READ THIS BEFORE YOU TAKE DELIVERY OF YOUR MACH e

CaPhil

Active Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Mar 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
36
Reaction score
57
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach e Premium SR, Star White
Occupation
Retired engineer
Country flag
I am posting this rather long commentary to alert my fellow Mach e buyers of dealer shenanigans that they need to watch for. You will see that I dropped the ball early on that resulted in my incurring a $1,500 ADM but through persistence and threats, I prevailed in the end.

I first saw the Mach e at the LA Auto show in November 2019 and put down a $500 refundable deposit right then. I am a little fuzzy on exactly how I picked details of my order like color but think I did this online. Nevertheless, I ordered my car directly from Ford. Afterwards, I received frequent emails from Ford re Mach e production progress. Eventually, I was asked to confirm my order and pick a dealer for delivery, which I did.

After several emails from Ford re the delivery schedule, a presentation by the dealer and telephone calls from a dealer representative, I finally was notified by the dealer that my Mach e had arrived. I immediately scheduled a pick up date. That’s when the adventure began.

I arrived promptly at my appointment time. After a test drive and some preliminary introduction to the Mach e features, I started the paperwork process. After providing information re financing and waiting for the credit check another dealer rep who I had not yet met started to review some of the paperwork with me. During this process he said there was a $1,500 charge for something to do with paint and fabric care and theft protection. To this day I still don’t know the exact benefits associated with these charges. However, I thought it was something they had already done to the car and that I had no choice but to pay for it. I was also “offered” an extended warranty for about $2,500 which I turned down.

I now know I should have been prepared for this and should have resisted having these charges added to the price. However, I had been waiting about 18 months for my Mach e and didn’t want to do anything to comprise delivery. Also, I was uncomfortable being in the confined office (Covid anxiety) so I didn’t resist these up charges like I should have.

In reviewing the completed paperwork I noticed my $500 deposit was not included so that part of the paperwork had to be revised.

I finally got out of there with my Mach e, happy with my new Mach e but unhappy about being ripped off.

Shortly thereafter I received a survey from Ford re my purchase experience. Being upset about my experience, I gave the dealer a poor review. A few days later I received a call from the dealer about my review. He was “concerned” that I didn’t have a good experience and wanted to make it right. He offered me a $1,500 adjustment and hoped I would revise my overall score on my experience. That sounded like a win for me and it was, but not like I thought. I had to re-do the paperwork but this time was able to do this over the internet so it wasn’t a big problem.

I was quite happy with myself for getting the $1,500 price adjustment until I received an email from the California Clean Fuel Rewards (CCFR) program asking for my review of their program and the $1,500 state rebate I had received. WTF! The email stated the CCFR program was initiated in 11/20 and provided a $1,500 rebate to EV purchasers. The rebate is initiated by the dealer at time of sale. I looked back through the papers I had just signed and did find a page that I signed re CCFR but didn’t see anything about a $1,500 rebate. So it turns out the so called dealer credit against the ADM was actually the CCFR rebate that I was already eligible for at time of sale.

So, I called the dealer again and asked to have this corrected or I was going to contact Ford Customer Service. It took about a week but the dealer relented and issued me the $1,500 credit against the ADM.

To summarize my experience: ADM of $1,500; had to remind dealer re my $500 deposit; received $1,500 CCFR disguised as dealer credit against ADM; finally received $1,500 dealer adjustment to ADM.

Hopefully, you as an anxious, new buyer like I was, will take away one important lesson that I learned the hard way. DON’T TRUST THE DEALER!!! Also, although the dealer may technically have the ability to add ADM, it is obvious that Ford is strongly discouraging the practice on any Mach e ordered via the internet. A threat to contact Ford will get them to back down.
Sponsored

 

agoldman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2020
Threads
49
Messages
2,889
Reaction score
2,397
Location
Charleston, SC
Vehicles
GT Cyber Orange
Country flag
Wow, this is the sort of thing that gives the dealer model a bad name. Gl;ad you got compensated in the end, but what sum bags.
 

PS71

Banned
Banned
Joined
Mar 11, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
34
Reaction score
24
Location
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Vehicles
2019 Tesla Model 3 SR+
Country flag
When has the dealership model ever have a good name? It's design to be a horrible experience to ware you down to make an even worse purchase decisions.
 

NoVAguy

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Jan 22, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
205
Reaction score
356
Location
22030
Vehicles
None
Country flag
The paint and fabric protection isn't unique to other vehicles in the dealerships inventory lot, but what's unique about the Mach-E is that all those vehicles going to dealerships are orders already tied to specific customers (abandon Mach-E's aside). So dealerships can't just decide to throw those add-ons onto the Mach-E without prior consent from the customer, who already has a written contract & price for the vehicle.
 

waldo1949

Well-Known Member
First Name
Walter
Joined
Jun 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
138
Reaction score
133
Location
michigan
Vehicles
Infinite Blue mach e 4x
Country flag
Sounds like you, first, accepted the added markup. So, that is fair. You preferred a lower price, but agreed to the higher one. I always prefer a lower price, but what we agree on is what we agree on. If I was a dealer and someone would pay a million bucks, I would ask for a million bucks.
Then you signed a paper not knowing what it was and not having informed yourself about rebates.
 


NoVAguy

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Jan 22, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
205
Reaction score
356
Location
22030
Vehicles
None
Country flag
Definitely agree that by signing the contract he agreed to purchasing the add-ons.

But going back to OP's statement of, "I thought it was something they had already done to the car and that I had no choice but to pay for it" is where I'm trying say that if OP (or any other going to purchase their Mach-E) sees this on the paperwork they definitely have a strong position of fighting these charges since they never agreed on adding it to their vehicle.

+1 for the reminder to read through all the paperwork carefully! It's definitely an exciting moment, but a huge transaction as well.. and that part should be handled without much emotion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ARK

buffasnow

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
431
Reaction score
780
Location
Buffalo, NY
Vehicles
Grabber Blue FE, 85 Mustang GT (pasturized)
Country flag
Then you signed a paper not knowing what it was and not having informed yourself about rebates.
Um, I am no lawyer, but I would bet that the terms of the $1500 EV rebate would preclude the dealer from filing the paperwork but not passing the money on to the buyer. ADM and extras are something else, but these antics with the EV rebate smell like fraud to me.
 

Franchise

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2020
Threads
0
Messages
52
Reaction score
68
Location
SoCal
Vehicles
2019 Outlander GT PHEV, 2021 e-tron premium plus
Country flag
I am posting this rather long commentary to alert my fellow Mach e buyers of dealer shenanigans that they need to watch for. You will see that I dropped the ball early on that resulted in my incurring a $1,500 ADM but through persistence and threats, I prevailed in the end.

I first saw the Mach e at the LA Auto show in November 2019 and put down a $500 refundable deposit right then. I am a little fuzzy on exactly how I picked details of my order like color but think I did this online. Nevertheless, I ordered my car directly from Ford. Afterwards, I received frequent emails from Ford re Mach e production progress. Eventually, I was asked to confirm my order and pick a dealer for delivery, which I did.

After several emails from Ford re the delivery schedule, a presentation by the dealer and telephone calls from a dealer representative, I finally was notified by the dealer that my Mach e had arrived. I immediately scheduled a pick up date. That’s when the adventure began.

I arrived promptly at my appointment time. After a test drive and some preliminary introduction to the Mach e features, I started the paperwork process. After providing information re financing and waiting for the credit check another dealer rep who I had not yet met started to review some of the paperwork with me. During this process he said there was a $1,500 charge for something to do with paint and fabric care and theft protection. To this day I still don’t know the exact benefits associated with these charges. However, I thought it was something they had already done to the car and that I had no choice but to pay for it. I was also “offered” an extended warranty for about $2,500 which I turned down.

I now know I should have been prepared for this and should have resisted having these charges added to the price. However, I had been waiting about 18 months for my Mach e and didn’t want to do anything to comprise delivery. Also, I was uncomfortable being in the confined office (Covid anxiety) so I didn’t resist these up charges like I should have.

In reviewing the completed paperwork I noticed my $500 deposit was not included so that part of the paperwork had to be revised.

I finally got out of there with my Mach e, happy with my new Mach e but unhappy about being ripped off.

Shortly thereafter I received a survey from Ford re my purchase experience. Being upset about my experience, I gave the dealer a poor review. A few days later I received a call from the dealer about my review. He was “concerned” that I didn’t have a good experience and wanted to make it right. He offered me a $1,500 adjustment and hoped I would revise my overall score on my experience. That sounded like a win for me and it was, but not like I thought. I had to re-do the paperwork but this time was able to do this over the internet so it wasn’t a big problem.

I was quite happy with myself for getting the $1,500 price adjustment until I received an email from the California Clean Fuel Rewards (CCFR) program asking for my review of their program and the $1,500 state rebate I had received. WTF! The email stated the CCFR program was initiated in 11/20 and provided a $1,500 rebate to EV purchasers. The rebate is initiated by the dealer at time of sale. I looked back through the papers I had just signed and did find a page that I signed re CCFR but didn’t see anything about a $1,500 rebate. So it turns out the so called dealer credit against the ADM was actually the CCFR rebate that I was already eligible for at time of sale.

So, I called the dealer again and asked to have this corrected or I was going to contact Ford Customer Service. It took about a week but the dealer relented and issued me the $1,500 credit against the ADM.

To summarize my experience: ADM of $1,500; had to remind dealer re my $500 deposit; received $1,500 CCFR disguised as dealer credit against ADM; finally received $1,500 dealer adjustment to ADM.

Hopefully, you as an anxious, new buyer like I was, will take away one important lesson that I learned the hard way. DON’T TRUST THE DEALER!!! Also, although the dealer may technically have the ability to add ADM, it is obvious that Ford is strongly discouraging the practice on any Mach e ordered via the internet. A threat to contact Ford will get them to back down.
Dealer in the LA metro area? Which one?
 

Dmhccs

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dani
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
145
Reaction score
117
Location
PA
Vehicles
2021 Volvo XC90 recharge, 2021 Mach e GTPE
Occupation
Business owner
Country flag
I’m just here to say your car is gorgeous! also, i hate the dealer model. My Star White Premium ER AWD won’t be here for awhile but I’m already dreading the dealer experience.
 
OP
OP
CaPhil

CaPhil

Active Member
First Name
Phil
Joined
Mar 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
36
Reaction score
57
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach e Premium SR, Star White
Occupation
Retired engineer
Country flag
Um, I am no lawyer, but I would bet that the terms of the $1500 EV rebate would preclude the dealer from filing the paperwork but not passing the money on to the buyer. ADM and extras are something else, but these antics with the EV rebate smell like fraud to me.
The dealer did not initially offer me the CCFR. After I gave him the poor review he gave me the CCFR but didn’t identify it as a state rebate, leaving me to think he credited the ADM.

In regards to comments re my not reading dealer contract closely enough, guilt as charged. I thought the price was set when I purchased on the Ford web site so was not expecting ADM, was anxious to take delivery of my Mach e after waiting 18 months and was uncomfortable waiting in dealer’s office due to Covid concerns. I made this post in the hope of alerting other buyers to be more vigilant than I was.
 

Mojuba

Active Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
36
Reaction score
43
Location
Huntington Beach
Vehicles
Reserved Mach E First Edition
Country flag
Willing to bet $100 it’s Huntington Beach Ford. I posted about their shenanigans in another thread.
 

rnswa

Member
First Name
Richard
Joined
Mar 13, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
14
Reaction score
4
Location
Lummi Island, WA
Vehicles
2021 Prem Mach-e -2016 Lex RX350 - 2004 Avalanche
Occupation
retired
Country flag
I had a similar experience with my dealer. When the salesman brought out the offer sheet it had three additional items. One was for door guards for $799. And a couple of other items that total around $2,600. I told him I didn't want them and he removed them. Then I noticed my $500 deposit wasn't included. He brought out a print out that showed my reservation refund and it being converted to the Deposit saying some how that it showed I didn't make one. I had a screen shot of my bank statement showing the refund and the payment to the dealer. They restored it. I had initially said I was going to finance it then when I got to the dealer I said I changed my mind and was going to pay cash. He tried to get me to finance it anyway, telling me that I could just pay it off right away. He said that way they could make a few hundred dollars. At least he was being honest. When I got into the finance guy I noticed they had added back one if things I said I didn't want but the price went from $1,200 to $400. I said I still didn't want it, but he said they include it on all of their cars. I figured I was being screwed but had been there 2 hours already and was ready to get out of there and so went along with it. Then he started with the extended warranty pitch. He said it is normally $4,700 but Ford was discounting it to $3,700. I find it amusing on the sales side on how reliable the cars are then they try to scare you with all of the things that could go wrong and how expensive it will be. I said I didn't want it. He said how about $2,700. I still declined signed the paperwork and got out of there.
Sponsored

 
 




Top