I need help with some serious false advertising

[SFC B]

I have been trying to locate an F150 online and found what I THOUGHT was the truck in a different state.   I called and NO truck, NEVER had that truck, don't have anything remotely similar and the price listed (both on their site and cars.com) was a "fleet" price that would not honor.  I called Ford to file a complaint and they tell me they are sending it......to the DEALERSHIP general manager.  What?  Does anyone have contacts to Zone Sales manager contacts?  Thanks.  

[akirby]

1 hour ago, SFC B said:

I have been trying to locate an F150 online and found what I THOUGHT was the truck in a different state.   I called and NO truck, NEVER had that truck, don't have anything remotely similar and the price listed (both on their site and cars.com) was a "fleet" price that would not honor.  I called Ford to file a complaint and they tell me they are sending it......to the DEALERSHIP general manager.  What?  Does anyone have contacts to Zone Sales manager contacts?  Thanks.  

What else do you expect Ford to do?  Dealers are 100% independent businesses and Ford is actually prohibited by law from interfering with their business, however wrong it may be.  
 

You need to take it to the owner/principle first (they may not be aware) and hen to the BBB or state consumer affairs office.

[HotRunrGuy]

Moving on, I can't imagine that what you are looking for is so unique that there aren't more of them available.  Maybe post the window sticker you found, so others can look also?

 

HRG

[ice-capades]

3 hours ago, SFC B said:

I have been trying to locate an F150 online and found what I THOUGHT was the truck in a different state.   I called and NO truck, NEVER had that truck, don't have anything remotely similar and the price listed (both on their site and cars.com) was a "fleet" price that would not honor.  I called Ford to file a complaint and they tell me they are sending it......to the DEALERSHIP general manager.  What?  Does anyone have contacts to Zone Sales manager contacts?  Thanks.  

 

There are a number of ways that a fleet vehicle could show up in their inventory and the dealership's General Manager not be aware of it. It could have also have been drop shipped from the factory for delivery at another dealership for delivery to the fleet account. In any event, the dealership's office personnel responsible for entering vehicles into their inventory management system program should not have entered the unit into their available retail inventory. In addition, whoever manages the dealership's online inventory should have seen the unit online and could have removed it with a few keystrokes. 

 

In any event, the dealership couldn't sell the fleet unit to a retail customer at the fleet price as Ford would require that the vehicle be reinvoiced for stock in order for the dealership to report it as a retail sale. Reinvoicing the vehicle from fleet to stock would reprice the vehicle from fleet to stock and all fleet pricing, discounts and incentives would be removed. 

[SFC B]

Here is the sticker that was attached to the vehicle.  This vehicle was listed specifically by this VIN and with a stock number on both the dealer's website and at cars.com.  The salesman admitted on the phone that this was a regular occurrence and couldn't understand why they kept doing it.  The posting on their website was complete with about 20 photos of a specific vehicle as well.  The entries onto the websites had to be specifically created.   Here is the vehicle still on cars.com  https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/824438183/overview/  After I called they did change the price on their own website but I have a screen shot of the same price on there as well.  

 

http://www.windowsticker.forddirect.com/windowsticker.pdf?vin=1FTEX1E55LKE65796

 

Like this truck ^^^  I am looking for an in stock 2020 F150, 5.0, supercab, LB, 4x4 with either the FX4 package or e-locker and skid plates individually and cruise control.  I am a no frills guy so not much else matters.  If anyone has a line on a similar vehicle I would appreciate it.  I am Retired from the Army and 100% VA so the best deal is fairly crucial to me.  I appreciate you all taking the time to contribute.

 

 

[ice-capades]

44 minutes ago, SFC B said:

Here is the sticker that was attached to the vehicle.  This vehicle was listed specifically by this VIN and with a stock number on both the dealer's website and at cars.com.  The salesman admitted on the phone that this was a regular occurrence and couldn't understand why they kept doing it.  The posting on their website was complete with about 20 photos of a specific vehicle as well.  The entries onto the websites had to be specifically created.   Here is the vehicle still on cars.com  https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/824438183/overview/  After I called they did change the price on their own website but I have a screen shot of the same price on there as well.  

 

http://www.windowsticker.forddirect.com/windowsticker.pdf?vin=1FTEX1E55LKE65796

 

Like this truck ^^^  I am looking for an in stock 2020 F150, 5.0, supercab, LB, 4x4 with either the FX4 package or e-locker and skid plates individually and cruise control.  I am a no frills guy so not much else matters.  If anyone has a line on a similar vehicle I would appreciate it.  I am Retired from the Army and 100% VA so the best deal is fairly crucial to me.  I appreciate you all taking the time to contribute.

 

 

 

Without getting too involved, there are only a handful of 2020 F-150's in stock nationwide with your basic specifications. The only units showing in Ford's Vehicle Locator are all equipped with the #101A package and none with the #100. The Skid Plates are available only for fleet orders on the #100A package. And the FX4 option is only available with the #101A package. This is an odd vehicle configuration that a dealership wouldn't order for stock, even excluding the fleet items, and dealerships tend not to order long wheelbase units for stock except for an occasional unit. Some of the other options would never be ordered on a stock XL vehicle as the pricing ends up being too close to an XLT.

 

As for the photos on Gaudin Ford's (Las Vegas) website... those are not actual vehicle photos but VIN specific digital photos created by Ford that are now available by subscription from Ford. 

 

As for pricing, they're advertising the truck at MSRP on their dealership website. The "Fleet" price showing on Cars.com is a different issue which they can easily correct. 

 

Whether this is very sloppy inventory management by the dealership, poor communication between the retail sales and fleet departments or something else I can't say or speculate on. Regardless, the problem exists solely at the dealership level. 

 

The easiest solution is for you to order a 2021MY F-150 with the specifications you require. 

 

Hope this helps. 

[HotRunrGuy]

7 hours ago, ice-capades said:

As for pricing, they're advertising the truck at MSRP on their dealership website. The "Fleet" price showing on Cars.com is a different issue which they can easily correct. 

 

As of this morning, Gaudin's website is still showing the $30, 830 price for that unit.

 

HRG

[ice-capades]

1 hour ago, HotRunrGuy said:

 

As of this morning, Gaudin's website is still showing the $30, 830 price for that unit.

 

HRG

 

Hmm... Earlier this morning it was on their site at MSRP. 

[HotRunrGuy]

16 minutes ago, ice-capades said:

 

Hmm... Earlier this morning it was on their site at MSRP. 

 

Using the Ford "Search Inventory" tool, I found a couple of similar builds in TX, same "Special Order" on the window sticker, but they do not show-up on that dealers online retail inventory.

 

HRG

[SFC B]

1 hour ago, ice-capades said:

 

Hmm... Earlier this morning it was on their site at MSRP. 

They had taken the lower price down due to my call I believe......now they have gone right back to this shady busniness

Edited December 30, 2020 by SFC B

[fuzzymoomoo]

If you’re unhappy with how this dealer operates, why are you still messing with them? Go somewhere else. 

[akirby]

4 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

If you’re unhappy with how this dealer operates, why are you still messing with them? Go somewhere else. 

He’s just mad because he thought he found the truck he wanted and now it’s not available.

 

But yeah, expand your requirements and get the 101a package or just order a 2021.

[HotRunrGuy]

25 minutes ago, akirby said:

He’s just mad because he thought he found the truck he wanted and now it’s not available.

 

But yeah, expand your requirements and get the 101a package or just order a 2021.

 

Loos like if he order's a 2021, he'll need to get 101A to get cruise control and/or skid plates.  The 2021 XL 100A does not offer CC as a stand-alone option.

 

HRG

[SFC B]

I'm the first to admit that I have been looking to get a good deal on a 20 instead of ordering as there is a ceiling to my comfortable spending.  I didn't realize that what I wanted was such a unicorn.  Thankfully I am not in a real time crunch and can hash it out a bit more.  I guess I am expecting too much from dealers , it is pretty disappointing that business practices like this seem to have basically no repercussions.   

[fuzzymoomoo]

Did you miss the part that said 2020s have been out of production for 2 months?  You can't expect dealers to keep every configuration of everything on their lot at all times. That's bad business to have something not commonly asked for to be sitting around for great lengths of time. 

[SFC B]

2 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Did you miss the part that said 2020s have been out of production for 2 months?  You can't expect dealers to keep every configuration of everything on their lot at all times. That's bad business to have something not commonly asked for to be sitting around for great lengths of time. 

 

I don't ( and never have) expected that. I am fully aware of limitations of stock.  What I DO expect is for a dealer to only advertise the vehicles they HAVE and at prices they intend to honor.  That is it.  I don't understand how those basics are hard to accomplish.  

[ice-capades]

2 minutes ago, SFC B said:

 

I don't ( and never have) expected that. I am fully aware of limitations of stock.  What I DO expect is for a dealer to only advertise the vehicles they HAVE and at prices they intend to honor.  That is it.  I don't understand how those basics are hard to accomplish.  

 

It's a bit surprising that the problem is with Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas. It's obviously a big market and very competitive. This year's situation is unprecedented with the plants being down for 2 months due to the pandemic, supplier issues and the matter of not just a model changeover but introducing a next generation F-150. Normally there would be a good supply of inventory at the end of the year but this isn't the case this year for obvious reasons. The vehicle you want to purchase shows in the Ford Vehicle Locator as being in stock for 90+ days. 

 

The issue of business practices by Gaudin Ford is a different matter and not one that is easily answered because of what I've seen in Ford's behavior in other situations. I've seen Ford totally ignore a situation where a Lincoln Dealer was delivering Ford's out of their Lincoln dealership when the Ford dealership was in a totally different sales region amongst other factors. A clear franchise violation that Ford chose to ignore because the Dealer Principal was a Ford employee 50 years ago!

 

I get annoyed (and more) when I see dealerships being deceptive in either their sales or advertising practices. The advertising regulations in most states are similar but not necessarily enforced on a uniform basis. 

 

I don't know who you contacted at Gaudin Ford but at this point, if you want to make noise, I'd be working my way up the management ladder. I'd talk or contact the Sales Manager, whoever their Internet or Advertising Manager is, the Fleet Manager, the General Manager and even the Dealer Principal. I would certainly contact Ford again as a follow-up and would tell them about the online pricing changes. The other options are to post a review on Yelp and/or to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

 

I recently left my dealership after nearly 35 years as the Advertising Manager and the manager that managed the new vehicle inventory responsible for ordering all the stock, retail and fleet orders.  

[SFC B]

3 hours ago, ice-capades said:

 

It's a bit surprising that the problem is with Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas. It's obviously a big market and very competitive. This year's situation is unprecedented with the plants being down for 2 months due to the pandemic, supplier issues and the matter of not just a model changeover but introducing a next generation F-150. Normally there would be a good supply of inventory at the end of the year but this isn't the case this year for obvious reasons. The vehicle you want to purchase shows in the Ford Vehicle Locator as being in stock for 90+ days. 

 

The issue of business practices by Gaudin Ford is a different matter and not one that is easily answered because of what I've seen in Ford's behavior in other situations. I've seen Ford totally ignore a situation where a Lincoln Dealer was delivering Ford's out of their Lincoln dealership when the Ford dealership was in a totally different sales region amongst other factors. A clear franchise violation that Ford chose to ignore because the Dealer Principal was a Ford employee 50 years ago!

 

I get annoyed (and more) when I see dealerships being deceptive in either their sales or advertising practices. The advertising regulations in most states are similar but not necessarily enforced on a uniform basis. 

 

I don't know who you contacted at Gaudin Ford but at this point, if you want to make noise, I'd be working my way up the management ladder. I'd talk or contact the Sales Manager, whoever their Internet or Advertising Manager is, the Fleet Manager, the General Manager and even the Dealer Principal. I would certainly contact Ford again as a follow-up and would tell them about the online pricing changes. The other options are to post a review on Yelp and/or to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

 

I recently left my dealership after nearly 35 years as the Advertising Manager and the manager that managed the new vehicle inventory responsible for ordering all the stock, retail and fleet orders.  

I have filed a complaint with the General Manager through Ford but have not heard back as of yet.  I have also sent the complaint to all of the fleet, sales and internet sales managers.  I would really like to get it to the principal but cannot find any contact information for them.