Dealership sent me home with the wrong Mach-e

[JFoxtrot]

Got an email from the dealership saying the car I leased 2 months ago and have in the driveway doesn’t match the VIN on my lease/insurance... they’re asking to swap it out. Same color, model, package etc.

In addition to the hassle and me already painting the calipers (oops I guess?), I’m actually a little concerned. I didn’t have the greatest leasing experience where they messed up the monthly price and had to amend it. Was off only by like $6 but I can’t tell if they’re incompetent or scamming me somehow.

I’m hoping to get advice. I’d prefer to just keep the car I have and then fix the paperwork. Is that possible? Anyone ever experience this? And is asking for some compensation for this fuck up reasonable?

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[cyeung]

What's the mileage of the vehicle they're looking to swap you out with? You could enjoy the new car smell again ... while your dealer would have a used car to deal with.

 

[MachhE-CT]

You didn’t verify all the paperwork and match to the VIN when you took delivery? Particularly as they seemed a little disorganized anyway. This is going to
Get a bit messy. Who is the lessor , Ford Credit ? They track your mileage daily. Hopefully the correct car hasn’t been driven. Does your registration and insurance have the correct VIN? The other thing is painting the calipers. My lease agreement prohibits me from making any alterations to vehicle that can’t be easily removed. I
I can put a clamp on roof rack but not a
Permanently attached one for example. The car hasn’t to be turned in the way it was at the beginning of the lease. They could make you replace caliper at lease end or add cost to your lease end payment.

 

[fmtexmme]

This doesn't make much sense. Is the car they are wanting to give you the car with the same VIN as your paperwork? Are the two cars the same (same trim, color, etc)? If not, does the paperwork accurately describe the car you have (with the exception of the VIN of course)? It seems like it would be a lot simpler to fix the paperwork than swap cars, unless you got a GT for the price of a Select.

 

[dan_meh]

I agree that you should try to fix the paperwork unless there is an advantage to YOU for swapping the cars. You have the vehicle, which gives you a rare position with the dealership: possession.

Possession allows you to use foot dragging in your negotiating: “Let me talk with my manager…”

I imagine that they want to swap for a reason, otherwise, they would have suggested new paperwork. What is it? Did you get a GT for the price of a select? AWD instead of RWD? Or is it really just an exact copy?

 

[Shepherd]

I’ve never leased a car so forgive me if this is a dumb question. In the fine print does it give the lessor special rights to “repo” the car? The possession argument may not apply since you don’t own the car. I’d be careful about stalling too long.

 

[Mach1E]

Got an email from the dealership saying the car I leased 2 months ago and have in the driveway doesn’t match the VIN on my lease/insurance... they’re asking to swap it out. Same color, model, package etc.

In addition to the hassle and me already painting the calipers (oops I guess?), I’m actually a little concerned. I didn’t have the greatest leasing experience where they messed up the monthly price and had to amend it. Was off only by like $6 but I can’t tell if they’re incompetent or scamming me somehow.

I’m hoping to get advice. I’d prefer to just keep the car I have and then fix the paperwork. Is that possible? Anyone ever experience this? And is asking for some compensation for this fuck up reasonable?

If the car you are driving doesn’t match the car you have on your insurance, I would get that fixed immediately.

What would I do? Whatever is the path of least resistance whether it’s going back and getting your actual car or fixing the paperwork.

Neither seems like a difficult fix except they may hassle you about painting the calipers on a leased car.

 

[Mach1E]

You didn’t verify all the paperwork and match to the VIN when you took delivery?

The paperwork likely did match.

It’s the actual car the OP drove off the lot that didn’t match.

Honestly I don’t think if I leased a car that I would double check the VIN on the car in case they gave me the wrong one.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Agreed with @Mach1E to go with the path of least resistance. It also seems to me that they may not even notice that the calipers have been painted, especially if you used red.

 

[HuntingPudel]

<SNIP>
Honestly I don’t think if I leased a car that I would double check the VIN on the car in case they gave me the wrong one.

I wouldn’t say that I check the VINs on my cars. I memorize them.

 

[that_macheguy]

You didn’t verify all the paperwork and match to the VIN when you took delivery? Particularly as they seemed a little disorganized anyway. This is going to
Get a bit messy. Who is the lessor , Ford Credit ? They track your mileage daily. Hopefully the correct car hasn’t been driven. Does your registration and insurance have the correct VIN? The other thing is painting the calipers. My lease agreement prohibits me from making any alterations to vehicle that can’t be easily removed. I
I can put a clamp on roof rack but not a
Permanently attached one for example. The car hasn’t to be turned in the way it was at the beginning of the lease. They could make you replace caliper at lease end or add cost to your lease end payment.

I have bought many cars in my life and not once have I gone out to the car and checked the VIN. The dealer should know which vehicle they are sending off. This was their error.

 

[ChrisO]

Agreed with @Mach1E to go with the path of least resistance. It also seems to me that they may not even notice that the calipers have been painted, especially if you used red.

I too doubt that they would even notice, my dealer barely looked at my 2024 when I traded it in, but I don't think it matters in the least.

This was their mistake, if they don't like the painted calipers, it is on them to fix them. In fact, I would argue that @JFoxtrot has a case for them to paint them on his correct Mach-E, but that is something I personally would just leave unsaid because it might cause problems.

And I certainly didn't check the VIN when I took possession of any of my cars. I wouldn't even have thought of that, and I doubt 99.999% of the public would. I might have caught it while setting things like the account up, but it certainly wasn't on my list to check.

 

[jav_eee]

Honestly I don’t think if I leased a car that I would double check the VIN on the car in case they gave me the wrong one.

for real. The percentage of people who take the paperwork out to the car and verify all the numbers match has to be less than 1%.

 

[ABCJames]

I wouldn’t say that I check the VINs on my cars. I memorize them.

Same here I always memorize the last 8

 

[HuntingPudel]

Same here I always memorize the last 8

I use VINs as the base for some of my passwords. I memorize the whole thing. Some of my passwords are based off of cars I sold 20+ years ago.

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