Shady dealer tactics still going strong

[Josh_ua]

@5ninefish this sounds like a similar situation I had.

While stationed in Hawaii in 2013 I tried buying a brand new 2014 Fusion Titanium from this same dealership Honolulu Ford. I test drove the vehicle and went and got pre-approved for a loan. When I came back ready to buy they tried telling me there was a xx thousand dollar markup but they could not tell me what it was for. The markup was not listed on the car at all and I offered to pay full msrp (all I was approved for) if they would drop the markup, but they wouldn't budge. I pushed so hard to make that deal happen the president of the dealership was standing on the sales floor negotiating with me. They never dropped the markup and I walked out, the salesman followed me through the parking lot trying to show me used rental cars to buy.
Next day I went in to Cutter Chevrolet and left in a new car with zero issues.

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[JesTr]

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.

At least your shitty dealer offered them to you at a ADM. My dealer on my first Mav order in MY22 sold it at 10k markup without calling me. Told me he tried to call and I didn't answer. Told him he forgot how cell phones work, no text, no missed calls etc. I understood they wanted the extra money but to tell me I'm at fault was beyond shitty. Took it to the state Attorney General and wouldn't you know it they wanted to settle and pay me for my "troubles". These dealers fucking suck. Luckily ordered a MY23 from a more reputable dealer. Think it was built today. So hopefully will have in about a month. All reviews show folks taking at MSRP. Smaller dealership working toward returning customers.

 

[lajlmt]

If you didn't make any change on your order after the price increase, your price should be when you placed the order. The dealer should have given you a printout of the preview - DORA, and that is the price. Not the window sticker, if you paid MSRP on the window sticker at time of delivery for your retail order, you also got screwed.
[/QUOTE

Well, it’s done. I signed for 2k markup on each truck. Yesterday was a long, long day. I had a massive headache, and I just wanted to be out of there. In the end, neither of us got exactly what we wanted, so I guess that’s somewhat balanced. Depending who I talk to, I either caved and got scammed for paying 2K over MSRP, or I got an insane deal for only paying 2K over MSRP. At this point, I’m just happy to finally get the vehicles we’ve wanted for the last 2 years, and I can’t believe it’s actually over. Prices on the 2024 Maverick are only going up, so I’ll eat the 2K, move on, and hit "buy" on this massive list of Mav accessories sitting in my Amazon shopping cart.

Notes for those who are in similar situations moving forward:

- I got a hold of Ford Corporate via DM on Twitter. They took all my info down and forwarded it to the dealer management team. Not sure if it helped, but at least this was a better response than the non-response I got over the phone with Ford Corporate. I recommend this as a first and immediate course of action. They are very responsive via Twitter DM and will get all the details of your situation.

- I contacted Mike Levine via Twitter and Threads. He never replied, so I have no idea if he saw it and got involved or not.

- I got a hold of a local news station, and they were immediately wanting to interview me for tonight’s news - especially when I mentioned that I was not the only one experiencing this type of situation. I was literally scheduling an interview while at the dealership negotiating. This had a powerful effect.

- Unknown to me, my dad crashed the dealership as soon as they opened the doors. He’s a 300lb kahuna (literally he’s a very large, very native, very spiritual leader) and he was definitely restless while he was there. They also recognized him since he’s a slightly famous local musician. This also had a powerful effect. Offer him smoked brisket, and he will fly to your location and visit your dealer.

- I let them know that I was not going anywhere, and I was prepared to hit every social media and review website possible. I believe this was powerful as they specifically requested that I please not do that while agreeing to the final terms. They repeated this request this several times and made absolutely sure that I was not going to launch a negative review campaign.

In the end, the dealership holds 99% of the pricing power. The only true counterbalance we have to that is news, publicity, online reviews and social media networks. I did not anticipate how sensitive they are to all that, and it’s pretty much our only card to play if you find yourself on the wrong side of the MSRP battle. To anybody else running into this situation, stay the course, bring lots of Tylenol, and escalate the negative review campaign. If you need help blasting a shady dealer, hit me up.

Aloha,
D

Thanks to your father they were docile by the time I got there.. I won’t deal with sales staff shenanigans so I talked directly to the GM.

 

[5ninefish]

Thanks to your father they were docile by the time I got there.. I won’t deal with sales staff shenanigans so I talked directly to the GM.

Awesome! Congrats

 

[Smith]

Another dealer to avoid is Luther Ford in Indiana , Pa. They add $8000 to any Maverick order. I obviously didn’t order from them.

 

[Phileaux]

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.

If it's legal I'm going to video the salesman stating agreed price. Find everywhere they're mentioned and post on it.

 

[Serenity]

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