Looking for advice from any dealers or lawyers on here. Deal gone bad.

[Deleted member 4669]

I will try and stick to the cliff notes version of my recently purchased Mach-e.

I purchased a Mach-e a couple days ago from Torrington Ford in CT (Yes I am calling them out on this).

My purchase was through x-plan. The Ford partner site was showing a $2600 incentive through x-plan For my zip code. Dealer seemed a little confused on the incentive and changed several times on what the fine print of it was. Eventually they determined that I would need to use Ford credit and if I took the incentive I could not get the 1.9% interest rate so would need to take a higher 3.99% rate. Told them I would take the $2600 incentive and refinance with another lender later for lower interest rate.

I complete the deal and take delivery of the vehicle. All paper work was signed by both parties.

Yesterday I get a call from the dealer indicated the incentive was actually not valid. They said the only way to get it was if I went with the Ford Options Loan. They told me Ford Credit cancelled the transaction and I had no actually deal. They said they cancelled my registration and I was not allowed to drive the car. They said I could go in, pay them the $2600 or return the vehicle.

At this point I decided to call Ford Credit. They basically had no idea what I was talking about. They said the account was active, they did not reject the loan and the car was currently listed as mine. They suggested calling ford as it sounded like a shady dealer. I did call Ford and didnt really get anywhere. They said they could open a case but dealers are independently owned.

My feeling on this is the dealer just plain effed up. They made a mistake in understanding the terms of the incentive and when they went to recoup it from Ford, they didnt get it and dont want to lose the $2600 on the sale. They are trying to strong arm me into undoing the deal. They lied about Ford Credit rejecting the loan and cancelling the registration was shady at best and I am wondering if it is illegal. I asked several times for written documentation from Ford Credit that the loan and deal was rejected and have not received anything from the dealer.

So looking to see if there are any dealers here or maybe even members who might be better versed on the law in a situation like this. Can the dealer void a completed deal if they made a mistake? Am I legally obligated to actually return the car? Can I just go register it myself at this point?

I wont even go into the numerous crazy things the dealer told me over the course of my conversations with them that just further convince me that they aren’t being strait. Honestly if they just came to me and were completely honest and tried to work this out maybe I would have tried to be reasonable but at this point, nope.

What a nightmare

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[Elisdad]

I had a similar thing happen years ago when buying a Prius. We negotiated a good deal (they were using dealer incentives) and I qualified for a great rate through toyota financing. They called back a few days later and said Toyota wouldn't allow the rate because of the dealer incentives after all the paperwork was signed. I pushed back hard and stated we agreed on a price and I filled out finance paperwork with Toyota, so it wasn't really my problem. The sales team called back a few hours later with a new financing vendor at the same rate and asked if I would please come in and sign it, so they didn't lose so much on the sale. I did that for them. I don't know what the actual legal implications are, this is just my experience.

 

[timbop]

Well, $2500 of the incentive IS only for the Ford Options loan. Did you do a normal loan or lease? If so, they are correct that Ford isn't going to give them the $2500 rebate. $100 of the incentive is for the handsfree prep package regardless of financing so unless you bought a Select without the tech/comfort package you were entitled to that.

As for the rest of it, I have no idea but you probably need to call a lawyer unfortunately

 

[peoples1234]

You likely signed a document stating that if there were any errors or that the dealer could not secure financing, that you would return the car back to them.

A good dealer would eat the $2500 ($100 you’d get anyways no matter how you financed it) and learn from their mistake. They are the SME here, not the customer. But if they have asked for the car back, depending on what you have signed, it is possible/likely that you have to return it. Dealers deliberately don’t process state registrations until the deal has gone through all the approvals and money received, so they likely haven’t even sent your DMV paperwork anywhere.

Could you not do the options financing and still refinance it?

 

[timbop]

oh, and maybe @hybrid2bev can help you out? He works for Ford credit

 

[Deleted member 4669]

You likely signed a document stating that if there were any errors or that the dealer could not secure financing, that you would return the car back to them.

A good dealer would eat the $2500 ($100 you’d get anyways no matter how you financed it) and learn from their mistake. They are the SME here, not the customer. But if they have asked for the car back, depending on what you have signed, it is possible/likely that you have to return it. Dealers deliberately don’t process state registrations until the deal has gone through all the approvals and money received, so they likely haven’t even sent your DMV paperwork anywhere.

Could you not do the options financing and still refinance it?

The thing is they claim Ford Credit rejected the loan, but after speaking with Ford Credit that is not the case. They said my account is open and active. I think the issue is the dealer is not getting the $2600 back from Ford.

Again if they were straight with me I would have been much more willing to work with them but they have been extremely aggressive and dishonest which is making that difficult.

 

[Deleted member 4669]

I had a similar thing happen years ago when buying a Prius. We negotiated a good deal (they were using dealer incentives) and I qualified for a great rate through toyota financing. They called back a few days later and said Toyota wouldn't allow the rate because of the dealer incentives after all the paperwork was signed. I pushed back hard and stated we agreed on a price and I filled out finance paperwork with Toyota, so it wasn't really my problem. The sales team called back a few hours later with a new financing vendor at the same rate and asked if I would please come in and sign it, so they didn't lose so much on the sale. I did that for them. I don't know what the actual legal implications are, this is just my experience.

They are trying to get me to come agree to another loan and a lower interest rate that would keep my payment the same. But that only helps if I keep the car for the full term of the loan which will not be the case. Ford Credit is saying my loan has already been processed and active.

 

[fayt349]

All I know if if you bought the car and wanted to return it because you changed your mind, they would say no and laugh.

So now when it happens to them, do what they would do and say no.

 

[Aye Aye Ron]

I will try and stick to the cliff notes version of my recently purchased Mach-e.

I purchased a Mach-e a couple days ago from Torrington Ford in CT (Yes I am calling them out on this).

My purchase was through x-plan. The Ford partner site was showing a $2600 incentive through x-plan For my zip code. Dealer seemed a little confused on the incentive and changed several times on what the fine print of it was. Eventually they determined that I would need to use Ford credit and if I took the incentive I could not get the 1.9% interest rate so would need to take a higher 3.99% rate. Told them I would take the $2600 incentive and refinance with another lender later for lower interest rate.

I complete the deal and take delivery of the vehicle. All paper work was signed by both parties.

Yesterday I get a call from the dealer indicated the incentive was actually not valid. They said the only way to get it was if I went with the Ford Options Loan. They told me Ford Credit cancelled the transaction and I had no actually deal. They said they cancelled my registration and I was not allowed to drive the car. They said I could go in, pay them the $2600 or return the vehicle.

At this point I decided to call Ford Credit. They basically had no idea what I was talking about. They said the account was active, they did not reject the loan and the car was currently listed as mine. They suggested calling ford as it sounded like a shady dealer. I did call Ford and didnt really get anywhere. They said they could open a case but dealers are independently owned.

My feeling on this is the dealer just plain effed up. They made a mistake in understanding the terms of the incentive and when they went to recoup it from Ford, they didnt get it and dont want to lose the $2600 on the sale. They are trying to strong arm me into undoing the deal. They lied about Ford Credit rejecting the loan and cancelling the registration was shady at best and I am wondering if it is illegal. I asked several times for written documentation from Ford Credit that the loan and deal was rejected and have not received anything from the dealer.

So looking to see if there are any dealers here or maybe even members who might be better versed on the law in a situation like this. Can the dealer void a completed deal if they made a mistake? Am I legally obligated to actually return the car? Can I just go register it myself at this point?

I wont even go into the numerous crazy things the dealer told me over the course of my conversations with them that just further convince me that they aren’t being strait. Honestly if they just came to me and were completely honest and tried to work this out maybe I would have tried to be reasonable but at this point, nope.

What a nightmare

Number one rule for this kind of thing, ask for it in writing. If there isnt anything writen down It didnt happen.
Ask the dealership to put their concerns and comments in a letter and send it or email it to you as you need to seek legal advice on what to do and how to handel things.
Either they will send you a legit response or they will dick around or hopefully drop it if it is as you suspect.
Get paperwork direct from Ford Credit before you go down there.

 

[hybrid2bev]

oh, and maybe @hybrid2bev can help you out? He works for Ford credit

@Marjen I'm available if you want me to take a look. PM me your name and I'll see what assistance we can offer.

 

[Larry]

I’m not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV but if you have signed paperwork and the car, can they change the deal?

 

[Deleted member 4669]

No it is not a Ford Options deal, it is a standard loan. I understand that I should not get the rebate. The dealer made a mistake. However they have lied about the situation and instead of just saying they screwed up and could we work on a solution, they cancelled my registration, told me Ford Credit rejected the loan, called the deal fraudulent, said there was no actual deal and many other lies. They have handled this so poorly.

 

[Deleted member 4669]

I’m not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV but if you have signed paperwork and the car, can they change the deal?

They claim there is some fine print somewhere that they can, but when I asked them to highlight it and email it to me, the never sent it.

 

[RonTCat]

They claim there is some fine print somewhere that they can, but when I asked them to highlight it and email it to me, the never sent it.

It appears to me as if your dealer just got a Ford Options Training Class that cost them $2500. Enjoy your vehicle.

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