msadan
Well-known member
- First Name
- Dan
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2022
- Threads
- 8
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 141
- Location
- Lafayette IN
- Vehicles
- 2023 F-150 Lightning Pro
- Thread starter
- #1
This group is probably a bit biased towards the consumer as opposed to the dealer, but I would still like to hear some opinions. Here's my story:
I put my deposit down on 5/20/21, placed my order on 8/12/22, and took delivery on 2/7/23. By the time I took delivery there had been a $7000 2022 to 2023 model year price increase plus two additional price increases totalling $9100.
Prior to delivery the Ford online pricing summary showed the current MSRP (I think) plus $2000 "difference from total MSPR" a.k.a. ADM / additional dealer markup. I obviously wasn't happy about the ADM but it was too late to switch delaers.
When I went in to complete the paperwork the Vehicle Buyer's Order showed the price of vehicle as full sticker price: MSRP + options + destination. But no ADM.
The Vehicle Buyer's Order also showed a $7000 rebate, which was the private offer from Ford to cover the model year price increase. The $9100 in price protection was not on the invoice but I got the sales manager to agree in writing that they would forward that to me when they received it from Ford.
So I was stuck paying sales tax on the full sticker price, but I was okay with that since there was no ADM. Not ideal, I had to pay $1127 in sales tax on the private offer and price protection, but I was essentially getting a truck for $15k less than the current sticker price.
Fast forward almost 3 months and I contact the dealer asking about the price protection money. I'm told that I should have a check in a few days, and that does in fact happen. But, the check is for $7100, not $9100. When I inquired about the difference I was told that it was $2000 ADM.
As I said that $2K ADM was shown on the online pricing summary, but it was never mentioned at closing and is not shown anywhere on any of the closing documents. My thinking at the time of delivery was that the dealer had probably discontinued what I assume was a very unpopular policy, the additional dealer markup. And because of that, taking delivery was a relatively positive experience. Had I paid that $2k ADM it most assuredly would not have been a positive experience. ADM to me is nothing more than a blatant cash grab by the dealer, and I would have made my opinion known. And they certainly wouldn't have gotten a positive review on the survey I later received from Ford.
So after all that background my question is how far do I pursue this? The sales manager doesn't seem willing to budge. My next step will be to contact the GM, and if the GM can't resolve it then take it to small claims court. It is absolutely not worth my time to screw around in small claims court over this, but I suspect that is exactly what the dealer is counting on. Unfortunately for them I'm one of those "it's a matter of principle" type of guys. Am I being a jerk here? The truck was ordered through the Ford web site so this sale just fell into the dealer's hands. For them to try to squeeze an extra $2K out of a sale that cost them nothing just pisses me off.
I put my deposit down on 5/20/21, placed my order on 8/12/22, and took delivery on 2/7/23. By the time I took delivery there had been a $7000 2022 to 2023 model year price increase plus two additional price increases totalling $9100.
Prior to delivery the Ford online pricing summary showed the current MSRP (I think) plus $2000 "difference from total MSPR" a.k.a. ADM / additional dealer markup. I obviously wasn't happy about the ADM but it was too late to switch delaers.
When I went in to complete the paperwork the Vehicle Buyer's Order showed the price of vehicle as full sticker price: MSRP + options + destination. But no ADM.
The Vehicle Buyer's Order also showed a $7000 rebate, which was the private offer from Ford to cover the model year price increase. The $9100 in price protection was not on the invoice but I got the sales manager to agree in writing that they would forward that to me when they received it from Ford.
So I was stuck paying sales tax on the full sticker price, but I was okay with that since there was no ADM. Not ideal, I had to pay $1127 in sales tax on the private offer and price protection, but I was essentially getting a truck for $15k less than the current sticker price.
Fast forward almost 3 months and I contact the dealer asking about the price protection money. I'm told that I should have a check in a few days, and that does in fact happen. But, the check is for $7100, not $9100. When I inquired about the difference I was told that it was $2000 ADM.
As I said that $2K ADM was shown on the online pricing summary, but it was never mentioned at closing and is not shown anywhere on any of the closing documents. My thinking at the time of delivery was that the dealer had probably discontinued what I assume was a very unpopular policy, the additional dealer markup. And because of that, taking delivery was a relatively positive experience. Had I paid that $2k ADM it most assuredly would not have been a positive experience. ADM to me is nothing more than a blatant cash grab by the dealer, and I would have made my opinion known. And they certainly wouldn't have gotten a positive review on the survey I later received from Ford.
So after all that background my question is how far do I pursue this? The sales manager doesn't seem willing to budge. My next step will be to contact the GM, and if the GM can't resolve it then take it to small claims court. It is absolutely not worth my time to screw around in small claims court over this, but I suspect that is exactly what the dealer is counting on. Unfortunately for them I'm one of those "it's a matter of principle" type of guys. Am I being a jerk here? The truck was ordered through the Ford web site so this sale just fell into the dealer's hands. For them to try to squeeze an extra $2K out of a sale that cost them nothing just pisses me off.
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