OK, I know that these cars are in high demand, and I know people have been waiting quite a while for their cars. I certainly don't expect my situation to be any different. Here is the deal.

I ordered my car the first week of Feburary. Was told it would be 8 weeks. Purchasing the car with a X Plan. Which, the only way I could get a dealer here to even honor the X Plan was to order one. They would not honor it on a vehicle sitting on the lot. When I ordered it, I put $500 toward the car.

Today I was going through area dealer inventory on the internet, and ran across two dealers in my ( basic ) area that have almost the exact car I ordered. One is Red Metallic instead of Torch Red. The Torch Red ( which is what I want ) has a manual transmission instead of an automatic ( I ordered automatic ). All other options are exactly what I ordered, Shaker 1000, My Color, Interior Upgrade Package, everything the same. So I call my salesman and ask about him doing a dealer swap on the car to get me the one I want. He says that no dealers are doing dealer swaps. So I ask about my order. He says it is no where close to being pulled yet. So I say basically you are telling me that the car I want is sitting at a different lot here in the Metroplex, and I cannot buy it because I have a deposit down on a car that the order has not even been pulled on yet. He says "Yes, that is correct."
Implying that if I want to go ahead and get one of the two cars at one of the different dealerships I could certainly go ahead and do so, but to kiss my $500 deposit good bye, and kiss the existing deal we have on paper good bye.

Anyone else ran in to this? Or has anyone had any luck with the dealer ( or yourself ) finding your car at another dealer once you have a deal on paper? I know these cars are in high demand but the attitude of these dealers is getting to be a bit rediculous.

 

Get your deposit back then.. If the order's not in, then its good to go.....

 

I hear ya, but they pretty much said that the deposit was non refundable, period.

 

First off, car dealership desk guys are colossal sacks of **** who will lie, cheat and steal to get your scratch. If they can verify the order's NOT been submitted for processing, they can't legally hold your money, start talking about lawyers and you should get them to come around.

 

YEa.. there is NO WAY they can hold your deposit. They have to give you that anytime you want! Dont put up with their sheeeeet [:@]

 

The other helpful technique is to start complaining loudly in the showroom about being ripped off, on a Saturday when there are a lot of customers within earshot. This tends to get your salesperson very interested in talking to you!

I had a similar issue a few years back at another brand's dealership. I was able to get my deposit back entirely, with the order canceled, and then go to the other dealer to get the car off their lot that had 100% of what I had ordered, plus one or two low-cost extras that I hadn't ordered, but didn't object to.

The original sales person had claimed there were no cars even remotely like the one that I had ordered in a "3-state area". My original order was on indefinite hold, due to a part shortage. This went on for weeks and even months. Then I see one while driving past the another dealer. This car has everything I wanted, even the option that was impacted by the parts shortage. I first called the original dealer, to tell him about the car, so that he could do a swap. I jokingly asked him how come he couldn't find this car, when I just stumbled on it. I actually wasn't upset at that point, since it was clear to me that the car had JUST been delivered to the second dealer. But, the salesperson at dealer 1 gets all huffy, saying that if he knew that I would have taken a car with more options on it, he could have had one for me weeks ago. Now I start objecting, since I had been clear from day one as to my "must have" color and options, as well as my flexibility on other areas. The car at the other dealer was clearly one that should have been caught by any real "search" by dealer 1. At this point in the conversation, dealer 1 salesperson actually says to me, "Are you calling me a liar?". I laugh, and say, "First off, I was calling you in good faith so that you could go get the car for me in a dealer-to-dealer swap. Second, I never called you a liar. But, now that you mention it, I can see that you ARE a liar. Third, I will NEVER by a car from you. So, I will be at your dealership tomorrow to pick up my deposit. The check better be made out and ready for me when I get there."

Nevertheless, the check wasn't ready when I showed up. I had to go through a couple of minutes of loud complaining about being ripped off by dishonest salespeople, in front of other customers, until they produced the check.

 

Just got off the phone with both dealers.
The one that has the car said they would do X plan. The car has tent already, and the price is a little less than the one I ordered.
The dealer I ordered through is pretty much saying that the deposit is non refundable reguardless of whether the order has been pulled or not.

Both dealers say that they won't do a dealer swap to get the car to the dealer that I have the deposit at. BUT, the dealer with the car said that the dealer I am going through "could" purchase the car from them. Or he would gladly sell me the car outright. Of course there is still the matter of the $500 deposit that the original dealer has.

 

Look, a deal is not a deal until the wheels roll over the curb. They cannnot keep your deposit because you have no deal and most importantly, you have no car. Contact Ford and they will get the dealership to refund your deposit. I don't think they can keep your deposit unless you signed something that said it was non-refundable.
The dealership I have my order with is not even cashing my $500 deposit. It's simply a "good faith" measure.

 

LOL the car does not exist yet.. How can they hold the deposit if work has not begun?
I would make a scene on a busy saturday indeed....

 

You should also contact the Better Business Bureau and let the dealership know that you are doing this. If they are a member of the BBB (some dealerships are not) then they will definately not want you to contact the BBB and they should start working with you. If they are not a member then this "threat" may not help persuade them and you should contact the BBB.

They specialize in helping consumers get results after they've tried "in good faith" to resolve the issue. It sounds to me like you've done this and the dealership isn't moving.