Track44
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2021
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 28
- Reaction score
- 41
- Location
- Kansas
- Vehicles
- 2021 Mustang Mach E
- Occupation
- Retired
- Thread starter
- #1
I have been following this forum for almost six months and want to express my thanks and appreciation for the wealth of knowledge that has been shared by so many. I ordered an extended range, rear wheel drive rapid red Premium on January 28, 2021. The salesman I have been working with (super nice guy) called this morning to say the car had arrived at the dealership. We made arrangements for me to come to the dealership this afternoon to see the car and start on the paperwork.
As many others have stated, many dealerships are either clueless or ethically challenged. I fear that i have encountered the latter. Actually, probably both!
What should have been a relatively easy meeting soon turned into the worst commercial transaction I have ever encountered (including 46 years as a transactional attorney):
(1)My order was for $53,740.00. After two hours, when I was finally presented with numbers, the purchase price was presented as $69,304.46, consisting of some unspecified combination of ADM, add-ons I did not request, and the sales tax on the entire mess. And they did not give me credit for my $500.00 deposit.
(2)When I showed them all my order information they said that was not a contract and the price of cars had gone up. Funny thing, but my window sticker still shows $53,740.00 as of today.
(3)First they said the Mach E did not qualify for X-plan. When I showed them the information showing it did they eventually came back and said they would not honor it, thus no reduction in the price, which I'm guessing should have been in the $1,400.00 range.
(4)They showed no options financing, only the entire amount being financed. That was interesting because I made a special trip to the dealership a month ago to discuss options financing. They knew nothing about it that time and my hope was they would familiarize themselves with it. That was a wasted trip. End result, no $1,000.00 incentive and a $490.00 doc fee.
(5)Apparently they have previously charged at least a $5,000.00 ADM on a Mach E and it's pretty apparent to me they want this car to sell at some crazy price.
(6)While not directly related to the Mach E, my attempt to trade in a vehicle was the same s**t show. Approximately six months ago when I ordered the car I had the dealership appraise my 2019 CX5 as a possible trade in. I already had a firm offer from CarMax for $22,000.00 for the car and the dealership matched that. As we are all aware, used car prices have increased dramatically in the last six months. The dealership had a large poster saying they would give a "real offer based on the trusted Kelley Blue Book Trade In Values". I just happened to have a Kelley Blue Book Pricing Report I did earlier today. It said $28,040.00, the dealer said it was still $22,000.00. I went straight from the dealer to CarMax, their new Appraisal offer was $26,600.00, good for one week. The dealer's rationale was that since car prices had gone up but I thought I was entitled to my original order price my trade in amount had to stay the same as six months ago. That is even more curious as I tried to get an updated trade-in value from the dealership 4 weeks ago and was told "it depends on the market its been a crazy market...if it is higher...will be glad to give you more money still needs to see what book value is..."
(7)All of the above took place with the salesman's manager. I asked to speak with the general manager or owner and was told he was not available but they would have him call me. I stated that was not acceptable and I wanted a face to face meeting with him and wanted to schedule that. Apparently no one knows his schedule so he'll call me to set up a time. It's a big dealership, I bet someone there knows his schedule. After stating I thought he was probably hiding in his office I left.
That's enough for now, I know I've neglected to mention other crazy things from today but that should give you the flavor. I'm bewildered, frustrated and just generally really angry. I know there have been solutions offered in the past but I haven't a lot of luck in finding them. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.
As many others have stated, many dealerships are either clueless or ethically challenged. I fear that i have encountered the latter. Actually, probably both!
What should have been a relatively easy meeting soon turned into the worst commercial transaction I have ever encountered (including 46 years as a transactional attorney):
(1)My order was for $53,740.00. After two hours, when I was finally presented with numbers, the purchase price was presented as $69,304.46, consisting of some unspecified combination of ADM, add-ons I did not request, and the sales tax on the entire mess. And they did not give me credit for my $500.00 deposit.
(2)When I showed them all my order information they said that was not a contract and the price of cars had gone up. Funny thing, but my window sticker still shows $53,740.00 as of today.
(3)First they said the Mach E did not qualify for X-plan. When I showed them the information showing it did they eventually came back and said they would not honor it, thus no reduction in the price, which I'm guessing should have been in the $1,400.00 range.
(4)They showed no options financing, only the entire amount being financed. That was interesting because I made a special trip to the dealership a month ago to discuss options financing. They knew nothing about it that time and my hope was they would familiarize themselves with it. That was a wasted trip. End result, no $1,000.00 incentive and a $490.00 doc fee.
(5)Apparently they have previously charged at least a $5,000.00 ADM on a Mach E and it's pretty apparent to me they want this car to sell at some crazy price.
(6)While not directly related to the Mach E, my attempt to trade in a vehicle was the same s**t show. Approximately six months ago when I ordered the car I had the dealership appraise my 2019 CX5 as a possible trade in. I already had a firm offer from CarMax for $22,000.00 for the car and the dealership matched that. As we are all aware, used car prices have increased dramatically in the last six months. The dealership had a large poster saying they would give a "real offer based on the trusted Kelley Blue Book Trade In Values". I just happened to have a Kelley Blue Book Pricing Report I did earlier today. It said $28,040.00, the dealer said it was still $22,000.00. I went straight from the dealer to CarMax, their new Appraisal offer was $26,600.00, good for one week. The dealer's rationale was that since car prices had gone up but I thought I was entitled to my original order price my trade in amount had to stay the same as six months ago. That is even more curious as I tried to get an updated trade-in value from the dealership 4 weeks ago and was told "it depends on the market its been a crazy market...if it is higher...will be glad to give you more money still needs to see what book value is..."
(7)All of the above took place with the salesman's manager. I asked to speak with the general manager or owner and was told he was not available but they would have him call me. I stated that was not acceptable and I wanted a face to face meeting with him and wanted to schedule that. Apparently no one knows his schedule so he'll call me to set up a time. It's a big dealership, I bet someone there knows his schedule. After stating I thought he was probably hiding in his office I left.
That's enough for now, I know I've neglected to mention other crazy things from today but that should give you the flavor. I'm bewildered, frustrated and just generally really angry. I know there have been solutions offered in the past but I haven't a lot of luck in finding them. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.
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