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

[Logal727]

Thank you all for encouraging words.

I had couple of calls with Ford customer care and they said they can't change my dealership once VIN number is assigned. They can only take 'feedback' and cannot help further. I have to place new order with new dealer with no markup.

I am done with this crap, ford lost a customer before they even had one. Mach E seems a good car but I will be going with someone else with better service.

Great I stumbled on this forum and which helped not wait any further. I wont be buying anything from Ford anytime soon.

Damn, this sucks. Doesn't seem like it's gonna be fixed anytime soon either.

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[agoldman]

I have zero confidence in the tired old dealer model. It has to go!

 

[SaulGoodman]

Better call Saul
He'll turn this into a class action in no time

Did you know that you have rights? The constitution says you do!

 

[azulejost]

This is awful, and unfortunately you have no adequate means of recourse unless getting in touch with Ford corporate gets you somewhere which is also unlikely.

I’ve had numerous interactions with sleazy Ford dealers in multiple states over the years. Scenarios like yours are part of why buying the rare, available on the lot Mach-E at whatever deal decided on the spot seems more appealing than waiting for potential shenanigans at the time of delivery a year in the future (unless you get a binding contract with a price defined). I’d rather pay a dealer $5000 or something over MSRP to take immediate delivery than MSRP on an order at a scam-ship only to find out at delivery that they are then going to jack up the price or make the transaction miserable.

 

[nvabill]

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

I’m not seeing anywhere in your post where you had a signed purchase agreement for an agreed upon price, did you have one?

 

[Lola2004]

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

That is disgusting. Trust Ford will do the right thing. Hopefully local news at a minimum picks this up.

 

[Buzz]

Wow, these stories are nuts!

I'm glad I selected the dealership I did. Friendly Ford in Poughkeepsie, NY. Sold at MSRP, offered an extremely generous trade for my old vehicle. Communication and service were top notch. I give them a 9/10 and the only reason I give them 9/10, not 10/10 is because they had an additional mandatory bumper to bumper for paint and such that I had no choice but to purchase for $900. Not a huge deal though, I plan to take Buzz in at 25k to get the stone chips touched up. I would absolutely go there again for my next vehicle.

I do expect dealerships will start to disappear though, and I hope clowns like this realize they dug their own graves. My brother in law just got his second Tesla with no BS. Ordered online, then just drive to the distribution center, drop off his old and pick up his new. Didn't even have to talk to anyone really. Got the car he ordered with no mark ups, no hassles.

 

[ohmslaw]

I’m not seeing anywhere in your post where you had a signed purchase agreement for an agreed upon price, did you have one?

This 1000000x this….. should be everyone’s first step and should be a warning all over this place. Without a legally binding purchase agreement all the other stuff is just hopes and dreams.

 

[nvabill]

This 1000000x this….. should be everyone’s first step and should be a warning all over this place. Without a legally binding purchase agreement all the other stuff is just hopes and dreams.

Exactly!

 

[Atxsw]

Exactly!

I have found few dealers willing to give a PA before the car arrives, mine for instance I dont have that but hopefully everything goes smooth.... definitely not worth the stress. Ford should really be implementing having some sort of signed agreement when the car is ordered to prevent this

 

[superdave80]

The dealership in Santa Rosa, CA did the same thing to me. I had reserved a Black Mach E select, that had only become available when I happened to be at the dealership (sales guy was literally running out to the parking lot as I was leaving to let me know it had just become available).

Another person had previously reserved it, but there was a nice, shiny yellow GT on the lot that he wanted to buy instead, so he no longer wanted the Black Select. I now had it 'reserved', and it was expected to be delivered within the week.

A week goes, by, and I get a call that it was delayed a week. Ok, no big deal. But.....

When I drove past the dealership the next week, I notice that the Yellow GT that the other guy had supposedly purchased was still on display out front. Hmmmmm....

A week goes by, and no Black Select, and no update from the sales guy. Luckily I had a bad feeling after the first 'delay', and went shopping around and managed to find my Mach E at another dealership.

Still no call from the sales guy after all this time, but I finally called and let him know that I had purchased another MME due to the 'delays'. He basically said, "Cool, OK", and hung up.

Oh, and when I looked at inventory (incoming vehicles as well), my Black Select was no longer on their website.

Yeah, he totally sold my Black Select to the guy that had previously wanted it because he backed out on buying the Yellow GT. Car salespeople suck.

 

[Maxwells4]

Frontier Ford and Sunnyvale Ford are both sleazy stealerships tacking on ADMs on previous orders.

Interesting, I just took delivery from Sunnyvale Ford (on an order I placed in February) and they didn't give me any trouble with ADM or taking X-plan or financing. But I had heard from one other person about a bad experience a while back too, I wonder if it's just inconsistent or if they've decided to improve.

(but sorry, I didn't intend to derail this thread... I need to stop reading them because it's bad for my blood pressure...)

 

[HuntingPudel]

Unfortunately there are multiple mentions of another Bay Area dealer who sold ordered cars without even informing the original persons who placed the orders (and paid deposits) that their cars had come in. The damned Dirty Word dealer.

 

[sukhoi_584th]

They sure are, and it's hard to separate the dealer and Ford from the issues. Who's to blame? The dealership I have been working with seems to be on the up and up. I don't have the car yet, so I don't know if they will play any games, but they have been very transparent and forthcoming with information without making stuff up.

Ford is to blame. Their name and logo is on the building.

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