My 1st Mustang - 2014 GT Coming Soon....
5/20/13, 09:37 AM
#1
Bullitt Member
Thread Starter
My 1st Mustang - 2014 GT Coming Soon....
Greetings all!
I've had "sports cars" in the past (1980, 1982 Datsun 280ZX's, 1994, 1997 Chevy Camaro's), and I currently own a 2001 Ford Ranger XLT, which I'm trading in for......
My 1st true "Muscle Car" - a 2014 Black Ford Mustang GT 5.0 w/Brembo brake package & Saddle Leather interior!!!
Dealer is swapping to get it, so it won't be here for about a week, but I'm really impressed with this car's features and performance!
I was actually looking at a Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8, but for the heck of it, decided to go look at the Nissan 370z (too cramped inside, too small overall), and the Mustang. I was really impressed by the look of it, the fit/finish of the interior overall, and in the words of the immortal Jeremy Clarkson - POOWWWWEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!
Man, is this car awesome! With the Hyundai, you can tell it's engineered for efficiency, straining to get every HP out of it's engine. The Ford feels like it's effortless.
I don't plan on doing a lot of upgrades to the power plant or suspension, but I do plan on a MAJOR audio upgrade.
Anyway, wanted to say "Thanks" for being a great repository of info, and I'm looking forward to participating in future discussions.
Regards
I've had "sports cars" in the past (1980, 1982 Datsun 280ZX's, 1994, 1997 Chevy Camaro's), and I currently own a 2001 Ford Ranger XLT, which I'm trading in for......
My 1st true "Muscle Car" - a 2014 Black Ford Mustang GT 5.0 w/Brembo brake package & Saddle Leather interior!!!
Dealer is swapping to get it, so it won't be here for about a week, but I'm really impressed with this car's features and performance!
I was actually looking at a Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8, but for the heck of it, decided to go look at the Nissan 370z (too cramped inside, too small overall), and the Mustang. I was really impressed by the look of it, the fit/finish of the interior overall, and in the words of the immortal Jeremy Clarkson - POOWWWWEEEERRRRR!!!!!!!
Man, is this car awesome! With the Hyundai, you can tell it's engineered for efficiency, straining to get every HP out of it's engine. The Ford feels like it's effortless.
I don't plan on doing a lot of upgrades to the power plant or suspension, but I do plan on a MAJOR audio upgrade.
Anyway, wanted to say "Thanks" for being a great repository of info, and I'm looking forward to participating in future discussions.
Regards
5/20/13, 07:00 PM
#3
Mach 1 Member
Join Date: April 17, 2013
Location: Hickory Creek, TX
Posts: 678
Likes: 0
Received 5 Likes
on
5 Posts
Welcome- and looking forward to seeing some pictures in the near future! Black and tan is a nice combo (in a beer and in a car).
If I wasn't set on getting a Mustang, the Genesis Coupe 3.8 would have been high on my list to test drive (that and that Subaru with the Boxster engine). I've tested a 370Z- impossible to see out of...
Enjoy the new ride, and be sure to post a "how to" after you've done your upgrades. I was going to upgrade to the Shaker 1000 on my order, but my son's friends were falling over themselves assuring me I could make the stock 375w system sound MUCH better for the $1200 it would cost me for the Shaker 1000. I'm hoping to mostly just swap out some speakers- the Shaker 500 seemed plenty loud for me- just not that crisp.
If I wasn't set on getting a Mustang, the Genesis Coupe 3.8 would have been high on my list to test drive (that and that Subaru with the Boxster engine). I've tested a 370Z- impossible to see out of...
Enjoy the new ride, and be sure to post a "how to" after you've done your upgrades. I was going to upgrade to the Shaker 1000 on my order, but my son's friends were falling over themselves assuring me I could make the stock 375w system sound MUCH better for the $1200 it would cost me for the Shaker 1000. I'm hoping to mostly just swap out some speakers- the Shaker 500 seemed plenty loud for me- just not that crisp.
5/21/13, 03:09 AM
#4
Bullitt Member
Thread Starter
Welcome- and looking forward to seeing some pictures in the near future! Black and tan is a nice combo (in a beer and in a car).
If I wasn't set on getting a Mustang, the Genesis Coupe 3.8 would have been high on my list to test drive (that and that Subaru with the Boxster engine). I've tested a 370Z- impossible to see out of...
Enjoy the new ride, and be sure to post a "how to" after you've done your upgrades. I was going to upgrade to the Shaker 1000 on my order, but my son's friends were falling over themselves assuring me I could make the stock 375w system sound MUCH better for the $1200 it would cost me for the Shaker 1000. I'm hoping to mostly just swap out some speakers- the Shaker 500 seemed plenty loud for me- just not that crisp.
If I wasn't set on getting a Mustang, the Genesis Coupe 3.8 would have been high on my list to test drive (that and that Subaru with the Boxster engine). I've tested a 370Z- impossible to see out of...
Enjoy the new ride, and be sure to post a "how to" after you've done your upgrades. I was going to upgrade to the Shaker 1000 on my order, but my son's friends were falling over themselves assuring me I could make the stock 375w system sound MUCH better for the $1200 it would cost me for the Shaker 1000. I'm hoping to mostly just swap out some speakers- the Shaker 500 seemed plenty loud for me- just not that crisp.
I plan on doing a full thread on my audio upgrade - in fact, I've already started one. Currently deciding on my replacement dash kit. Your friends son is right - $1,200 will go far, $2,500 will go farther (I wanted navigation, but wasn't going to pay Ford that much for it).
You're right about the Z, but for me, it just had no room and no performance for the $$$. It was hard to let go of the GenCoupe, but once I sat in it and drove it, it lost some of it's allure. The 'stang really won me over with it's sheer raw power. I've never owned a V8 that wasn't a pickup truck, so it was a fun test drive
Anyway, thanks again for the welcome, and look out for my upgrade thread coming soon!
6/2/13, 08:29 PM
#7
Bullitt Member
Thread Starter
Now the story about why it took so long to get it...
I have been preparing to buy a new car for about a year. The old Ford Ranger was just that...old. It still worked fine, but it was starting to get creaky and a loose, and little bits were starting to fail.
I won't bore you with all the details leading up to these events - I'll just give you the info pertinent to this story.
After looking at a few other sports cars (Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Nissan 370z), my Dad suggested we go check out the Fords. He's looking at buying a new Escape for himself and was very impressed with the build quality and ride.
I hadn't really considered a Ford Mustang, but what the heck - let's go check it out.
We went to AutoNation in Sanford, FL (remember this - it's important), and worked with a sales consultant named Esteban Ramirez (also important). This is the same person my Dad's been talking with about his Escape. They had several Mustangs in the showroom, including a new 2014 GT in Black. When I saw it up close, it was REALLY a nice looking car - but the sticker was well over my $30k budget. I said "well, let me drive it just for giggles". He pulled another one around and I went to a test drive. Long story short, I decided this was the car I wanted. So we started working on the specific details, and I settled on a GT Premium with no other options. I wanted a BLACK car with SADDLE LEATHER interior, and a 6-sp manual transmission. Those were my only requirements.
Esteban asked me if I qualified for the X-Plan pricing, of which I had no idea. He checked his system and found out that yes, because I work for AT&T, I do qualify for this discount program. Now we might actually get close enough to make this work...but still had some stretching to do. He looked in his system and found an exact match to the car I wanted at a dealer in West Palm Beach. He went off to the Sales Manager's office, came back about 10 minutes later, and said "yes, we can get that one, I can have it here in 72 hours". I said, ok, let's work on the numbers.
I told him I was trading in the beat-up old pickup, and the offered me $2,500 (which was about what I figured I could sell it for on Craigslist, so WIN!). After working the pricing with rebates, X-Plan, and the trade in, we came in at $32,900 out the door. It was a bit higher than what I had budgeted for my upper ceiling, and said "we need to do a bit better". He had someone look at my Ranger and they gave me another $200, bringing my final all-in total to $32,700. I was willing to do that, so I said "Ok, let's write up the paperwork." About 1/2 hour later, my paperwork was all signed, and I had put a $500 deposit on the car in anticipation of having it in about "3-4 business days". I said there was no rush as I had to take care of the financials with the bank anyway (self-financing).
TIMELINE: Saturday, May 18th - Day 1
10 days went by, and I had not heard anything from Esteban. So on Tuesday, May 28th, I sent him a simple email:
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred *****
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:34 AM
To: 'Ramirez, Esteban'
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
Hey Esteban,
Do you have an ETA on delivery of my car?
Thanks,
Fred
TIMELINE: Tuesday, May 28th - Day 10
I received NO RESPONSE, and so on Friday, May 31st, I sent a follow-up email:
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred *****
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 9:08 AM
To: RamirezE2@AutoNation.c..
Subject: FW: Copy of Paperwork
Bump.
Has the car arrived yet?
Thanks!
Fred
TIMELINE: Friday, May 31st - Day 13
Coincidentally, my Dad went back to the dealer at the same time to ask some more questions about the car he's looking at, and to check if my car had arrived. Esteban told him that "the car came in, but it had lot damage, the hood was poorly painted, and he didin't want to sell me that car. The original car we had paperwork signed on (VIN #'s recorded, etc.), was not here, and now the dealer (Mullinax Ford of West Palm Beach) wasn't going to release it to him.
Dad called me at literally the same time this email came in:
-----Original Message-----
From: Ramirez, Esteban
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 9:14 AM
To: Fred ****
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
Please call me when you get a chance.407.529.8856, having a Huge problem locating the car.
So I called, and he told me the story about the car with the damaged hood, but never mentioned to me the other car that Mullinax wasn't going to release to him. Disappointed, but understanding, I sent back the following response:
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred *****
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 7:49 PM
To: Ramirez, Esteban
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
What time will you be in tomorrow? I would like to discuss our options.
Thanks,
Fred
...and received the following reply:
-----Original Message-----
From: Ramirez, Esteban
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 8:17 PM
To: Fred *****
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
At this point I do not have any options.
....wat? I was basically told that they didn't want to try and do anything to earn my business. This would include ORDERING a new car built from Ford specifically the way I wanted it configured.
Dad said he was not happy about this (neither was I), so he was going to check out Greenway Ford (also important) to see what options they had. He talked with a man named Chris Paul, who called me and said "let me do some research and get back with you". I told him I'd come down tomorrow around 10am to discuss options.
ALTERNATE TIMELINE: Friday, May 31st, 10:15am - Day 1
I met Chris around 10:15am on Saturday and he said "Great News! I think I found the exact car you're looking for. He pulled out the paperwork, and presented me with the details for THE EXACT SAME CAR (matching VIN#) that I had paperwork signed for at AutoNation.
-blink, blink-
I said no, this must be a mistake - I already have this car on order at AutoNation, and they said the dealer wasn't going to release it. He said, no, his sales manager checked, and they could come get it today if they wanted. I said ok, let's talk price.
Long story short, they gave me less for my trade in ($1,500), but found another $750 in "Ford Private Cash" rebate, so the delta between the two dealers was about $380. I had him bring me the Director of Sales (who happened to be there that day) to look me square in the eye and tell me that this wasn't going to be a repeat of AutoNation. They promised I could have the car by this time tomorrow. I said ok, go get the car, and I'll sign the paperwork now.
I didn't have to give them any deposit. They took my truck in, gave me a loaner (so there was no chance of something happening to the truck), and sent me on my way. I got a text around 9pm saying they had picked up the car and it was on its way back to them, and I could come pick it up when they open in the morning at 11am. I told them I'd be there.
ALTERNATE TIMELINE: Saturday, June 1st, 9:00pm - Day 2
Sunday morning, Dad and I went down to Greenway and sure enough - there was the car, complete with the Mullinax decal (hideous yellow and green, that was removed immediately) right on the car. VIN number matched the paperwork, and there was nothing wrong with the hood. We finalized paperwork, went through the technical specs of the car, and off I went. It took a grand total of 1 1/2 hours from the minute we walked in the door on Sunday to being on our way.
We went straight to AutoNation to go get my deposit refunded. Esteban found us and started immediately with the "man, it pains me to see you in a car from Greenway" (I had intentionally left the "SOLD - GREENWAY" transfer window writing on the car. I said "Esteban, you lied to me. Your sales manager lied to me. I want to talk with the General Manager." Out comes the highest-ranking manager on a Sunday, who tried to placate me. I went through the entire outline of the process with him, including the entire email trails, VIN sheets, window stickers, etc. His excuse - "We dropped the ball." I told him to go process my refund, and out the door I went.
ORIGINAL TIMELINE: Sunday, June 2nd - Day 15
Moral of the story - AUTONATION SUCKS!!! Do not ever buy a car from this organization. SPECIFICALLY do not buy one from AutoNation Ford of Sanford, FL, and do not deal with a rep named Esteban Ramirez.
If anyone wants to see the supporting documentation, I'd be more than happy to send out copies.
I won't bore you with all the details leading up to these events - I'll just give you the info pertinent to this story.
After looking at a few other sports cars (Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Nissan 370z), my Dad suggested we go check out the Fords. He's looking at buying a new Escape for himself and was very impressed with the build quality and ride.
I hadn't really considered a Ford Mustang, but what the heck - let's go check it out.
We went to AutoNation in Sanford, FL (remember this - it's important), and worked with a sales consultant named Esteban Ramirez (also important). This is the same person my Dad's been talking with about his Escape. They had several Mustangs in the showroom, including a new 2014 GT in Black. When I saw it up close, it was REALLY a nice looking car - but the sticker was well over my $30k budget. I said "well, let me drive it just for giggles". He pulled another one around and I went to a test drive. Long story short, I decided this was the car I wanted. So we started working on the specific details, and I settled on a GT Premium with no other options. I wanted a BLACK car with SADDLE LEATHER interior, and a 6-sp manual transmission. Those were my only requirements.
Esteban asked me if I qualified for the X-Plan pricing, of which I had no idea. He checked his system and found out that yes, because I work for AT&T, I do qualify for this discount program. Now we might actually get close enough to make this work...but still had some stretching to do. He looked in his system and found an exact match to the car I wanted at a dealer in West Palm Beach. He went off to the Sales Manager's office, came back about 10 minutes later, and said "yes, we can get that one, I can have it here in 72 hours". I said, ok, let's work on the numbers.
I told him I was trading in the beat-up old pickup, and the offered me $2,500 (which was about what I figured I could sell it for on Craigslist, so WIN!). After working the pricing with rebates, X-Plan, and the trade in, we came in at $32,900 out the door. It was a bit higher than what I had budgeted for my upper ceiling, and said "we need to do a bit better". He had someone look at my Ranger and they gave me another $200, bringing my final all-in total to $32,700. I was willing to do that, so I said "Ok, let's write up the paperwork." About 1/2 hour later, my paperwork was all signed, and I had put a $500 deposit on the car in anticipation of having it in about "3-4 business days". I said there was no rush as I had to take care of the financials with the bank anyway (self-financing).
TIMELINE: Saturday, May 18th - Day 1
10 days went by, and I had not heard anything from Esteban. So on Tuesday, May 28th, I sent him a simple email:
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred *****
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:34 AM
To: 'Ramirez, Esteban'
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
Hey Esteban,
Do you have an ETA on delivery of my car?
Thanks,
Fred
TIMELINE: Tuesday, May 28th - Day 10
I received NO RESPONSE, and so on Friday, May 31st, I sent a follow-up email:
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred *****
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 9:08 AM
To: RamirezE2@AutoNation.c..
Subject: FW: Copy of Paperwork
Bump.
Has the car arrived yet?
Thanks!
Fred
TIMELINE: Friday, May 31st - Day 13
Coincidentally, my Dad went back to the dealer at the same time to ask some more questions about the car he's looking at, and to check if my car had arrived. Esteban told him that "the car came in, but it had lot damage, the hood was poorly painted, and he didin't want to sell me that car. The original car we had paperwork signed on (VIN #'s recorded, etc.), was not here, and now the dealer (Mullinax Ford of West Palm Beach) wasn't going to release it to him.
Dad called me at literally the same time this email came in:
-----Original Message-----
From: Ramirez, Esteban
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 9:14 AM
To: Fred ****
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
Please call me when you get a chance.407.529.8856, having a Huge problem locating the car.
So I called, and he told me the story about the car with the damaged hood, but never mentioned to me the other car that Mullinax wasn't going to release to him. Disappointed, but understanding, I sent back the following response:
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred *****
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 7:49 PM
To: Ramirez, Esteban
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
What time will you be in tomorrow? I would like to discuss our options.
Thanks,
Fred
...and received the following reply:
-----Original Message-----
From: Ramirez, Esteban
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2013 8:17 PM
To: Fred *****
Subject: RE: Copy of Paperwork
At this point I do not have any options.
....wat? I was basically told that they didn't want to try and do anything to earn my business. This would include ORDERING a new car built from Ford specifically the way I wanted it configured.
Dad said he was not happy about this (neither was I), so he was going to check out Greenway Ford (also important) to see what options they had. He talked with a man named Chris Paul, who called me and said "let me do some research and get back with you". I told him I'd come down tomorrow around 10am to discuss options.
ALTERNATE TIMELINE: Friday, May 31st, 10:15am - Day 1
I met Chris around 10:15am on Saturday and he said "Great News! I think I found the exact car you're looking for. He pulled out the paperwork, and presented me with the details for THE EXACT SAME CAR (matching VIN#) that I had paperwork signed for at AutoNation.
-blink, blink-
I said no, this must be a mistake - I already have this car on order at AutoNation, and they said the dealer wasn't going to release it. He said, no, his sales manager checked, and they could come get it today if they wanted. I said ok, let's talk price.
Long story short, they gave me less for my trade in ($1,500), but found another $750 in "Ford Private Cash" rebate, so the delta between the two dealers was about $380. I had him bring me the Director of Sales (who happened to be there that day) to look me square in the eye and tell me that this wasn't going to be a repeat of AutoNation. They promised I could have the car by this time tomorrow. I said ok, go get the car, and I'll sign the paperwork now.
I didn't have to give them any deposit. They took my truck in, gave me a loaner (so there was no chance of something happening to the truck), and sent me on my way. I got a text around 9pm saying they had picked up the car and it was on its way back to them, and I could come pick it up when they open in the morning at 11am. I told them I'd be there.
ALTERNATE TIMELINE: Saturday, June 1st, 9:00pm - Day 2
Sunday morning, Dad and I went down to Greenway and sure enough - there was the car, complete with the Mullinax decal (hideous yellow and green, that was removed immediately) right on the car. VIN number matched the paperwork, and there was nothing wrong with the hood. We finalized paperwork, went through the technical specs of the car, and off I went. It took a grand total of 1 1/2 hours from the minute we walked in the door on Sunday to being on our way.
We went straight to AutoNation to go get my deposit refunded. Esteban found us and started immediately with the "man, it pains me to see you in a car from Greenway" (I had intentionally left the "SOLD - GREENWAY" transfer window writing on the car. I said "Esteban, you lied to me. Your sales manager lied to me. I want to talk with the General Manager." Out comes the highest-ranking manager on a Sunday, who tried to placate me. I went through the entire outline of the process with him, including the entire email trails, VIN sheets, window stickers, etc. His excuse - "We dropped the ball." I told him to go process my refund, and out the door I went.
ORIGINAL TIMELINE: Sunday, June 2nd - Day 15
Moral of the story - AUTONATION SUCKS!!! Do not ever buy a car from this organization. SPECIFICALLY do not buy one from AutoNation Ford of Sanford, FL, and do not deal with a rep named Esteban Ramirez.
If anyone wants to see the supporting documentation, I'd be more than happy to send out copies.
Last edited by ColSaulTigh; 6/2/13 at 08:31 PM.
6/3/13, 08:07 PM
#13
Bullitt Member
Thread Starter
The thing is, Greenway Ford gave me an extra $750 rebate (the "Private Cash" coupon), which brought the difference between my trade value at AutoNation vs. Greenway to < $500. Any dealer willing to walk a $33k sale over $500 is a moron.
NEVER USE AUTONATION - EVER!
6/4/13, 05:01 AM
#14
Shelby GT500 Member
Congrats on the sweet car. I really like the color combo. If the dealership I bought my car from would have come down off the super high mark up on the GHIG BOSS then I would be driving that. They ended up getting me the exact car I wanted from another dealership and I hit an extended warranty for basically the same price as what the BOSS would've been minus the mark up. I'm glad you shoved it back to them when you got your refund. Clowns... I'm surprised Deysha hasn't chimed in.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ThatStangGuy
2010-2014 Mustang
5
1/21/16 07:24 AM
ssjbuu
Repair and Service Help
6
8/28/15 08:55 AM