I went to pick up and purchase my new Explorer LTD today - the one that I ordered back in April. Sadly, I ended up walking away from it because of things I found on the vehicle that didn't seem appropriate for a brand-new vehicle.
What do you all look for when picking up a new vehicle? What rights do you have if you miss something before driving it off the lot?
My story:
When doing an initial walk-around, I found a 1/2" dent in the hood surface. Not anything too serious, but very noticeable in light reflections. As we looked closer, I found several more, ranging in diameter from 1/8" to 1/2". About 7 on the hood, one above the windshield, and another on the tailgate. Again, I didn't see any scratches - the paint all seemed to be fine, just irregularities in the surface that became very noticeable when looking at the reflections.
The salesman asserted that this was normal - that all new cars have something wrong - and that I was being picky. He said it must have come off the line like this, and that it must have passed Ford's QA for it to be delivered this way. I thought for sure, Ford would make sure to get these issues fixed - after all, how can you expect to sell a car as brand new with dents in the hood? He assured me that for aesthetic issues like this, Ford won't do anything, and that these issues are to be expected in a car at this price point. If I expected perfection, I should go with a different brand. He added that if I didn't want it, he was confident that someone else would come along and be happy to take it.
I've never seen a new car that came with dents/dings in the exterior panels, and my cheap Honda definitely wasn't delivered like this. I thought about it long and hard - I really wanted to buy the vehicle. But for a vehicle priced over $45k, I didn't see how dents in the exterior could be acceptable. I walked away from the deal, and while I'm disappointed, I feel good about the decision. I'm certain that over time, I would have felt like I got screwed over, and I'd be pissed at my dealer and at Ford.
But I'm still a bit miffed by what the salesman told me, and I have a couple thoughts:
1) If it's true that Ford considers aesthetic defects to be normal, that really doesn't bode well for the rest of the vehicle's quality. I wonder how Ford (Cory?) would feel about the salesman's statements.
2) What if I hadn't done a thorough walk-around before signing and driving off the lot? I'd probably be screwed, right?
Btw, once I made up my mind that I was going to pass on it, he acknowledged that it might have been hail damage during transit. I now have an order for a 2012 model (I already waited 2 months for this, what's another couple months?). He was pretty kind throughout the process; he says he'll have no problem selling the vehicle to someone else.