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Advice for securing my truck order.


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Good morning, I’m coming to you guys from some advice. This is my first vehicle purchase. I know there are some Ford employees here, people with experience purchasing from a dealership and people that have gone through the vehicle ordering process.

 

I have a truck in the shipping stage right now. I have paid $500 just to place the order. But I do not have any thing beyond the order sheet signed only by me. The dealer seams reputable and advertises that they don’t markup vehicles by thousands of dollars, so I’m not necessarily worried about that. 
 

My predicament is that the truck is estimated to arrive while I’ll be out of town and completely unreachable. It could be sitting on their lot for up to 14 days before I get back. Getting test driven? Getting offers from desperate buyers? I will have zero cell phone service.

 

I would like to schedule an appointment with my salesperson and the Sales Manager to get something signed by them, or maybe just complete the buying process right now?? Or a deposit that guarantees me the truck?

 

I’ve heard enough horror stories about unknowing or uneducated dealership employees to worry. Will they call me to say it’s ready to be picked up and when I don’t answer for a week or more, just go ahead and sell it to someone else?

 

Any advice on how to secure my truck order until I get back from my trip?

 

Thank you and sorry for the wall of text!

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If you have a confirmed order from Ford, the truck is yours. The dealer can only sell it to someone else if you cancelled the order. I would talk to your dealer and let them know you will be away and will call them when you get back. As far as the dealer letting other customers demo your truck, I wouldn't worry about it. My dealer wouldn't even unlock other customers ordered trucks. I could just snoop a the exterior. I f you trust your dealer there shouldn't be an issue.

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1 hour ago, PanteraCFH said:

Good morning, I’m coming to you guys from some advice. This is my first vehicle purchase. I know there are some Ford employees here, people with experience purchasing from a dealership and people that have gone through the vehicle ordering process.

 

I have a truck in the shipping stage right now. I have paid $500 just to place the order. But I do not have any thing beyond the order sheet signed only by me. The dealer seams reputable and advertises that they don’t markup vehicles by thousands of dollars, so I’m not necessarily worried about that. 
 

My predicament is that the truck is estimated to arrive while I’ll be out of town and completely unreachable. It could be sitting on their lot for up to 14 days before I get back. Getting test driven? Getting offers from desperate buyers? I will have zero cell phone service.

 

I would like to schedule an appointment with my salesperson and the Sales Manager to get something signed by them, or maybe just complete the buying process right now?? Or a deposit that guarantees me the truck?

 

I’ve heard enough horror stories about unknowing or uneducated dealership employees to worry. Will they call me to say it’s ready to be picked up and when I don’t answer for a week or more, just go ahead and sell it to someone else?

 

Any advice on how to secure my truck order until I get back from my trip?

 

Thank you and sorry for the wall of text!

 

Hi Pantera. The best course of action would be to stop by your Dealership and explain your entire situation to them. That would include the fact that you may be out of town when the vehicle arrives, what can we do about this, etc. etc.

By speaking with/informing them of this possible issue, you can arrange something with them. All the advice in the world from anonymous Internet strangers (including me) means nothing when it comes down to what a Dealership may do with an order in a case like this.

And of course, getting whatever guarantees you can in writing is always helpful.

 

So bottom line is you need to keep your Salesperson and the Sales Manager informed of your situation. Let them know about this ahead of time. Then stop by or call the day before or the day you are leaving to remind them and so on.

 

That being said, here are some other suggestions: First, is there someone dependable (significant other, family member, friend etc.) whose phone number you can give the Salesperson? In this way, the Salesperson can contact them when the vehicle arrives, and they may be able to update the Salesperson on your approximate arrival home?

 

- Next...you already placed a $500 deposit. If they are going to sell the vehicle out from under you, they will do that no matter how much larger of a deposit you put down.

 

- As a rule, no other customers should be allowed to test drive a factory ordered vehicle, sit in it etc. That is the rule, but we are stuck trusting it will not happen when the vehicle is sitting around for a few weeks waiting for the customer to come pick it up. So no sense in worrying too much about it.

 

-  It is not usually possible to purchase a vehicle before it arrives, since the paperwork is not yet available. But it certainly can't hurt to ask your Dealership.

 

- Another extreme possibility? Give Power of Attorney for a representative of yours to sign all the paperwork and complete the purchase in your name if it comes in while you are gone. But again, this is something you would need to clear with your Dealership beforehand.

 

The reality is...Signed contracts or not, as long as they are willing to take the chance of angering Ford (who usually has bigger fish to fry) and possible court action by an angry customer (which most people will not bother going through), any car Dealership can sell any vehicle out from under anyone, if they so desire. no mater how much paperwork we have. However, like most of life/society, we all have to operate on a certain amount of trust that the other side has some honor and decency.

 

As you can see, all of your questions can really only be answered by speaking to the Dealership. And I would recommend you speak with the Sales Manager in order to have the best chance of getting the right answers, in order to put your mind at ease...at least as best as possible. And of course, getting whatever you can in writing is always very helpful.

 

One other thing. In the future, be sure to get a completed/signed Purchase Order contract. Not just random paperwork like unsigned  (other than by you) paperwork like Order Sheets, etc. At least then you have a legal contract.

 

I am sure others will also jump in to advise and help.

 

I believe everything will work out okay, and you will have nothing to worry about, so keep us updated and good luck.

Edited by bbf2530
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1 hour ago, KKosi said:

If you have a confirmed order from Ford, the truck is yours. The dealer can only sell it to someone else if you cancelled the order.

 

Not true.  The dealer can sell it to anybody, but they will have to explain to Ford why the vehicle was sold to someone else. 

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Certainly let the dealer know you will be unreachable for that time. A part from that I wouldn't sweat too much. The $500 deposit is as good as a contract, you could easily sue them if they sold it out from under you. All Anyone gets is a signed order sheet before delivery. When I showed up unannounced to check my truck out before I was able to take delivery it was locked and stashed around the corner near the service bays. Had to talk to my salesperson to get the keys.

Edited by mattdm
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1 hour ago, mattdm said:

Certainly let the dealer know you will be unreachable for that time. A part from that I wouldn't sweat too much. The $500 deposit is as good as a contract, you could easily sue them if they sold it out from under you. All Anyone gets is a signed order sheet before delivery. When I showed up unannounced to check my truck out before I was able to take delivery it was locked and stashed around the corner near the service bays. Had to talk to my salesperson to get the keys.

 

A deposit doesn't constitute a contract. The buyer needs documentation such as a sales agreement, signed by both parties, specifying all the terms of the sale including the sales price and vehicle specifications. A buyer expecting to be out of town and unavailable to take delivery for a period of time should not only communicate directly with the sales manager but document it in written form. 

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20 hours ago, akirby said:

 

Not true.  The dealer can sell it to anybody, but they will have to explain to Ford why the vehicle was sold to someone else. 

I guess the laws are different in the US. In Canada a deposit secures the sale.

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1 hour ago, KKosi said:

I guess the laws are different in the US. In Canada a deposit secures the sale.


You have a contract to buy A vehicle but not THAT vehicle because the Vin number wasn’t available when you placed the order.

 

Even so in a lawsuit you’re only allowed to recover damages and that’s hard to prove since you can go buy it somewhere else.

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Communication is key! All you need to do is keep your dealer informed. Over text or in writing. I prefer text cause it's not lost in a desk but on your sales guys phone when he goes to send you a text. You want to the sales manager included. (Group text)

 

A trusted and good honest dealer will make sure your taken care of as a customer and work with your schedule. But they can't do anything if nothing is communicated with them. 

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3 hours ago, akirby said:


You have a contract to buy A vehicle but not THAT vehicle because the Vin number wasn’t available when you placed the order.

 

Even so in a lawsuit you’re only allowed to recover damages and that’s hard to prove since you can go buy it somewhere else.

In that case every retail order could be sold to anyone the dealer wished. I know they would have to answer to Ford but not very ethical, IMHO.

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50 minutes ago, KKosi said:

In that case every retail order could be sold to anyone the dealer wished. 


You have to remember the dealer owns the vehicle until you take possession.  Yes it’s unethical just like last minute ADMs, $1500 mop-n-glo worthless add ons, $6K extended warranties and exorbitant doc fees.

 

IMO if the states want to regulate dealerships and protect them from Ford then they should also protect buyers.

 

Make it illegal to include add ons to a vehicle (glass etching, protectant, nitrogen) and require the buyer to specifically request those.

Cap doc fees at $150.  That’s more than enough to cover costs.

Require a signed binding buyer’s order which includes the sale price at time of order.

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