Dealer sold my custom ordered Maverick to someone else, they never called me when it arrived.

[Clock Doc]

Ditto all the above. Car sales are heavily regulated and watched by the states. Same for repairs. A call to the attorney generals office will put them on the radar, enough calls will warrant a look into whats going on. Your call may tip that scale.
A call to the news will get those politicians in the AGs office off their butts and at the dealer.
You can bet you aren't the first they did this too.

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[es7129]

I never got my Maverick I ordered. I placed a custom order in Sept '21. I have a signed order agreement, and email trail offering me first right of refusal. They said 12-16 weeks until delivery. 12-16 weeks turned into we don't know when. We'll call you for first right of refusal. The call never came. It would have been nice to review it, but that's not happening. I recommend anyone still waiting CALL every day to you dealer. This whole "ordering" has been so exhausting, so stressful, and I really feel like a fool, like I was scammed. I am totally pissed of at Ford, and my dealer Autofair Ford NH.

@Ford Motor Company

 

[W8ting4u]

Don’t forget the BBB . I’ve used that in the past and it’s very effective. No business likes a bad rating.

 

[Mavonorder]

Ditto all the above.
You can bet you aren't the first they did this too.

I'd start with Ford by calling the marketing dept. If they don't immediately volunteer a name and contact person of a regional manager in your area to help you, request it and get a phone number, email and mailing address. Then escalate your problem up Ford's management levels as needed to get your order filled ASAP. Don't wait a lot of time between steps as this would decrease your chance of getting a Mav timely.

If the above doesn't get you a Mav quickly, then try the other suggestions mentioned by others.

Keep in mind, car dealerships on the whole have a lot of political and economic power as a group ( i.e. , there's a lot of them, they advertise a lot and account for a large local/state tax base, etc.), and tv stations, AGs and dealerships don't produce Mavs, but Ford bloody does and they can exert a lot of economic pressure on any dealership if they misbehave (e.g., cutting a dealerships vehicle allocations down to 0 for a month or more!, etc.)

All the autos want their retail ordering systems to look good to the general public and this kind of problem imo is the worse kind for them.

Good luck!

 

[Joe Kelly]

I feel for you because I had a similar experience several years ago on a purchase from inventory. there are three parts to a contract offer, acceptance and consideration. If your Sales agreement included a deposit you have a strong case with the States Attorney Office. You can hire a lawyer and see where it takes you. Before hiring a lawyer I would exhaust all the customer service support from Ford and make the dealership miserable. I hope you made a deposit with your sales agreement. Good Luck

 

[Decayed]

Absolutely. Attached.

That's a DORA, not the same as a purchase agreement. Basically this gets the dealer in trouble with ford. It doesn't legally bind the dealer to sell the vehicle to you IIRC but IANAL.

At this point your only viable option is this: make a stink. Local news, the BBB etc., as was previously suggested might help ramp up the pressure particularly if you name names. Your best venue would be ford itself. Include copies and send a snail mail letter to their customer service address and CC the office of the president.

The real question is what they can do for you. Likely the only thing ford corporate can really do is put you back in line for another vehicle, maybe price protect for 22 or something. I'd never do business with that dealer again.

This kind of crap is why Ford set up a separate company for EV's. IMO they are trying to either kill their existing dealer network or force them to knuckle under to a new agreement that gives Ford corporate a lot more control over how they sell cars.

Honestly at this point I'd personally be tired of the whole charade and maybe look at other brands. Don't think I could do another 10 month+ wait.

 

[Mav4him]

I agree with much that has already been said. This is why Ford is trying to do away with the current dealership model. While there are still some good honest dealerships out there these type business practices are happening far too often. I pray that you follow through with your complaint process. And I hope Ford makes it right.

 

[Area51BS]

That's a DORA, not the same as a purchase agreement. Basically this gets the dealer in trouble with ford. It doesn't legally bind the dealer to sell the vehicle to you IIRC but IANAL.

At this point your only viable option is this: make a stink. Local news, the BBB etc., as was previously suggested might help ramp up the pressure particularly if you name names. Your best venue would be ford itself. Include copies and send a snail mail letter to their customer service address and CC the office of the president.

The real question is what they can do for you. Likely the only thing ford corporate can really do is put you back in line for another vehicle, maybe price protect for 22 or something. I'd never do business with that dealer again.

This kind of crap is why Ford set up a separate company for EV's. IMO they are trying to either kill their existing dealer network or force them to knuckle under to a new agreement that gives Ford corporate a lot more control over how they sell cars.

Honestly at this point I'd personally be tired of the whole charade and maybe look at other brands. Don't think I could do another 10 month+ wait.

agree. It’s just a Maverick.

 

[FESTUS]

Get a lawyer and sue the dealers ASS

 

[cdsmith379]

Thanks everyone. I have got the ball rolling with Ford Corporate. The AG and the BBB will be contacted next. As for the dealership, my feeling is they have totally destroyed any possible business relationship we me and I will not deal with them any further. There are many other Ford dealers in the southern NH area as other posters have indicated. Market conditions have really emboldened dealers(who have always had questionable sales practices). I can only hope some balance returns. Anyone still waiting though I would definitely call, especially if you ordered from Auto Fair!

 

[huunvubu]

Absolutely. Attached.

What you show is not a purchase agreement nor is it signed by the dealership's General Manager so the piece of paper (DORA) is not a valid contract.

 

[DeeZee]

Yes! VIN number and everything! Tracked all the way through delivery! This is the dealers response:

AutoFair Ford in Manchester
Craig, we can certainly understand your frustration with the extended wait times of the Mavericks. Custom vehicle ordering has changed the way we do business and we are trying very hard to become the leader in New Hampshire. I will be reviewing your experience with our team in our next weekly huddle to learn and grow. Thank you for bringing this to our attention- Adam Schreffler, Sales Manager

“I will be reviewing your experience with our team in our next weekly huddle to learn and grow”

Oh boy typical Sales Management response. Never any accountability.
They could have said “ We messed up and to make it right we will order you another truck and give you $1,000, $2,000 or whatever off of the sticker price. It is still a win from them because they probably marked the original order up $10K.

I deal with 15 sales people a day so I know how they think. They become managers when they convince the company why they can’t sell and get promoted to train others.

 

[Mavonorder]

I agree with much that has already been said. This is why Ford is trying to do away with the current dealership model. While there are still some good honest dealerships out there these type business practices are happening far too often. I pray that you follow through with your complaint process. And I hope Ford makes it right.

According to my salesman, if 80% of the retail orders are not actually purchased by the consumer ordering the vehicle, the dealership will get no allotment of Ford vehicles to sell the next month. That is a heavy stick Ford is wielding to stop dealerships from stealing retail orders!

Make sure you let the dealership know your contracting Ford and taking it to the highest level possible. Who knows, maybe this dealership is at 79% now and your order would tip them over the 80% threshold which would cost them a lot more than the markup they made on your Mav.

 

[cdsmith379]

What you show is not a purchase agreement nor is it signed by the dealership's General Manager so the piece of paper (DORA) is not a valid contract.

I looked through my paperwork, I could not find one signed by the dealer. Which leads me to believe they had no intention of delivering to me?? How incredibly sick is that to string me along for almost a year!?

 

[ME4Twaffle]

Dude is not messing around and brings RECEIPTS!!! Good for you! Order from IRA Ford in Maine or Grappone Ford in Bow. I got mine at IRA Ford in Maine and they were very good. But yeah, Autofair owes you the chance to buy a Maverick (with a nice discount for your troubles!)

This! Fellow NH resident here. I ordered my truck from Grappone Ford with no deposit or any of that. Grappone also refuses to participate in the market manipulation that's going on with new vehicles or parts sales. They even put that in their ads. They unfortunately have no choice as far as the used market because they have to pay market rate to get used vehicles in the first place.

As for Autofair, they've been price gouging on parts during the supply chain issues, and I'm pretty sure they still do the ol' predatory dealer practices, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if they stole someone's custom order so they could sell it above MSRP and make a few thousand dollars.

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