2bOR
Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2022
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- 1
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- 14
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- Location
- San Francisco
- Vehicles
- Mach-e
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- Scientist
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- #1
I briefly mentioned my experience in a different thread, but here's the detailed account of what happened. Thanks for reading
- Ordered Mach-e online on 28 Nov 2021, assigned Putnam Ford in San Mateo, CA as the designated dealer, paid $500 deposit.
- Within a couple days I was contacted by Putnam Ford to confirm my information and accept the online order. Was told delivery time would be about 6+ months and would keep me poste. All good and as expected.
- Ford sends the regular updates on the status of the Vehicle: received an update car would go into production in May, then there was a 2 week delay, actual production third week in May.
- Early June 2022, I get the Ford email that the vehicle is ready to be shipped to the dealer and should arrive in 6-8 weeks.
- A week or so after that I get a call from Putnam Ford, same person I had been communicating with, lets me know that the vehicle might arrive sooner. I let him know if it arrives last week of June/first two weeks of July I would be out of town but I will definitely complete the purchase as soon as I’m back in town. He says no problem.
- A week later (now mid June 2022) I get a call from another person at Putnam ford saying they are just doing a confirmation on the orders they have for mach-e and asks me if I’m still interested in purchasing the vehicle. I said yes I will purchase and had already spoken to his colleague.
- I go on vacation, while on last week on vacation I get the Ford email confirmation that the vehicle has arrived at the destination.
- At the same time the recall on the software update had happened – stop delivery (but not sales) until the dealer would implement the software update. While I was on vacation and the car had arrived at the dealership, Ford had deployed the software updates to the dealers so they can address the recall and continue as usual.
- Before coming back in town, I “Completed” purchase online preliminary paperwork – provides information to the dealer ahead of the final purchase/signing paperwork.
- I get back in town on 14JUL2022 in the evening, first thing in the morning 15JUL2022 I called the Putnam Ford, had to speak to someone else as the person that had processed my order initially and was in touch with me no longer worked there.
- I asked Putnam Ford I’m aware of the recall/software update, when can I pick up my vehicle. The first guys I spoke to was not informed, he could not give me an answer, says they can’t sell the vehicles. I told him they can, and I can go in in fill do the paperwork while they still keep the car to perform the update. He had no clue.
- I started doing some research online, on the recall, confirm that the recall was a stop delivery not a stop sale. So technically they can sell it but not deliver it until fixed. So I start wondering if my specific vehicle still had a recall.
- I checked via Ford website if there is a recall on my car specifically, I had the VIN as that is also sent to me via Ford when the car goes into production. The websites say this VIN has no recalls. I also call Ford customer service directly, ask them about the recall on this specific vehicle and they tell me there is no open recall. They mention that if the software update had already been taken care of, it would then show there is no open recall. I told them I had spoken to the dealership and they said they still needed to do the update and could not sell me the vehicle until it was completed.
- So I find that very strange, and decide to go to the dealership the next day to talk to someone in person who might be able to give me more details and clear things up.
- Nex day, 16JUL2022, I go in person to the dealership. I simply ask the same questions, what is the status of the software update? When can I pick up the car? Etc. They say they are shortstaffed, they only had one technician who knows how to do the software updates, they have several mach-e, they had requested Ford to send an additional technician. I then asked him to check in their system the recall for my particular vehicle, guy checks, no open recall. I said well then I can buy the car. He says, I’m not 100% sure there is no open recall, I need to check with the service department, the guy is not here right now, so let me call the sales manager (who was also out). He calls him, I leave him a message, guy tells me to check in with the sales manger on Monday to get confirmation.
- At this point, I’m definitely suspicious and over the weekend I do a bit more research on this particular dealer, found at least 2-3 reviews of people who, had also ordered the Mach-e at the same dealership and the dealer sold their car to someone else without their permission or awareness until after the fact (just in the last month)!!
- I called on Monday 18JUL2022, I try to get in touch with the sales manager, he is apparently out or busy and will return my call. Never returned my call that day.
- Tuesday 19JUL2022, I call again, and finally catch the sales manager. He never confirms if there’s an open recall in the car, he just makes excuses that they are short staffed, his technician came down with COVID and at most it will take two weeks to get back on track with the recalls (updating the software). He says he’ll keep me posted. I suspected of course he was just making excuses, or something was off. I decide to give them the benefit of the doubt and get in touch again with them in a week’s time.
- Sunday 24JUL2022 comes around and I just happened to log into my Ford account, and what do I see?! The status of the vehicle had changed to SOLD, specifically.. SOLD on 19JUL2022! I was pissed, confused, disappointed, all that. I still had a small hope that maybe this was a mistake. But after all the reviews I had read over the weekend, I knew this was a dealer with bad practices.
- Monday 25JUL2022, I call the dealership again, not picking up my call or returning my call. I want them to fess up to them selling the car I had ordered and was asking them from the time I was back in town when I can pick it up.
- Tuesday 26JUL2022, I call Putnam Ford again, but this time I call the service department, and ask them to check on the status of the software update for the vehicle I ordered. She asked me for my phone number, she says it’s not showing up on the system. I tell her I have the VIN number, give her the number and she checks. She says “I see it, but it’s under a different number and name”. This confirmed that they had in fact sold the vehicle to someone else, I cursed (not at the person on the phone, just in general), she was very understanding, and said she would ask the sales manager.
- Of course the sales manager did not have the guts/balls to talk to me, his strategy was to avoid me at all cost. Just despicable. Service lady tells me she passed along the information and sales manager would call me back (of course I knew he would not). She was nice to hear my grievances and was very empathetic.
- After that call I called Ford directly and explained my suspicious, I spoke to marketing (they seem to handle calls re: sales on mach-e), they were helpful and I give them the VIN to check things. Guy at Ford checks their database and says “Yeah that VIN is under a different name and he’s in fact driving the car right now”.
- At this point, Putnam Ford had sold my car a week ago, were being cowards avoiding giving me any explanation, were lying through their teeth about the status, AND had not even given back the $500 refund (checked my credit card statement for the last week, nothing!)
- I asked the person at Ford if there was anything to do, to escalate. He said he would file a complaint in my behalf, that Ford management is aware of some dealerships doing this, and that action might be slow but they will do something about it. He also said to ask “nicely” (really?) to the dealer to refund my deposit.
- Same day in the evening I went to the dealership.. I was outraged/livid.. but decided to play dumb and ask for a status update just to see what they would say, while I had full knowledge of what they had done and them knowing I had called earlier their Service department.
- Of course they just acted normal, they were playing the same story, I asked for the sales manager…”oh he is in the other dealership closing a sale on a mach-e GT, he should be here soon”, so we decide to wait for a bit. I knew the sales manager, being the coward that he is would not show up.
- I ran out of patience and finally told this guys, “Look I know you guys sold my car, I don’t want to waste my time anymore so just process my refund now”
- Putnam Ford guy does not even try to deny anything, he even implies he will log in but not sure he is able to refund me if he doesn’t find my email.. come on!!!!???. I sit and watch him click through the screen, find my email, tell him to click on the pop up window and hit accept to process my refund. He does that. I tell him to print me a copy, he gives it to me.
- I tell him what they do is very dishonest, I don’t know how much he is involved in all this, and he says I agree it’s not right.. come on! He is a total enabler to the coward sales manager.
- I did not make a scene because writing all this is a better way to make sure they are not in business for long.
- Before I left the dealership, there were a couple of potential customers and I made sure to let them know to take their business elsewhere and told them of what they had done to me. They thanked me for letting them know and were empathetic.
- So now off to file some complaints and spread the word. Will I put in an order for 2023 mach-e? If I do, I will do my due diligence with the next dealership.
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