Shady dealer tactics still going strong

[5ninefish]

We ordered 2 XLTs almost a year ago, and they finally came in yesterday. Went into the dealer today - Honolulu Ford - and got hit with 6k markup each, so 12k total. Salesman swore up and down he disclosed the markup from the beginning, which is absolutely false. We’ve had numerous calls, texts, and emails over the last 11 months and there was nothing about 6K markup. We even have a signed order sheet without the 6K. Then he got heated when I was calling him out on never disclosing the markup and told us to try go buy a used one for this price, or go out on the lot and see how much it costs to buy one now. No shit, man. That’s why we put in an order and waited patiently for a year. Beyond infuriated. Called Ford and was basically told that they can do nothing. I thought this markup fiasco was supposed to be over.

I get the vibe the salesman is trying to be purposefully combative and abrasive just so I’ll walk away and he can actually sell them for the 41k sticker price. They are practically begging us to just walk away. He was also going off on heated tangents about if I ran a business, I would understand about profit and margins, blah blah blah. I actually do own a business, even though that's none of his business. He was also adamant that there are zero dealers out there actually selling any vehicles at MSRP, and he acted shocked that I was gullible enough to think so. Well, we bought a new Chevy straight off the lot last year at MSRP so we had something to run around in while waiting for our Maverick. More lies.

Greed sucks, and this is so shortsighted on Ford’s part. They have a sweet moment in the sun with this truck and the Bronco, and they’re killing themselves long term by bullying and shitting on customers who put in orders and were willing to wait 1 year for a chance to drive a Mav. If this is how they are going to run things, then this is basically the last time I walk into a Ford dealership.

Edited: Just wanted to add that I've already tried contacting Ford via twitter and Mike Levine as well. I'm not agreeing to go away, so I'm hoping they can't just sell the trucks anyhow?

Edit #2: I should mention since this has been brought up a few times. I said I'd buy all the extended warranties, rust proofing, tinting, undercoating, etc. He said "no, that's just you paying for stuff you benefit from." I shit you not.

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[Grumpa]

We ordered 2 XLTs almost a year ago, and they finally came in yesterday. Went into the dealer today - Honolulu Ford - and got hit with 6k markup each, so 12k total. Salesman swore up and down he disclosed the markup from the beginning, which is absolutely false. We’ve had numerous calls, texts, and emails over the last 11 months and there was nothing about 6K markup. We even have a signed order sheet without the 6K. Then he got heated when I was calling him out on never disclosing the markup and told us to try go buy a used one for this price, or go out on the lot and see how much it costs to buy one now. No shit, man. That’s why we put in an order and waited patiently for a year. Beyond infuriated. Called Ford and was basically told that they can do nothing. I thought this markup fiasco was supposed to be over.

I get the vibe the salesman is trying to be purposefully combative and abrasive just so I’ll walk away and he can actually sell them for the 41k sticker price. They are practically begging us to just walk away. He was also going off on heated tangents about if I ran a business, I would understand about profit and margins, blah blah blah. I actually do own a business, even though that's none of his business. He was also adamant that there are zero dealers out there actually selling any vehicles at MSRP, and he acted shocked that I was gullible enough to think so. Well, we bought a new Chevy straight off the lot last year at MSRP so we had something to run around in while waiting for our Maverick. More lies.

Greed sucks, and this is so shortsighted on Ford’s part. They have a sweet moment in the sun with this truck and the Bronco, and they’re killing themselves long term by bullying and shitting on customers who put in orders and were willing to wait 1 year for a chance to drive a Mav. If this is how they are going to run things, then this is basically the last time I walk into a Ford dealership.

Edited: Just wanted to add that I've already tried contacting Ford via twitter and Mike Levine as well. I'm not agreeing to go away, so I'm hoping they can't just sell the trucks anyhow?

Selling cars hasn't changed much in over 50 years. Hard to find a dealer who dosen't want to clean your wallet! Doc fees are just one example.

 

[prsncat]

You are blaming Ford for the dealer's tactics. Blame the dealership's owners and ensure you avoid any dealership they own without regard to the marque or manufacturer.

For example, I have seen several warnings coming from different parts of the US stating that a certain US national chain has a policy change resulting in individual dealerships having to find creative ways to add required services or accessories to improve profitability. Thus, there is a general recommendation that buyers should beware before selecting a dealership owned by this US national chain. You can figure it out by going to the list of recommended dealers' thread and looking at the Google spreadsheet I maintain.

Please report this dealership and the salesperson using the Google Form so we can send other customers elsewhere.

Google Form: https://forms.gle/k1SuLHps6FL1ATPM7

 

[5ninefish]

You are blaming Ford for the dealer's tactics. Blame the dealership's owners and ensure you avoid any dealership they own without regard to the marque or manufacturer.

For example, I have seen several warnings coming from different parts of the US stating that a certain US national chain has a policy change resulting in individual dealerships having to find creative ways to add required services or accessories to improve profitability. Thus, there is a general recommendation that buyers should beware before selecting a dealership owned by this US national chain. You can figure it out by going to the list of recommended dealers' thread and looking at the Google spreadsheet I maintain.

Please report this dealership and the salesperson using the Google Form so we can send other customers elsewhere.

Google Form: https://forms.gle/k1SuLHps6FL1ATPM7

I filled out the form. Unfortunately, I'm on an island, so there were not many options, and none on your list. Although there is one now as an avoid.

To a certain extent, I am blaming Ford. Their name and logo are on the front of the building, so on some level - even if it's a very small percentage - they are a part of all this. But I do realize this is almost all up to the discretion of the dealer. And they chose the tactic of bullying and belittling hoping I'll just disappear and leave them with two XLT's that they can markup to 41K each.

 

[Hdang1980]

Blast them on every review site you can find, including here.

 

[prsncat]

I filled out the form. Unfortunately, I'm on an island, so there were not many options, and none on your list. Although there is one now as an avoid.

To a certain extent, I am blaming Ford. Their name and logo are on the front of the building, so on some level - even if it's a very small percentage - they are a part of all this. But I do realize this is almost all up to the discretion of the dealer. And they chose the tactic of bullying and belittling hoping I'll just disappear and leave them with two XLT's that they can markup to 41K each.

This is, unfortunately, still happening all over the US (almost 20 dealership warnings now). If you don't have a mutually executed contract in writing, they can offer to sell them to you at any price they want.

I don't know your situation. I would walk away and let them have both.

Hopefully, @Ford Motor Company monitors the warnings & recommendations dealer list when working on allocations since allocations should be taken away from this dealership. Taking away allocations so they have nothing to sell is the only way Ford can punish dealerships like this.

As long as nobody is willing to pay the ADM, the vehicle sits and starts costing them money.

The only way they change their business practices is through a slowdown in their sales, having inventory sit on the lot since Ford charges them for unsold inventory, and Ford taking away vehicles (in addition to the Maverick) for them to sell.

 

[Old Man]

I filled out the form. Unfortunately, I'm on an island, so there were not many options, and none on your list. Although there is one now as an avoid.

To a certain extent, I am blaming Ford. Their name and logo are on the front of the building, so on some level - even if it's a very small percentage - they are a part of all this. But I do realize this is almost all up to the discretion of the dealer. And they chose the tactic of bullying and belittling hoping I'll just disappear and leave them with two XLT's that they can markup to 41K each.

Ford has no legal recourse because each state has franchise laws saying the dealer has the right to set price. You ordered the cars from the dealer not Ford. The dealer bought them from Ford. So quit blaming Ford. They are trying to go to non-negotiated pricing but are getting sued by dealers and some in Congress say they will investigate them if they try that.

You say you have a signed order with the original price, is it signed by an authorized representative of the dealer? If so, does Hawaii allow that as a binding contract? If so you can sue but it will cost you more than the $12,000.

Did you know this dealer had a bad reputation before you ordered?

 

[5ninefish]

Ford has no legal recourse because each state has franchise laws saying the dealer has the right to set price. You ordered the cars from the dealer not Ford. The dealer bought them from Ford. So quit blaming Ford. They are trying to go to non-negotiated pricing but are getting sued by dealers and some in Congress say they will investigate them if they try that.

You say you have a signed order with the original price, is it signed by an authorized representative of the dealer? If so, does Hawaii allow that as a binding contract? If so you can sue but it will cost you more than the $12,000.

Did you know this dealer had a bad reputation before you ordered?

I have an order sheet signed by the salesperson. He also said "just bring this in when you pick it up, no questions asked for this price on the sheet."

I am not fully blaming Ford. But at some point they have to realize that their own dealers are ruining their brand and their business. If their dealers decide to declare war on customers who preorder so they can take over their orders and flip them for more, I'd say it's time for Ford to go nuclear and protect their brand by any means necessary.

 

[huunvubu]

I sure wish the @Administrator would have put up a sticky that I requested about having a Buyer's Order done when placing an order.

The Buyer's Order will state the final out-the-door price and list all dealer/state fees. It needs to be signed and dated by you and the General/Sales Manager of the dealership.

That would have protected you.

And if the dealer wouldn't do a Buyer's Order that is a red flag that they will hose you.

Here is a copy of my Buyer's Order with the personal info cropped off:

 

[eayze]

sickened me pretty well when I went to the DMV dealership gave me wrong paper work the accountants paper work to show that they paid 17500 they tried numerous times to Mark me up while we went back and forth threatening to go legal in the end they got $500 more than what we originally agreed upon I paid $27,500 for my XL but it was loaded I wonder how bad they would have tried to screw me over if I didn't already have the financing in my pocket

 

[5ninefish]

I sure wish the @Administrator would have put up a sticky that I requested about having a Buyer's Order done when placing an order.

The Buyer's Order will state the final out-the-door price and list all dealer/state fees. It needs to be signed and dated by you and the General/Sales Manager of the dealership.

That would have protected you.

And if the dealer wouldn't do a Buyer's Order that is a red flag that they will hose you.

Here is a copy of my Buyer's Order with the personal info cropped off:

We have one like that, plus it has an order number, sales code, all charges (including destination charge, etc) included, plus the salesman signed it. He also said "show this, no questions asked for this price at pickup. You'll be right in and out."

To be honest, I'm most fired up about the condescension. I'm very indigenous native looking, and I had just come at the last minute from working in my backyard, so I didn't look the most presentable. Right off the bat they were wondering if I could afford this, how naive I was about the car industry, how absolutely nobody at any brand or dealer actually pays MSRP and I was crazy to think so, maybe I need to go buy a used car somewhere, and then berating me that if I had owned a business, then I would understand how businesses operate. When I stated that I actually did own a business, they were incredulous and grilled me what it was, did I REALLY own a business, etc etc. Their attitude started out condescending and basically laughing in the beginning, then it got heated and personal when they realized I wasn't leaving. THAT pisses me right off.

They repeatedly stated that I should be thankful only paying 6K markup, that they should be charging me much more.

 

[eayze]

f*** your representative walk straight into your sales manager's office that what i did

 

[huunvubu]

We have one like that, plus it has an order number, sales code, all charges (including destination charge, etc) included, plus the salesman signed it. He also said "show this, no questions asked for this price at pickup. You'll be right in and out."

To be honest, I'm most fired up about the condescension. I'm very indigenous native looking, and I had just come at the last minute from working in my backyard, so I didn't look the most presentable. Right off the bat they were wondering if I could afford this, how naive I was about the car industry, how absolutely nobody at any brand or dealer actually pays MSRP and I was crazy to think so, maybe I need to go buy a used car somewhere, and then berating me that if I had owned a business, then I would understand how businesses operate. When I stated that I actually did own a business, they were incredulous and grilled me what it was, did I REALLY own a business, etc etc. Their attitude started out condescending and basically laughing in the beginning, then it got heated and personal when they realized I wasn't leaving. THAT pisses me right off.

They repeatedly stated that I should be thankful only paying 6K markup, that they should be charging me much more.

A salesman signature is worthless. It needs to be signed and dated by you and the General/Sales Manager of the dealership. Anything else is a worthless piece of paper.

 

[lajlmt]

We ordered 2 XLTs almost a year ago, and they finally came in yesterday. Went into the dealer today - Honolulu Ford - and got hit with 6k markup each, so 12k total. Salesman swore up and down he disclosed the markup from the beginning, which is absolutely false. We’ve had numerous calls, texts, and emails over the last 11 months and there was nothing about 6K markup. We even have a signed order sheet without the 6K. Then he got heated when I was calling him out on never disclosing the markup and told us to try go buy a used one for this price, or go out on the lot and see how much it costs to buy one now. No shit, man. That’s why we put in an order and waited patiently for a year. Beyond infuriated. Called Ford and was basically told that they can do nothing. I thought this markup fiasco was supposed to be over.

I get the vibe the salesman is trying to be purposefully combative and abrasive just so I’ll walk away and he can actually sell them for the 41k sticker price. They are practically begging us to just walk away. He was also going off on heated tangents about if I ran a business, I would understand about profit and margins, blah blah blah. I actually do own a business, even though that's none of his business. He was also adamant that there are zero dealers out there actually selling any vehicles at MSRP, and he acted shocked that I was gullible enough to think so. Well, we bought a new Chevy straight off the lot last year at MSRP so we had something to run around in while waiting for our Maverick. More lies.

Greed sucks, and this is so shortsighted on Ford’s part. They have a sweet moment in the sun with this truck and the Bronco, and they’re killing themselves long term by bullying and shitting on customers who put in orders and were willing to wait 1 year for a chance to drive a Mav. If this is how they are going to run things, then this is basically the last time I walk into a Ford dealership.

Edited: Just wanted to add that I've already tried contacting Ford via twitter and Mike Levine as well. I'm not agreeing to go away, so I'm hoping they can't just sell the trucks anyhow?

Uh OH…was it Coedy?? Mine is here next week…I am not paying 6K, do I need to bring a lawyer?

 

[catshreds]

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