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Autonation Ford Ft. Lauderdale Certified Pre-Owned Ripoff! Focus 2013 Ft. Lauderdale Florida
As much as I wish this had been a good experience with Autonation Ford Ft. Lauderdale, it wasn't, and they've had so many chances to make it right and yet they have no intention or level of willingness to own their mistakes. They just don't care about the consumer once the sale is done...
I bought a 2013 certified pre-owned Ford Focus SE with 38k miles about 8 months ago and it's been an absolutely awful experience! The fact that they certified the vehicle knowing the current clutch/trans issues it had is terrible, and this is a nationwide problem with the Focus. It's been back to the shop 3 times and STILL it drives horribly...coughing, sluggish, sputtering, etc. So now I'm in the market for a brand new car and last night the appraised value on my Focus came in at $9,000, of course because of the clutch/trans issues. So now I get taken to the cleaners on both ends...thanks guys, much appreciated. And to make matters worse, I don't want to take it in for yet a 4th visit to the shop there because the level of customer service, communication and quality of work (AKA: honesty) is mediocre at best. I've contacted management at Autonation Ford - Ft Lauderdale several times and no one cares, not one bit! I even contact Ford Corporate and likewise, they feed me some crap about the yada yada yada, no one cares.
I want to buy American so badly, I really do!!! I want to support our workers more than you know, but it's experiences like this that drive a patriotic consumer back to buying foreign cars.
I understand cars have problems, but what bothers me most is that Auto Nation Ford - Ft Lauderdale certified the car knowing very well of the problems it had, and that many Focuses have on a national level, yet to this day they stand by their decision to certify this vehicle and refuse to own any responsibility for the poor business practices they engage in. So now I'm spending the next 2 hours scouring the internet in order to share my experience on as many websites as possible. If I'm stuck driving this crappy car and simultaneously being forced to take a $5000 loss on it, then let this dealer feel a financial hurt on their end for the actions they took and for their unwillingness to own it.
BE AWARE...just because they deem the car worthy of being a "Certified Pre-Owned" means nothing, other than it passed some hokey multi-point inspection. And when they do get called out for shady business practices, they'll feed you a bunch of hokey and placate you with how they "understand your frustration," but at the end of the day they will do nothing to make it right.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
LOL...
#4Author of original report
Wed, November 11, 2015
Not only is the car still under the original manuf bumper to bumper warranty, but I even paid an extra $1400 (or something close to that) at the time of purchase in order to extend that protection to 100k miles! To answer your question, the warranty covers everything except wear n tear items...brakes, wipers, tires, etc. I mean there is no element whatsoever of this not falling under warranty. So far they've changed the clutch (after making me wait 6 weeks), fixed the transmission actuary and also made programming adjustments, among other things!
I just wish they'd own up to it and at least pretend to make an effort to make it right...that would mean SO much to me! I mean I am genuinely a decent person and I own my own business and know what it means to do your best and promptly admit when you've made a mistake. It's the effort that means the most to me, and their refusal to even lift a finger in this direction is what aggravates me the most!
living-right
Weston,Florida,
Autonation Ford did the same thing to me!
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, November 11, 2015
I was laughing as I was reading this report just now, because this dealership did a very similar thing to me. I bought a 2014 Ford Mustang at Autonation Ford in Ft. Lauderdale about 3 months ago, a certified preowned with just over 22,300 miles on it, and experienced electrical problems since day one. Obviously I wasn't able to pick up on it during the brief test drive, not to mention the fact that I was so excited during the test that my objective awareness was clouded by the kid-in-the-candy-store affect. Nonetheless, it's been back in the shop 4 times for the same thing and I have complained numerous times to management. They've made no effort to make things right, not even a single courtesy callback or anything of the sort. I'm not familiar with all the clutch and transmission problems you mention about the Ford Focus but when I Googled it just, sure enough a bunch of listings appeared that certainly bolster the validity of your claim.
I can say for certain that I will never, ever, ever again bring my business (or refer business) to Autonation Ford in Ft. Lauderdale - and I'm a realtor based out of Weston & Plantation, meaning that I am very much the type of person who has many affluent connections, most of whom are new to town and often times in the market for a new vehicle.
Sorry about your bad experience here...keep spreading the news and let others know about your experience here at every opportunity! Most organizations don't voluntarily change business practices ouit of altruism or core integrity, they do it because they're forced to due to financial loss. Best of luck to you :)
Jim
Florida,USA
They Won 't Fix It ?
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, November 11, 2015
What does the warranty say?