The Most FRUSTRATING Experience with Ford Dealership

[yngwenli]

The name of the dealership is "Putnam Ford of San Mateo" in California bay area. STAY AWAY

And it's actually the same dealer in this story: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/dealer-sold-my-reserved-car.17224/

Naming and shaming is helpful because it allows other folks to just avoid/not order from them if they read this forum.

As you noticed, it's always the same bad dealers and a few bad apples ruining it for everyone else. Bad dealers will screw over anyone/everyone in the short term and hopefully, their name gets out that they're not good to buy/service from and have no more allocations moving forward.

What I think will happen instead is the dealership is probably on the block to sell (they're short timers) so they're trying to grab whatever cash they can before they get out the door, but Putnam is a pretty big dealership owner I think.

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[HuntingPudel]

Putnam. Does not surprise me. That dealership group needs to die by bankruptcy. I donot know anyone who has had a positive experience with them, no matter what brand they are buying. My first unfortunate experience with them was in the mid-80s. ??

EDIT: Make sure to contact Mike Levine to see if there is anything he can do to help find a different dealer. ??

 

[chasemyaccord]

That sucks. Post some bad reviews on Yelp, they're at 4 stars right now.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

That sucks. Post some bad reviews on Yelp, they're at 4 stars right now.

I've had good experience with their service department (I bought my car elsewhere), but this is the second ordered Mach E ADM horror story I've heard.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

Unfortunately, Putnam Ford is located in close to the richest ZIP code in the nation. That means they will always have customers with more money than sense, ready and willing to pay massive ADM just to get the cars they want today.

I"m surprised anyone still does business with them after all the bad publicity and reputation they've gained. I guess their customers don't care, as long as they can get what they want at any price.

 

[H.Bergeron]

Six months ago, I ordered a Mach-E online, put $500 deposit and chose to deliver to a nearest Ford dealership to me. When it’s finally arrived recently and I was ready to pick up my car, the sales person told me I need to pay about $10k markup, which they never mentioned during my 6 months wait time.

(Then I did some research in this forum and learned that I should get a signed agreement with dealership at the very beginning. Whoever see this post, please make sure you get that)

And I realized they have listed my car on their website and marked it as available, because at this time, they already found another customer who would like to pay the markup.

The dealer had no patience serving me at all. They refused to provide a test drive and told me I can test drive other Mach-E anywhere else like going to a Carmax. The sales person had a bad attitude and all they want is kicking me out of the game and selling the car to the person who has agreed on the markup, or maybe already sold.

Now I just wasted 6 months waiting for nothing. Not to mention being prioritized for the purchase, I wasn’t even allowed to see the car unless I can bid over the other person.


The whole experience is just extremely exhausting, frustrating and ridiculous.


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The dealer is Putnam Ford of San Mateo in California bay area

Fight back! They took your $500. You had an agreement.

You need to go to the local news media, social media and other outlets such as nextdoor. If they sell cars in online classifieds, create your own classified ad with their name and your story. Go in with a camera and make a YouTube video. Let them know you have the ability to hurt them more than the additional $10K is worth.

 

[car_driver_guy]

I just saw this thread. Sorry man. They are scumbags. One of the employees told me they were the "most ethical dealership [he] had ever worked for." Which was either a lie or reflects verrrrry poorly on car dealerships in general.

- I left bad reviews on every website I could find
- I left a complaint with their hotline --> totally useless, they never contacted me back
- I emailed a bunch of Ford execs about my story --> a rep called me a month later and apologized and said there was literally nothing meaningful she could do

The dealership holds all the cards. I wish I had better advice for you. If you can wait another 6-10 months, I would start thinking about putting some reservations down for other cars you like. I have deposits for two non-Ford vehicles and I have in writing that they will not mark up the vehicle once they arrives.

 

[Avelli]

Tell them they have 24 hours to get your $500 back. When they refuse, contact the DMV investigations office (Brisbane branch) and report them.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/locations/investigations-offices/

Brisbane DMV Investigations Division Office (phone): (415) 330-6469

It is unlawful for any dealer licensed under this article to do any of the following when brokering a retail sale:

(c) Fail to refund any purchase money, including purchase deposits, upon demand by a consumer at any time prior to the consumer's signing of a vehicle purchase agreement with a selling dealer and taking delivery of the vehicle described in the brokering agreement.

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