floridafordguy

I've been through the exact same thing, three times. The last time, I got up, told the F & I A-hole (without a trace of anger in my voice) "Thanks for your time, but I've obviously chosen the wrong dealership. I'll look for a dealer who's willing to work with me". Then I left.

Within 2 hours, I heard from the F & I a-hole, the salesman, the sales manager, and finally the owner.

I did go back, got a fantastic deal, and they treated me VERY well afterwards (for three years I never paid for an oil change).

I believe your willingness to walk says more than any words you could say.

vasman

+ 1000. Too bad you were tired and just wanted the deal done... The time to do something was before you put ink on the paper. I do not think you can gain much if you go to the GM now. I have done my share of deals like that and reverting to that moment where I should have acted, never helped. I felt worse than I did to begin with. What if you go and the GM cracks a smile and says, just that. If you were not happy sir you should have just walked... They know they do not have you as a customer any longer. They are used car salesmen... You bought an 08, they know you are not the " I change cars every couple of years" type of guy. You probably do not do 200 dollar oil changes at their dealership either. Save yourself the aggravation. Learn your lesson, and next time that a deal smells fishy, just walk away and let them chase you. Like the Florida guy above. I am sorry for what happened, but this is My 2 cents.

FordEngineer

This whole thing infuriates me.

I read the OP as well as all the comments. I agree with both sides, and yes, it's a bit late to do something at the dealership level. Is the story true? Who knows. What you (I'm talking to you, OP--as well as everyone else who has had situations like this in the RECENT past) need to do is call the Ford Customer Relationship Center (CRC) at 800-392-3673 and explain what happened. Stay anonymous if you want. You *need* to do this, and here's why:

In the last meeting I was at where Mulally was present, he said Ford is looking to tackle the dealership experience. Everyone knows it could stand to get better. In order to do that, they need to have documented cases of what has gone wrong, so they know where to start focusing their efforts--is it on the people? The sales process? The facilities? Don't let this go unreported--even if there is no consequence (which might be what you want). Problem areas or dealerships need to be identified (I'm talking more than just the survey). If not for you, then do it for the sake of others who might visit that same dealership. In the end, most customers don't know that dealerships are independent franchises that Ford Motor Company has no control over--they see the blue oval out front and assume they're one in the same.

What p*ssed me off the most here is how this guy talked crap about the very product his store sells, which not only makes for a horrible experience, but also torpedoes the efforts of all of us back here in Dearborn who are busting our butts to make world-class vehicles with reliability and quality in an effort to reverse the stereotypes most people used to think of when they heard 'Ford'. We've been making good progress to that end, and I'll be damned if dealers like this (you know there are more out there just like him) badmouth all of our hard work just to make a buck or get their numbers up.

Anyway, rant over. Call the CRC. Let them know what happened. Tell them so that, if nothing else, your story can get in front of an executive responsible for re-inventing the dealer experience.

And if you've had a *great* experience with a dealership, call the CRC and tell them about that, too. Give ideas to the teams that are going to be responsible for what the future dealership experience is going to be.