Special order Ford’s have a GREEN window sticker Instead of blue. The salesman would have double checked with the Management before showing the truck and taking it for a test drive. This was not a mistake.
As soon as they Ford and Pacific beach, I know the dealer, BIG time A-hole. Looked at a truck there 20 years ago, say was thinking, they then shove the sale though about 20-30 banks and such to ensure I wont be able to buy anywhere else
Plus there would be documentation irrespective of the color of the window sticker, accessible up to the level of whomever manages the lot inventory and finally authorizes sales. This was not a mistake, this was a choice.
I can understand if you let it sit there for 3 months... Even 30 days, perhaps... The deposit needs to count for something. But if you're in there within a week? That car should be yours. And any dealer who fights so hard either... - can't get more cars - can't afford more cars - realized they could do better than your sale, and went with that. And the 3rd should be illegal. It's just like the home builders who get 95% of the way done building your dream home to spec, only to say to you "Yeah... we're going to back out of this and sell it on the market, because we can get another 25% more for the home. But we'll give you your deposit back!" That deposit helped secure the home being built... that should not be legal, and if you're stupid enough to sign that contract with a clause in it to allow them to do so, you're an idiot. Same here with the cars... You signed a contract that says they can order it for you... you have a deposit... and on the day of delivery, they can sell it out from under you to someone else, and all you get is your deposit back? Not even INTEREST on it? I'd let them leave the clause in if they refunded the deposit x 100. You put $5000 down - you aren't earning interest on it, they are... you're not guaranteed the car... if it's delivered and they sell it to someone else after you waited all that time? $500,000 to you. Same with the house - $50,000 down and you're not getting interest? 100x back... $5,000,000. Is the house worth it? No? Then they'd better sell it to you!
How can a judge throw out a contract that you signed that clearly says they can sell the vehicle to anyone? They won't throw it out. I don't understand WTF is wrong with people and understanding what a contract is. A contract can be for anything and everything. Dealers can make up just about any contract they want. They can have one say you have to pay $1,000 up front and if you don't come in within 1 day of the vehicle arriving at the dealership, you forfeit the deposit and still owe the rest of the vehicle balance even if we sell it to somebody else. If somebody actually reads, understands and signs the contract, well, that's their F'n problem isn't it? They don't do that because nobody in their right mind would ever sign it. But for some F'n reason, plenty of idiots are willing to sign a document saying they will get their deposit back if the vehicle is sold to somebody else. They are willing to take that chance because of how hard it is to get customized vehicles these days. Some people just have too much money on their hands, you shouldn't feel sorry for them for taking risks they don't have to take.
@@NSResponder A contract is an understood agreement between parties, NOT a tool of deception. Why would any buyer EVER agree to such a thing without a benefit??
I got a story. Once upon a time I found a Plymouth dealership that didn't know what a Prowler was, this was about a 6 months before the first productions were to start dribbling out. I told them about their new Plymouth hotrod coming and then checked back in two weeks later. Long story short, at that time I got them to take $500 cash in exchange for a contract guaranteeing me the first car they got. At first they said there was no pricing yet, so I had the guarantee in the contract to specify MSRP - whatever it ends up being. They thought it was a great deal and I was an idiot until the car arrived and they had a buyer for more than double MSRP. I had to get a restraining order to halt their theft and got that car.
The amazing part of your story is that you wanted a Plymouth Prowler in the first place. What a turd that thing was. Now if they'd put a V8 and manual tranny in it, maybe. But the secondary market for dress up and hopup geegaws never developed for it so it died on the vine pretty quickly.
@@farmalmta, I don't know why you gotta be that way.... Anyway, the car was what it was, a bit of art and nostalgia, a bit of sport. I see they all got snapped up and stashed away mostly. They popped for triple and more of MSRP initially and now I see 23 year old cars still selling up to that MSRP even at 50,000 miles. Not so turdish even if it didn't tickle you.
I remember a dealership in Mobile, AL that tried to get my car back from me. It was a week after I took possession of it. They had already got the money from the lending agency I used. I was now paying the lender back. The Dealership called and asked me to come in. When I got there they said they needed more money. I said we already signed a contract and that was all they were getting. They then asked if they could have to keys to "clean and detail" the car. I said it looks fine, got up, walked out, and drove off. Never went back for anything. Morale of this story. Never give the dealership the keys to YOUR car.
THAT could've gotten interesting. When the cops got there I guess they'd tell them they never stole your car, you gave them the keys and they somehow lost the entire car on the way to the wash bay...
My late brother was a salesman for many years at some of the premier dealerships in the Dallas area. He told me about this practice decades ago when special orders were more common. He also said to read the contract/order, find the clause, and X it out as N/A. If the salespeople then say that isn't acceptable, thank them for their time, tell them you are no longer interested in doing business with them and that you will find a dealer willing to work with you. 9 out of 10 times, they will cave to the deal. After all, you represent a SALE and a commission that is about to be lost!
A few decades ago, I ordered a car and the dealership kept trying to have me order tires for my car. I explained that the factory tires are fine. Finally the sales manager told me I had to pay for tires. I explained that I’m am an employee of that automaker, hence the employee discount and do not pay for tires. The factory installs tires. Finally when the dealership refused taking my order. I explained that my role was an automaker complaint person. The dealership was under investigation and they lost a status.
I remember a FORD dealer in Phoenix in the 70's that had the cheapest pickup trucks around.... turned out that none included the wheels and tires... they were rotated and if you saw the inventory in his back lots...none had wheels and they tried to sell custom wheel/tire packages... clever?
@@kenkayiii Believe it or not, a lot of truck/car buyers used to transfer the wheels and tires from their previous vehicle to their new vehicle, and get junkyard wheels/tires to put on their trade in. Then they'd sell the new factory wheels and tires after they drove the new truck off the lot and put on the wheels/tires from their previous ride. Dealers actually used to get screwed by customers pulling that crap. So it cuts both ways.
@@farmalmta I believe when the dealer would try to give less on a trade in for not having oem wheels people would take them off. They might put them on their new car if they actually fit but that has nothing to do with the dealer who's choice it is to accept the trade in.
What amazes me is that, in a world where every little story can go national or even international, companies still think they can screw someone and not have the entire world find out about it.
They hope the story gets buried... Maybe Trump will be indicted again, or Biden's son will be caught with white powder on his blue blazer. (Throwback to Clinton there... )
Dealers to Government: "Don't let manufacturers cut out the middleman! Dealerships compete to provide better customer service!" Dealers to Customers: "We accidentally sold your car to someone else; here's your deposit back."
And don't forget the 'let's inflate or just make up warranty repairs so we can get money from the manufacturer' it pathetic that we still have this broken system
"Mistakes were made." Passive language is how liars try to dodge responsibility. The CORRECT sentence is, "We/I/that person made mistakes.", and that assumes the action was an actual mistake, and not a greed-driven deliberate decision.
@traybern Way back in 1988 I special ordered a Ford Bronco (full sized). I picked my interior and exterior colors, my flooring (rubberized, not carpet), manual locks, manual windows (except for that pesky tailgate window that rusted shut on me), manual seats... When it arrived, they had to replace the hood due to transport damage. - The later experiences with dumb design decisions had me swear off brand new cars for the rest of my life so far (35-ish years to date).
And yet dealerships will still have a place even if direct to consumer wasn't banned. "You can wait a year to get that car special ordered.. Or you can buy this with a couple of features missing right now."
I remember going to the VW Transporter factory in Germany with my dad around '95. He was a VW Master mechanic. He talked our way into a tour group of the factory. The guide was very proud of the fact that if you special ordered a vehicle you could come to the factory while it was being assembled and using their bar code system they could show you your vehicle on the assembly line as it was being put together.
@@davidhoward4715 I was going to buy a Mustang a few years ago. The Ford dealer treated me like trash, so I went next door to the Mazda dealer and bought a Mazda 3. Mazda sold a car, and got my subsequent business, Ford lost my business. Multiply that by millions of people nationwide and that has an effect on manufacturing.
@@davidhoward4715 : Shitty dealers directly reflect on the makers. They could easily put the dealers in line and forbid such behaviour via the threat of never again delivering to non-compliant dealers. The makers basically accept this bad behaviour.
@@bikkiikun You'd be surprised how much manufacturing is actually finished at the dealership with low wage people instead of at the factory with high wage people. That's why the dealer prep charges are so high, and why if the dealership can get a few hundred or thousand more from a "gotta have it now" desperate lot walker, they'll take it and screw the original orderer.
@@farmalmta : I'm certainly not surprised about such "cost-reduction" means. But like I said... this is (partly) why people have and still do turn away from American brands. The cars are built with yesteryear's technology, the built quality is substandard, the running costs will bleed you dry, the service is atrocious, and you'll most definitely be f*cked over by dealers and the manufacturers financing departments and the warranty is practically worthless. Oh, and half the car is not even built in the US. It's ultimately cheaper to buy foreign models... at least they preserve American jobs. Well, that on top of proper quality control, reasonable price and delivery times.
I don't believe the manufacturer can sell a vehicle directly to an end user, they have to transfer through a retail dealership. Just look at police cars, dealerships take turns running them through their lots when transferring from manufacturer to the department.
It was not ordered directly from Ford. You pay your deposit to a dealer, the dealer makes the order FOR YOU but it's still sold through the dealership. And it arrives at the dealership with a green Monroney window sticker stating that it's a special order.
While in the Navy and about to deploy for three months, I went into a Norfolk car dealer and special ordered a Plymouth Sport Fury. Because the dealership was concerned that Chrysler would be the target of a strike that year, they went ahead and special ordered it early. It came in, they cleaned it up and parked it right at the front of the dealership where everyone would walk past it. It was in the special parking place for the owner! It also had a "Sold" sticker on it. When I got back and went to pick up the car, the salesman commented that they were going to miss that car. It seems that they sold more than a dozen other Sport Furies because of that vehicle. That was over 45 years ago though when dealerships had more class. Unfortunately too often to day we see may instances of someone special ordering a vehicle and selling it to anyone who wanted it and beat the original customer in. I don't know if they do this for any other models, but Jeep when a Wrangler is the result of a sold order (aka special order) they put the customer's name on the window sticker. Makes a nice souvenir.
This story made me realize Clark Griswold in the original Vacation movie got screwed by this system when he came to pick up his custom artic blue sports wagon and left the lot with a pea green family truckster. The saleman sold his custom car to a preferred customer and sold him a "if you think you hate it now, wait until you drive it" car. If we would see the numbers, I suspect this custom sale included dealer markup far above 5K they are offering as a good will gesture.
Like the way Japan does vehicle orders. The dealership system is one of the main reasons cars are stupidly expensive. I would love for the US government to declare war on car dealerships and start having the military bomb the dealerships. Then we can finally tell military members “thank you for your service” because they did something to help the American people.
@@barnabusdoyle4930 No, they don't need to. The service members have a way to order their cars like Military Auto Service and they guarantee delivery of custom-ordered cars. And if the servicemember (or eligible others) are overseas, they can have it shipped in-country or ready stateside for pickup.
@@barnabusdoyle4930 one of the most popular credit unions/insurance providers amongst service members, USAA, was created specifically because so many young servicemen were getting screwed by dealerships. USAA stands for "Uniformed Services Automotive Association". In short, they're already on it lol.
@@bobdevreeze4741 I remember reading something that said you still have to go pick it up at a dealership that works with Tesla or go really far out of the way to pick it up. Not sure how much it's changed.
My late father owned a repair shop and gas station. He was highly respected for his diagnostic abilities. He had a regular fuel customer who had special ordered a 76 Fleetwood. When he got delivery it didn't run or ride like his test drives. Dealer went over it and told him he was crazy. He asked my dad to take a look at the car. We got his list of complaints and then went for coffee and talked over what could be wrong. I had an epiphany and piped up " Let's compare all the VINS." Sure as shit the body VINS didn't match the chassis or engine VINS. Through a bit of detective work, with no help from the dealer, we proved that GM had put a Fleetwood body on a hearse chassis. With the non matching VINS the title was cloudy. Took the state Attorney General to get the dealer to take back the car.
Just curious, how does the chassis differences have any bearing on how it ran? Ride, sure, since they used a van chassis in commercial chassis models, but they had the same 500ci V8? I guess if one had optional EFI and the other had the Q-Jet, as i don’t know if EFI was available on commercial chassis.
But isnt it simply a shame you had to spend that extra time and effort only to prove a dealership wrong? the time wasted cannot be replaced or compensated equally
@@sc3ku The hearse 500 was tuned differently and the chassis had heavier load springs and shocks in the rear. It was by comparing the shocks and springs that we proved it was a hearse along with the chassis VIN which had the hearse code. This was during the GMC war with the union.
It happened a lot in the RV industry during Covid, when demand for RVs surged. People put down large deposits but were told they had to pay more to get the RV they ordered, once they were delivered. Funny, but I’m pretty sure that if prices unexpectedly dropped between order and delivery, I doubt dealers would offer cash back to the buyer as a “market adjustment”.
Yeah you got read the contract and edit out anything you don’t want. If the dealer doesn’t play ball then go to a new one.(trust me someone will they need the commission)
When Subarus were hot (heavens knows why.. yyyyech!) I remember seeing on the sticker , "Market adjustment" adding 25% to MSRP. Naahh I'll pass. I don't want a glorified volkswagen. I've been stranded by a Subaru TWICE. Never ever any other vehicle.
This is one aspect where direct to consumer sales really excels. If I order a Tesla, I pick every option I want, it gets delivered and I pay the exact price I agreed to, not a complicated concept.
Worked in car dealerships for years. I've seen this 100+ times. Somehow a lot of car dealers have become even more slimy. Didn't think it was possible. Also what Steve said about the truck is spot on. They knew what happened and were getting their stories straight. Usually though, they build their story when the truck is sold in anticipation of the rightful owner coming in.
08 recession wiped out hella dealerships. Probably opened the door for a lot of sleazeballs to get into the game and or leftover dealerships realized fewer options so people had to play ball with them
Don't put money down on ANYTHING without language in the contract stating that the "purchase agreement" IS what you are putting money down on. The idea of a "down payment" being used as an "intent to negotiate" is such a sleazy thing to try to pull. However, the guy that ordered his truck through the the manufacturer should definitely have standing to sue. He didn't have an agreement with the dealership to buy the car, he had an agreement with the manufacturer. By selling the truck that he ordered from the manufacturer, they committed conversion since that vehicle was never theirs to sell.
I think you hit the nail on the head. They procured a special car with his money, and turned around and profited off it with someone else. I don't know if this meets the strict legal definition of conversion, IANAL, but it SURE smells like it! I would sue
@@jess_o It reeks of conversion via fraud. They received a shipment from the manufacturer that would have had papers saying who the car was contractually going to. They then sold it to someone else so they could profit on their commissions at whatever price they chose to set instead. They violated a contract between two other third parties in order to make a quick dime themselves, permanently depriving the property from both parties that actually had the contract for the sales agreement.
And apparently, they made so much more on their underhanded deal, that they could give the true buyer a $5,000 commission. Problem is, that doesn't make him whole. It's also unethical. But dealers have no honor.
(in Australia) My dad's friend was pool builder so he often finished work covered in concrete dust? He was filthy rich but looked like a homeless man lol. He had some flash car and sold it cause he wanted to buy a brand new Maserati? He hoped on his pushbike and rode down to the dealership, locked his bike literally to the hand rail out the front door of the dealership. He walked into the showroom and asked to take this flash looking Maserati for a test ride? But the sales guys thought he was a "tyre kicker" or "joy rider" and so they literally ignored him? They pretended he wasn't there? Eventually he got mad because he was being ignored so walked into the service side of the dealership and asked one of the mechanics to go into the showroom and lay down one of their special plastic seat wrappings on the driver's seat of this particular model and then sat down at the sales managers desk and requested a test drive? The sales manager refused and had him escorted off out of the dealership! 😲 He was going to purchase that model anyway but he wanted to take it for a test run to check it out? He decided to contact Maserati global headquarters and special order the car direct from them (fully optioned - he checked all the boxes for extra everything from wheels to aero upgrade) and then had the car sent specifically to the same dealership? He then requested the same sales manager to pick him up n from work in the car and that he would drop the guy back at work? He said that the look on that sales guys face wasn't priceless......it was commissionless! 😆 He got all the options for shit he didn't even really want or need just so it hurt more! The sales manager was silent on the return trip back to the dealership? Sales manager was not impressed and couldn't say shit until he was about to drive off 'sir what about your bike that has been locked up out the front for months aren't you going to take it?' His response was 'you gotta be kidding mate? I'm not letting that filthy thing in my car! Keep it a tip for delivering my car 😉' He used a fancy tamper proof cable lock on the bike too and it apparently sat there rusting away against the pole for years? King yobbo in a flash Maserati!
Way back in the dark ages (the 1970's and 80's) this happened to my family *twice* . The only times anyone in our family had ever special ordered a vehicle. My dad was told that his Ford truck was sold off the car carrier in south Alabama because it was "so pretty that someone offered to buy it right then," and my sister was told that her blacked out Trans Am *wasn't* being built because the "factory was tooling up for the next model year," which I somehow doubt.
At least now, they give you the VIN once it starts production and you can track its progress. Of course the dealer won't tell you how YOU can do that, they want to hoard that info but it's easy to find in the wild. I knew when my truck was coming before the dealer did, because I was checking every day when I sat down to work.
We recently had a dealership try to pull a bait and switch on us. We had a vehicle brought in from another dealership, we waited several days, and when we finally went to look at it, it was the top of the line version that cost several thousand more. they told us they don't understand what happened and it must've been a mistake. Nonsense. As stated in the video, another salesman simply sold the vehicle we wanted, and this was the replacement they thought they could get us to buy. When we told them this was an obvious bait and switch, that we would be willing to buy the car if it was the price of the original vehicle, otherwise we would report the incident and go elsewhere. They agreed. It is not Customer's job to follow the paper trail. It is up to the individual salesman to check on the status of a vehicle etc. Covid created a demand that has corrupted salesman and dealerships back to the 1970s corruption.
A Ford dealership tried the "we need more money" thing on my cousin. He told them that wasn't the agreement and handed them his business card and told them to call him when they wanted to negotiate. My cousin is a lawyer. The GM of the dealership called him before he got to his office and said they'd be happy to honor the original contract.
nothing like a lawyer to fix stupid, my sister did this when her new car's oil was on, dealer says it ok, 3 times, then when driving home motor dies. Light was on because there was no oil. Dealer said they will have to rebuild motor. She said " I take that car there on lot, I have my lawyer on speed dial" Got a proper new car
When I was ten years old I went to the dealer with my dad the only time he special ordered a car. It was a 1971 Plymouth Custom Suburban station wagon in maroon with a 383 4bbl. He specified the black Brougham interior with white headliner. It had rear handles and a step bumper as well as an adjustable roof rack. It also had front and rear A/C with a dual compressor. When the car arrived the factory had made a mistake. They built it without the back rear facing seat but it still had the rear A/C. The dealership reordered the car for him and we finally had it. I learned to drive in that enormous wagon. My dad passed away a couple of years ago. He always said that 383 had a lot of “pep.” I never told him that I got it up to 130 mph when I was in college.
I waited 475 days for my Ford Hybrid Lariat Maverick. After about a year I realized that we signed the contract, however the dealer had NOT signed the contract. I heard stories about various dealers adding $5000 - $10,000 premiums at closing. However I was so happy when Mullinax Ford in NSB Florida completely honored my price! BTW - My Maverick, like my wife, has exceeded my expectations.
The dealership system in America is broken. They have too much power and control, and they are local monopolies. They make buying cars more expensive and tiresome, and make customer service worse. It's mind boggling that we can't buy cars right from the manufacturer. It would be much cheaper and efficient in this day and age but the dealership lobby stops that from happening
@greenfangxyz2979 lobbying groups, both local and national, so that's why most major dealerships have no real competition. They lobbied the government to have it that way. Rigged capitalism
There is no way it was "a mistake": special order Fords have a green Monroney sticker with the words SPECIAL ORDER on it, whereas dealer allocations have a blue one.
Plus the person who special ordered it has to sign something that states they aren’t going to purchase the vehicle so the dealership can sell it. Sounds like this dealership is going to be on the way out and forged a document from the customer who special ordered it.
Yes green window stickers for special order and blue for dealer order. I went to a Ford dealership in Alexandria Ky to inquire about ordering a truck. Salesman took some basic information name, phone number and email. He ask for a deposit but I said I wasn’t ready to order and didn’t give a deposit. I want a couple days to think about the options I wanted and I would be back. Before I got home I had a email from ford regarding my order. I never signed anything to order or decline the truck they ordered. I refuse to do business with a crooked dealer.
YES!! This just happened to a friend of mine last month! A new Bronco. He is a well known local business owner. Yeah that dealership is taking a hit right now.
A long-standing problem. Happened to me when I ordered a 1965 Chevelle Z16 in red. A few days after the promised delivery date, I walked into the dealership and saw "my' car - already licensed, etcetera. It had been grabbed by a son of the dealer. He then ordered the sales manager to order another one for me. There was no "another one." I finally found one at another dealer hundreds of miles away and the wrong color. At least I got one! I enjoy your posts, Steve.
My dad always custom ordered his Ford F350 trucks through a tiny local Ford dealership. He order his fancy trucks without carpeting because he loved "base model rubber flooring" so he could use a garden hose to wash his trucks out. 😂 He passed away, but I still have his 2001 & his 2006 F350's both have well over 500k miles on them and run great minus general maintenance issues. His preferred dealership went out of business about a year after he passed away.
Yup, his special orders kept them alive with their limited small town sales. Not to mention he was probably one of their customers in the service department.
@@GrumpyIan Not really! Lately, many of the manufacturers have required that dealerships do upgrades to their facilities to match a certain "look". Many of the smaller businesses don't have the sales volume to be able to afford the expense of that modification, so they just shut down. It's sad, because many of these dealerships really help the people in their surrounding areas.
The problem with rubber flooring is that it doesn't dampen the sound well. But I can see the tradeoff benefit of being able to wash off your work truck.
I had two uncles that were identical twins and they worked across the street from each other at competitive dealerships. A customer would visit one dealership then cross the street to the other dealership and encounter what looked like the same guy he was just dealing with XD I could never tell them apart. One was a good guy and the other went to prison for tax evasion.
Happened to me with a Ford dealer back in the ‘80’s. Then they refused to return my deposit trying to force me into buying another truck from them. Finally got my deposit back and went elsewhere, different dealer, different manufacturer.
We should be able to sue these greedy highway robbing dealerships of lies and they need to have their licenses to carry that brand revoked indefinitely
The problem is that they refund the money. so they never really stole anything. If they took someone's money and then refused to give them a car and refused to refund the money, then they would be stealing.
@@IceMan0003 Tesla is able to sell in a lot of places and they are fighting against those places. Once the last of Michigan car factories closes and moves to Mexico or else where they wont have the power anymore.
@@IceMan0003 It's a literal monopoly in that the state has granted a business exclusive rights to sell a product, eliminating competition. People would probably be much happier if they could simply buy a car at walmart.
My grandfather would go to the three dealers in town, we only had one dealer each for the big three car companies. He would special order the cheapest car he could buy. It was always a three speed manual, no radio (he hated music, called it noise), no trim, base line model. The problem of selling it to someone else never came up because nobody else would have wanted it. Now days you could not order one like that if you wanted to. I remembering him coming home with his new car and complaining that at twenty five hundred bucks that cars were just to darn expensive.
I think the cheapest car you can get is 25k. I remember there were cars for 10k not more than a decade ago. All we need is a automatic 3 cylinder 4 door compact sedan that gets 35mph or more. We just need a really basic radio, USB A and C chargers and that is it You get no choice in color and all interior is the same. Manual windows with power locks. AC and heat and really that is all you need. Cars over overpriced and full of thrills that some people do not want. Sell a car like this for 10k out the door cash or 12000 (intrest) for 60 months at 200 bucks and that will be fine.
@@kameljoe21 You know why that won't worK? The same reason 30,000 people just got their walking papers from a company in the freight business called YELLOW FREIGHT> THE UNIONS. The unions won't allow it. They need more and more and more and more and more and, the only way the dealer can cover the union demands is to keep charging more and more and more for their "products." That's where it all starts, not the end. People like me can't and won't ever be able to afford what they produce. So we don't give a rip when 30,000 union goons lose their sweetheart jobs that just weren't ENOUGH for them! FTU
@@kameljoe21Most of the expensive stuff is government mandated. Things like: Antilock brakes Traction control. Tire pressure monitor. Supplemental Restraint System. Electronic fuel injection. Catalytic converter. Rear view camera. On and on...
@@spaceflight1019 FFS these are all low cost items. Its the car companies who are not willing to bring in robotics to fill jobs. Its also because these car companies have vendors who charge a high price for an item. The middle man is what sucks ups 25% of the cost of a car. The other cost is trash style. You can mass produce a compliance car for several decades by changing very little. The only things you need to change is what is required by law. To make a very simple car you need a 3 cylinder engine, heat and ac, power locks and manual windows, One color inside and outside. A standard radio with bluetooth, aux jack, USB A and USB C PD with 12v outlet. Everything stays the same you get what you get. This low cheap car complies with all of the laws and it is just mass produced for the next 20 plus years. There is no need to change the style at all which means zero investment in a new line of tools. Your parts are off the shelf parts simple and easy. Yet companies think that you need to build pretty when you do not need to. The profit margin would be tight yet it would be the same every year. Mass production of parts are cheap when they are common place. They just wont do it because it does not make a lot of profit. They would rather let people deal in the used market. My car I can buy a rebuilt engine for around 5k or even put a used one in it. At that price might as well just buy another used model. I do think we are at the last year for this generation.
I'd say my brother must have written your post but his name isn't Keith.😁 My father did exactly the same thing. I have a sneaking suspicion that it never occurred to him that he could have gotten a discount by buying a lot car vs a special order car that was able to offset the price of the options he firmly rejected. He finally in his 80's ordered a car that was the second lowest priced Ford (Focus? the one with the flawed simulated automatic transmission) because the stripper model didn't come in any actual colors. Just black, white , and grey. He said he didn't want to leave his grand daughter a black car when she inherited it. He really wanted a manual but he knew his family didn't want to drive one.
Ordered a brand new jeep wrangler to my custom spec. Car gets delivered MONTHS later and almost sold to someone else. Come to find out that it went as far as financing before the manager that made my order came into their office to stop them from buying my jeep. Needless to say, they let them inside and scratched it up. Learned a lot from that experience.
The dealership, if facing such a penalty, could easily still make it profitable to sell a vehicle earmarked for a specific customer, and pay the penalty. If they can't make it profitable to pay out an extra $500 for a "mistake," they're not much of a dealership. There are so many ways to manipulate the numbers in a new car purchase, double-refund on deposits wouldn't mean anything.
Not if it sells for way more than that - you put 5K down and it sells for 30K over what you agreed, the dealership is still 20K up. You get the greater of double deposit or difference, stops it
Courts don't make laws (ostensibly), and states have franchise laws that would have to be negated. The manufacturers can help, and Ford in particular has done so to a small degree. I special ordered a Ford, it came in as ordered.
The laws are in place to require local dealerships to be able to fix the thing. You'd be pissed if you bought a new car that you couldn't fix locally -- less of a problem these days, but there are still some issues where shops tell the customer to take it to the dealer to fix.
@@mikeydude750 IKR. There were easily over a dozen dealers in and around the city I grew up, and only ONE of them didn't have a reputation for ripping repair customers off. Hell, I remember getting a replacement key made from a knock-out from them, and they didn't charge me for it. Gave them some word-of-mouth, though I've no idea if it got them any business.
Back in March 2006 I special ordered a Mustang GT Premium. I had to special order it to get the color I wanted (light blue) which no dealer had in stock, as virtually all V8 Mustangs were made either red, black or yellow. I did get the car, but by the time it was available (July of 06) the car was an 07 model. The 07 was about $400 more than the 06 but the dealership honored the original price.
I had this happen when Ford changed the Mustang back in 2005. I ordered one and when it came in they sold it the same day. They kept telling me they didn't have it yet even though I had documentation showing they received it. A salesman pulled me aside and said that a dealership in Nevada called and bought it. The guy that bought from the dealer in Nevada flew out on a jet and loaded it up for his kid. Turns out the dealership in Nevada was watching it on the order list and were trying to time delivery between multiple dealerships to see who could get the one they needed first.
Not a car dealership but I had a firearm shop do that to me once. I saw they had a historic gun for sale called them up said yeah we are trying to get sell it but no buyers. I said i’ll come buy it but i’d have to come on a Saturday 2 days later because it’s a 2 hour drive. I asked if I could pay for it upfront and deal with the paperwork later they said no worries no one seems to want it we will just take down your info and put a hold on this gun. So that Saturday I get off work early drive up to the shop. Tell them i’m here for it only to be told there was a “miscommunication” and they sold it to someone else. The worst part is they had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to buy something modern.
@@kelf114 I know they did because a friend of mine’s buddy was the owner of the gun he put it up in their shop on consignment. So I showed up and met the owner in the parking lot we were going in to do the transfer and he was there to get his money. He got more than I was told the price was at the shop so it was very clear someone else came in offered more than and rather than call me or honor our agreement in anyway they sold the gun and thought they could get me to buy something else. While they had some nice things I was so disgusted with how they handled it I would never spend a dime in the shop.
@@bobmazzi7435 I didn’t even think of that at the time. I was just so annoyed that I called them in that morning to confirm everything just to show up and it not be there that my rationale went out the window.
When I was thinking about a Maverick (when they first came out) the dealership was begging me to order one. No deposit. Just a signature and a copy of my license. They said (way too easily I might add) "you can cancel if you want". They couldn't order for inventory but special orders would go through. They wanted people to put their name on one and cancel so they would have some to sell with a "market adjustment".
Yup. No deposit required on my Bronco either. They knew if I backed out they could have it sold within hours. Ok, maybe take a full day, I ordered a stick-shift.
Having worked at a dealership selling cars (the low point of my life), I learned that no dealership is to be trusted to do other than to act in their own best interest. Of course, it is unlikely that I will ever buy a new unused car again. The risks just ain't worth it.
I can understand that they're looking out for themselves. of course, that's business. the problem is that they go so far as to go back on promises and not give a d to f you in the process 😕 I've had a good factory order experience with Subaru. I'll do it again, now making sure that the months wait time is not stolen from me at time of delivery. a pre-owned model with a reputation, then checked by my mechanic, is I think another top way to go 😎 brand new models with no reputation are high risk. the new year models have the new frills but keep getting suckier in reliability.
@@pokor5791 I disagree. A car a few years old will have all the bugs identified, if not corrected. However, with any used car, you should always have it inspected by a competent mechanic first. Even a "new" car with low mileage can be a lemon or an abused vehicle, and an older car can have been excellently maintained.
@@bb5242 Define "cool". I still have a 2004 Audi TT in the family and always get compliments as a cool car. And my current 2015 Mercedes SL (bought used with low mileage) also gets lots of attention.
Today would be awesome if I were hanging with Ben Franklin. People say "Steve do you vary wildly from state to state?" My father had a boss who wanted a new car every 3-4 years. So, he would make it disappear somehow and report it stolen. After his 5th or 6th "stolen" car his insurance company said if this car is stolen we are not paying for it and consider moving to a safer neighborhood.
Dealerships are a lot like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Apple, etc. They've bought you local lawmaker, and operate in any way they want, just like congress has given themselves authority to do whatever they want, insider trading, drunk driving, etc.
@@phlodel If he paid a deposit then they will give it back. If he paid up front, they would have no way to sell the vehicle, as they are acting as delivery only, and if the dealership sold it they would be looking at a very nasty legal case, which would result in them having to not only pay the original customer his money back, but also pay for a brand new vehicle in that trim spec as well for them, as the original vehicle would no longer be able to be titled as new. My BIL had that, paid full price for a vehicle, delivery around a year out, with his custom trim spec and interior. Year or so later it arrived, but, due to currency fluctuations, it now was triple the price, but he still paid nothing more for it. Insured with the regular insurer he used, and not a week later it was written off in a T bone, with another vehicle driving into the driver door, at high speed, and going wrong way up a one way street.. Few bruises and cuts from glass, and all airbags deployed, and he was fine. Next day insurance was not happy, as the insurance was for replacement value, and that was now 4 times what he had paid originally. Unfortunately he wanted a replacement same time, so the CEO of the local dealer network lost his brand new company car, also on the same shipment, as it was the closest trim spec to the totalled one. Back down to driving the lower spec one. Scrapyard that got it was unhappy, though the owner took it as part of the contract with insurance, and spent another year ordering all the parts to repair it from all over the world, and then sending in all the electronic modules to get reflashed and working again. He got a nearly new luxury car at the end, for half price, so drove it all the time.
@@phlodel Typically you put down a deposit, except for rarer situations like the European Delivery process for one of our cars. We bought it through the local dealership, did the financing up front, but we picked it up at the factory and got to drive it in Europe for a couple of weeks before they shipped it here. For my custom-ordered truck I paid a deposit up front, then paid the rest when it arrived at the dealer.
I made this same comment I’m about to make on another video from a different channel, direct to consumer is never going to happen as long as people keep voting in politicians based off dog whistles & other BS instead of what is best for citizens. Just about every single state has laws against direct to consumer sales & they are now passing even more restrictive laws against this such as Florida a couple of weeks ago.
It’s because there’s so many people who won’t even look up online reviews of a place. In Long Island there’s a few dealers who, if you look them up have them most horrendous reviews you could imagine. Every dealer scam you can think of. They truly despise their own customers. But people keep coming there! It’s really amazing to me.
Literally just happened to my sister; funny thing is, when the car came in it didn't have ANY of the custom options she'd ordered, and the dealer said "they didn't think it would sell that way"; so, she walked away from it after waiting a year.
I worked at a a Ford/Chrysler dealer for years, you know when a special delivery comes in because there are notices attached to the windows with the customers info just like the window sticker, and we had a special section of the backlot were the techs parked them after the PDI. If a dealer sells your Special Order it most certainly was not by accident.
This reminds me of a story you did a year or so ago about a person who bought a new corvette from a relatives dealership in California but asked to have their car shipped to a Texas dealership near their home for delivery. If I remember right the car was paid for outright in advance. When the car made it to Texas they sold it out from under them even though it was already paid for.
I've only bought one brand-new car in my life, a 2017 Accord. When I went to the dealer, they told me that there were only about three vehicles in the entire state which had what I was looking for (in retrospect, this was likely true). They found one which was close to what I was looking for, and agreed to purchase it. Love my EX-L V-6 coupe with a six-speed manual trans!!!
I tried to custom order my current Honda, because i wanted a manual transmission. They ended up finding me one, and had it shipped in with no money down till the car arrived. I then purchased it for cash and never looked back. Car has been kicking ass ever since.
I hope you get your custom car. Thanks for calling out the "weasel" language in the agreements. Its very rare for weasels to actually be called weasels, even when they are.
There is definitely something shady going on with the car dealerships. I've watched some people walk into the dealership that I worked in for about two weeks. The woman basically dropped off the car she was bored with and picked whatever she wanted off the lot. She wasn't the wife of anyone that worked there, but there was definitely an understanding from the boss that he was to give her the vehicle no questions asked or complaints. Not even paperwork filled out or anything. In fact when someone came in to buy the car that she took, a lot of shady stuff started happening and was told to say sorry we don't have that vehicle for sale. Even though by all the paperwork said we still had it. FYI it was a FORD dealership.
I know this can happen, but thankfully the last 2 cars I special ordered went off without a hitch. About 15 years ago I ordered a very nice German sports car from a dealership I'd only ever contacted by phone and email. It all went fine, we fedexed the right paperwork around to the state I was working in (not the state where I live). The car came in, my salesman sent me pictures of it going through prep -- and then I told them to hold the car for a few days until I could get home to take delivery. They put the car front and center on their showroom floor, it was a very nice example after all -- and told me people kept trying to buy it. But since I'd already paid for the car and signed all the papers, it was delivered on time to me 1000 miles from the dealership, no problems. So the process can work, it just depends on how honest your dealership is. The Internet makes it easier to find out if they are. My last ordered car, also without a hitch. So if you want to order the car of your dreams, just find an honest dealer to do it through.
This happened to my brother. Delivery was several weeks late. It was about 3 times as long as quoted. He went to the lot a couple of times and was told it wasn’t in yet. On his last trip there, he found a car with his name on it in the process of being sold to someone else. He raised a stink and ended up with the car. We figure the first one was sold out from under him.
The only time I ever ordered a new vehicle was a Yamaha Vmax during its last production year. I went in to the dealership with cash and said I wanted it for MSRP out the door (including all fees and taxes). They obliged without hesitation and delivered it in a crate. The idea is to go in to a dealership confidently knowing exactly what you want. If you don’t have cash have a preapproved loan from your bank. It puts all the negotiating power in your hands
I would have been at the dealer when it was delivered. I bought a car about a decade ago 30 minutes after it was offloaded from the carrier. It was not a custom order, but was the model/trim/options/color I wanted and knew it was in transit. I called several times to find out when it was going to be delivered. The truck arrived at 1 PM. By 1:30PM I had test driven it and was waiting on paperwork to sign. Still had plastic covers on everything including the rims when I test drove it. They were confused when I showed up to test drive it because nothing was in their system yet and they had to go fish the keys out of the pile for the vehicles that were on that carrier.
I worked for a post production group at Universal studios, it was a custom made 2002 Mustang GT, street legal headers , flow master 40s, lowered, Bullet wheels, Sonic Blue paint, 16 speaker sound with dual subwoofers. Had to wait a month. I was pleasantly surprised when I get called to the front. Every body was gathered there blocking my view. Then one girl walked up handed me a key's and the mob parted and there was my car! Some applause, boss walked up. Said I could have rest of tthe Friday off, but we would have to cruise the coast highway, he bought lunch at the "Blue Lagoon restaurant" and after dropping him off, I did get the rest of the day off, PAID! Still have the car, still looks like I drove it off the showroom floor!
I had that happen to me way back in 1979. I had ordered a VW Scirocco that was one of the early ones with a 5 speed. When I came in to pick it up the dealer told me he wanted more money. I pointed out the following three items; the sales contract, my cashiers check for the remaining amount, and the Toyota dealership across the street with a lot full of 5 speed Celicas where I could probably get one and still get change back on the check. I got my Scirocco.
Dealers are shady and give no Fs about their customers. Once a salesperson lies, I drop the brand. I now own a new '24 subi as they were the first to be upfront and honest.
I ordered a Ford Bronco (no money down) at my dealership in May, and it arrived in July. Ford notified me by email when it was scheduled to be built, when it was built, and when it was shipped. My dealership called me the day it arrived. I went to the dealership the next day and took possession. This was a very easy process for me.
That's been my experience with every car I ever bought, from any brand. Same with my father before me, and my mother as well. There may be delays in manufacturing or shipping, but never problems. And in case of delays, more often than not they'll even offer to give you a loaner at their expense if you are without a car otherwise.
@auteurfiddler8706 I did not have a fixed price agreement with the dealership when I placed my order. I used the X-Plan through Ford, which is listed on the actual invoice that Ford produced at the vehicle completion (2% to 4% over employee price). The dealer does not set or have any input on this price. Ford honored the rebates, plus Ford finance was much better than anyone else also. (I qualify for X-Plan partners' pricing thru the DAV). The bottom line price was less than MSRP.
When you get an agreement like that, cross out the part that says they can sell it to anyone else and initial it.Cross out anything that allows them to charge you more, also. If they refuse to sign it like that, walk out.
We special ordered our Bronco from a great dealership. We were in constant contact with the salesman from the time it was ordered to the time it was delivered. The salesman sent us pictures of it unloading and we were able to pick it up the day it was delivered. Steve is spot on about maintaining contact with the dealer even if it is special ordered.
About 20 years ago I special ordered an Oldsmobile Intrigue at my local small town dealer and had no problem. Ten years ago I went back and special ordered a Buick LaCrosse and put down a $2,500 deposit - more than needed to build up my GM Card reward points. The bastards never ordered the vehicle and kept giving me the run around. Unknown to me, their business was in trouble and they used my deposit for months as a loan for themselves. Apparently they couldn't even place orders any more. I'll never place a special order through a franchise dealer again.
Mine took 19 months. By the time it arrived, my sales guy didn't work there anymore. Was actually on the phone with the sales manager when it finally got delivered. Picked it up the next evening. Had to argue with them for about 45 minutes about the price-protection, but they did sell it to me at the agreed price.
This happened to my wife. We special-ordered a motorcycle for her at the Harley dealer, the dealer then notified us when it arrived. However when we showed up to get it, it was nowhere to be found. Apparently a salesman who didn't know it was a special order, found it in the back and sold it to someone else. That dealership lost our business forever...
I simply refuse to buy a new car. I have never had an experience with a dealership that did not have multiple elements of deceit and shady business practices. I refuse to be a victim.
I was looking at a used jeep gran cherokee years ago and went for a test drive and there was a number of issues with the vehicle and the salesman made excuses for each problem and said that was normal like I was some kind of idiot and didn't know any better.I worked on cars for many years everyday so I walked away with a learning lesson on what crooks they are at the dealerships and never went to another for anything.
I think the dealership is even more shady with used cars. I am thinking you mean you buy used cars from private sellers, not dealers. I agree with that, having seen how they gouge on used cars.
Before I ordered my Maverick I searched the internet to find the ford dealer with the best consumer ratings. I ordered the truck from a dealer with the best reputation even though it was 30 miles away. When the truck came in I paid MSRP just I had agreed to 11 months before.
True for Dodge. On Ford it says it's a customer order, but doesn't have your name. It's also really obviously a customer order since the window sticker is bright green instead of blue.
Dont know if Ford still has their drop-ship program but used it to special order my Ford Super Duty a number of years ago. There was an extreme order backlog on them at the time but I looked online and Titus-Will Ford in Tacoma, Washington had a lot of good reviews. I contacted them (Tonya Johnson, I believe, was the name of the fleet / online sales person I dealt with - yes, another shoutout to her even after 20+ years). They only asked for $500 down to place the order. 5 weeks to build and another couple weeks to get the truck from Kentucky to California. She told me Ford required their dealers to accept any drop-shipped vehicles so call around and find out who had the lowest drop-ship fee to prep the vehicle and handle the delivery paperwork and she will have it delivered there. Best part is the receiving dealer doesn't own the vehicle so they can't try and sell it out from under you. Everything went smoothly, I sent payment to them when the truck got put on the train and only had to sign paperwork when I picked it up - was in and out of the dealership in about 45 minutes total with the truck exactly as I ordered it for exactly what I agreed to pay. Best vehicle purchase ever!
I didn't special order a car but the salesman and I signed a deal to purchase a particular car that was on the lot. Contract completed. They "needed to prep it" so he told me to pick the car up on Tuesday. He didn't call me Tuesday to pick up the car. I called Wednesday. He'd sold the car to someone else. I held my ground and I got a slightly better version of the same car that they had to bring in from another dealership. It had pinstripes and a sunroof in addition. He was an a$$ throughout our interactions after he had to admit that he sold my car to someone else. He even insisted that he didn't have a boss. Pfft. After we redid the paperwork to change basically the VIN and I drove home; I tried to contact "the boss." There had to be one. Not too long after that, I got a survey from the organization that rates cars or dealerships. J D Powers? I responded with every detail. Not too long after that, the salesman drunk called me and berated me because he got fired. I told him it was his own fault for being such a lying a$$hole. I noticed that later, that dealership was still in business but they no longer sold that make of cars. I'd like to think I'm responsible for that car maker upholding their integrity. I was so pissed they sold my car. -_-
When someone special orders a car, isn't that usually in addition to their allocation (i.e. a car they wouldn't have been able to get without a customer ordering it?). If so, the would-be customer would, at a minimum, be due a share of the profit?
Yes and no... In this case the car was a Maverick. Ford dealers are (or were) getting zero dealer allocation for Maverick and Bronco. 100% of orders were supposed to go to customer orders only. So yeah, without the customer order, the dealership never would have had the allocation in the first place. I said "supposed to" because what customers ordered, and what Ford planned for didn't match. So way more people ordered hybrid Mavericks than Ford could build, and way more people ordered 2-door and hard top Broncos than Ford could build, so dealers did get a small number of dealer lot orders, but they were all configurations that were not popular (i.e. leftover parts builds)
@@Rocketsong Right. And my point is that, without the original customer placing the order, the car would never have been built and sent to the dealer - so the original customer was key to allowing the dealer to sell the car to someone ELSE. Therefore, the original customer deserves to be compensated, as they were, in effect, business partners with the dealership.
This happened with a high % of the new Ford Broncos in 2022/23 because the dealers saw they could make tens of thousands more in ADM. A lot of people were told just that, pay us more or we will not sell to you and sell to another customer who wants to pay ADM.
Not withstanding the small print in the contract, it still feels as fraud to me. We are all waiting, together with Steve, for his new wheels. No pressure.
The moral of the story is that car dealerships, like most businesses, are inherently evil and there is no such thing as immoral action that can be taken against them.
Criminally, doesn't that constitute a confidence trick? Call the police and press for an arrest and charges. Civilly, sue and demand they pay you for the time you've gone without *your* vehicle *you* put *your* earnest money on under the expectation you'd be paying for a new car, To include maintenance and fuel use differential between the new (probably more efficient) vehicle and your current sh*tbox.
I have a friend who has had a Porsche on order for nearly 2 years. Mysteriously the arrival date keeps getting pushed out. I wonder if this is what's happening.
Thing is the dealership, receiving the special order vehicle, will include, along with the paperwork of the delivery, all the details of the customer who ordered the vehicle, and thus they would have no problem contacting them to arrange delivery. Likely the dealership got it in, and somebody there wanted it, or had a client who wanted one, and sold it after a day or two, never contacting the customer to inform them the vehicle was there.
Happened to me. Put a deposit on a 19 Silverado. Another salesman had sold it to someone else while I was waiting on the finance. They special ordered a 20 with the same specs and I waited about 6 weeks for it to come in. Same price as agreed to on the 2019.
On Ford's the window sticker just says SPECIAL ORDER. There is a 2nd large sticker that reads RETAIL in about 2" high letters. Oh yeah, the window sticker is also bright green instead of Ford Blue.
I went through this with Dodge. I ordered a Dakota with a V8 and a manual transmission. After the truck started being built, they assigned a VIN and I had to either pay it off or finance it. I paid it off. A few months later, the dealer sold it out from under me. But, I already had the title in my name, so I reported it stolen. The person who bought it was arrested and I got my truck. I not only sued the dealer, but I also pressed charges. The dealer offered me a lot of money to drop the charges, but I didn’t take it. The owner, the salesman and the sales manager all got jail time, as well as the person who bought it. The buyer knew that I ordered it and offered them more to sell it to him. So that backfired on them pretty spectacularly.
If this is a true story, I am impressed. "It's a civil matter." must be the first thing they teach at the police academy when reporting white collar crime, no matter how spectacular the amount.
@@auteurfiddler8706 It’s different when you already have the title. I already had the title in my name and in my possession. At that point, it was a crime for them to do anything but deliver it to me. Without a title, it isn’t yours yet and you have no claim. But, every time I’ve ordered a vehicle, they always required payment up front and you were given the title before you got the vehicle. It’s a civil matter if you order it and it gets sold to someone else without you ever having the title yourself.
@@adamr9215 Oh, I totally agree. But generally the police, dishonestly, won't pursue and white color crime such as embezzlement, conversion, adverse possession. Because of apathy. They pretend it is a civil matter. I am curious how you got them to make the effort.
I am in the process of doing the exact same thing. I am ordering a 2024 Ford Maverick from Ford Corporate, at the end of the process they say they are sending all my order information to my local dealer which they know from my zop code. With a lot of dealers adding up to $10,000 over MSRP, this dealer in Kent, Washington says if you make an online order they will sell the vechile at MSRP. Keeping my fingers crossed.
@@Rocketsong Thanks for the heads up. Ford sent me what they call "Order Summary" which has the MSRP and all the technicals of my order. Assuming this is the DORA. PS only my signature is on this.
@@dsloop3907 update. I have received an "Order Summary" and paid a $100 deposit to secure my "Reservation". In there paper work it specifically says "By completing the reservation process, you are not ordering or purchasing a Ford Maverick. Participation in the program does not guarantee you vehicle delivery. Your reservation does not guarantee a set price for the vehicle until 2024 Maverick Pricing is released, the dealer will not be charging over MSRP for any Order or Reservation" My concern is that the dealership is using the reservation process to get these vehicles on the lot to have them sold to someone else at a higher more profitable price. Time will tell.
I had a great experience custom ordering a Subaru. the cash for it was a deal. part of the price was also waiting 12 weeks though. if I was to show up the day of only to learn that it has been sold out from under me, or be asked to pay more, I'd be livid. I liked how it worked out for me that time, basically the exact car I wanted, with all the options I wanted, and without any I didn't want. I'll be sure now to check the next time that the dealer can't take it away from me or change the deal at time of delivery. thanks for the tip! 😎
Most custom orders are delivered in about 8 weeks. Dealers are generally not trying this BS with normal custom orders. They are doing it with Mavericks and Broncos where people have waited over a year, sometimes over two years.
