Deceptive Lease on Mach-E

[BoilerMachE]

In May 2024, I leased a new Ford Mach-E from a national dealer group. When I brought the vehicle in for service last week, I was shocked to discover that the warranty start date began a full year prior to my purchase date.

I met with the leadership team of the dealership's new owners (change in ownership since the lease), and we thoroughly reviewed all the paperwork related to the sale. There was no documentation indicating the warranty start date or the ESP contract associated with the vehicle. At no point during the buying process was I informed or made aware that this “new” vehicle was, in fact, a “mannequin” car previously purchased by the dealership for other purposes a year earlier (368 miles on the OD). There was no disclosure or communication, whether verbal, written, or otherwise, from Sales Management. In short, I was knowingly leased a used vehicle, misrepresenting it as new and selling it with new vehicle incentives, without any disclosure or warning that it was, in fact, not a new car. As a result, I am now left with only 2/3 of the warranty coverage remaining at the time of delivery — despite the vehicle being presented and sold as “new.” Had I been aware of this critical information, I would never have proceeded with the purchase/lease. I believe this constitutes as a potential fraudulent misrepresentation or concealment of material information that is central to the lease contract, thought to have been negotiated in good faith. I have reached out to both Ford Motor Company as well as the dealer group management. I am hoping this can be resolved immediately as I am extremely disappointed.

My understanding is that manufacturer warranties cannot be changed, and there is still a gap of risk if an ESP is offered. If you have any thoughts or solutions, please let me know what is appropriate.

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[Snakebitten]

First, I completely agree with the objections to the presentation of the sale. Disingenuous at best.

But a couple of questions.

1. How long is the lease and mileage allowed?
2. By ESP, do you mean Ford's branded extended warranty at the "Premium Level, along with LED lighting inclusions"?

 

[BoilerMachE]

First, I completely agree with the objections to the presentation of the sale. Disingenuous at best.

But a couple of questions.

1. How long is the lease and mileage allowed?
2. By ESP, do you mean Ford's branded extended warranty at the "Premium Level, along with LED lighting inclusions"?

39-month lease, 7,500 / year. Don't know all details of ESP. That said, the new ownership is very kind and wants to help resolve as best they can. They recognize I have a good 12 months of risk not covered that should have never happened when I signed the lease.

 

[Snakebitten]

Thanks for the information.

The following is just my personal rational viewpoint and risk assessment. Please don't see it as anything beyond that.

39 months is 3 months beyond factory bumper to bumper. So you would have 3 months of bumper to bumper exposure even if you hadn't been shorted. So it's the 12 months on the back end of the 39 months that were "cheated".

Ford's ESP Premium with LED/Keys/Towing/low-deductible package is a fairly expensive endeavor. And it can be extended far beyond the 39 months, so depending on what my strategy is at the end of the lease, it might be very influential on my decision.

Now for the practical portion........

By 24 months (bumper to bumper) I'm very likely to have discovered if I got "a good one" or not. ? So I already have the same situation at that point as I would regardless of the deal I originally made.

Good scenario at 24 months:
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence that a vehicle with 2 years of exemplary reliability is a vehicle that will have 3 years of exemplary reliability. So the so-called compromise of receiving the ESP premium coverage with Ford dealerships is actually a great bonus IF I wanted to keep the car at lease term.

Less than good at 24 months:
I didn't get one of the trouble-free Mach-E's. What that might mean is well documented here on the forum. But the vast majority of the common issues, especially the egregious examples, are still covered either by the 8year/100,000 mile factory warranty, or the ESP Premium extended warranty. I'd have to really what-if myself into extremes, to find the kind of issues that might fall in the void between bumper<>bumper, 5/60, 8/100k, AND ESP Premium. There are things that fit into that void, but I can't personally think of any of substance that would also be a legitimate risk worthy of my worry.

Having said all that, I don't know how open the dealership is to giving you the top of line offering of Ford's ESP coverage. I imagine THEIR co$t is somewhere north of $2000.00 for it. Although that's coverage far beyond the term of the lease, so they might not feel like providing that length?

 

[dalola]

The folks that put your lease together originally definitely made a mistake. I leased a similar MME, it was a Ford courtesy car for the dealer, with ~900 miles, and still leased as "new", but with concessions (discount) for the miles, and an additional discount off the cap cost. The factory warranty was also extended past the original in service date, to match with my in service date. This is how it should have been handled for you, and hopefully the new owners will make it right. I'm sure there is legal language to all this as well, that you could look into if they don't make it right for you.

 

[PilotMark]

Sounds like you would be close to being made whole if someone paid for a 12 month extended warrantee. I got an extended ford warrantee online from granger ford and it wasn't that much. Don't know if you could get it for just 12 months.
After negotiating it's never fun to learn new details. On a positive note it's not a life or death deal, just doesn't feel right.
Awesome that the new owners are willing to work with you on a problem they did not create.
Hope it works out for you.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Ford won’t do shit for you as they can never be sure whether you knew or not. Most customers are financially illiterate. I’d negotiate a free ESP with zero deductible for the one year. It should be very cheap for the dealership. I’d smear the shit out of the dealership on social media and give them hell if they don’t give you an extension.

Good luck to you.

 

[BoilerMachE]

Sounds like you would be close to being made whole if someone paid for a 12 month extended warrantee. I got an extended ford warrantee online from granger ford and it wasn't that much. Don't know if you could get it for just 12 months.
After negotiating it's never fun to learn new details. On a positive note it's not a life or death deal, just doesn't feel right.
Awesome that the new owners are willing to work with you on a problem they did not create.
Hope it works out for you.

The challenge is that I was told an extended warranty does not fully cover things that would be covered naturally under the 3-year, 36,000-mile manufacturer's warranty when taking delivery of a new car. In other words, there are things that can happen (the new GM gave examples of very expensive leaks not covered under an extended warranty) that still put me at risk financially that should not exist in the first place when I leased the new car. Fact is, I should have been told (verbally, in writing, special disclosure and sig, etc.) I was leasing a "new car" with 1/3 of the warranty already expired when it was a 39-month lease. I appreciate your input!

 

[devmach-e]

The selling dealership is the one that screwed up the warranty start date. It should've started from the date when the car was first titled to someone who is the first registered owner. Presumably that was you and not the dealership while it was being used as a mannequin. The dealership needs to contact Ford and fix the start of the warranty period. You might also want to contact your DMV and find out if you are indeed the first registered/titled owner of the car.

 

[hybrid2bev]

The selling dealership is the one that screwed up the warranty start date. It should've started from the date when the car was first titled to someone who is the first registered owner. Presumably that was you and not the dealership while it was being used as a mannequin. The dealership needs to contact Ford and fix the start of the warranty period. You might also want to contact your DMV and find out if you are indeed the first registered/titled owner of the car.

My understanding is that warranty goes by ‘in service date’ not the date it’s titled. It probably went in service when it entered the FCTP (Ford Courtesy Transportation Program a.k.a. a mannequin or demo program). At least that’s my recollection that the dealer was required to put it in service when entering the FCTP.

If the vehicle was not titled while it was in the FCTP then it is technically a New vehicle and can be sold as such. That’s why it qualified for all the new vehicle lease incentives at the time of sale to the OP. So I think the OP didn’t lease a used vehicle.

 

[BoilerMachE]

My understanding is that warranty goes by ‘in service date’ not the date it’s titled. It probably went in service when it entered the FCTP (Ford Courtesy Transportation Program a.k.a. a mannequin or demo program). At least that’s my recollection that the dealer was required to put it in service when entering the FCTP.

If the vehicle was not titled while it was in the FCTP then it is technically a New vehicle and can be sold as such. That’s why it qualified for all the new vehicle lease incentives at the time of sale to the OP. So I think the OP didn’t lease a used vehicle.

The new dealership owners found that indeed it did already have a title before selling it as new to me.

 

[Willymy]

If you cannot get satisfaction from the new dealership, I would find a good motor vehicle lawyer and get Ford to buy the car back.

 

[beecee]

if your paperwork says "new" and it's not, the dealership appears to have broken the law. Contact your state attorney's office to get this resolved.

 

[hybrid2bev]

if your paperwork says "new" and it's not, the dealership appears to have broken the law. Contact your state attorney's office to get this resolved.

The dealer changed ownership. So that’s probably a dead end.

 

[exit74chris]

The dealer changed ownership. So that’s probably a dead end.

Depends on how it was purchased.

If they purchased with all prior responsibilities then they also assume the liabilities.

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