Blue Oval Certified Dealership
Manvel,#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Sat, March 14, 2009
Mrs. Rebecca Smith came to Southern Ford looking for a very specific Expedition. In order to earn her business, we searched our Region to find a vehicle at another Ford Dealership that was available to be traded to Southern Ford and equipped exactly as Mrs. Smith requested. We found that there were only 2 available in a 300-mile radius of Pearland. One was found locally but was being driven by the dealership's owner to Dallas (Second Choice). The other was found in Louisiana and was available for trade (First Choice). We requested that the Louisiana vehicle be traded to Southern Ford. When trading with another dealership, we are at the mercy of that dealership as to the timing of the trade. This transaction was during the Christmas holidays, so we had to wait a few days to get a response from the trading dealership. The reason that we do the buyer's paperwork before we actual go and trade for a vehicle is a simple and common practice in our industry. If a customer is not willing to do the paperwork upfront then there is no commitment from the customer. Dealerships cannot spend the large dollars to trade for a vehicle without a formal commitment from the buyer. Unlike other Ford Dealerships, Southern Ford offers the buyer the use of a similar new vehicle while the desired vehicle is located and procured, for the convenience of the customer and there is no charge for this service. On the day we went to get the Expedition from Louisiana, the Louisiana dealership called and informed us that they decided to sell their vehicle to one of their own customers. Our drivers were over half way to Louisiana, but had to turn back. Southern Ford was forced to get the second vehicle for the Smith's. We called the Smith's and informed them of the change and also advised them that the trading dealer told us that the Expedition had at least 600 miles on it since it was now in Dallas. The trading dealer told us that the vehicle would be back in the Houston area on or about Tuesday of the following week. Again, Southern Ford was at the mercy of the other dealership. The vehicle did not arrive back in Houston on that Tuesday at which time the manager called Mrs. Smith and informed her of the situation. Mrs. Smith was understandably upset with the delay and was told that if the vehicle was not in Houston by Friday that they could call off the deal and there would be no charge to them! However, the vehicle did arrive and the Smith's came in to purchase the vehicle. Mr. and Mrs. Smith completed all of the buyer's documentation but unfortunately, Mrs. Smith forgot to leave the required $3,000.00 down payment when she signed the purchase documents. We called Mrs. Smith about the missing down payment money that our finance manager did not receive from them at the time of delivery. When we called to collect the $3,000.00, Mrs. Smith acted like we had received the money from them since the paper work showed the down payment. We told her that she was mistaken and that we had no record or receipt of the down payment money. We, again, reiterated that the money was owed as part of the agreed upon transaction and that if she continued to refuse to bring us the money that she owed us, we would be forced to pursue legal action; she then told us that she would need to call her husband. She called us back and informed us that miraculously the money was found by the Smith's in an envelope they Forgot to give Southern Ford. Mrs. Smith told us that she would be in on a Monday to give us the $3,000.00. She did not come at the time she had promised. We called again, and she said she would be in on Tuesday. Again, she did not fulfill her commitment. This same thing also happened on Wednesday. We finally had to call her husband, at his office, to ask again, for them to bring their down payment since our only other option was to repossess their new vehicle for not paying their down payment. After many phone calls, the Smith's finally brought Southern Ford the $3,000.00 down payment that was due on the purchase of their new Expedition. Southern Ford is a Blue Oval Certified Dealership, recognized for superior Customer Satisfaction. We did everything possible while trying to help the Smiths with the purchase of their Expedition. It is unfortunate that the Smiths tried to keep the $3,000.00 down payment from Southern Ford under false pretenses Southern Ford has helped hundreds of customers in their vehicle purchasing needs. We strive to maintain our high level of Customer Satisfaction as well as actively supporting many organizations in our community. At Southern Ford, every customer receives Free Oil and Filter Changes (with the exception of diesels) for as long as the our customer owns the vehicle, use of a Free loaner car, Free automatic car washes and Free shuttle service to and from home or work. Please visit us at www.southernautogroup.com