Ford surface care mandatory?

[Mymaverick2021]

Is this an AutoNation dealer? Mine said they put it on every car that comes in as their policy, they would not remove from the purchase options, however, it is asterisked and says it is optional and not required for vehicle purchase. I told them I do not want it and wrote on the form that they would not remove and that I do not want it. We will see what they say when I go in when the Mav arrives.

There is no such protection plan from Ford or my dealer on my Dora, So I'd say to them kindly be kissing the mistletoe on me coattail

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[RevBo]

I worked for Ford, my father-in-law was over Ford Dealer Development for the Dallas Zone and after retiring from Ford became a Ford Lincoln Mercury Dealer. This is 100% incorrect! I'd send a certified letter to your dealer stating the salesperson's name who told you this and ask that the dealer contact you to confirm whether or not this is in fact correct. If it is correct, I'd report this to Ford directly and also contact your local newspaper/TV news to see if they have a Consumer Complaint system as well as informing the dealer you would be doing so. This is nothing but greed and is extremely unscrupulous at best. Good luck!

 

[BDennis]

Will do...

He said it's already on there and cannot be removed.

Already in there is less $50 dollars their cost. Call Ford corporate over their claim it is required.

 

[DryHeat]

Buyer's order requires a VIN otherwise you are not agreeing on the sale of a specific vehicle. Most people don't have VINs that have an order or DORA because they are not scheduled for production yet.

That's not correct. How do I know that?

Because my dealer and I signed a buyer's order on June 24. I got my VIN four months later on October 28.

I'm kind of curious where you got the idea that a VIN is required. Can you tell us about that?

Anyway, when used in the order-build-deliver process, a buyer's order is a contract for the dealer to sell you a vehicle matching the description on the order for the price stated on the order. It's not a contract for a specific vehicle. It gets linked to a specific vehicle later when Ford uses your order code and sales code to schedule a vehicle for production for you -- and sends you the VIN.

 

[TCK]

Ford called the dealership and got the runaround from them also..

I've already contacted the owner of the dealership, who is a very stand-up person.

Who instructs his employees to do this?

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I just got off the phone with my dealer and was told that Ford just started requiring Ford surface care for all new vehicles. He said that this just started within the last month. It's a $795 charge..

Anyone else hear of this?

What is surface care ?

 

[Shecster]

No worries..

The owner has already contacted me and is looking into it.

Yahtzee....
Best type of management is “ management by walking around your shop“ .Low producers or slackers running up the $$$$ profits... c’ya!
I hope he looks into this scam long and hard.....
All the best

 

[Jimmy P]

I guess I had a better dealer experience than I even realized earlier. Order was easy. Put $1k deposit. Truck came in. Salesman picked me up at my house in the truck at my request. Drove it back to the dealership. Sat down with the finance guy. No BS. He asked me a few questions, then skipped over any BS add-ons. Offered me a Ford maintenance (not warranty) program. I did the math, chose to buy it, he totaled up the sale with only tax and the $499 doc fee added, and I was out in well under two hours. The cleanest car purchase I ever did with the possible exception of my wife's Saturn Vue in 2005. Very happy with them.

Yes, the doc fee is dealer gravy but it industry standard here.

 

[DryHeat]

Without a valid VIN there is no specific vehicle and thus no binding legal contract. You can't sign a legally binding contract for a list of options that doesn't actually exist. And if you could, it would have to be with Ford not the dealer, since Ford is the one actually building the vehicle. However, Ford is not building the vehicle for you and has no contractual relationship with you, they are building the vehicle for the dealer with whom you are contracting.

I'm not saying you didn't sign a buyer's order and that the dealership won't give you one, but the legal standing of that contract is not rock solid since there is no specific car on the order. Contract law varies by state.

You are correct that I don't have a contract with Ford Motor Co., but wrong about the contract with the dealer.

You seem to think that there is some general legal principle that we can't contract for something unless it is in existence and we can point to the specific item. That's not the case.

In fact, we make contracts all the time for goods that are sufficiently described but that, at the time the contract is executed, are not specifically identified and may not even exist. Here's an example:

I make a written agreement today to buy twenty 1,000 ft. rolls of "OK Brand 2 Point 15.5 ga. Barbed Wire" at a certain price in May of 2023. I don't know exactly which rolls I am going to get. The feed store doesn't have any. They probably haven't been manufactured yet. But I still have an enforceable contract.​

If you have some source that supports your position, I'd like to see it. Here's what I can offer:

• Some articles about Buyer's Orders are linked in posts (some by me) on this forum. (Search "Buyer's Order" to find them.) They say a Buyer's Order is binding on the dealer once both sides have signed.
• My Buyer's Order form was written for situations where the dealer doesn't have the specific vehicle. How do I know? Because the boilerplate lets the dealer out of the deal if he "is unable to procure the vehicle order" because the manufacturer has changed price or design. (Also, there's no blank on the form for a VIN.)

 

[XLTLUXRED]

Will do...

He said it's already on there and cannot be removed.

Was that true? If so, and you didn't authorise it, I assume you get it for free?

 

[pigsareus]

I just got off the phone with my dealer and was told that Ford just started requiring Ford surface care for all new vehicles. He said that this just started within the last month. It's a $795 charge..

Anyone else hear of this?

tell them to GTH. Nothing more than 700 dollar profit for slapping some scotchguard on the fabric and some spritz on the finish. Ford itself would never do that it would PO all buyers and be nothing more than a bait and switch. Your dealer is trying to screw you, tell them you talked w/ Ford and denied it and want to know the name of the dealer you are (were) working with. They'd tried this with me on a Toyota back in the 80s and I laughed in their face and told them I didn't want their 90 percent markup and when they said well then we can't sell it to you cuz it would 'reflect badly' on them if the finish didn't hold up...I told them to shove it, went to another dealer and had 0 problem there.

 

[GaMaverick]

I just got off the phone with my dealer and was told that Ford just started requiring Ford surface care for all new vehicles. He said that this just started within the last month. It's a $795 charge..

Anyone else hear of this?

Lies, just did the final paperwork for my Maverick (pick it up on Wednesday ) and there is nothing like that included in the price.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Bought a Kia Sorento last year with the Gold shield protection from Ziebart already included from the same dealership I ordered my Maverick from. Going to see if they include that with my Maverick.

 

[Ferroplasm]

Anyone know the relevant regulations in NC that I could cite if my dealer tries pushing mandatory add-ons? I’m prepared to pay a doc fee, nothing more.

 

[mrjspence]

You just got off the phone with a con artist. Unequivocal BS dealer tactic. Just like ALL Ken Garff dealerships in Colorado adding $500 LoJack type GPS tracking and $500 “appearance protection” AKA scotchguard. I’ve canceled 2 custom ordered Mavericks and one on the lot (stock) I was going to buy because of s*it like this. I’ll wait 5 years before I pay a penny more. Im so sick of these slimy dealerships, they deserve to go out of business. Remember all the nickel and dining the unstoppable Blockbuster video did to us, until one day…

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