Please help: Dealer was sold, new dealer is extorting me

[mkhuffman]

I don’t think you can get a plan on a cancelled order

I did. I picked up an existing order and they gave me the x-plan price. There are good dealers.

While I agree this dealer is a POS, personally I would walk away and use Autotrader to find the car. I think it will be hard for Ford to transfer an order from one dealer to another, so either the OP gets the existing dealer to do the right thing, or he has to find another car.

I don't think it is that hard to find one via Autotrader. You just have to keep looking and be willing to go out of state to get it. I flew to Newark and drove my car home to VA. It was a great way to get to know it quickly!

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[Mr67gta]

Did you put a deposit on the vehicle

 

[Keith]

If you write the negative reviews please share them here and I’ll like and comment about their BS treatment of their customers

 

[HuntingPudel]

OP said he placed his order "almost a year ago," which at most is just shy of 8 months. GT orders opened up officially on April 28, 2021. Some of us snuck in and ordered on April 27, 2021. Ford required a minimum deposit of $500.00 to place an order on their site (I have heard that individual dealers could require more than that - some forum members stated that their deposits were $1,000.00). So my assumption is that OP did put a deposit on his order. I might be wrong if OP placed his order at the dealer and the dealer did not require a deposit. ?‍?

I do not know if OP had a reservation. Some of us reserved as far back as 2019 (not me). Acording to some posts I have read there is at least one 2019 reservation that has not been fulfilled yet. The earliest reservation of a GT for whom I remember the name of the owner has had his order fulfilled and was a January 2020 reservation (fulfilled very recently, almost a month after my early 2021 reservation was fulfilled). ?‍?

 

[TTT]

i would write as many negative reviews as i can on yelp and google warning people of this dealer. you might have some leverage with that. i'd also picket outside their dealership and scare off any potential customers. dealers have a hard enough time getting people in the doors as it is with ADMs

Maybe its time to tell us who the scumbags are? Maybe you need to copy the dealership on this thread...

 

[Reign of Ravens]

Don’t believe your story one bit ?. Low posts sounds like a troll. ??‍

I believe it. The current system reveals that we're basically at the mercy of dealers being honorable. How far do you think that goes?

In my case, the Ford website indicated no ADM for the dealer I chose; they even emailed me that there'd be no ADM; and two months after I made my reservation, ADM got added. Dealer is being wishy-washy in their wording about the ADM, saying that if they promised me pricing then they'd honor it, but it remains on the website regardless, and they're so far not responding to my requests to get the costs laid out beforehand, and signed. Ford says they can't do a thing, it's between me and the dealer. Right now the only leverage I have is threatening to cancel my order, because it's not yet scheduled for production and if it's canceled then it goes away entirely and the dealership won't get it, either. Although it sounds like they have to truly cancel the order, not just refund me and let the order remain live... and I don't know what would happen if they refuse to do that.

My views are growing cynical about Ford's new order process. Basically, all of us here are potentially a bunch of suckers. The dealers can only order a limited number of cars, but if they can get a customer behind an order then they can order more. But one dealer I spoke with said that they make next to nothing (actually said they lose money on the Mach-E at MSRP but I have a hard time believing that) so of course they want to sell above MSRP. So what happens? If a customer abandons an order then they can sell at what ever crazy price they want, because anyone walking by the lot doesn't necessarily have an expectation of the price. But for those of us who place the order, we're just ripe to be taken advantage of. Maybe when you place the reservation you could afford to lose it and find a different dealer or a different car, but wait a year and now how much wiggle room do you have? If my dealer can suddenly change the ADM from $0 to $2,000, what prevents a dealer from deciding to say, on delivery day, that the ADM is now $20,000? What do they care if the person who made the reservation can't afford it or refuses to pay and is now screwed - they'll refund you your $500 and then still sell the car for a few thousand more anyway, which still beats selling at MSRP. In that situation, you were just used to justify letting Ford send them an extra vehicle. Thanks, chump?

Car dealerships have a poor reputation overall, but my current vehicle is a Nissan, purchased new some years ago, and the dealership experience wasn't terrible. Compared to my experiences with two Ford dealerships thus far, it was downright pleasant.

So yes, I absolutely believe the story and don't think this guy is trolling one bit.

 

[s7davis]

I believe him. I know that dealership and it was Perry Ford of Poway. Now called Aaron Ford of Poway. Perry Ford was always a bit scandelous of a dealership. I do feel for his situation. But it is also apparent the dealerships wants to keep the vehicle so they doing what they can to keep the reservation holder from getting it. If you have to report this to BBB, this is one of the main reasons why people hate dealing with dealerships because of those ancient laws that protect them needs to get looked at as those protect them but hurt the customer and the dealerships know this as long as it fills their pockets they do not care.

 

[mkhuffman]

Ordering a Ford on-line is a new process for pretty much everyone, because I think Ford started it with the MME. But regardless, it is a new process that we are not familiar with. I thought when I placed my "order" on the web site, my car was ordered and all I needed to do is wait. Nope. As I posted before, the on-line process is a "request", not an order. The dealer places the actual order.

For the future, @Reign of Ravens and others, make sure you have a signed contract with the dealer that specifies exactly how much you will pay. It seems that is the step you missed. It appears your dealer took your order request and turned it into an order without making any written agreement with you.

When I placed my order request, about an hour later my local dealer called me and asked if I could come in and finalize the order. I was surprised, because like most of us, I didn't know it is a request and not an order. When I got to the dealer, they wrote up the sale agreement and I signed it. A day or two later they submitted the order to Ford (which Ford did not accept for 4 months).

When I found out about the x-plan discount, I asked my dealer if they would honor it and they said "sure" and sent me new paperwork with the discount applied.

If you never did any of that, you never actually had an order and the dealer was just using your request to order a vehicle for their inventory. That sounds like it must violate some Ford agreement somewhere, but I don't know because I am not an insider.

Get it in writing from the dealer and get them to sign it. Before you do, you have no real order and they can screw you over if they want to. That is probably why Ford is saying they cannot do anything to help you.

If you have a signed order, it is a contract and that is something that is much harder for them to get out of. If you take them to court you probably would win, and you have proof you can use with Ford. A verbal agreement is much harder to enforce and Ford is stuck with "he said, she said". Ford will most likely favor the word of their direct customer over you in that situation.

 

[Carsinmyblood]

Unfortunately, running to a lawyer gets you a big fat... So, buy somewhere else.

What are you out? Assuming you get the deposit back, anticipation.

A tough thing, but if the dealer won't play, find another.

 

[mkhuffman]

Unfortunately, running to a lawyer gets you a big fat... So, buy somewhere else.

What are you out? Assuming you get the deposit back, anticipation.

A tough thing, but if the dealer won't play, find another.

This is the best approach at this point. Walk away and try to get the deposit back. If you don't have a signed order, they cannot keep your deposit IMO.

Even if you have a signed agreement, do you want to fight with them all the way even after the car is delivered? Can you imagine all the crap they will try to put on the car and charge you for?

My NJ tried that, but when I said "no", they said "no problem". I did pay for the security "window etching" which apparently is just stickers in the door frame area. What a waste of money. That is on me because I thought it was worth $275. It was not.

 

[Pidg133]

you'd think but the answer is no since the agrement isn't actually signed until you sign the contract with the dealership once they have the car, you can always walk away and not purchase the car if you want, which in this case is exactly what the dealership is hoping for knowing they can sell the car for far more if I walk away.

But there was a written agreement with consideration (deposit) which should be upheld as a contract

 

[Carsinmyblood]

But there was a written agreement with consideration (deposit) which should be upheld as a contract

It's been hashed over here.... It's not a contract. The buyer has made an offer and put up $500.00 in good faith. The dealer still has to accept.

Just like placing an offer and deposit for a house with a realtor. When the house is ready, you or the seller can still walk away.

 

[MachE1977]

If tweeting Mark Levine doesn't work then you can pretty much forget about it. The only thing you can do is order from a competing dealer and blast this scumbag dealer all over Social Media. Although some dealers really dont give a damn. I mean I guess some of us who are local can inquire about your Mach-E and offer below MSRP......maybe they'll then take what the previous dealer agreed on.

 

[RickMachE]

I don't believe that a vehicle order is a contract. A legal contract has to have specific terms spelled out and much more.

If tweeting Mark Levine doesn't work then you can pretty much forget about it. The only thing you can do is order from a competing dealer and blast this scumbag dealer all over Social Media. Although some dealers really dont give a damn. I mean I guess some of us who are local can inquire about your Mach-E and offer below MSRP......maybe they'll then take what the previous dealer agreed on.

M-i-k-e. Mike Levine.

 

[Up and Over]

I am in a very similar situation with a dealer that went out of business right before my vehicle shipped. I have a new dealer and for now it looks like the dealer will honor the original order terms. The catch is that the vehicle has now shipped but no one at Ford can confirm the location that it is shipping to (the reason why this is a potential issue is that there is another dealer who Ford was going to route the vehicle to that was talking about charging ADM before I placed my order). What has me worried is that the new dealer is not sure they can see the vehicle on the VVR. When I talk to Ford marketing, they say to talk to the dealer. I have made at least 8 calls to Ford (with each one taking at least half an hour of my time). I have reached out on here to Ford and that has not been much help. I am at the point where if there is a major issue at the time of delivery (eg they try to add ADM or something else fishy, or there is a serious problem with the vehicle), I am not sure that I can trust Ford to fix the problem. I would love to have the vehicle but at some point, I have to ask myself if it is worth the hassle.

tl;dr placed order through website, dealer that was taking delivery no longer exists, new owners refuse to honor the agreement with the previous dealership and wont take x-plan, want to charge a very high ADM and didnt even register for the ca clean air rebate. They flat our refuse to transfer the order to a new dealer and said there is nothing I nor Ford can do about it. Ford marketing agrees...

Details

I placed my order for a mach-e GT performance almost a year ago (been waiting for this car for two years), I got a build date of 1/10 and was incredibly excited until earlier this week when I logged on to see if there were any updates and I got a "Sorry to hit the brakes" message saying Perry Ford of Poway had been sold and there was a new dealer I needed to speak with before my order could continue. I talk to the new dealer Aaron Ford asking them to confirm they take x-plan, wont charge ADM, have registered for the CA clean air rebate, take ford options, etc. They refuse to answer anything saying don't worry about it, we can go through all the details once the car arrives, we'll take care of you... I send it in writing and after many calls they finally tell me no we dont take any a-z plan, no we have not registered for the ca clean air and we are looking to add a $10k ADM, we are also looking at installing a new alarm system, paint protection, fabric protection, etc when we receive the car...

I call up other dealerships in the area, they all readily say they do take xplan aren't charging any ADM and have registered for the CA clean air rebate, transfer your order through! They gladly send it in writing. I call Ford marketing and this is where the pain really begins. I am transferred from person to person and department to department wasting hours each day and with each person saying "sorry we cannot transfer any orders from our end". I get transferred to marketing, suv department, ford performance racing, customer relations, etc all to be transferred back to ford marketing. No one can help. Someone from Ford marketing flat out said, just cancel your order and place it with the other dealership... someone else said it has to be done via the new agency they cannot do anything by law... asked me to speak with the general manager of the new owners...

I ask to speak with the general manager of the new dealership to little avail, this morning the second in command to the GM calls me. I ask him to help me and before I can even start he cuts me off and says there will be no talk of transferring dealers and that they cannot do that. I ask if they dont know how or if it's that they wont and he flat out says that they wont, that they are taking delivery of the car and there is nothing I nor Ford can do about it. Absolutely unprofessional, I try to appeal to his sensibilities asking why they would treat their customers this way, that I have been a ford owner for decades, bought the 2005 Ford mustang the day it came out, etc and have been waiting for this car for two years. Didn't help at all, said they can do whatever they want and know that I have to abide by their terms or walk away and that they can make far more money on the car selling it to someone else than me. I ask to speak to the GM (whom I can hear is in the room and is telling this guy what to say) and they refuse saying he's around but busy and doesnt take calls. I ask to make an appointment with the GM and they say they'll take my info to see if maybe it's possible but that they'll just expect to see me when the car arrives in Jan... I ask them why they would ever treat someone like this and what do they expect will happen next? That given the position they are putting me in I will be posting my situation all over social media, leaving reviews of my experience, filing a complaint with the BBB and consumer protection groups, talking to the local media and bringing in lawyers given that this is extortion. His answer, we dont care, do what you need to do, we're telling you that we are taking the car in January and you can accept our terms or walk away...

I call ford marketing back and they say that unfortunately they are right, they cant do anything about it and that they have escalated the case but the answer will be the same... and that given the holidays I can expect to get a call back before new year's or in Jan.

I can't believe this is happening or that Ford or a new dealership would treat their customers this way, the car is being built 1/10, once the car is sent to the dealer I know there's nothing that can be done. I never signed anything with Aaron Ford, it was all through the main Ford website and with Perry Ford which no longer exists, I honestly dont know what to do, please help

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