[pwnstar89]

I have been lurking these forms ever since I ordered my car in June. I never thought this would happen to me and right now I just need some personal help/advice.

I ordered a 2012 Hatchback SEL Focus with 301A package, Navigation, Black cloth interior, Sterling Metallic Grey paint.

I waited 14 long weeks for this car to arrive the just the way I wanted it, but the dealer ordered the wrong color! The yellow receipt they gave me the day I made the order says Grey, but the car came in Silver! I really don't care for the silver paint and would rather not settle for something less than what I wanted on an item so expensive...

The General Manager wasn't there at the time and the sales man didn't have any authority to give me options yet. I left without the car telling them to put the paperwork on hold until I hear back from the Manager. The sales guy knew it was his own fault but what can I do about this??

If any of you have any advice on what my options are or tell me what you would do if you were in this situation I would really appreciate it...

 

[aladdin]

I have a silver Focus and I love it. If I couldn't get it in silver, I would have either waited or gone to another dealer. Since you have already ordered it, you should expect a professional dealership to at least bring it in the right color. Since its not in the right color, they should throw that car on their lot to sell and order you a new one. And expedite the delivery. Don't settle man this is a big deal its not the color of your new sneakers, its the color of your new ~$20k car. An error of this magnitude after waiting this long is not only unprofessional, but unacceptable.

 

[Elizabeth]

It sucks.
What to do???
IF I were you, i would look over the various sites, like Yahoo to find an alreadyy built car within the resonable driving distance. (150miles IMO) and find the exact car you ordered in another dealer's inventory.
IF you CAN find the car, get them to trade. If not, then ???
But that, at least, is something to do while fuming....
Yahoo Autos is OK. I had found some car search which allowed me to look at options by keyword and all the cars in axxx mile radius. It was the BEST, as it gave the exact color, and some options that mattered to do the search.
Ford searchs suck. as they just make you look at local dealers inventory with NO color limitations..
Good luck, hope you can solve it.
At the least it is some money off...

 

[Edgar]

No matter what do not settle. It's a $20k investment. Search other dealer inventories or wait another 14wks, but do not settle. You might be able to find one with a few upgraded features and have them price match

 

[Kryssa]

I would try to get them to do a dealer trade. See if there is something around that you like (even if it has a few extra options or is a Ti with 400A) and tell them to trade for it but you want to pay the agreed-upon price for the car you ordered!

 

[Bill3rAIL]

Do not settle! I am not too picky on colors, and I ended up getting my first choice in color, Silver!
Make them correct their screw up.
And as others have suggested, find what you want at another dealer and make them have it delivered. Just make sure they do NOT drive it. Demand it be brought in on a flatbed truck.
We wish you luck!

 

[Kryssa]

Do not settle! I am not too picky on colors, and I ended up getting my first choice in color, Silver!
Make them correct their screw up.
And as others have suggested, find what you want at another dealer and make them have it delivered. Just make sure they do NOT drive it. Demand it be brought in on a flatbed truck.
We wish you luck!

Wow I've never heard of a dealer trade being done via flatbed truck. Maybe it it's far away, but if it's close, this seems extreme. I thought it was usually a sales guy driving one oh his dealership's cars over to the other dealership and bringing a different one back.

 

[pwnstar89]

Do not settle! I am not too picky on colors, and I ended up getting my first choice in color, Silver!
Make them correct their screw up.
And as others have suggested, find what you want at another dealer and make them have it delivered. Just make sure they do NOT drive it. Demand it be brought in on a flatbed truck.
We wish you luck!

When I talked the the salesman about getting a car from another lot and price matching it he said all the cars in the area with the specs I want have other extras that will cost me extra money. The sales man didn't seem very helpful in this situation cause I can tell he was worried about not making money off the deal. Shouldn't he be obligated to fix this for me? So far no call from the manager.

 

[Edgar]

My salesman got me a Focus with $700 worth of extra features and priced matched it with the car we had originally agreed upon. He got a nasty look from the manager but he just wanted the sale. My advice, if they say you're only option is to reorder, than do it with a different dealer, or call one of the other dealers, tell them your situation and ask them how badly they'd like to make a sale! You live in fairly metro part of nj right? Try out another dealer!

 

[PratoN]

When I talked the the salesman about getting a car from another lot and price matching it he said all the cars in the area with the specs I want have other extras that will cost me extra money. The sales man didn't seem very helpful in this situation cause I can tell he was worried about not making money off the deal. Shouldn't he be obligated to fix this for me? So far no call from the manager.

I read one person on this forum paid just over $25.5k for a well-equipped ($28.5k+) car. I believe he had X-plan. But it still makes you wonder how much you might be able to haggle...

EDIT: That also included the $750 cash from Ford.

If you ask me, I don't think you should be obligated to buy something that you didn't ask for. Besides, the Foci are so hot, they probably won't have a problem selling it to someone else. They should still offer to find you a car, though.

 

[pwnstar89]

My salesman got me a Focus with $700 worth of extra features and priced matched it with the car we had originally agreed upon. He got a nasty look from the manager but he just wanted the sale. My advice, if they say you're only option is to reorder, than do it with a different dealer, or call one of the other dealers, tell them your situation and ask them how badly they'd like to make a sale! You live in fairly metro part of nj right? Try out another dealer!

Yeah there are a few other dealers in my area I can try. If my only option is to reorder, it will definitely be from another dealership. I can tell the sales guy is worried about getting in trouble about this sale. Hopefully the manager will be more sympathetic to my situation cause the sales guy is just trying to save his own ass by trying to get me to settle for the way it is.

My only problem about reordering is that I'm not sure my current car will make it another 12 or so weeks without breaking down. The dealer was going to give me 750$ for my 1998 Ford Contour. That offer is very reasonable because the car is having engine issues, exhaust leaks, and electrical problems...

 

[copernicium112]

Yeah there are a few other dealers in my area I can try. If my only option is to reorder, it will definitely be from another dealership. I can tell the sales guy is worried about getting in trouble about this sale. Hopefully the manager will be more sympathetic to my situation cause the sales guy is just trying to save his own ass by trying to get me to settle for the way it is.

My only problem about reordering is that I'm not sure my current car will make it another 12 or so weeks without breaking down. The dealer was going to give me 750$ for my 1998 Ford Contour. That offer is very reasonable because the car is having engine issues, exhaust leaks, and electrical problems...

If you are still looking for opinions then even that concession (your old car trade value) is not enough. Seems like you are starting to talk yourself into "reasonable". Fact of the matter is that the dealership screwed up (might be on the salesperson, might be on the dealership, who knows, who cares, either way you did not create the problem so you owe them nothing). As others have said previously, this is not a $50 pair of jeans or a $100 pair of sneakers, this is a (20,000K+) car you ordered and deserve to have it the way you want, the way you ordered. Unless they offer you a HUGE concession, don't do it. I know it would suck to go back to the beginning of the line but don't settle. Put the screws to them and decide for yourself.

On a side note if you did order it that long ago and still got a screwed up order, maybe re-think the dealership. I ordered that long ago and have been driving my car for almost 6 weeks exactly as I ordered it. If the dealership cannot even get a car that you ordered (to specs you asked for) right can you have faith that the service dept will get any repairs/warranty coverage right? They didn't even build it. Do you want an incompetent collective even working on the car?

Again, like others have said, don't settle.

 

[Focus112]

Find a new dealer, not sure where in NJ you are but send a message to titanfocus76, he sells cars at a dealer in southern ct

 

[Bill3rAIL]

Wow I've never heard of a dealer trade being done via flatbed truck. Maybe it it's far away, but if it's close, this seems extreme. I thought it was usually a sales guy driving one oh his dealership's cars over to the other dealership and bringing a different one back.

If they drive your vehicle and damage it, you would have to wait for them to fix it, and I would NOT want a repaired new vehicle.
If it is down the road 3 or 4 miles, ask them if you can drive it over "as a test drive".

 

[Bill3rAIL]

When I talked the the salesman about getting a car from another lot and price matching it he said all the cars in the area with the specs I want have other extras that will cost me extra money. The sales man didn't seem very helpful in this situation cause I can tell he was worried about not making money off the deal. Shouldn't he be obligated to fix this for me? So far no call from the manager.

One sales tactic they use all the time is to waste your time and wear you down. If they get you tired of waiting for an answer, you will settle for what they have on the lot or what they can get in quickly.
DO NOT SETTLE, and DO NOT BE AFRAID WALK OUT!
This will force their hand and make them do the right thing.

If you walk out, do not allow them to drag you back inside. State that you must go take high blood pressure medication or that you are diabetic, and need to eat!

Make them do the right thing by you! We want you back here with a great story about how you received everything you wanted and then some!

 

[benkap]

Don't settle. They screwed up, not you. You should force the dealership to find you a car that matches the one you ordered and have them compensate you for their error.

You waited 14 weeks for the car that you wanted. You could have just grabbed anything off the lot and been done with it a long time ago. You didn't do that. Why give up now and get something that won't make you as happy.

I'd be looking for a free service plan, or perhaps a reduction of your out the door price.

 

[BiggerBoat]

Wow I've never heard of a dealer trade being done via flatbed truck. Maybe it it's far away, but if it's close, this seems extreme. I thought it was usually a sales guy driving one oh his dealership's cars over to the other dealership and bringing a different one back.

A good dealer that values a their reputation with customers will do it. I was working with my dealer in Maumee, OH for a couple weeks towards a decision to order but it was right when the Red Candy became unavoidable (Japan). I was super upset. Long story short, he found one in Iowa and had it flatbed transported to OH (at no extra cost to me). I'm sure that cost came out of their profit but he wanted a happy customer. It wasn't the dealers fault (Tsunami paint shortage) but they did the right thing for me. I will be back there for my next purchase (vs cursing them to all my friends) so it's a win in the long run for them.

 

[G-Fez]

My dealer in Oakville Ontario actually ate the cost of the leather interior on an SEL simply because the only car they could locate in their dealer network in my third colour choice came with it. Needless to say I was very impressed as they saved me an 8-12 week wait for a car to be built and I got more car for my money. And even thought Sterling Grey was my third choice, I love it!

 

[GhiaFan]

Order another one, the wait times now are much better with some receiving their factory order in 4 weeks, and also I would be inclined to use another dealership.

 

[nateyo]

If you really don't like the silver then don't settle with it.

Otherwise I'd just keep the silver and ask for a few thousand off the price tag.