My car finally came in yesterday, and I received the long-awaited call from the sales manager after 4 months of waiting. It had been prepped and was waiting by the door when I got there, but when I looked through the window, I noticed it didn't have the automatic transmission I ordered. I can't tell you how sick and angry I was beginning to feel, and I was hoping surely there must be some mixup, but all the other options I ordered were on the car. The sales manager greeted me, and he could see I was less than enthuiastic when I shook his hand, and I told him that wasn't the car I ordered. The order was placed in Nov, and 2 days later I went back and told them I wanted to change the interior from cloth to leather. The GM, who is at another dealership now,told me he couldn't change the order, but would put another one in the system. So there were 2 orders in my name and a $500 deposit. He told me he would prioritize the leather car over the cloth and just keep it as a stock unit. Unfortunately, he didn't keep his word, and the cloth inteterior car came in in Jan. This was the dealer's first failure, and I didn't have a problem waiting another month since I really wanted the leather, and the leather car was to be built on the 8th of Feb, but took over a month to arrive after shipping. So, I have waited on 2 cars to arrive, neither of which was what I ordered. The second failure on the dealer's part was, what I will consider fraud, in changing the options on the car, knowing fully that I didn't want a manual transmission, and leading me to believe the exact car I ordered was on the way. I have the order entry for both cars, where I checked off each of the options, and an automatic trans is clearly on the list.

I'm not sure what to do. There have been 2 price increases on the Mustang since I ordered, and the sales manager said he would have an order prioritized through his rep, but I don't think that will guarantee a car any time soon. He's supposed to call back today, but I'm not holding my breath. My biggest concern is due to failures of this dealer, I have lost well over $2000 in value on my trade since the first wrong car came in. My trade will reach 50k miles in less than a month, and I know they can't get another Mustang before then. If I leave this dealership, I will have to pay the price increases, start the process all over, and loose even more money. Should I contact the BBB and raise a complaint, or seek the advice of an attorney? I'm about ready to get my deposit back, and buy another car, that isn't made by the blue oval.

 

Louis, this stinks but lawyers and complaints are not going to get you a car quickly. Could the dealer use this car to trade with another dealer for one with what you ordered? Seems the stick is more popular, other dealers might like the idea. And paying for the transportation even across state lines is the least your bumbling dealer can do. Maybe not the exact car but very close?

Did you order on X or A plan? If you did then I would agree the dealer pulled a fast one to get a car he knew you wouldn't take and sell it for much more. Keep us posted, hope this works out for you.

 

I realize that it isn't what you ordered, but, is a manual absolutely out of the question? If the rest of the car is what you want and you just don't know how to drive a stick, learning will be easy and you may actually like the manual after you get used to it. I, personally, think a V8 manual is very fun to drive.

 

What a mess! I can imagine how frustrated you are. Like you, I had ordered my car last fall and when I did I made a change. I ordered auto and then changed it to manual after a week or two. The dealer had no problem making the change since it was still unscheduled. Your's should have had no problem that early either. I debated about leather but left mine as cloh - and was told that was no problem to change either up until the order was pulled and scheduled. I think your dealer has jerked you around since day one - and does not deserve your business. Unfortunately your combo may not be easy to find - I presume it's a GT you are buying and most are manuals whereas most V6s are auto. You may be able to find one in stock somewhere over the next couple months when spring car buying kicks in. Best of luck to you Louie - I hope you eventually get your car the way you want it. No one wants a 'settle-for' car after what you've been through.

 

For that much money dont settle. Get what you want. An Attorney will cost you more and if they refund you your deposit a dealership technically is not responsible for any property that you have that may or may not lose value. You wont win there since it wasnt your vehicle. I would take it as far up Ford as you can.
Remember the squeeky wheel gets the oil.

 

I also say get what you want. And don't settle on the manual if that's not what you want.

 

Man, thats a heavy trade off... the wait vs instant gratification.

I'd tell you to wait and get what you want but I also wouldn't blame you for settling.

 

This is why getting a DORA for your orders is important. When I ordered mine, I noticed that they left the upgraded wheels off and I had it fixed right away.

If anybody doesn't have a DORA yet, GET ONE! Then stuff like this won't happen.

 

I'd spend $150 or so to talk to an attorney that handles this kind of thing. It is not entirely true that they are not responsible for the decrease in value of your trade. There is a little thing called promissory estoppel. They agreed to order your car as you wanted it. As a result, you detrimentally relied on this agreement. When they did not perform, you were damaged in that your trade went down in value. If not for them, you would have gone to another dealer and likely had a car by now, still with the value of your trade intact. As with most types of law, this is not clear cut, but this is a very popular theory of damages when there is no clear cut contract, and is used by almost every court in situations like this. As I said, consult an attorney. You may even be able to find one for a free consultation, just to discuss your rights in this particular situation.

*** This is not legal advice. Consult your own attorney before deciding upon a course of action ***

 

Call your states Attorney General and the BBB ASAP to get a complaint on file, give them all documents. They will contact the dealer for more info. once you do this they (the dealer) may react and rectify on their own. I have done this with a Ford dealership in the past and it solved my problem quickly and was free, the dealership went from being a-holes to bending over backwards to take care of the situation. Deception is deception. Referrence "promissory estoppel" like KansasCityTim recommends. Good luck.

 

Call Andy Wise... WREG
The BBB might help... I'd also make contact with Ford Regional Manager for your area.

 

IMO the reason some dealers are always pulling this kind of stuff is that they get away with it. I am assuming that since Memphis is a pretty good size city, maybe one of the local tv stations have a consumer complaint person who you could contact and see if they can get your "wonderful" dealer a little "media time". Trying Ford and the state consumer divison first is best but it stinks that if you legitmately have a beef, It may going to cost YOU money in legal feels to even try to get it settled.

 

The Pony Cloth seats are so much nicer I'm suprised that they are not the upgrade, I feel the same about the rims. That being said they should just give you both at no-charge or at least switchout the seats.

 

Read the agreement. I'll wager there is an out for the dealer. They are in all those ernest contracts.
Why give some attorney $150 to tell you that you are not out anything if they refund you and the contract states they are not obligated and oh by the way...You signed and agreed to it. I wouldn't pay an attorney jack. Youll just get assaulted twice.
Besides...they wont even deal with you if you try that. Rant and rave and see what they will do.

Your only out on the wait/decrease in trade in value and I'll wager they will work with you on that. In court they will say it was your decision to wait and that mistakes happen. Be cool and calculating. Afford them the opportunity to make good on it. Deal with them or go elsewhere.

just my 3 cents
Bob

 

Bob your 3 cents is worth as much as the attorney's $150...good job!

 

man, that is one big kick to the jimmie------i would be livid, in fact, i'd probably bring 50 of my closest acquaintances during peak spring ordering season and arrange a picket line------

 

I know how you feel to a point. My dealer was supposed to have my car in by Feb. I figured the worth of my trade for that time frame and it was agreed I would get that price. When I went the other day they said that my trade would not be as much since more time has gone by but I gave them both the Kelly blue book and the NADA staight off the internet and they said they would honor it. I also told them that the car has gone up in price since then, but I was told I would pay for what I ordered not what came in. It was up to them to get it in, in time to make maximum MSRP. Now they will still make money just not what they expected too. Of course I still see haggling going on when the car arrives. I called the bank and figured in the loan amout, banking costs, taxes and such and have the final figure I am going to expect written out. Let me tell you it pays to research before buying and trading in. I like the idea someone had about the local TV station, I though about doing that myself if my dealer tries to put the screws to me. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the comments and advice. I figured the there was a legal definition for what happened, and I will research my new vocabulary word for the week, "promissory estoppel". I have another shorter word for it, but the language censors won't allow it.

Both cars were X-plan order's. Naturally, I had to contact the sales manager this morning, instead of him calling me, and he said there was nothing he could do about the loss in value on my car. He wouldn't give me "A" plan. He said the regional rep will raise an order to a priority 2, instead of a 10, so we'll see where that takes it by Friday. If it isn't pulled and scheduled by no later than next Friday, I'm going to get my deposit back and order an 06 from another dealer. Even if it gets built by April, it will be mid-May before it arrives, so I'd be better off waiting until the 06's come out. If I cancel the order, I'm going to contact the BBB and look into other means to give them as much grief as I can. Of course, even if I do, I still won't have the Mustang.

I'm still going to loose more of my time and money either way I look at it. I'm really between a rock and a hard place on this deal. If I go to Channel 3 (Andy Wise) or another media outlet, then all of Memphis will know my business, and I really don't want any publicity. If the dealer gets bad publicity, they will refuse to offer me fair value on my trade when the Mustang arrives, forcing me to back out, and they will be able to sell a 3rd Mustang with my name on the order at sticker price.

I've been waiting for over 2 years for this car to come out, and even drove 230 miles to Nashville last April to see the 2005 Mustang at the 40th anniversary show.

I'm going to look at another brand of car tomorrow during lunch, where I have full confidence in their business practices and the quality of their cars. No, it isn't a Honda. I probably won't buy it, but I'm going to open myself to other options, including keeping my current car and saying @$&^% Ford and their bogus dealer practices.

 

Ford and the dealer are 2 different entities. Don't let the dealer spoil your fun. The dealer is just a retailer that sells Ford products. Like any retailer they can have faults, but that's what competition is about. There are other retailers/dealers for Fords !

 

I agree, but they have cost me a lot of $$$$ and time. I could have been enjoying a Mustang or another car 2 months ago for a lot less cost. If I place another order it will be at a different dealer.