Ok, wifey is prego, baby due in late October, she needs some new wheels so we decide on a 2010 Escape.

Dealer #1 (Magic City Ford, Roanoke, VA)[/B]
Was able to find a Escape for us in DC, however it lacked leather and navigation. He said he could have both put in for $1,500, sweet! He tells his manager, manager flips out, says NO WAY. We continue to talk about the price of the car then he tells me that can not give me X-Plan due to it not being their vehicle, and now my trade in has suddenly depreciated $1,000 while sitting in their lot ince I told them I have X-Plan. I walked out.

Dealer #2 (Berglund Ford, Salem, VA)
Saleeman #1 is a complete idiot, goes by a nickname which is very unprofessional, has no idea how to "build" a car online, turns me over pimple faced teenager whom is a whiz with the computer. Things going good thus far. Finds the Escape for us in DC, will upgrade everything in it at no charge and CAN give us X Plan, sweet! We do the title exchange, take the plates of the wife's car and do ALL the paperwork, the car will be in on Friday to pick up, completed. Get a phone call yesterday, he is unable to get the car from DC...we have to come back and get the plates put back on my wifes car, WTF! He found one in Kentucky, however lacks running boards and ambient lighting, bit has everything else...however this is $125 MORE than the one WITH everything...again, WTF!!!! Says he can have it by Saturday no problem, detailed and ready to go. I reluctantly agree.....

Get another phone call 2 hours later. The car has not even been delivered in KY yet and we wont be able to have it for atleast a week! He refuses to give the $125 difference back in the 2 vehicles. I gave him many options on how to do it, free oil changes, car washes, on my trade-in, gift cards, the options are truly endless, just give me the $125 difference for getting LESS stuff!

Only other option is to build one, and it might not be ready by the time baby comes home, so I am not going to chance that. Reluctantly I agree to wait the week for this Escape....

But!!!!

Before all of this went down he told me about a survey I must complete as a Ford customer. He emphatically went on and on about how important it is to give the dealership all PERFECT marks, as just one less than satisfactory will result in "fines" and some sort of punishment. I told him after this mess I will fill the survey out accurately and give the poor marks, this left him very concerned, but again did not budge on the price, again only $125 freaking dollars!

So, I plan to destroy then on this survey and supplement a detailed account of this entire experience. I will make sure this goes to the appropriate people at Ford.

Is this unreasonable of me? Should I be doing something else? Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

Oh and by all means AVOID these 2 dealerships AT ALL COSTS!

 

Boy you would think in this economy dealers would get their ducks in a row and do some business.

If they do that very much they will be GONE very soon. Never understood jacking people around. Bad for business.

 

Not unreasonable at all. Just the opposite. Ford needs to know about your poor experience.

 

do it! and attach a two or three page letter detailing it all and how you my consider a different manufacturer next time ect ect

 

Yup, dealers suck.

My truck developed a nasty shimmy when I applied the brakes. So, I decided to take it to the dealership to get the rotors turned, new pads, oil change, brake booster recall (finally), and a chip in the windshield.

The service manager quoted me $189 to do the rotors and pads on all 4 corners, plus the charges for the other items listed. I went to pick it up the next day and the charge on the bill for the rotors was twice what he quoted.

I alerted the cashier who then called in another service manager to handle the situation. The service manager I originally talked to was out sick. Anyway, we looked at the quote sheet and the second manager saw where the first manager had written $189. He knocked off the price difference, I paid the bill, everyone was happy.

The next day, I get a call from those two service managers saying I needed to come back in and pay them back the money the second manager deducted. I argued my point, they argued theirs. Then, the first manager said "Well, I'm not going to make you pay it. But, if you decide to do the right thing, that would be better."

Yesterday, I got home from work and a voice message on the home phone was waiting for me. It was from Ford asking how my service appointment went. She asked if I would like to file a survey.

Guess what is on top of my "to-do" list today...

 

Man, what a head ache in deed. Guess I am lucky, bought my truck brand new 7 some years ago and it was a smooth transaction. I still to this day take my 7+ year old truck back to that dealership for the bigger scheduled maintenance and I have only had 1 issue in all these years. I always have put in fully synthetic oil, so when I take my truck in, I even provide my own oil for them. Well, one time they charged me for oil so I asked the manager, "what's up with that?" He granted me 3 free tire rotations so all was good.

 

Thanks for the replies and support, my blood pressure is slowly returning to normal.

I attribute part of this to the "cash for clunkers" both dealers report having an inventory of approx. 200 cars when their norm is above 1,000. This is due to the CARS incentive and I think it has spoiled some dealers from giving good customer service.

My F-150 is a few months shy of being 10 years old and has almost 80,000 on the clock. Before the turds hit the fan I discussed buying an Expedition from them in the very near future and our family will be expanding onwards from here. His eyes lit up and he said he would be more than happy to put me in an Expy. Of course he knows my wife is a Doctor and we are fortunate to have the income to buy these vehicles so he knows this is not a front and a legit statement from me.

The letter idea is great nd I already have it in the works. On the survey there is a very small, maybe 3''x5'' are to write comments to explain the ratings you gave. I of course will be attaching a typed formal letter to the survey detailing this entire debacle.

Jeez, all over a measly $125, I hope this dealer gets their *** chewed by Ford.

Oh and Ford execs, in case you are reading, take note, because Jeep Grand Cherokees are looking better all the time to me!

 

Let me first say that I have been dealing with the same guy for the last 23+ years when I purchase a new Ford. He has worked at several dealerships over the years as their fleet managers. Even when I lived in the northeast for a few years, I would call him back in AZ, order a truck and have it delivered to a dealership near me. It is great working with him. I just call him and say I want these items on the vehicle. He lets me know what he has to match, if there is one that he can do a dealer swap or we need to order. I rarely even have to go to the dealership, he will fax the invoice and when the vehicle is ready, send a driver with the truck and paperwork to my house and I sign everything in the comfort of my home or work place.

If I were anyone who goes into a dealer, I would go the receptionist and ask for the most senior/seasoned sales person or the fleet manager. They are usually the most knowledgeable.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Damn, must be nice! I'm jealous......

 

The last two trucks I bought from the dealer (2 dif Ford dealers) both offered up some incentives to bring in the survery, BLANK, and fill it out with the salesman. Actually, they would read the items/mark the survey with me signing at the end and they would send it off. It was usually a tank of gas, 3 oil changes & 3 car washes at a local wash place. ~$175 worth of stuff.

How many dealers are in your area? I have 15 Ford dealers within 50 miles of my house.

 

Just fill out the survey based on your experience. Sometimes the truth hurts! The dealer has to have some sort of perfect record or something along those lines to get the "President" award or something like that to hang on their wall.

Makes 'em feel special!

 

In 50 miles, maybe 4 at best?

It sucks because I know what is out there due to both dealers searching existing inventory, and it would take too long to build one. This coupled with my pregnant wife and a house that still has studs showing is taxing me to say the least.

The manager that did the Ford credit application said something like the dealer literally gets "fined" if they have a less than perfect survey. I had the importance of this stressed to me by more than 2 people so I know they are concerned.

I plan on coming to the dealer letter in hand and giving them one more shot at making it right, but I think the stakes just went up, more than the $125. I am hoping to submit this and get a phone call from a higher up at Ford and land some incentives to be a repeat customer in a year or so when I plan to get rid of my F-150.

Time will tell....

 

See, here's the thing - the specifics of the survey mean nothing.

All Ford sees is that you weren't "completely satisfied," and that's all they care about.

The surveys are really, really important to dealers, but they defeat the purpose of the survey with the way they grade them. How are we/they supposed to learn from our mistakes and become better, if there's no in-between on the survey? It's stupid.

 

Well apparently not to this dealer if it wasnt worth $125.

After I fill this out will I hear back from Ford?

 

No.

If it really makes you feel better though, know that the dealer principal and/or sales manager will tear some *** over a bad survey score.