[UPDATE - I'm SOL] Golf Mill Ford Stole my Bronco

[Drex]

I just called Ford

1-2 months for that dealership request to be processed

She is expediting the request to see if it could happen sooner.

March 22-28 is my estimated delivery date (we know not to hold our breathe on that)

I would look at other avenues as I have yet to hear of anyone actually getting such a request processed. Most people seem to have given up after four or five months of 'two more' weeks from those same help lines. History says you are not ever getting an answer, much less a transfer.

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[Drex]

The burden of proof would be impossible to show that someone wasn’t a customer if the complaint is made in such a way as to associate a personal experience.

In theory, a customer is very ambiguous. Is a “potential” customer a customer? By association with Ford, are we not customers linked to their potential services and the service network as a whole?

We are a customer to the system that suggests the dealership & reservation holder have a binding agreement that dictates a vehicle is tied to the reservation holder until that holder has relinquished their rights to it. So, criticizing that system inherent with the fraudulent dealership is no different than a bad batch of parts needing recall.

At its worst, Google/Yelp reviews become more waited the closer to 4.0 than originally estimated considering factors that would allow those systems to remove ratings without prejudice

Sure, it would be hard to be caught, are you stating it is acceptable to defraud the review system because it is hard to get caught?

As to the vagaries of the definition of a customer (or whatever verbiage they use in the agreements that nobody reads), sure there is likely some ambiguity that should be resolved against the party writing the agreement, however when many people who live in different States write items that are harmful to the reputation of a company with nothing more than a first time poster (in many cases) claiming mistreatment with no documentation at all, well... That is a recipe for abuse and I defy anyone to claim they had any interaction (not even hearing the other side) with the dealer, that does not rise to any version of 'customer' that can be imagined.

I include the (partial) Webster definition of libel below;

a : a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression

b(1) : a statement or representation published without just cause and tending to expose another to public contempt

(2) : defamation of a person by written or representational means

(emphasis Websters)


Myself, I give the posters the benefit of the doubt up to a point. It is a rare person who gives all the facts, including the ones that do not support their position or flatter themselves, so grain of salt and all that. If the subsequent reviews are not accurate (and let us be frank, they are written by the angry armed only with one (likely partial) side of a story and the lust to inflict harm, they don't care if it is true or not for the most part. If they get it wrong, it could be actionable by a dealer as well. Again, I do not believe it would normally happen to the rank and file thugs in the mob, but a poster requesting such treatment of a dealer to gain a price advantage stinks of blackmail and libel. Small potatoes in today's World to be sure, but the day has already come where businesses sue for such reviews and win*.

In any event; one star reviews are easily caught, two star review would probably be left up.

*nobody will recall, but in Oberlin, OH. a small bakery was falsely accused of racial profiling when having a shoplifter arrested, the social media uproar caused the local college to stop doing business with them, to denounce them as racists, and the one sided accusations were going to put them out of business. By the end of it, the people arrested gave a written statement that they falsely accused the bakery of profiling, there was no racial component, the bakery got $11M in compensation from the college who jumped on the libel bandwagon, etc.

How many of the people who screamed for blood across the Country on that one ever came back and apologized for falsely accusing a business of hateful bias? Now, how many felt a smug sense of satisfaction and self-rightousness and never bothered to look back later to see if they were right? Anyway, the ends justify the means for many, who is to say they are wrong in some cases?


Do the dealers need to have a mechanism to keep them in line, some do, without a doubt, the allocation system sets up a quasi-monopoly on purchasing a Bronco due to Ford picking where the limited supply ends up. It limits the free market ability to force good customer service and pricing.

Is the solution an attack on the reputation of such dealers without proof by a mob the answer? I don't believe so. Bloodlust seldom leaves the perpetrators unmarked in some way and it is no different than stringing up a stranger who happened to be around when some cattle went missing.

 

[Oasis86]

I would have told this guy you just made the decision to get bad press. Enjoy. You should bring the forces of hell on this and still not buy the truck. Letting it go, only emboldens them.

I'm in Northern IL myself. I am still with Granger mainly because Ford would not approve my transfer. Almost glad they didn't. But here I am with a day 2 rez and I won't get my truck until 20345?!

Ford does not honor it's reservation holders.

Right? Its frustarting to see people getting their green broncos when clearly our reservations were in earlier than theirs

 

[KAQ]

I have yet to see anyone suggest it, but have you contacted your State Attorney Generals office? they usually will get involved in this sort of thing. At least in my state.

 

[Headsong]

I have yet to see anyone suggest it, but have you contacted your State Attorney Generals office? they usually will get involved in this sort of thing. At least in my state.

Uh, it's IL. Money has probably already changed hands.

 

[Stimpy]

I think I’ve lost interest in helping this guy. I offered, and I would probably have had this fixed by now, but he didn’t respond to me on here.

I can see how you might just be trying to help, but you offered to help with no context of who you are. You just joined the forum on same day you made your first comment and have no history to indicate you are a reliable source. Given the number of scammers out there, I'm not surprised you didn't receive a response. Did you reach out with more information than was in your original comment? If not I don't see why the OP would trust to contact you.

 

[taperunner]

I think I’ve lost interest in helping this guy. I offered, and I would probably have had this fixed by now, but he didn’t respond to me on here.

Hey Man, I'm sorry, I didn't see your offer to help. Feel free to shoot me a DM. Like another user pointed out I have to be cautious though since you have a brand new account.

As for those asking, I've still been speaking with Ford behind the scenes but nothing yet. I might be able to provide a more in depth update later today. I've just been waiting and not stirring the pot at this point. In other situations like this I've seen people "call off the dogs" as it hasn't helped the behind the scenes negotiations. I've been kind of vague for those reasons.

 

[SoK66]

People need to cancel these long term orders and walk. Between bad management at both the wholesale & retail ends, and just plain bad luck this is the worst launch I’ve ever seen. I feel bad for folks like the OP who are getting passed around like a $2 hooker on a troop ship. With the international situation as it is and looming huge gas prices this mess is likely to get much worse before it gets better.

 

[jmgreenwald]

That really sucks! These dealers shouldn't be allowed to get away with it!

Also - just saying - Everything about this is shady. You went in there with no reservation and put an order in that went through in October 2021, got a build date that was at least a month after many of us with 2020 reservations and 2021 MY original orders, and it was built and delivered in less than a month from the assigned build week, while literally thousands of us are stranded on Ice Mountain waiting for chips. Sounds more likely that the dealership got one in similar to your build, tried to mark it up on the original order holder, they refused, and then the dealership tried to pass it off to you as yours and charge you a mark up to boot... ludicrous!

I sure hope Ford is paying attention to what their dealers are doing.

 

[Tarheel_Wes]

That really sucks! These dealers shouldn't be allowed to get away with it!

Also - just saying - Everything about this is shady. You went in there with no reservation and put an order in that went through in October 2021, got a build date that was at least a month after many of us with 2020 reservations and 2021 MY original orders, and it was built and delivered in less than a month from the assigned build week, while literally thousands of us are stranded on Ice Mountain waiting for chips. Sounds more likely that the dealership got one in similar to your build, tried to mark it up on the original order holder, they refused, and then the dealership tried to pass it off to you as yours and charge you a mark up to boot... ludicrous!

I sure hope Ford is paying attention to what their dealers are doing.

This is a good theory.....OP should be able to cross check that with the VIN's though, right?

 

[jmgreenwald]

This is a good theory.....OP should be able to cross check that with the VIN's though, right?

Should be able to yes... if they got to see it

 

[taperunner]

That really sucks! These dealers shouldn't be allowed to get away with it!

Also - just saying - Everything about this is shady. You went in there with no reservation and put an order in that went through in October 2021, got a build date that was at least a month after many of us with 2020 reservations and 2021 MY original orders, and it was built and delivered in less than a month from the assigned build week, while literally thousands of us are stranded on Ice Mountain waiting for chips. Sounds more likely that the dealership got one in similar to your build, tried to mark it up on the original order holder, they refused, and then the dealership tried to pass it off to you as yours and charge you a mark up to boot... ludicrous!

I sure hope Ford is paying attention to what their dealers are doing.

Yeah, I definitely get your frustration. I have my reservation from last year still sitting at Granger but what I said is accurate. It's all because this dealer in question has a very high allocation and I picked a build with no constraints. When Ford changed the allocation formula that severely affected reservation holders at smaller dealerships (so mine at Granger, and I'm probably closer to the end of their line), I placed this order to hedge my bets and see if I could get it faster. I think I'm like 900 in Grangers line and they're only getting a small handful a month at this point. So this order at Golf Mill was my VIN, I had access to it via the pizza tracker and was able to track it the whole way. You can see my posts in the 2/08 build week thread. A lot of people have pointed out how at this stage early timestamps and reservations basically mean nothing. If anything this was kind of proof that that. So if it makes you feel any better, while I haven't been waiting as long as some of you day 1 and 2 reservation holder, my original reservation from last May or so is still just sitting there, waiting to be filled.

 

[Hulluvatime]

The more I see these posts, the more I feel like we should tell Ford to go pound sand and cancel all of the Bronco orders. Ford needs to get serious with dealers like this and also get serious about communicating with there reservation holders. I here next to nothing from either Ford or my dealer unless I call them and usually multiple times.

 

[KANE COUNTY ILLINOIS]

I would have told this guy you just made the decision to get bad press. Enjoy. You should bring the forces of hell on this and still not buy the truck. Letting it go, only emboldens them.

I'm in Northern IL myself. I am still with Granger mainly because Ford would not approve my transfer. Almost glad they didn't. But here I am with a day 2 rez and I won't get my truck until 20345?!

Ford does not honor it's reservation holders.

Hey, I was one of the luck ones to get my Bronco in a decent amount time from Granger (Black Friday)! Absolutely no pressure/haggling....1300 bucks under invoice.....in and out the door in less than an hour....and my wife wondered why I flew out to Granger and drove back to the Chicagoland area in my Bronco, to avoid these very situations! I hope Golf Mills does what's RIGHT!

 

[GETSCHWIFTY]

Did it happen at gunpoint?

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