Although more people have been custom-ordering vehicles online since the pandemic, dealers say that doing so comes with risks, which is a lesson two NBC 7 and Telemundo 20 Responds viewers learned the hard way.
Both are now very upset.
After a year of waiting for his Ford Maverick, Ocean Beach resident Andrew Gierz experience ended with someone else driving the truck off the lot.
“They told me there was a mistake and they had sold my vehicle to a preferred customer,” said Gierz, who described the call as a punch to the gut.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Gierz told NBC 7 that he had enjoyed choosing all the customizable options back in April of last year.
“Little things to make it mine, little things that I knew I would like down the road that it would be easier to spec-in now than try to do it later,” Gierz said.
Gierz told NBC 7 he went to Mossy Ford in Pacific Beach to place the order, gave a $500 deposit, and waited for his new truck to come in.
Local
Nearly a year later, in March of this year, Gierz got a notification telling him that the pickup was finally on its way. He said he tracked his order from Day 1 until it was delivered to the dealership. Although he called Mossy right away, he said, they couldn’t find his truck. When they finally did, he was told it had already been sold.
“Unfortunately with Mr. Gierz, it was a mistake that we made,” admitted Cole Lownfield, general manager of Mossy Ford in Pacific Beach. “Immediately when we found out that we had made a mistake, I reached out to him, and I hope we could rectify it for him and get him the truck of his dreams, and we’re still working on that.”
Lownfield explained that the truck was mistakenly placed with the stock inventory and not the special orders, then it was sold.
Over at Aaron Ford in Poway, something similar happened, according to another NBC 7 viewer who custom-ordered a Maverick straight from the corporate website without first going to the dealership.
Allen Movahed told NBC 7 that his truck arrived the week of May 15, and when it did, he said, the corporate office notified him to wait a couple of weeks before picking it up so the dealership could check and clean it. He said he called two weeks later and found the truck had already been sold to someone else.
Aaron Ford told NBC 7 Responds that it tried to get in touch with Movahed once the vehicle arrived but he never responded, so they sold the truck. NBC 7 Responds asked how and when they contacted him and they refused to answer. They did confirm they’re giving him the $5,000 they made on the sale as a goodwill gesture.
Although Ford dealerships are independent businesses, Ford Motor Company will work with its dealer network to make sure they’re aware of customer issues. Most times, when dealers become aware of issues, they work with customers to quickly rectify them – they understand the importance of delivering an industry-leading customer sales and ownership experience.
Ford Motor Company
So here’s what buyers need to know when placing their order.
- Visit the dealership to lock down the price before custom-ordering. Remember: An online order is non-binding until both parties have signed off on a price
- The wait time can be about a year on certain vehicles, so be ready to be patient
- Keep track of the order, build and delivery of the vehicle
- Make sure to stay in contact with the dealership as you get closer to the delivery date
Over at Mossy Ford, Lowenfield said the dealership will hold a custom-ordered vehicle for about 72 hours as it costs them money each day they have it. The costs are fees from corporate, insurance, and taxes. The car also takes up a spot where they could place another vehicle up for sale.
Lowenfield said they will always work with customers with unforeseen circumstances that may prevent them from picking up their vehicle in those 72 hours.
“We have sailors — we have cars stored up for them because they got deployed after the car arrived — so their car will be waiting for them, ee have families that had to go out in emergencies, those cars are waiting,” Lowenfield said, emphasizing that early and regular communication is key for these special circumstances.
As for Gierz, Lowenfield said he’s still working with him to set things right.
“No one should feel like this when they’re trying to get a new vehicle," Gierz said. "It sucks."
Lowenfield also said that it’s not unusual for people to change their minds about a vehicle by the time the order is delivered. If there is no purchase agreement, then the customer is not required to buy it. The dealer is then stuck with that vehicle. In Mossy Ford’s case, they said that at the time of this report they had 87 such vehicles on their lot.
