I wish I would have read the reviews before I purchased a vehicle from Desoto Ford. I''ll preface…read morethis by saying that I know that i could have walked away from the deal, but I chose not to because I believed what I was told.
In mid July 2026, I initiated contact with the dealership on a 2020 Mustang Convertible. The first salesperson I spoke with was Scott. When he quoted me the out the door (OTD) price, which was around $41,000, he explained that I was being "penalized" because I didn't have a trade. I declined the offer. I really like the color scheme and the car was being sold Certified Ford Blue Advantage, which warrantied the vehicle for three months or 4,000 miles.
A week or so later, I can't remember who initiated the next contact, but I spoke with salesperson JB (name being protected so as to not embarrass them) and sales manager SC, who presented me with the final OTD price. I was clear that the OTD price needed to include all taxes and registration fees paid to the State of NC, which is where I live. I explained that NC has some extra fees when it comes to registering a vehicle especially if it's the first time being registered in NC. I implored him to ensure they were aware of all taxes and fees.
On July 28, 2026, SC presented me with an OTD price of $35,925. I asked SC for his reassurance that the vehicle did not have any major scratches, rips, etc. SC had JB send me a video of the car, which JB just happened to highlight the hole in the front bumper and large scratch on the rear bumper. SC said these could not be repaired, but could be fixed by replacing the entire bumpers. SC said he was at his absolute lowest price and would not fix the bumpers; I would have to absorb the cost. I'm not sure how you can sell a car with damage like that, but I like the car so I reluctantly agreed to pay to have the bumpers replaced because SC said he would get me the parts and labor at cost $750.00.
SC also said for that $750 he would have the body shop repair the small dent on the on the passenger side front fender and they would touch up some of the paint chips around the car. I asked SC how many keys came with the vehicle. SC said the previous owner only turned in one key, but he would get me another key, which was valued at dealer cost of $260.00.
When I got the final contract, the price of the car went from $35,925 to $36,922. In addition to the $750 for the bumpers, apparently someone conveniently calculated the NC registration cost by $267. I should have walked away at this point, but I did not.
After I reluctantly agreed to pay the increased amount for the registration, SC told me that I misunderstood him about the key and that he was not supplying me with a second key, but if I wanted one, he would get it for me for $260.00. I should have walked away at this point, but I did not. So, now the car I thought I was paying $35,925 just went up by approximately $1,275.00.
I told SC I could not pick up the car until August 14th and he agreed to have the auto body do all the work and hold the car for me in the back of the lot until I could get there and pick up the vehicle. In the meantime, I completed the paperwork and sent everything back to the dealership.
On August 13th, I flew from NC to Florida and spent the night at a friend's house, which was about two hours from the dealership. On August 14th, I drove to the dealership, met with JB, and we took the car for a test drive. I noticed there was a lot of outside noise, but I chalked it up as it was a convertible and convertibles are noisy.
Before I left the dealership, I noticed that SB never had the body shop fix the small dent or touch up the paint chips like he said he was going to. I think this was done intentionally. SC knew I was picking up the car and needed to head back to NC and gambled that I would not have time to wait around to argue with him. I pointed this out to JB, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he said " enjoy your car" as he walked into the dealership. No one even offered to go over the features of the vehicle with me.
I drove back to my friend's house and took a few pictures of the car to send to my wife who was home in NC. That's when I noticed that the rear passenger window on the driver's side was not extended all the way up and did not meet the driver's window. There was a small gap between the windows and the rubber seal. That is when I realized that was the noise I heard on the test drive. I suspected that is one of the reasons why the car remained unsold since April 2026 and that was why JB said " enjoy your car" as if they were finally able to unload the vehicle without fixing it properly.
On or about September 17, 2026, I received the NC Registration; however, I had to pay an additional $340.00 for the vehicle's property tax.
I strongly suggest not buying a vehicle from Desoto Ford / Desoto Auto Mall.
