Hooray it's here, nightmare pick-up though | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Hooray it's here, nightmare pick-up though

rnmomx2

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Joined
January 29, 2011
Messages
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City, State
Michigan
Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 EX Limited on order
Well, yesterday afternoon while I'm at my husband's grandmother's funeral, I get the call that my Ex is here. Great, I could use some good news, I'll pick it up later on in the evening. I call back while we're in the car in the funeral procession and the sales guy says it will be ready.

We get there at 5:30, so excited after 2 months of waiting to bring home our new car. The salesman tells me how busy he is and to bear with him, fine, no problem, we are patient and wait. He takes my keys for my trade in and says they will check it out and get that going (we had agreed on a trade in price in writing dependent on no significant changes in condition when I ordered my EX). After more waiting, he comes back and says the value of my trade in has gone down by $1500 less than what we agreed on and they'll be generous and offer me only $400 less. Needless to say I was not happy and told him that was unacceptable (I literally have kept this vehicle in the garage for 2 months, only driving it short distances when I had to, which was not easy for that extended period of time. It was in the same condition as when we agreed on the deal. Also, I checked KBB yesterday and the value had not changed.) Anyways, the guy tells me how if he gives it to me, I'm taking it from him personally and how is he going to send his kids to college?, and blah, blah, blah. I told him I didn't appreciate him trying to make me feel guilty and I have two kids to send to college as well so I didn't want to play this game and let me talk to a manager so we can work this out since I wasn't caving. After more grumbling, he leaves for an extended period of time and when he comes back, he says okay, but is cold as ice and there goes our nice purchasing experience.

He keeps telling me it's going to take more time to do all the paperwork (I have X plan and everything including financing was approved and done ahead of time so it should have run smoothly, but it didn't.) In the meantime, I asked if we could see the car and we notice the splash guards we factory ordered aren't on it (I know that the dealer installs them). He checks it out and says our parts dept is closed, you'll have to come back some other time to get them put on. Fine.

When I had ordered the vehicle, the sales guy had said he would give me ESP at their cost to seal the deal. I had asked him for his price and he quoted me $2200 for the same ESP I can buy online from another dealer for $1300. I didn't bother to ask him to come down in price since we were so far apart. He asks me if I want it and when I tell him no, he gets upset asking why not? I told him the price difference and he goes into this rant about how Ford is undercutting him and now he has "egg on his face" and disappears again. When he comes back, he tells me he can give it to me for $1650 < I thought you were supposed to give it to me for your "cost" and now you've come down from $2200 to $1650, obviously there's a problem with integrity here. I didn't tell him that, I just declined again and he got more upset telling me "you get what you pay for and it's probably not real ESP." The whole time he's grumbling about not making any money on the transaction. I have X plan plain and simple, they are making what they knew they would be making off me.

After more waiting and signing of paperwork he finally gives us the keys to get in and check it out while we're waiting for yet more paperwork processing. He finally comes out and gives us his quick tutorial on the MFT in which he couldn't remember how to do half the functions (I didn't care, I had already done my homework online of course). And now we're still waiting because they can't connect to the Secretary of State to do my plate transfer?

It's close to 9pm and the dealership is getting ready to close. My 10 year old was with us and while she was super excited at first, she was not anymore to say the least. Neither were her parents. As we're sitting in the vehicle playing with MFT, the sales guy finally comes out with a temporary tag and says we'll have to come back to complete the plate transfer another time. At this point, we're ready to go since I have to bring it back for the splash guards anyway. He tells us goodbye and we're halfway home before we realize he did not hand us the large envelope of paperwork that we had signed proving the vehicle was ours. At this point, the dealership is closed so we just finish driving home. I have the car, but nothing that proves that it is mine, no plates, and no splash guards.

The dealer is not open late again for the next couple of days, so I have to take time off of work to go in today or tomorrow if I don't want to let this drag on (and I'm afraid if I'm pulled over, I have nothing to show). I love the vehicle, but the pick up experience took the wind out of my sails to say the least. I'm hoping once I get the rest of the details sorted out, I can just enjoy my new EX and put it behind me. We'll see how helpful they are in sorting out the rest of this mess.

Wow, that was a book, thanks for hanging in on my vent if you made it this far! ;)
 



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I'm sure that Ford Customer Service would love to hear about that one. I sure hope my experience goes better than that. "Not making any money", what a bunch of crap
 






rnmomx2, you and your family have my double sympathies.
Now I really can't wait!!! Hopefully, when & if, mine come in, I do not have the same experience. I will "blow-my-top" and walk away. I've already told the dealer if it's not here by Easter FORGET IT!!!
 






Make sure you mention all this on your questionaire sent to you from Ford. It goes through all the sales process and if you were treated nice etc...... You can ding the salesman this way. Totally unacceptable behaviour. People come into your business and drop 40 to 60K on a vehicle and they act like your a hinderance on their life. Sheeeesh. Hammer him on the report.
 






What's up with Ford dealers? Had somewhat of a similar experience with a dealer trying to get out of an intial offer, they told me it was to good, then even tried to remove the rebate from Ford. Contacted Ford Customer Service and they told me it was a problem between me and the dealer, there was nothing they could do. Finally gave up on the Explorer and leased another brand for 36 months, hopefully by then they have resolved all the problems!
 






Yikes!!!
I honestly do not understand the mentality of these sales people(I won't say just Ford..it's across the board). This isn't rocket science..you've done paperwork before...have it ALL set! Check the truck over for your client before they take delivery!
I have had a brand new Yukon given to me with a huge oil stain on the drivers seat! Needless to say, they had to have the whole seat reupholstered. My Yukon XL was delivered to me with 2nd row bench seating, when I clearly asked for captains chairs...and to top that off, it was on the WS as captain's chairs. No one bothered to look this over!?
I'm hoping this Ford dealer I'm dealing with can stay on top of his game, because I have already given him a laundry list of things to check for BEFORE I come in to sign off. Is it so hard in this day & age to do your job???...guess the answer is YES.

I hope you enjoy your new Explorer. I also hope they do not give you anymore hassles!
 






congratulations on your new Explorer!
I certainly can see your sails floating down but DON"T let this one loser get you down for long. I'm proud that you held your own with him and I hope today brings some new determination to work this out the way it was planned. Good luck !
 






Wow, that was a book, thanks for hanging in on my vent if you made it this far! ;)

I'm sure that Ford Customer Service would love to hear about that one. I sure hope my experience goes better than that. "Not making any money", what a bunch of crap

rnmomx2 & smoktya,

I would like to assure you that I have read this thread and have responded via PM to rnmomx2. I apologize for the poor experience you had at your dealer and can certainly understand your frustration. Please check your inbox and let me know if you have any further questions.

Seni :)
 






rnmomx2 & smoktya,

I would like to assure you that I have read this thread and have responded via PM to rnmomx2. I apologize for the poor experience you had at your dealer and can certainly understand your frustration. Please check your inbox and let me know if you have any further questions.

Seni :)

Thanks Seni, I got your PM. I really appreciate all your help through this process, you're the best! :thumbsup:
 






I switched Ford Dealers mainly because I got an attitiude from a salesperson because he was "hungover and tired" from being out too late the night before. They dragged the deal on and on...it the same time period, I bought my X in an hour and a half from the dealer the original was supposed to get it from....and I got the deal I wanted! I sent the original dealer an email on this...and never received a response...SHOCKING!
 






I guess there is something to be said about picking the right dealers! When I was shopping (from dealer stock, not ordering), I wasn't at all happy with the first dealer. The car was right, and the price was right (X-plan, no extras), but the guy was complaining very similar to what yours did. I wasn't even asking for extras but he was invariably trying to sell stuff I didn't want or complaining I had to get ESP etc for making the deal. I was fed up, and finally literally walked out to the next dealer. Fortunately, the new guy had an X on his lot. I told him how I was treated and that if he treats me well, I'm buying from him. He did, and I was driving my new X home that night.
 












I'm fortunate- I have gotten a few cars from Borgman Ford in Grandville, MI. I've always gotten them through Dennis Cook. No hassle, he says what he can do, and does it, and doesn't pester over petty stuff. Always a great experience, and I've referred countless people over there who have turned into multiple car buyers. Having the right dealer and dealer representative makes all the difference.
 






How awful! I can't (but I can) believe it. In dealing with the dealerships, I felt like I was Goldilocks, except I wasn't stealing! The first Ford dealership I visited wouldn't even talk to me or open a door on the lot (I was there looking at the Flex last Sept) because, I have to assume, I was a woman by myself. The second one treated me with contempt b/c I was with my young children (gave them nasty looks). I heard about the third shortly thereafter and have been blown away at how helpful they've been through the process. It really makes a difference in the buying experience.

I hope that once it's all straightened out, you'll love the Ex so much you'll forget about them. And, that there's another dealership you can go to for warranty work.
 






Thought I would add an update to conclude my saga. Called the dealer yesterday morning to see about coming in to get my paperwork, plates, and splashguards. Salesperson said to bring it in to the service bay and they would take care of it, but he won't be there (fine with me, I thought).

I brought it in and they took it back to the service bay to install the splash guards, but didn't know anything about paperwork. I wander on to the sales floor and find my salesperson at his desk, surprised to see me. He says to me, "didn't they give you the paperwork in the service bay?" He gets up, acting very inconvenienced to go find my envelope then comes back to me and says they'll give it to me when they're done installing the mud flaps. I'm thinking you couldn't have just gotten it for me?

Anyways, got the splash guards and plates installed and they handed me my envelope of paperwork. I check it out and see that it's missing my proof of insurance so I have to go back to the sales guy and ask for it. After checking the envelope himself to prove it's not there, he disappears for a while and finally hands it to me.

I was happy to leave again, but I've got my EX and hopefully I can find another dealer in the area to provide decent service. I spent a little time with it yesterday and I have to say I'm loving it so far. Now I have to decide if I should let my husband borrow it, hmmm.
 






What's up with Ford dealers? Had somewhat of a similar experience with a dealer trying to get out of an intial offer, they told me it was to good, then even tried to remove the rebate from Ford. Contacted Ford Customer Service and they told me it was a problem between me and the dealer, there was nothing they could do. Finally gave up on the Explorer and leased another brand for 36 months, hopefully by then they have resolved all the problems!

Elizaud,

Wow. I am really sorry you had such a poor experience at the dealer. Have you let the GM at the dealer know about this incident? It's to bad that this experience directed you to purchase another brand, we do hope that one day you will return to the Ford family. Enjoy your vehicle.

Seni
 






You would think that with the state of the economy and how auto sales in general have Slowed, that dealers would pay very special attention to customer service. There is no shortage of dealers looking for your business. It seems that customer service is one lesson that GMs should review on a monthly basis with their sales staff.
 






While commissioned sales people will probably always have a bad rep and car dealers tend to be at the top of that list its really all about the state of customer service in America right now. Vote with your dollar who stays afloat and who doesnt. There is always someone else out there that is hundry for you business.

Im impressed with how the Ford rep on this forum responds and takes action. I realize sometimes her (?) hands are tied in some matters and the dealers tehemselves need to step up, but having a rep like Seni on this website has probably saved Ford 10's of thousands of dollars in angry ford customers finding other products to buy. I wish more companies did that.
 






We are all usually in some type of "customer service" regardless of what our title is. We all have either "internal" or "external" customers of some sort.

Many customer service people hate it when people complain but I was taught that it's an opportunity to make things right because it's financially cheaper to keep an existing customer than it is to gain a new one.
 



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Two things you can do that will actually have some effect.

1. Name the dealer and the salesman. Word of mouth is the best way to ensure no one else has to deal with that type of treatment.

2. Hammer the dealership and the salesman on the after sales survey. They do read them, they will call you back and they will send it to the Dealer Principal. At the very least that guy should be looking for new employment.

Congrats on the new Ex.
 






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