RE: MAD as hell, TV dealer gave me the shaft

[mike4947]

 
Well if you folks remember our purchasing a new PU got put off last year due to the kitchen from hell and later by my heart attack and DW s chemo.
 We d planned on doing the purchasing this month right after our new TV we ordered in Feburary for delivery May 1 came in.
 Needless to say I ve been bugging the dealership for delivery since the 1st, just like they bugged me the last half of April telling me I had to pick it up BEFORE may 1st. They wanted the sale on Aprils books.
 Well this morning I went to the dealer to find out why ; sine they d been bugging me since the middle of April to come pick it up; where my new truck was.
 Got " my"  salesman and he disappeared for about a 1/2 hour and came out with a set of keys and he headed to the lot.
 Now I ordered a Ranger conventional cab (only the two of us) long bed, XLT, with AC, Auto, 4 ltr engine, HD suspension, FULL trailering package.
 He stops next to a king cab, 3 ltr engine, standard trans, NO AC, NO trailer package at all. The only thing right was the color.
 WTF is going on? I asked and I headed to the sales managers office with the salesman following at a run. I figured they d made a mistake and got the wromg vehicle in the lot or maybe sold mine out from under me.
 NOPE, seems after an hour with my blood pressure getting higher and higher it seems they NEVER ordered it back in February[:@] They did however cash by rather large deposit check, so as I explained to the Dealership manager in the middle of the sales floor (I ve learned they always are nicer if you re making a scene on the sales floor) cashing my check without ordering the truck could be construed as either larceny, fraud, theft or a combination of them and since it was ratings month the local TV news services were looking for juicy stories.
 
 The best I could get was a search of Ford s production and guess what nothing available in the continential US and NO production slot available for the  03 model year.
 
 Another hour and At least I had a check back for the deposit and interest from Feb to Today. But I don t have the TV of my dreams and my current truck, won t tow diddley being a 4 cyl.
 
 So, the moral of the story is just like in PU s, the " best"  deal might not be from the " best"  dealer. That $300 I " saved"  by switching dealers doesn t look so great anymore.
 

[AustinBoston]

 mike4947
It s usually said about pop-ups, not pickups, but this is proof once again that the dealer can be more important than the brand.
 
 Here s hoping you can find what you are looking for without having to wait until August.
 
 Austin

[SactoCampers]

 mike4947
Mike,
 
 That really sucks. I m sure you ve considered the following options but I ll give them a shot just in case you haven t:
 
 1.) Have you considered looking at a Mazda dealer for their inventory? Ford and Mazdas are twins and maybe there s a Mazda to be found equipped the way you want? I just noticed 4.0 liter is not available in Mazda regular cab
 2.) Have you considered the xtra cab? There are probably many of those available in inventory around the state equipped the way you want and I ve never known anybody to wish they didn t have the room. You may not need it, but you may like it once you have it (though you sacrifice truck bed space). If you re tall, it will allow for more leg room and recline the seats (you re wife might like that feature too!). Since their business practice is so questionable, you may want to try demanding they sell to you the supercab for the same negotiated price as the regular cab.
 
 
 Anyway, hopefully you can get it resolved. If not, will you be looking at a different truck like a Toyota or Nissan?
 
 

[whitestar505]

 mike4947
Mike4947,
 
   Sorry to hear about your truck. I do know about the dealerships in Syracuse or area as you well know. Lets see was it Fontello? Ford. I think that is the right spelling. I know he is very large in the area. Well, it might just might just work out better for ya if they given in. GOOD Luck! I am sure you will keep us all posted.[&:]

[rajones315]

 mike4947
Hi Mike,
 
 Living in CNY & enquiring minds want to know.  Which dealer was it so I can avoid a similar problem?

[tlhdoc]

 mike4947
What a rotten snow job.  What truck did they want you to pick up in April?  The same one they showed you?  I hope you find a vehicle that will work for you.  If you decide to look at Mazda, they have a longer warranty.  We had them for years, they are nice vehicles.

[mike4947]

 mike4947
No idea on what was there in April, and I know Mazda s; bought them from 80 till Ford took over the pickups and ex wife had a GLC, a 323 and a protegy. Problem wth Mazda s is they offer about half the models and options Ford does and the average " best"  price runs about $700 more than the equivalent Ford pickup.

[SheBantam]

 mike4947
Are there any F150 s with the tow package in the area. We had to add the hitch (did not trust the 5000 lb tow bumper)? I know you want a Ranger, but you have a little more flexiblility with an F150. Also my trailer dealer tells me that a wdh is a non issue for this truck and the type of trailers I pull (Jayco 1006 and Bantam B-21), all it would do is possibly make the ride a little smoother on a very bumpy road.

[wiininkwe]

 mike4947
That s not a good " new TV"  story at all.   Be sure that you call and make a complaint about the dealership (yes, even tho they did reimburse your money) with the Dept of Motor Vehicles in your state.    Most of the time, it s a really bad thing to have a complaint lodged against a dealership.  They accrue points against their license and after so many points, their license is revoked and they cannot sell cars for a period of time.   Since they did refund your money, it s a proven fact that they actually made the  mistake  and have no defense.   Make sure that you let them know you ve lodged a complaint and that you are warning all of your acquaintances not to deal with them.    This probably won t make any difference in the experience you are having with them, but will more than likely keep the same thing from repeating with another customer.
 T
 []

[kathybrj]

 mike4947
mike-
 
 Just curious- was it this shop, as listed in this article?
 
 http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2002/nov/nov07a_02.html
 
 If not, you can file a complaint with the attorney general.

[Ab Diver]

 mike4947
Mike, that sucks, period. I would NOT let this go with raising some *serious* noise. Call Ford s customer service dept., , then get the address of the highest ranking Ford official you can, and send that person a letter. Call the dealer s " accessory"  vendors, and tell them what kind of people they are dealing with, as well as anybody they advertise with. Better Business Bureau, the local District Attorney, and your State Attorney General s Office should all be advised of this matter.
 
 I had something similar happen when I ordered my lumber rack and camper shell for my truck from the same aftermarket supplier. I got *everybody* involved. It s amazing how things start to happen when you don t remain silent. []

[wynot]

 mike4947
I have found that Ford Customer Service tends to be painful to deal with, and defers almost all decisions to the dealership - no matter how much of pile of cr** they are shoveling.  Ford SUPPORTS their dealers, not the customer.
 
 If you choose to use this approach, DO NOT LET THEM PUT YOU ON HOLD - they are calling the dealer, who will immediately deny anything and everything.  The dealer will request that Ford Corporate let them handle it, and you will get a call from the dealership pretty immediately, in my case  chastising  me for not  addressing it with them first   (no matter what has happened before).
 
 You all will notice that we are not driving Fords anymore...everything dealing with most Ford dealers was a battle.  We started using the Mercury dealer right next door, then just bought a Chevy and haven t had a fight since.
 
 

[mike4947]

 mike4947
Don t worry folks I intend to do all the Phone/write/email thingies to the DMV/FMC/attorney general/Better Business. Like I wrote in anther thread, it you don t report these things no one knows there s a problem.
 Problem is as I ve found out before it will be placed into their " problem reported/problem resolved"  folder. While it s on record it carries little weigh as " they refunded the money"  so the probelm is " resolved" .
 
 As for the F150, I don t need or want the extra size. The Ranger was special order with equipment that would give it an over 6000 towing capacity, still be a +20 mpg daily driver and fit in my tiny garage which the F150 wouldn t do.
 
 Nothing s going to change the fact that I won t have a tow vehicle I want till somewhere in the fall and Ford can t give me a garuanteed build slot or even garuanteed pricing till sometime in July.
 
 So today the tent s coming out to get aired out, and tonight we re sorting through the camping section in the garage seeing what we need for tent camping this summer.
 

[SactoCampers]

 mike4947
Mike,
 
 I noticed the Mazda selection is not as flexible as the Ford s so I can see why you went with the special order. Didn t know about the $700 price difference! [: (]
 
 Are you sure you don t want the extracab? Overall length is about the same (3"  longer than regular cab long bed). You gain interior space, the ability to recline your seats further, and more leg room but lose truck bed space.
 
 I imagine there are extracabs in inventory equpped the way you want, but if truck bed space is your main priority, I can see why you wouldn t want one.

[mike4947]

 mike4947
Sac, one of the reasons I wanted the long bed is my current PU s bed liner and cap would fit the new one. A savings of about a thousand dollars and the king cab would be about 2 thousand more than the standard long bed so it came to about $3000 less in price.
 Now I find out Ford is " redoing"  the Ranger for  04 and quess what? The cap and bed liner aren t going to fit.  &%%#^*&**&^$##$@@$