Why is the car buying process so broken?

[kdonnel]

It took over 6 months but the car I ordered arrived back on March 22nd.

All excited I went to the dealership on the 23rd to complete the purchase.

My excitement was crushed by either the utter incompetence of the dealership management or the management's core desire to cheat the customer.

I knew from an internet forum devoted to my model car that despite my order converting from a 2021 to a 2022 and a price increase during the 6 month wait, that Ford Corporation was offering price protection on firm orders placed prior to the price increase. The forum even provided the memo that was sent by Ford to all dealerships prior to the price increase being announced to the public.

As people would take delivery of their orders many would post about the buying process. Some found it simple and smooth, others like me had to fight and were treated with disrespect.

As they handed me the sheet with the out the door price I noticed it did not reflect the $2000 in price protection or the $750 incentive Ford gave everyone who had a 2021 order convert to a 2022 or the $500 deposit I had made back in August 2021. They were quickly able to locate the eligibility for the $750 but were insistent that price protection did not exist and told me I would need to get the $500 refunded by Ford Corporation.

I pulled out the memo I had printed and asked to speak to the next level. That 1st manager would not even look at the memo and insisted that price protection did not exist. I asked to speak to his manager. Rinse and repeat. Ultimately I spoke to the 3rd manager who begrudgingly agreed to call the Fleet Customer Information Center number listed on the memo to get clarification.

At this point I left the dealership. I had already been there 3 hours and despite waiting over 6 months for the car I was not going to pay $2000 I should not have to pay.

I got a call just 30 minutes later from the sales guy saying we were good to go.

I returned to the dealership and completed the purchase. Somehow that took another 2 hours despite the fact I was paying cash as I had arranged other financing.

In that 2 hour period not one of the 3 managers came out to say sorry for the misunderstanding, we learned something new today. Instead they sat in an elevated glass room and glared at me. The salesman and I talked while I waited on the finance person to do who knows what. It was at that point the salesman mentioned they had sold dozens of vehicles mentioned on the price protection memo, giving none of those people price protection. The dealership gets the price protection money within 45 days of selling the vehicle to the person listed on the original order. That means in dozens of cases people were overcharged from $1000 to $3500, plus the dealership received the money from Ford.

I asked him if he thought they would now refund the money to those customers. He never answered.

At this point I have the car and love it but am still out the $500 deposit paid 7 months ago.

On March 24th I provided the sales guy with an excerpt from my credit card statement back in August showing the deposit was paid to the dealership. In an email response he admitted a mistake had been made and the $500 should have been reflected on the purchase. A check would be put in the mail in the next day or two.

April 11th I checked with him again. Once again I was told that a check would be put in the mail that day. Four days later no check.

Not sure if it will help but today I filed a BBB complaint and finally posted the review they have been asking for on cars.com and Facebook. I don't think it was the happy review they wanted but was an honest review and recounting of the buying process.

 

[tcufrog]

My DH wants me to replace my car even though it still runs great at 82,000+ miles. I've been refusing to. The next time he badgers me I'll show him this post.

 

[MillauFr]

The manufacturers should be able to sell direct so we can avoid the stealerships.

 

[Mysterian]

That's pretty bad. I didn't like the way my dealership handled my last lease, but you actually lost money.
And then there's the gif: I love Better Off Dead!

 

[NotUrsula]

The BBB won't get your money back. File a claim with your credit card issuer. I guarantee they will get the money back for you very quickly. I had a couple of companies ignore my emails and phone calls for weeks, but the minute I handed the problem to a bank to solve, action was immediate.

I suspect that they jerked you around because you paid cash. With cars in short supply and the resulting lower sales volume, the money they make on finance deals has become even more important to them.

PS: Once you do get the deposit credited, I'd consider reporting the dealership to a local television station (not the one that runs their ads!) about them deliberately hiding the mfr. credit. That sounds like it could be a possible systemic fraud scheme.

 

[firefly_ris]

I hate car dealerships. The last time we purchased a car from one in 2017 (a 2008 Silverado) they were gigantic pain in the rears. Kept us there for hours with our kids who were 7, 6 and 4 at the time. Then they calculated financing rates using only MY income which was a pittance since I was only working like 12 hours a week at the time, and quoted us some insane interest rate. We walked out at that point and the manager insisted the truck would be "gone quick" and I said "It's a mass produced vehicle, I'm sure I will find another one". Then suddenly the sales guy chases us to our car and tells us he will re-do the financing and call us. We came back a few days later. We only needed to do financing for about 3 months until we were able to just pay the whole thing off so what a huge time suck for the little amount of time we needed it for, and they were not pleasant about it. Fortunately we bought our F-150 from my FIL so no dealerships involved there. I much preferred my experience of buying our van off some guy on Craigslist. He was nice. Best 7 grand we ever spent; 18 years old now and still driving it today.

 

[Southernmiss]

It's a shame that such an expensive purchase has to be a battle and not the fun experience it should be.

This type thing is why we buy gently used at Carmax. No hassle, no haggle.

 

[kdonnel]

The BBB won't get your money back. File a claim with your credit card issuer. I guarantee they will get the money back for you very quickly. I had a couple of companies ignore my emails and phone calls for weeks, but the minute I handed the problem to a bank to solve, action was immediate.

I suspect that they jerked you around because you paid cash. With cars in short supply and the resulting lower sales volume, the money they make on finance deals has become even more important to them.

PS: Once you do get the deposit credited, I'd consider reporting the dealership to a local television station (not the one that runs their ads!) about them deliberately hiding the mfr. credit. That sounds like it could be a possible systemic fraud scheme.

I am long out of the chargeback limits which are typically 120 days.

It has been 227 days since the deposit was paid.

 

[Kitty 34]

 

[RedAngie]

Sorry to hear about your ridiculous hassle, OP.

I’m gonna use one of those Carvana vending machines when my car needs replacing.

I wonder what $35,000 in quarters looks like.

 

[VandVsmama]

This is why we buy all of our cars through car brokers instead of directly through dealerships.

 

[BrianL]

Sorry to hear about your ridiculous hassle, OP.

I’m gonna use one of those Carvana vending machines when my car needs replacing.

I wonder what $35,000 in quarters looks like.

About 1700 pounds - I think I spent about that much in arcades in the 80's. That's a lot of games of Donkey Kong!

 

[RedAngie]

About 1700 pounds - I think I spent about that much in arcades in the 80's. That's a lot of games of Donkey Kong!

Do most arcades use value-added cards these days? I still have some stored value on a card from last summer. I guess I need to go back.

In the late 70s/early 80s I became fairly proficient at Space Invaders and PacMan, but then I gradually lost interest in video games. I still like pinball and old-fashioned skee-ball.

I was kind of surprised when I went to a laundromat a few weeks ago to wash a comforter and the machines still used quarters.

 

[fla4fun]

I am long out of the chargeback limits which are typically 120 days.

It has been 227 days since the deposit was paid.

If you have not called your card issuer, do so. I used to handle chargebacks for a company where many customers paid well in advance of merchandise delivery, and the chargeback window started with the date the merchandise was sent, not the purchase date, for certain types of disputes. It is definitely worth the time to make the call, since you had no way of knowing they claim they didn’t receive your deposit until the car was delivered to you.

 

[BrianL]

Do most arcades use value-added cards these days? I still have some stored value on a card from last summer. I guess I need to go back.

I was kind of surprised when I went to a laundromat a few weeks ago to wash a comforter and the machines still used quarters.

Most of them do now since there are very few stand-alone arcades. All the Dave & Busters type places use cards. The games also cost way more than a quarter!

 

[kdonnel]

If you have not called your card issuer, do so. I used to handle chargebacks for a company where many customers paid well in advance of merchandise delivery, and the chargeback window started with the date the merchandise was sent, not the purchase date, for certain types of disputes. It is definitely worth the time to make the call, since you had no way of knowing they claim they didn’t receive your deposit until the car was delivered to you.

Interesting. I will do that on Monday if I have not received the refund.

 

[MillauFr]

It's a shame that such an expensive purchase has to be a battle and not the fun experience it should be.

This type thing is why we buy gently used at Carmax. No hassle, no haggle.

Yes hoping that Carmax and Carvana can continue to gain market share and disrupt the auto stealership model. There is a reason that most people trust politicians more than car salespeople.

 

[mrsstats79]

We had the worst experience buying the car we have now. Made a deal at the dealership and when we went to pick up the car they told us they had sold it. Next dealership was a nightmare also. They wouldn't allow us to finance with the lower finance rate - many other issues - told us they were not going to sell us the car etc. I would have walked out but DH wanted the car - I have car dealers.

 

[MICKIMINI]

It took over 6 months but the car I ordered arrived back on March 22nd.

All excited I went to the dealership on the 23rd to complete the purchase.

My excitement was crushed by either the utter incompetence of the dealership management or the management's core desire to cheat the customer.

I knew from an internet forum devoted to my model car that despite my order converting from a 2021 to a 2022 and a price increase during the 6 month wait, that Ford Corporation was offering price protection on firm orders placed prior to the price increase. The forum even provided the memo that was sent by Ford to all dealerships prior to the price increase being announced to the public.

As people would take delivery of their orders many would post about the buying process. Some found it simple and smooth, others like me had to fight and were treated with disrespect.

As they handed me the sheet with the out the door price I noticed it did not reflect the $2000 in price protection or the $750 incentive Ford gave everyone who had a 2021 order convert to a 2022 or the $500 deposit I had made back in August 2021. They were quickly able to locate the eligibility for the $750 but were insistent that price protection did not exist and told me I would need to get the $500 refunded by Ford Corporation.

I pulled out the memo I had printed and asked to speak to the next level. That 1st manager would not even look at the memo and insisted that price protection did not exist. I asked to speak to his manager. Rinse and repeat. Ultimately I spoke to the 3rd manager who begrudgingly agreed to call the Fleet Customer Information Center number listed on the memo to get clarification.

At this point I left the dealership. I had already been there 3 hours and despite waiting over 6 months for the car I was not going to pay $2000 I should not have to pay.

I got a call just 30 minutes later from the sales guy saying we were good to go.

I returned to the dealership and completed the purchase. Somehow that took another 2 hours despite the fact I was paying cash as I had arranged other financing.

In that 2 hour period not one of the 3 managers came out to say sorry for the misunderstanding, we learned something new today. Instead they sat in an elevated glass room and glared at me. The salesman and I talked while I waited on the finance person to do who knows what. It was at that point the salesman mentioned they had sold dozens of vehicles mentioned on the price protection memo, giving none of those people price protection. The dealership gets the price protection money within 45 days of selling the vehicle to the person listed on the original order. That means in dozens of cases people were overcharged from $1000 to $3500, plus the dealership received the money from Ford.

I asked him if he thought they would now refund the money to those customers. He never answered.

At this point I have the car and love it but am still out the $500 deposit paid 7 months ago.

On March 24th I provided the sales guy with an excerpt from my credit card statement back in August showing the deposit was paid to the dealership. In an email response he admitted a mistake had been made and the $500 should have been reflected on the purchase. A check would be put in the mail in the next day or two.

April 11th I checked with him again. Once again I was told that a check would be put in the mail that day. Four days later no check.

Not sure if it will help but today I filed a BBB complaint and finally posted the review they have been asking for on cars.com and Facebook. I don't think it was the happy review they wanted but was an honest review and recounting of the buying process.

Contact your State Attorney General with your story. People were cheated, period. I've read that the big auto companies are having issues with dealers playing games so I'd send a cc to the auto company. Geez...

 

[DLgal]

Your credit card company will have your back on this issue. I would definitely call the dealership and tell them that you would like to pick up a check tomorrow and if one isn't ready, you will be contacting your credit card company and reporting it as theft. They will get you that check, I promise.