ComplaintsforRoyal Ford Motors Inc

• Initial Complaint

  12/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  First off, I’ll start with the trade offer. Felix made it very clear three times what the trade offer would be for my truck. In fact, two times he asked how much I owed on the ****** I was trading in and insisted he was paying off my truck at approximately $32,540 and change. This was heard by an individual I had on the phone as I was speaking with someone on my phone about the truck. Felix and I shook hands on the figure. I made it very clear to him I had no interest in trading my truck unless I received payoff which he stated numerous times this would occur. I made him aware of the hole from the light bar as well as the fuel cup damage that Ford would be replacing upon the part being available. Felix again ensured me this would be no issue. To “sweeten the deal” as Felix called it, he offered me Ford Pass on the vehicle. I had no way of knowing the truck I was purchasing had no ability to use Ford Pass as he sent the vehicle to be cleaned for the sale so we could not pair it to my phone until after the vehicle was done being cleaned which was after the transaction for the vehicle. In addition to this Felix insisted the vehicle had “Lariet” additions on the XLT package included. I discovered the vehicle sales sheet from the initial sale when the vehicle was new and none of the “add ons” appear to be Lariet features. I confirmed this with a VIN lookup on Ford and ******, I also showed him the vehicle sticker, which he stated he did not know was in the vehicle. On top of all this, Royal Ford made me pay for the oil change for the truck I was trading in. After I signed the paperwork to purchase the Ford F150 off of Royal Felix then sent me over to pay for the oil change on the truck I traded to Royal. This was like a kick in the stomach to the customer, I’m giving you thousands of dollars yet you are making me pay for the oil change on the truck I just gave you. Several days later, I received my financial information in the mail for the vehicle purchase. This is where I discovered that the trade in Royal gave me was actually $27,250 which was no where near what Felix and I discussed. Now, I do own some of that responsibility as I should have caught that when I signed the purchase paperwork. There are a lot of numbers and information on the sheets so I did not catch that part of it, again I own some of that responsibility. With that said, I met with Felix on 12/16/23. Which I do appreciate Felix’s willingness to meet. Using the NYS one party rule for recording, I audio recorded our conversation. During the conversation Felix offered me two different explanations for the trade in value and both were different from one another. Then, what really shocked me was Felix pulled out a piece of paper with notes that were took during our initial conversation, no where was the $27,250 trade value on the form. I noticed while looking at the sheet that there was writing on the other side. Felix showed me the writing on the other side in purple marker that I easily could see through the paper which was not there at time of purchase. On this side it indicated the trade value of $27,250. I called Felix out on that, to which, he told me he thought he showed me, I told him where’s my signature as the line at the bottom was blank as I was never shown that side of the page and did not sign off saying I saw or agreed to those figures. He also mentioned to me I should have seen the number when I spoke to the finance manager, I informed him I was in the conference room the entire time and never once met with any finance person. I then told Felix about the Lariet features and showed him the paper directly from Ford. Felix told me he thought because the auto check had it listed with Lariet features that it must be accurate. I told him I typed the vin into ****** just as I expected a Ford dealership to do and it showed me exactly every detail about my truck. He admitted he was wrong about Ford Pass and agreed to have auto-start added to make up for the Ford Pass issue but could not further explain the Lariet features not being there. Felix took my credit card and supposedly was going to get the refund for the oil change. That refund never actually occurred until I called several days later and spoke to the cashier for the refund, which is pending as of time of this email. Initially he sent me a text telling me to take photo of my credit card and send it to him which I thought was absolutely unacceptable. On top of all this I had issues with my doors not securing because of the cold. Felix notified service of this. Service then informed me it was a recall and they would do the repair work to fix this which is scheduled for 12/28/23. The vehicle never should have been sold with a recall active or not repaired. The repair work was completed on 12/29/23 Furthermore, I asked for a ****** multiple times as that is the vehicle history service I prefer. Felix insisted his auto check service provided was the better one. After going back and forth he agreed to get a *****. Several minutes later he came out and said he could not get a ****** as Royal does not have an account. I told him any one can purchase a ****** and that a report would cost roughly $44.99 and they do not require an account. This was still denied and I was not supplied a ******. All I am requesting is for the $3000 cash down that I put down to be refunded. This is to make up for the lack of Lariet features that I was told the truck had in addition to the the trade value being over $5,000 less than what Felix and I agreed to. Again, the trade sheet was never shown to me as I never would have signed a document written in purple marker. He only showed me the notes on the back. While I do understand the bill of sale showed the trade value being less than we agreed to I did not understand the wording or numbers and Felix failed to explain it to me and covered it up by not showing me the trade sheet and also he admitted I was suppose to see the finance manager which never occurred.

  Customer response

  01/25/2024

  I did speak with one of the business owners ***** ****** on 1/17/24 by phone. While ***** was polite on the phone he really exhibited no signs of agreement as to my point of view on how the sale went. It was clear he was focused on business image verse getting to the bottom of what occurred. He offered me $500 store credit which I advised him was not a resolution I would agree to. I requested $3000 cash back. Certainly I am willing to negotiate on that however I can not settle for just $500 store credit. He and I both agreed that maybe mediation into the matter is the best option as we disagreed on the matter. 

  

  Business response

  01/25/2024

      In response to Mr. *****’s complaint submitted December 30, 2023. The verbal exchanges during our negotiations don’t always translate ultimately to the agreed upon deal. To consider further my point, a dealer or manufacturer may often set a suggested MSRP or asking price for their merchandise. Often a negotiated lower price is agreed upon and deals are transacted. The same is true and as often happens with customers and what they may want for their trade ins. As it is with most of all business dealings, it is with car dealerships. A state regulated form or forms constitute and solidify the transaction two parties agree to. I truly don’t understand Mr. *****’s suggesting he has signed all our state regulated and approved paperwork to consummate a car deal, but he would rather defer back to the verbal negotiation that happened prior to his signatures signifying his agreement with the deal we made. If looking back, I wonder if he would allow us the same luxury. For instance, if we mistakenly allowed too much or charged too little and referred to the suggested price earlier in the negotiation and asked for him to pay more, would he oblige? Of course not, he would show me his signed paperwork and not lose a wink of sleep.  In reference to the Ford Pass, Mr. ***** can and does have Ford Pass. Ford Pass is an app usually downloaded to a mobile device that allows the user to accrue loyalty points for future use at their chosen Ford dealer. In reference to Lariat options or any other forementioned options. In addition to the truck being presented to Mr. ***** he had ample opportunity to look over try out and approve or disapprove of any options he deemed necessary. In fact he opted to take the truck for a second extended test drive to do that very thing. There was certainly ample opportunity to question any assumed or suggested feature or option. This is the buyer’s onus of responsibility with used vehicles. The dealer ensures safety and provides a limited warranty as extra protection for the consumer in NYS. We did, however, offer a remote start at our cost as consolation for this lack of assumed feature. This was accepted by Mr. ***** as a solution. Regarding the oil change on the used car Mr. ***** traded in. The charge has been reversed as we agree he should not have to pay it.Regarding request for a ******. We have an account with Auto Check which sources the same information. Mr. ***** was provided with a copy of the Auto Check as is every customer we sell. He signed the Auto Check as well. We have no problem with ******. It is just not our chosen provider. As I stated to Mr. ***** in the over 1-hour phone conversation we had yesterday. If any one of these issues was a reason not to make this purchase, we would have understood and respected that decision. But we feel it’s simply unfair to ask for a reconsideration of price or to rehash this very above the board and legal transaction. In summary I offered Mr. ***** as a goodwill gesture a $500 credit to use in our dealership for sales or service of his new truck. He so far has refused. Sincerely,***** ****** GMRoyal Ford Motors, Inc*************

  Customer response

  01/25/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  Their statements about Ford Pass is a lie. My truck does not have the Ford Pass module and can not connect to my phone. Felix confirmed this and I have audio recording of him saying as such. Ford pass allows you more than just point tracking. It shows your vehicles diagnostics such as warnings, maintenance needs, ect. It is connected directly to an equipped vehicle. It also shows fuel, tire pressure. Furthermore the app allows you to start your car, sound your horn to find the car. I can not do any of that without the Ford Pass module. This link outlines Ford Pass https://***************************************

  The dealership did install remote start which I appreciate but that only accounts for a small fraction of what Ford Pass does. I relied heavily on Ford Pass with my prior vehicle and insisted to Felix that I wanted a vehicle with it. 

  secondly, just because I test drove the vehicle does not mean they can claim the truck has lariat features. If you sell a vehicle saying it has lariat features and you have me look at an Auto Check saying it has Lariat features that is on you to provide a truck with Lariat features.

  About the recall, as Mr H***** stated in our phone call, there are various levels of recall. It is not my fault they had me sign an auto check stating there were no recalls. I can not help it if their documentation is wrong. Their obligation as a business is to provide accurate information. If they presented a sheet saying no recalls that is on them to confirm that there were no recalls. I signed what was presented to be trusting it to be accurate as again it is the dealerships responsibility to be truthful about recalls.

  Lastly, the dealership not showing me the trade block sheet that clearly would have explained the transaction to me. By not showing this to me they did not clearly explain the deal. While yes I signed documents listing the trade allowance the way Felix explained it to me made it appear they were giving me pay off for my truck. I can’t help that fact that he chose to explain it the way he did, I also can’t help the fact that he choose to not show me that document. 
  

  I will gladly negotiate on the $3000 that I requested but I will not settle for $500 store credit. If the dealership provides refund of $1000 cash I will close out the case and pull my report and I will not go to Ford to report the business. Otherwise,  I will not settle.

  Between the cost of Lariat features, Ford Pass, and my experience with the trade deal being different than what Felix and I agreed to this is a fair resolution. It’s based on the totality of circumstances and not any one thing.

  I Can clearly site proof in the ford pass, I have the window sticker showing no lariat features, and if Royal shows you, you will see I did not sign the front of the trade block sheet. All my arguments are valid, fact supported, and truthful.

  Regards,
  
  ****** *****

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