How was your GT buying experience? Here's mine.......

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Mark O

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The GT I own is the 2nd one that I had within a three week period. I started negotiatoins in mid-November & picked up a new tungsten 2006 Ford GT the day after Thanksgiving. I drove 375 miles to the dealership & trailered it home. Before I bought it, the dealer represented the car as having 61 miles on it & only driven by the owner of the dealership. All was good until Friday, 12/8. When I got home from work, I opened a letter addressed to me from the Ford Dealership where I bought it. Inside was a letter sent by an anonymous employee stating that my car actually had over 500 miles on it, was driven by numerous employees, & the odometer was rolled back. Saying that I was upset was putting it mildly.

The next day (Saturday), a friend ran the VIN # at a local dealership & found out that last May, the dealer replaced the module which controls the dash guages (& records the odometer milage) with a new module. The warranty claim stated that the guages were working intermittently & the milage was recorded was 50 miles.

After talking with people who know these cars that weekend & gathering a few more facts, I called the dealership the following Monday presented them with what I now knew about the car. I also faxed them down a copy of "the letter". To my surprise, they didn't deny that the milage was wrong, rather it was a "mistake" that the milage didn't get put back on when the module was replaced. I told the owner of the dealership that regardless of whether it was a mistake or not, it's a Federal crime to tamper with an odometer, not to mention that the car was misrepresented to me.

My car had two of the four options; stripes & lightweight wheels. I specifically did not want the McIntosh stereo because of the subwoofer between the seats. The color I got, tungsten, was my #2 choice (white/blue was #1), but the rest of the car suited my tastes.

Back to the dealer: They offered me two options: #1; buy the car back from me & refund me $1,000.00 for my trouble, or #2, I keep the car & they give me $1000.00 for my trouble.

I really don't think that the 500 (????) miles that the car has on it makes it damaged in any way, however, the car was misrepresented to me & I feel that the car iwas tainted & I wanted no part of this particular vehicle any more. I told them that being a gentleman, I wanted to work this out without going through legal channels & presented them with my own option; find me an equal replacement car with no miles, deliver it to me, and take the "old" one away. They reluctantly agreed, but there is one problem; in the dwindling inventory that was left in early December, there were no more vehicles left out there equipped as the tungsten car was.

Since I now couldn't get one without the Mac stereo, I instructed them to locate one in my preferred color choice; white & blue. They located one in GA with the Mac stereo, stripes, painted calipers, but with standard wheels. In the negotiation, I demanded that I get the standard interior piece that fits between the seats in place of the speaker & I'ld take care of removing & relocating the speaker myself. They agreed & actually gave me permission for me to remove the piece from the tungsten car.

The "new" car stickered out at $1,250.00 higher than the "old" car & they wanted me to pay the difference. Once again, I reminded them that I was being a gentleman by not going to Ford, the Attorney General of PA, & getting a lawyer. I also reminded him of the turmoil & lost sleep my wife & I had endured, and due of their misrepresentations, a GT equipped as I wanted it, is no longer available. (At the time I bought this car, there were about a half dozen to choose from, but this one was the closest to me. Had I know about the real milage, I would have passed on this car). I think they got my point & they called back to inform me that there will be no additional costs to me.

Thinking back, the "funny" thing of this all is on the ride back home, my son counted 17 churches in the 20 miles between the dealership & the highway. The dealership even hands out calendars with Bible passages on each page After I bought the vehicle, I sent them an email how I was impressed with their firm & made comment how I wish that car dealers in MA were as good as they are. How wrong I was. This whole mess has really left a sour taste in my mouth.

Anyway, they picked up the car in GA & delivered the white car to me the Thursday before Christmas. The car was missing the key fobs, tow hook, battery charger, & window sticker, plus the battrery was completely dead. All of the missing items & battery were robbed from the tungsten car in my driveway & the window sticker was sent to me 2 weeks later. Last week, I got a call from the salesman hinting around if I still needed the trim panel. Apparently, they just found out how much it's going to cost them. Life is better now.

Can anyone top this? :eek
 
Nobody will be able to top this! (Who'd want too!:lol )

You 'da KING!
 
The GT I own is the 2nd one that I had within a three week period. I started negotiatoins in mid-November & picked up a new tungsten 2006 Ford GT the day after Thanksgiving. I drove 375 miles to the dealership & trailered it home. Before I bought it, the dealer represented the car as having 61 miles on it & only driven by the owner of the dealership. All was good until Friday, 12/8. When I got home from work, I opened a letter addressed to me from the Ford Dealership where I bought it. Inside was a letter sent by an anonymous employee stating that my car actually had over 500 miles on it, was driven by numerous employees, & the odometer was rolled back. Saying that I was upset was putting it mildly.

The next day (Saturday), a friend ran the VIN # at a local dealership & found out that last May, the dealer replaced the module which controls the dash guages (& records the odometer milage) with a new module. The warranty claim stated that the guages were working intermittently & the milage was recorded was 50 miles.

After talking with people who know these cars that weekend & gathering a few more facts, I called the dealership the following Monday presented them with what I now knew about the car. I also faxed them down a copy of "the letter". To my surprise, they didn't deny that the milage was wrong, rather it was a "mistake" that the milage didn't get put back on when the module was replaced. I told the owner of the dealership that regardless of whether it was a mistake or not, it's a Federal crime to tamper with an odometer, not to mention that the car was misrepresented to me.

My car had two of the four options; stripes & lightweight wheels. I specifically did not want the McIntosh stereo because of the subwoofer between the seats. The color I got, tungsten, was my #2 choice (white/blue was #1), but the rest of the car suited my tastes.

Back to the dealer: They offered me two options: #1; buy the car back from me & refund me $1,000.00 for my trouble, or #2, I keep the car & they give me $1000.00 for my trouble.

I really don't think that the 500 (????) miles that the car has on it makes it damaged in any way, however, the car was misrepresented to me & I feel that the car iwas tainted & I wanted no part of this particular vehicle any more. I told them that being a gentleman, I wanted to work this out without going through legal channels & presented them with my own option; find me an equal replacement car with no miles, deliver it to me, and take the "old" one away. They reluctantly agreed, but there is one problem; in the dwindling inventory that was left in early December, there were no more vehicles left out there equipped as the tungsten car was.

Since I now couldn't get one without the Mac stereo, I instructed them to locate one in my preferred color choice; white & blue. They located one in GA with the Mac stereo, stripes, painted calipers, but with standard wheels. In the negotiation, I demanded that I get the standard interior piece that fits between the seats in place of the speaker & I'ld take care of removing & relocating the speaker myself. They agreed & actually gave me permission for me to remove the piece from the tungsten car.

The "new" car stickered out at $1,250.00 higher than the "old" car & they wanted me to pay the difference. Once again, I reminded them that I was being a gentleman by not going to Ford, the Attorney General of PA, & getting a lawyer. I also reminded him of the turmoil & lost sleep my wife & I had endured, and due of their misrepresentations, a GT equipped as I wanted it, is no longer available. (At the time I bought this car, there were about a half dozen to choose from, but this one was the closest to me. Had I know about the real milage, I would have passed on this car). I think they got my point & they called back to inform me that there will be no additional costs to me.

Thinking back, the "funny" thing of this all is on the ride back home, my son counted 17 churches in the 20 miles between the dealership & the highway. The dealership even hands out calendars with Bible passages on each page After I bought the vehicle, I sent them an email how I was impressed with their firm & made comment how I wish that car dealers in MA were as good as they are. How wrong I was. This whole mess has really left a sour taste in my mouth.

Anyway, they picked up the car in GA & delivered the white car to me the Thursday before Christmas. The car was missing the key fobs, tow hook, battery charger, & window sticker, plus the battrery was completely dead. All of the missing items & battery were robbed from the tungsten car in my driveway & the window sticker was sent to me 2 weeks later. Last week, I got a call from the salesman hinting around if I still needed the trim panel. Apparently, they just found out how much it's going to cost them. Life is better now.

Can anyone top this? :eek


That dealer is lucky is not in prison and has the Ford franchise, we spoke about this on the phone... your story is one of a kind. I would have had his head on a gate pole.
 
Can't beat that. It sounds stressful.

The only amusing thing about getting my GT was that I knew it was in a container coming from America to Southampton docks in the UK.

I started listening to shipping forecasts and generally worrying about my precious cargo...

Anyhoo, the date eventually arrived when the container ship was to arrive in Southampton. No news. No news. Had it arrived? No news. Nobody seemed to know - it was supposed to be here... etc.

I could contain myself no longer.

I composed an email to the head of Southampton Docks - something along the lines of:

"This is a bit of an odd request, however I'm waiting for a brand new car to arrive from America on a ship, not sure which ship, however the car is very easy to spot. It's a Ford GT, red, with white stripes. Is there any chance you might have seen this being off-loaded...?"

To my suprise, and considerable delight, I received a very prompt email back:

"Sir, yes, I think we have it. See attached photo. Is it the third one along, fourth row, nineteenth back?"

I clicked on the photo and there was a photo of about 10,000 cars being unloaded, stored, parked etc... :lol

I'd been 'got'. I wrote back saying that I appreciated their sense of humour and how silly I had been to have expected a major international port to have spotted one car out of the tens of thousands....

Car eventually arrived of course.
 
Neilda,

Over a year ago I was at my local Ford Dealer in North Scottsdale, Arizona looking at a red/white GT when this guy from England calls them and buys the car. :frown They tell me it's sold.:thumbsdow Then they get a call later on from England again asking if they have a red GT for sale. When they say they have one but it's sold, the caller says good, I'm the guy who bought it and I wanted to be sure you're telling people it's sold.:thumbsup Was that you buying MY local GT??:biggrin

Chip
 
That is unreal Mark :eek

Hate to paint with a broad brush, but if that shit goes on with their GT, what goes on with their Focii and Escapes! :willy
 
I think the dealership was let off way too easy. I'm not one in favor of frivolous legal action but I would have pressed for a new car at dealer cost minimum. With legal action you could have had a GT for free. They would have settled out of court for sure as they would have lost that case and a lot more than the cost of a GT. Who knows how many they have screwed in the past.
 
Chip, that does sound like it could have been me. Just checked my diary and I got the car in October 2005 and it's an August 2005 build. I reckon, roughly tracking back, that the deal would have been done during September 2005. Could that be you?

It was a specialist UK dealer working on my behalf, so I didn't speak directly with any dealers in America. I vaguely recall a story that a Doctor was about to buy the car when I snuck in.

It would be amusing if I was driving 'your' GT! :biggrin
 
I would like to say that your story is UNBELIEVABLE. However, I know it is true, and know of another story just like it. I have a friend who is a police officer, bought an F-150 Truck new from a large Ford Dealer, similar story, similar circumstances, nasty outcome. Sorry you had to endure that pain!
 
Damn!
 
I have a similar story that also might help some people. For legal reasons I cannot disclose the car dealer or manufacturer, I signed a non-disclosure agreement. I purchased an expensive car, about the price of the Ford GT. A couple months later, it needed the first service. When I went to pick it up, I drove a couple miles from the dealership before noticing a funny feel in the steering wheel, it was heavily scratched. I pulled over to the side of the road to look at it. I noticed the walnut steering wheel was heavily damaged, and then that the shifter bezel which was also made of walnut was also heavily scratched.

My wife was with me, and she said look at the mileage on the service receipt. It showed that I had dropped the car off with 1611 miles and picked it up with 1622 miles, but the odometer read 1781 miles. What the $%#$! Obviously someone at the dealer had taken the car for a little joyride.

I turned around and went straight back to the dealer and asked for the service manager. He came out and as we were discussing the situation I noticed that the right front wheel was heavily curbed. They were caught re-handed. Told them to replace everything damaged and give me new K-40 radar installed with all the trimmings, and free future service. The General Manager balked momentarily until I turned to my and asked her to call the Police. He then gave me everything I wanted.

From now on, I always confirm the mileage with the service people, and make sure it's recorded on my copy of the service document before dropping off my cars.
 
I am a fan of nailing to the wall.

Brass tacks ; turn screws all the way.

A mans home, horse and car are no to be tampered with.
 
I have a similar story that also might help some people. For legal reasons I cannot disclose the car dealer or manufacturer, I signed a non-disclosure agreement. I purchased an expensive car, about the price of the Ford GT. A couple months later, it needed the first service. When I went to pick it up, I drove a couple miles from the dealership before noticing a funny feel in the steering wheel, it was heavily scratched. I pulled over to the side of the road to look at it. I noticed the walnut steering wheel was heavily damaged, and then that the shifter bezel which was also made of walnut was also heavily scratched.

My wife was with me, and she said look at the mileage on the service receipt. It showed that I had dropped the car off with 1611 miles and picked it up with 1622 miles, but the odometer read 1781 miles. What the $%#$! Obviously someone at the dealer had taken the car for a little joyride.

I turned around and went straight back to the dealer and asked for the service manager. He came out and as we were discussing the situation I noticed that the right front wheel was heavily curbed. They were caught re-handed. Told them to replace everything damaged and give me new K-40 radar installed with all the trimmings, and free future service. The General Manager balked momentarily until I turned to my and asked her to call the Police. He then gave me everything I wanted.

From now on, I always confirm the mileage with the service people, and make sure it's recorded on my copy of the service document before dropping off my cars.

Dave, how do you like the 3.3? Saw your car at MMP and it looked great! I hear it goes sideways now as easy as it goes straight! LOL!
 
I think the dealership was let off way too easy. I'm not one in favor of frivolous legal action but I would have pressed for a new car at dealer cost minimum. With legal action you could have had a GT for free. They would have settled out of court for sure as they would have lost that case and a lot more than the cost of a GT. Who knows how many they have screwed in the past.

I did consult with an attorney and I was told that this case COULD be worth $30-50K. However, being as it involved two states, going that route would take time & money. In the meantime, the stock of available GT's would continue to dwindle. If this were one year earlier, I may have "gone legal" on them, but I think that I chose the path which was best for me. In the end, I just wanted a new GT, & with the exception of the lightweight wheels, I've got what I wanted at a pretty good price.
 
If this were one year earlier, I may have "gone legal" on them, but I think that I chose the path which was best for me. In the end, I just wanted a new GT, & with the exception of the lightweight wheels, I've got what I wanted at a pretty good price.


Just like we discussed in PM's, this WAS the best way 4U2 go.

Had you gone the OTHER route even a year ago - the lawyers would be the only people(?) who'd have won in the end because they'd have draaaaaaaged this out forever...at $500 a second the whole way.
 
I did consult with an attorney and I was told that this case COULD be worth $30-50K. However, being as it involved two states, going that route would take time & money. In the meantime, the stock of available GT's would continue to dwindle. If this were one year earlier, I may have "gone legal" on them, but I think that I chose the path which was best for me. In the end, I just wanted a new GT, & with the exception of the lightweight wheels, I've got what I wanted at a pretty good price.

You were very fortunate that there was one " church going " (maybe), honest person at that dealer. I hope they never find out who it was that sent you the letter and that they change their ways in the future.
 
Read your story on the alley,

wow.

Other than the missing items you robbed off your old car, is everything else good?

For the record, the dealership Bigs hooked me up with in Odessa has been absolutely perfect. The car was still sealed upon my arrival and nothing had been touched.

PM Bigs or I for their number if anyone needs help. They located a Black and White GT at sticker within 4 hours for a friend of mine.
 
Sorry for your troubles and like everyone else I'm going to try to ease the pain a little. In June of 2005 I purchase a brand new Copperhead Viper out on Long Island, NY. Went out to pick up the car and noticed that the left rear sidewinder wheel had been chunked, probably by a torque wrench. No problem, they had another car and could easily switch left rear for left rear because they are rotational. I drive home 90 miles in the 95 degree heat with the top down and the A/C on loving every minute. About six weeks later I went to do the first oil change and whammo, the whole driver side floor board is collapsed and you can even see the four teeth of the floor jack pad embedded in the floor pan. Needless to say I went ballistic. The floor pan on a Viper is welded to the chassis so in essence I had a frame damaged car. Without rambling on here the end result was a large refund and I had a tin knocker/sheet metal buddy make it right. Unfortunately these things happen in every business and sometimes we never even know it. I would not have known about my car had I not serviced it myself. Just my two cents, good luck. Dan
 
Hang 'em High

I am a fan of nailing to the wall.

Brass tacks ; turn screws all the way.

A mans home, horse and car are no to be tampered with.

AGREED!!

Set an example - HANG 'EM HIGH.

Add a man's wife, family, and business to that list!!