailed Towne about X Plan and refundability of deposit. I received a call from Kevin with satisfactory verbal answers. I later texted Kevin and asked for his answer in writing via text, but he refused. I emailed GM. I didn't get a reply from GM, but Kevin provided me with a written response (via text) shortly afterwards.
  • I converted my order on the first day conversion is publicly available online. My order was accepted the same night. I received no email/text.
  • When CCFR $1500 came out, I emailed Kevin. Kevin replied that he has provided the info to his supervisor in 15 minutes. A few hours later, some one posted on this forum that Kevin said that Towne will apply. Two weeks later, I emailed Kevin again. He replied my email in minutes on a Friday night, telling me that Towne is finalizing the application. Two weeks later when I checked again, Towne is listed on CCFR website.
  • I considered asking Kevin for my VIN. Knowing the VIN will satisfy my curiosity and allow me to closely track my car. But it won't give me any actual value. I decided that my curiosity doesn't justify giving Kevin more work, and didn't ask Kevin for my VIN. Later, I decided to look at the JSON payload on Ford website, and found that the VIN is in there. A week later, some one made a tool to extract that info automatically, and posted it on this forum.
  • I used fordtracker and palsapp to track my order myself, without talking to Kevin.
  • I received an automated email from Ford telling me that my dealership will reach out to me soon. That's the day my Mach E was delivered to Towne Ford. Next day, GM called me to give me this info, and asked me to call Kevin to schedule a time for delivery. On that day, Kevin greeted me, and my Mach E was well prepped in the showroom. I sat in the car for a few minutes. When I came out, Kevin asked me to test drive it and moved the car out for me.
  • Kevin was knowledgeable about $100 Hands Free disclosure credit, $1500 CCFR, and $2500 options credit. The financing guy had some trouble with Options interest rate. But he was able to resolve it after I showed him the program code posted by hybrid2bev. Overall, the financing guy spent 2 hours working on the contract, as I waited and waited. I wished it was faster, but I understand that it's all new to them.
  • While I was waiting, some customers came in to look at another Mach E waiting to be delivered to the order holder. Kevin was in the back office at the time. Another salesperson tried to offer them a look inside the car, but couldn't find the key. my guess is that Kevin kept the key to himself to prevent people from messing with these ordered cars. That's a detail I really appreciate. I offered those people a look at the soon-to-be-mine Mach E.
  • At no point during my interactions with Kevin, I have the slightest feeling that Kevin wanted me to back out.
  • Kevin told me that Towne has 80-ish Mach E order and 500-ish Bronco reservation. On this forum, some one posted that Towne had a refused FE, and they were selling at MSRP, with no markup. Kevin told me that multiple people showed up the next day (after that post), and the car was sold to the first camer at no markup.
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