My wife and I ordered a Bronco in 2021. We worked with Chris, their Internet Sales Manager, over that ~2 year span. After almost 2 years of waiting and working consistently with the dealership as the build changed over time, our Bronco was finally ready and on its way to us.
We began doing all the basic prep work. We contacted Chris and the dealership to confirm the price of the Bronco and we were told we would pay the sticker price for it and we were able to see this price consistently throughout the process as we were the ones who hand selected each detail for the Bronco and choose each part.
We had a trade-in that we already had multiple quotes on from local dealerships; so we felt we had a good idea of what our current vehicle would be worth and we had done some research on what to expect based on our trade-in as a down payment and general online financing for an auto-loan.
My wife and I both have excellent credit scores. So, our plan was to trade-in our vehicle which we had offers on from local dealerships at around $25k (2019 Jeep Wrangler with 30k+ miles) and use their in-house financing to finance the Bronco's remaining cost.
They would later list our old Jeep at $32k on their website.
The first problem was the interest they quoted us for their financing which was around 8%.
The second problem was that they only offered us $21k on our trade-in. Which was significantly lower than the other offers we had with the lowest we'd been offered at around $23k - $25k. Throughout the process- they were "firm" on the trade-in value (for the Jeep).
So, considering these factors, we opted to seek financing through a credit union that we've used in the past. The credit union was able to lock-in an interest rate around 4% which was half of what the dealership's "best" was. Then, we decided not to trade in our old vehicle since they were offering us so much less than the other dealerships.
After hours of making adjustments and deciding to not use their financing and not to trade in our old vehicle with the dealership, Chris and Central Ford informed us that by not using their financing or trading in our old vehicle, that they "would have to add" $2,000 to the sticker price of the Bronco.
They claimed this was a "Ford" thing and that they "had to do it". I actually called Ford and the only thing they could tell us was that "most dealerships are privately owned and they have to ability to change the price at their own discretion".
After waiting almost 2 years for a vehicle we built from start to finish. After telling us the price would not change. After offering us double the interest rate. After quoting $4k less than dealerships in our area for a trade-in. After all of that, they "were required to add $2,000 to the price of the vehicle".
My heart dropped. After all this time waiting for our new vehicle, all of the happiness and excitement we felt was gone. They knew they had all the leverage and they abused their position. I understand that businesses need to make money, but someone's word is supposed to mean something.
People always say car salespeople are the worst. Experiences like this are the reason why. They took advantage of our situation and our trust. I'm just one person- realistically, my business doesn't mean much in the big picture. But, if you're reading this- don't get bullied into a bad purchase. Take your business to somewhere that will treat you like a person and not just a number. read more
