What warranties did Ford try to sell you at signing?

[sajohnson]

Huge red flag. I'd place the order with a different Ford dealer. The car's not even built and the guy's already trying to sell you an overpriced extended warranty. Not only that, but the extended warranty isn't part of the process -- it has nothing to do with a special order sent to the Ford factory on your behalf. My gut tells me a dealer playing these games this early on will also try and screw you after the Sport arrives. "Sorry, we added a $5,000 'market adjustment' because you never signed such-and-such..."

I haven't bought a new car for over 20 years (my 2002 WRX). The vehicle the Badlands will replace is my wife's 25 year old RAV4 (no slouch itself, with a locking center and Torsen rear). So I'm not very familiar with dealer tactics, but from what I've read the hard sell on the extended warranty is pretty common. As I mentioned above, over 30 years ago I had a salesman (the owner's son) tank an essentially done deal because I rejected his last minute warranty push. All the paperwork as done and I was ready to sign -- and he let me walk.

My guess is that most dealers would push the warranty -- even at this stage of the process -- but I don't have much personal experience.

Initially we considered buying from basically any Ford dealer in the U.S. if the deal was good enough. It quickly became clear that all of the ones I talked to were selling in-stock Bronco Sports for thousands over MSRP, and ordering them for MSRP. Even the Costco Auto deal was only $350 under MSRP -- and the dealer is over 2 hours r/t. That's a problem because most dealers (for any mfr) have a serious attitude problem when it comes to doing warranty work on vehicles they did not sell. In theory, you can take your car or truck to any dealer, but in reality, if you did not buy from them they will probably give you a hard time.

So we decided to buy locally. That meant either Hagerstown Ford, or Frederick Motor Company (FMC). Their pricing is identical, so it came down to reputation. I researched customer reviews and complaints on:

https://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/The-Frederick-Motor-Company-review-23261/page2/?filter=ONLY_NEGATIVE
https://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Hagerstown-Ford-review-6172/?filter=ONLY_NEGATIVE#link

https://www.bbb.org/us/md/frederick/profile/used-car-dealers/frederick-motor-company-0011-90101582/complaints
https://www.bbb.org/us/md/hagerstown/profile/new-car-dealers/hagerstown-ford-inc-0011-16010463/complaints

As well as Google and Yelp. FMC was the 'least worst' by a lot. One big difference is in the number of BBB complaints: 2 in the last 3 years / 0 in the last year for FMC vs 12 and 3 for Hagerstown.

Rather than go by the overall 'star' rating, I always read multiple 1-star reviews, to get a sense of the nature of the problems, and whether the reviews sound legit or not. In this case, while FMC has it's share of horror stories, they are significantly less than Hagerstown, and they were mostly for service, as opposed to sales.

None of that means FMC won't try to pull something, but my father is a retired law prof, and Ralph Nader is a friend of his. No, Ralph would not get involved in our little car deal, but I'll make life difficult for the dealer if they try to jerk me around.

Also, the salesman showed us a Bronco Sport that he said had been on the lot for a *week*. He claimed they were just asking MSRP for it. If that's true, I wonder if demand isn't cooling a bit, at least around here. If so, FMC will be less inclined to pull the "additional dealer markup" game with us.

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[haroldqjr]

I got the premium maintenance, premium care, and tire care. Those were the only ones they mentioned when we were signing

 

[SportWest]

I got the premium maintenance, premium care, and tire care. Those were the only ones they mentioned when we were signing

Does Ford TireCare cover only the original set of tires, or any replacement tires (e.g. replaced due to normal wear) for the duration of the policy?

 

[JerryC]

The problem finance office people have with me is that I can do simple math.

They expect most people to be unable to simple math, even with a calculator app on their phone.

Salesman says "it's only ten dollars a month. "
You say , "that's $720" and they start to sweat because you can do numbers.

So the finance guy this last time goes through a list of scripted lifestyle questions that are a setup to sell warranties. That pissed me off before he was two questions into it as I knew where this was going.

Five minutes after that I get up and find my sales guy and tell him I've been talked out of buying that POS car that will have parts failing as soon as I drive away that aren't covered by warranty.
The specific example given was that headlights are not covered by the 3/36 warranty and cost $1200 each. Yeah I knew he was either wrong or or lying but he swore it was true and just happened.

In the end I went back to the finance office and the finance guy said no extras here is your price sign and drive.

I was shocked he gave in that quick until my wife said that she flat out told him one try to sell me something and I'm walking.

 

[sajohnson]

The problem finance office people have with me is that I can do simple math.

They expect most people to be unable to simple math, even with a calculator app on their phone.

Salesman says "it's only ten dollars a month. "
You say , "that's $720" and they start to sweat because you can do numbers.

So the finance guy this last time goes through a list of scripted lifestyle questions that are a setup to sell warranties. That pissed me off before he was two questions into it as I knew where this was going.

Five minutes after that I get up and find my sales guy and tell him I've been talked out of buying that POS car that will have parts failing as soon as I drive away that aren't covered by warranty.
The specific example given was that headlights are not covered by the 3/36 warranty and cost $1200 each. Yeah I knew he was either wrong or or lying but he swore it was true and just happened.

In the end I went back to the finance office and the finance guy said no extras here is your price sign and drive.

I was shocked he gave in that quick until my wife said that she flat out told him one try to sell me something and I'm walking.

I guess I don't blame them for trying, it's the tactics they use that are aggravating. It's too bad they are placed in that position -- where they have to sell X number of those warranties every month to be able to pay their bills. Our salesman tried the same tactic -- "The backup camera costs $850!" I told him that if it was out of warranty it would not get replaced, simple as that. Our cars are old and don't have features like that anyway. That seemed to bother him.

If I was selling extended warranties I would tell people the truth -- 'the chances are very slim that you will get your money back, let alone be a big "winner" (have covered repairs worth much more than the warranty cost) -- but warranties are good for piece of mind.' The buyer is probably just throwing money away, but at least they know their out-of-pocket expenses will be limited to deductibles -- unless the failed part(s) are not covered (which happens). D'oh!

 

[haroldqjr]

Does Ford TireCare cover only the original set of tires, or any replacement tires (e.g. replaced due to normal wear) for the duration of the policy?

It's mostly damage caused my the road but some things are covered, here's a link to the brochure https://fordprotect.ford.com/tirecare?searchid=291998006|21587442086|&ef_id=Cj0KCQiAk4aOBhCTARIsAFWFP9Hz7Dl3kAsY9iQpW14rJgZfPTqAcSOKMjpgkKVkLlhxwzKqnv4hU5EaAq8yEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2519!3!267762457853!e!!g!!ford tirecare

 

[Tigger]

I see some people saying they have never bought a new car until this purchase so I will offer two pieces of advice I have learned.
1) anything the finance department tried to sell you by saying how much it is per month, decline. This is a tactic to avoid saying the full price, which is too high, and saying a confusing and meaningless amount. You want to know the price in full or completely discount it.
2) everything sold is a profit for the seller, and in this case, the finance guy sitting across from you. But, there is a situation where a warranty can be needed, and for me that was when I was young and starting a family. A repair can easily run over $1000’s and if there is no chance to pay that, then you may need the protection. But, you do not need to buy right away and you do not need to buy from that dealer. Like with everything, take your time, review, shop around.

 

[Central Jersey]

[/QUOTE]
That's a problem because most dealers (for any mfr) have a serious attitude problem when it comes to doing warranty work on vehicles they did not sell. In theory, you can take your car or truck to any dealer, but in reality, if you did not buy from them they will probably give you a hard time.
[/QUOTE]

Not in my experience. I get my vehicle serviced at a dealership that is not the one that sold me my vehicle. They did not give me an attitude when I had them replace my rear taillight under warranty. They were more than happy to do the job. My last oil change when I went to pay they told me it is $0.00 no they didn’t use Ford points for it ( never bought a vehicle from them , I probably will get my next one from them after the great experience i had from the service department .)

 

[sajohnson]

That's a problem because most dealers (for any mfr) have a serious attitude problem when it comes to doing warranty work on vehicles they did not sell. In theory, you can take your car or truck to any dealer, but in reality, if you did not buy from them they will probably give you a hard time.
[/QUOTE]

Not in my experience. I get my vehicle serviced at a dealership that is not the one that sold me my vehicle. They did not give me an attitude when I had them replace my rear taillight under warranty. They were more than happy to do the job. My last oil change when I went to pay they told me it is $0.00 no they didn’t use Ford points for it ( never bought a vehicle from them , I probably will get my next one from them after the great experience i had from the service department .)
[/QUOTE]

Smart dealer!

 

[Gone Postal]

This subject is the reason I deal with the dealer I do....

The sales pitch is nonexistent.

I'm sure they'd give you the pitch if you needed it, but it took me less than an hour to purchase my F150.

It took longer to order my Bronco Sport, but that's because the other half was with me.

None of that time was the salesman (who's also the owner) trying to sell me anything.

https://www.dovimotors.com/

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