Mid-February for FE?

[Kamuelaflyer]

Folks are acting like they aren’t buying from a dealer because they did the legwork on a website. That’s the point - you are buying from a dealer but you are just doing more of the work in this process.

The current dealership process is in its death throes. It will change, not soon enough for my tastes, but will change. In the future I’d expect to see small sales centers primarily designed to assist people with online sales and test drives and those would be accompanied by a maintenance center.

if I didn’t have to deal with a dealer to get the mach-e I wouldn’t. But I also won’t buy a Tesla under any circumstances.

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[ChasingCoral]

The current dealership process is in its death throes. It will change, not soon enough for my tastes, but will change. In the future I’d expect to see small sales centers primarily designed to assist people with online sales and test drives and those would be accompanied by a maintenance center.

if I didn’t have to deal with a dealer to get the mach-e I wouldn’t. But I also won’t buy a Tesla under any circumstances.

Agreed on both counts.

 

[SnBGC]

Folks are acting like they aren’t buying from a dealer because they did the legwork on a website. That’s the point - you are buying from a dealer but you are just doing more of the work in this process.

Oh okay. I must have misunderstood your comment. I thought you said that Ford Motor Company and the Dealerships are the same company when they clearly are two different business entities. I myself have made this distinction from the very beginning so I am VERY aware that I am NOT buying directly from Ford.

I would prefer if I could make my purchases directly but our government does not allow that unfortunately. Every year about this time I place an order for 4-8 Ford trucks and Van's. Every year I have to work with a dealership. The website method is not new.....been using it for years. I do all my shopping and specifications through the Fleet.Ford website. At the very end, I have to send my order to the dealer so they can place it with Ford. Sort of like a stock broker I guess. It's a bummer sometimes but it works okay most of the time. Just the way it is with legacy automakers who do business in the U.S.

 

[phil4791eng]

If you signed a purchase agreement that specified no refund of the deposit if you cancel, why would you expect it to be refunded? My purchase agreements for two Mach-Es specify that the deposit is refundable if I cancel. Simple enough.

You and I have different perspectives on dealers and that is fine. Mine is that I am not delighted by most dealers but I am delighted that I have a dealer who can help if there is a problem with the car. If they don't help, they know they are easily held accountable as a local business. I much prefer to have the dealer with this responsibility rather than the manufacturer as I have a personal relationship with the dealer and I am more important to the dealer than I am to a manufacturer. Yes, I am buying from a dealer and I expect that dealer to honor the conditions of the purchase. I much prefer that over relying only on the manufacturer.

I didn’t sign a purchase agreement. I converted the Ford reservation to the dealer order and they didn’t have any “rules” created. You are speculating on agreements that didn’t exist.

A few days after converting the order and me subsequently cancelling the dealer said he still had to buy the vehicle so he was keeping my $500. I told Ford what the dealer said and they said that was not true that he had to still take the vehicle. The dealer was lying and folks like you help enable the corruption. Terrible...

 

[JCHLi]

I didn’t sign a purchase agreement. I converted the Ford reservation to the dealer order and they didn’t have any “rules” created. You are speculating on agreements that didn’t exist.

A few days after converting the order and me subsequently cancelling the dealer said he still had to buy the vehicle so he was keeping my $500. I told Ford what the dealer said and they said that was not true that he had to still take the vehicle. The dealer was lying and folks like you help enable the corruption. Terrible...

I personally believe corruption will continue to exist as long as there is an imbalance of power. Getting rid of dealers may fix some problems, but the consolidation of power to the manufacturers will bring new different problems.

But more specific to your situation. Have you filed a complaint with the BBB?

 

[phil4791eng]

I personally believe corruption will continue to exist as long as there is an imbalance of power. Getting rid of dealers may fix some problems, but the consolidation of power to the manufacturers will bring new different problems.

But more specific to your situation. Have you filed a complaint with the BBB?

No, I‘m fine with them keeping the scraps and me changing from Ford to Tesla. I was apprehensive at first but after more than two months of ownership I’m glad I switched. Ford needs to step up and take control of the situation and not just document the unethical issues. I cancelled due to the uncertainty of delivery date but it worked out for the best in the end.

 

[JCHLi]

No, I‘m fine with them keeping the scraps and me changing from Ford to Tesla. I was apprehensive at first but after more than two months of ownership I’m glad I switched. Ford needs to step up and take control of the situation and not just document the unethical issues. I cancelled due to the uncertainty of delivery date but it worked out for the best in the end.

Hey as long as you're happy. I know I wouldn't be, and there is a chance the dealer wouldn't respond to the BBB, but then it's reflected on them.

It's a fairly simple process to submit the complaint and hey, maybe you'd get your deposit back AND still enjoy your new vehicle.

Just thinking you might get a better response there versus here on a forum with us.

 

[timbop]

The dealer was lying and folks like you help enable the corruption

I am not sure how you arrive at that.

Exactly what course of action will you have if the bumper falls off and the Tesla service center tells you it is not covered because it is "normal wear and tear"?

Buying straight from the manufacturer in no way stops the type of abuse you ran into. Tesla could just as easily say that a deposit is nonrefundable because they "build to order".

 

[phil4791eng]

I am not sure how you arrive at that.

Exactly what course of action will you have if the bumper falls off and the Tesla service center tells you it is not covered because it is "normal wear and tear"?

Buying straight from the manufacturer in no way stops the type of abuse you ran into. Tesla could just as easily say that a deposit is nonrefundable because they "build to order".

A patchwork of hundreds of dealers that potentially have shortsighted profits in mind are the issue vs. Ford or Tesla corporate that have long-term earnings in mind when making decisions. Ford has lost a long-term customer due to a single dealer‘s actions and this is likely repeated many times across America. That dealer felt he wanted my $500 even though he expended no effort in the sale and had no skin in the game. The salesman said he didn’t agree either and the GM was making the decision.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

A patchwork of hundreds of dealers that potentially have shortsighted profits in mind are the issue vs. Ford or Tesla corporate that have long-term earnings in mind when making decisions. Ford has lost a long-term customer due to a single dealer‘s actions and this is likely repeated many times across America. That dealer felt he wanted my $500 even though he expended no effort in the sale and had no skin in the game. The salesman said he didn’t agree either and the GM was making the decision.

1. BBB complaint.
2. Negative Yelp review. Yes, they really matter now.
3. Small claims court.

Enjoy your new BEV too.

 

[macchiaz-o]

I didn’t sign a purchase agreement. I converted the Ford reservation to the dealer order and they didn’t have any “rules” created. You are speculating on agreements that didn’t exist.

If you placed the order through the dealer directly (not through ford.com) and they did not disclose that the deposit is non-refundable, then that is despicable. You should fight to get that money back. If you did this through a credit card, bank card, or personal check, you might be able to get your financial institution to dispute this and get it refunded to you.

For myself, I converted my reservation to an order on ford.com. There were a LOT of disclosures, terms, and so on. For the order process specifically, there was a paragraph near the very top of the Order Terms and Conditions which made clear (for me) that I needed to confirm refundability of deposit with my dealer prior to completing an order:

In order to complete the Order Process, you will be required to (1) create and/or login to your Ford account, (2) submit certain information to Ford, (3) select a Dealer, and (4) pay an Order Deposit to the Dealer. The Dealer will hold Order Deposits and will not pay interest on Order Deposits. Any interest earned on the account will be the sole property of the Dealer. Dealer Order Deposit refund policy may vary based on your selected Dealer. Please ask your Dealer for their refund policy before you agree to these Terms. Ford and your selected Dealer may contact you periodically with updates regarding the status of your Order.​

So I shot off an email to my saleswoman and she confirmed that it would be refundable. Then I went and submitted the order.

Could this have gone more smoothly? Yes, definitely. For instance, Ford should force each participating dealer to declare deposit requirements and then Ford should show this to me on the web site. I shouldn't have to separately contact a person at the local dealer to get this. But this is how it is, for now, if I want to get a Mach-E. So I must do some extra work and so far it is going okay.

 

[MailGuy]

It turns out Mid February wasn't that far off in the end. I took delivery today. Best surprise I had all day. Can't begin to express how proud I am to say that my daughter is an engineer at Ford that contributed to this awesome vehicle.

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