Dealership attempted markup and then sold my reserved MachE to someone else in under 48 hours

[th000]

Beware of shady dealers, especially Frontier Ford in Santa Clara, CA. They added a $10K markup, and then sold my reserved car to someone else without telling me (and blamed me for it), all in less than 48 hours. I imagine @Ford Motor Company may be interested in this.

Details:

1. I place my online Mach E order in December 2021.
2. Dealership informs me my car arrived on Friday, 9/30.
3. I go in on Sat 10/1 and I learn of the $10K markup (more than 17%). I ask to speak to the GM.
4. They tell me the GM and sales manager are out of office that day until Wednesday, so they agree to have leadership call me first thing Monday to "see what they can do."
5. I agree and leave, and I email the salesperson as soon as I get home on Saturday to recap our conversation and say, in writing, "I look forward to speaking with your senior leadership on Monday to work this issue out when they call me. As mentioned please do not release the hold on my reservation until I speak with them.”
6. They sell my car the next day, Sun 10/2, without contacting me at all, after I waited nine months for it.
7. I email leadership (GM and sales manager) on Monday, under the impression it's still my car, and find out they sold it, and they blame me for it, saying "You said you didn't want it!"
8. After more useless back and forth, I ask the sales manager how it feels to be engaging in price gouging knowing that Ford is trying to clamp down on dealerships that do it. He replies, "I don't care. We are not Ford."

I have documentation and "receipts", including emails and voicemails, refuting every defense and changing story they have tried to give so far. I also reached out to the local news and Ford executive leadership. I wanted to spread the word to everyone in this community to be wary of this kind of thing. Be very careful which dealership you choose for your Mach E. Get everything in writing, and signed. And if nothing else, choose any dealership other than Frontier Ford in Santa Clara, CA.

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/frontier-f...opup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Google Reviews: http://google.com/search?q=frontier+ford+santa+clara

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[tdmeng]

Sorry to hear that, I hope Ford really clamps down on these bad actors in the near future.

 

[MyLittlePony2022]

That really sucks. Stealership!!! It not any help, but you are in good company from many people on this forum that have had mild discomfort to plane out theft from the dealers. I count myself the former, having to play games to get price protection and get my money back. I do hope you take it up to Ford as well as blast the internet with negative reviews.

 

[Atxsw]

this is like a worst case scenario everyone fears @Ford Motor Company should be looking into this

 

[Mach-Lee]

You should contact TV stations in your area and see if they're willing to do a story on it. I see there are lots of bad reviews where they added the 10k markup last-minute to other people's orders as well. In the story they should show your emails with the dealer.

I'd be furious too.

 

[sborsch]

I would love to see a lawyer take this on as a case since you had the order in-hand, a price laid out and, I assume, contacts with the dealer ahead of time where NO MARKUP was mentioned? If so, there has to be some sort of breach going on here that could be addressed by a good legal representation.

 

[Cm12]

Same story, different day. Was seriously considering ordering a 2023 earlier this week to replace my 2021 but decided the hassle with all the dealer shenanigans just isn’t worth it. Sorry to hear that yet another shady Ford dealer screwed you over.

 

[Socalsp3]

yeah i wouldnt let this get swept under the rug. please do us all a favor and get this on the news so other people don't get scammed. and let ford know so they get 0 allocations for evs

 

[Cm12]

I would love to see a lawyer take this on as a case since you had the order in-hand, a price laid out and, I assume, contacts with the dealer ahead of time where NO MARKUP was mentioned? If so, there has to be some sort of breach going on here that could be addressed by a good legal representation.

The problem is that contract cases involving relatively small sums such as $10k (small in the legal context) just aren’t worth it. The legal fees alone would be that much just to go through discovery and some mediation. That’s why dealerships can get away with it - it just doesn’t make sense for a customer to sue and they know it.

 

[Socalsp3]

The problem is that contract cases involving relatively small sums such as $10k (small in the legal context) just aren’t worth it. The legal fees alone would be that much just to go through discovery and some mediation. That’s why dealerships can get away with it - it just doesn’t make sense for a customer to sue and they know it.

you can do small claims court and represent yourself

 

[SuperRob]

you can do small claims court and represent yourself

Respectfully, what grounds does he have to sue in court? The car belonged to the dealership. They bought it from Ford. No matter what the OP has in hand, there was no contract.

Don’t get me wrong, this is shitty behavior, and this dealer is clearly in the wrong here. But I don’t think they’ve done anything illegal.

 

[Nklem]

I would love to see a lawyer take this on as a case since you had the order in-hand, a price laid out and, I assume, contacts with the dealer ahead of time where NO MARKUP was mentioned? If so, there has to be some sort of breach going on here that could be addressed by a good legal representation.

The issue is legal fees. You may win,, but the laws are structured so you have to pay all of your Own legal fees. The dealer knows no one will sue.

 

[Nklem]

you can do small claims court and represent yourself

That’s only $5k. You will not win the car. You may get your deposit back, which should happen anyway.

 

[Nklem]

Beware of shady dealers, especially Frontier Ford in Santa Clara, CA. They added a $10K markup, and then sold my reserved car to someone else without telling me (and blamed me for it), all in less than 48 hours. I imagine @Ford Motor Company may be interested in this.

Details:

1. I place my online Mach E order in December 2021.
2. Dealership informs me my car arrived on Friday, 9/30.
3. I go in on Sat 10/1 and I learn of the $10K markup (more than 17%). I ask to speak to the GM.
4. They tell me the GM and sales manager are out of office that day until Wednesday, so they agree to have leadership call me first thing Monday to "see what they can do."
5. I agree and leave, and I email the salesperson as soon as I get home on Saturday to recap our conversation and say, in writing, "I look forward to speaking with your senior leadership on Monday to work this issue out when they call me. As mentioned please do not release the hold on my reservation until I speak with them.”
6. They sell my car the next day, Sun 10/2, without contacting me at all, after I waited nine months for it.
7. I email leadership (GM and sales manager) on Monday, under the impression it's still my car, and find out they sold it, and they blame me for it, saying "You said you didn't want it!"
8. After more useless back and forth, I ask the sales manager how it feels to be engaging in price gouging knowing that Ford is trying to clamp down on dealerships that do it. He replies, "I don't care. We are not Ford."

I have documentation and "receipts", including emails and voicemails, refuting every defense and changing story they have tried to give so far. I also reached out to the local news and Ford executive leadership. I wanted to spread the word to everyone in this community to be wary of this kind of thing. Be very careful which dealership you choose for your Mach E. Get everything in writing, and signed. And if nothing else, choose any dealership other than Frontier Ford in Santa Clara, CA.

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/frontier-f...opup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Google Reviews: http://google.com/search?q=frontier+ford+santa+clara

Newspapers, tv news, social media. I would stand out front with a sign that’s says “do not buy here. Crooks”

 

[Jimbo]

Don't worry OP, this is just the dealership model protecting you from Ford Corporate. It's a good thing! Imagine if you had to deal with Ford directly: you'd get your car for MSRP without fees. We can't have that!

In all seriousness, I feel for you

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