GT500 Order at Pace Ford in Huntington Indiana

[craven]

What do you guys think of this?

 

I went to Pace Ford in Huntington Indiana in February to enquire about the GT500 and was told that I was the first person to ask about the car. I was told by my salesman and the manager that if I put $1000 down that I would be the first person in line and would be able to buy the car at MSRP when it arrived.

 

So I put down $1000 on the car and waited a couple of months. I then went in to place the order the first day SVT said orders could be placed. They found the order form and the options but no price. I said thats fine lets just get it in. So they called their Rep at Ford and spoke to him about placing the order.

 

During the call their Rep said that they should talk to the owner (Joe Pace) first. They then said they would find out more and get back in touch with me. So I waited about 2 weeks longer and called back and left a few messages without a reply. So I decided to call Mr. Pace myself. He told me that they did not have the order form yet and that they would call me as soon as the order could be placed.

 

In between then and now I had called about 15 times and only received about 1 call back. They kept avoiding my calls. I called the last 3 days in a row and left messages and finally today I received a reply.

 

I was told that Mr Pace decided that the 1 car they will be getting will be auctioned off. That I could just come and pick up my down payment as it was no good now. They apologized repeatedly saying this wasn't their decision but that it was Joe Pace.

 

My question to you all is this. Since we had a verbal agreement that if I put down $1000 that I would get the first GT500 they got in at MSRP is there anything that I can do about it?

 

Thanks,

 

craven

[Paul810]

Always get everything in writing! Now you know.

[68fastback]

What do you guys think of this?

 

I went to Pace Ford in Huntington Indiana in February to enquire about the GT500 and was told that I was the first person to ask about the car. I was told by my salesman and the manager that if I put $1000 down that I would be the first person in line and would be able to buy the car at MSRP when it arrived.

 

So I put down $1000 on the car and waited a couple of months. I then went in to place the order the first day SVT said orders could be placed. They found the order form and the options but no price. I said thats fine lets just get it in. So they called their Rep at Ford and spoke to him about placing the order.

 

During the call their Rep said that they should talk to the owner (Joe Pace) first. They then said they would find out more and get back in touch with me. So I waited about 2 weeks longer and called back and left a few messages without a reply. So I decided to call Mr. Pace myself. He told me that they did not have the order form yet and that they would call me as soon as the order could be placed.

 

In between then and now I had called about 15 times and only received about 1 call back. They kept avoiding my calls. I called the last 3 days in a row and left messages and finally today I received a reply.

 

I was told that Mr Pace decided that the 1 car they will be getting will be auctioned off. That I could just come and pick up my down payment as it was no good now. They apologized repeatedly saying this wasn't their decision but that it was Joe Pace.

 

My question to you all is this. Since we had a verbal agreement that if I put down $1000 that I would get the first GT500 they got in at MSRP is there anything that I can do about it?

 

Thanks,

 

craven

 

 

Hey, Caraven... can't tell you haw many stories like this I've heard and it's said that some dealers have no regard for their word.

 

Technically, you had a legal and binding contract -- a verbal contract is as good as a written one in the USA (with the legal exception of real-estate deals). Unfortunately, that's the good news. The bad news is that unless you can produce hard evidence on the terms of the deal, I don't think you can do much. If someone was with you, that would help, but, realistically, you'd need a written contract to prove that the $1000 was down on an MSRP deal. Even then, dealers can juggle priorities with region to shut your order out (if it was ordered but not yet assigned a VIN and 'pulled') in favor of a high-ADM deal.

 

I'm not a lawyer, but from the similar situations I've seen I think you don't have much to go on. You could talk to a lawyer, but unless there's evidence of the terms of the contract, I think he'd tell you what I am.

 

But take heart.... production has been upped on the '07 GT500 from 7000-9000 and many of the wait-lists are populated with names of people that are on multile/many lists.... As production catches demand and when the next two-year flavor-of-the-year (e.g. Boss/Mach/Bullitt) is announced, I think that by this winter or by this time next year in the '08 GT500 run, you stand a good chance of an MSRP deal. The jury seems to be split on this but I'm waiting for that myself -- who knows, but I'm feeling pretty good about it.

 

Good luck in your search... if it's any consolution, a survey of GT500 order-holders on 'stangs unleashed as of a few weeks ago showed that 73% of all orders were for MSRP (or less) and only 27% over (up to $20K over and beyond!). Most dealers with local customers seem to be honoring the deals they've made, but many are also reneging, like yours. It's sad but....

 

Hang in there....

[TTitus]

Unfortunately, this is the same BS everyone has been getting from the relationship Ford and Shelby have made. Everyone else blaims it on someone other than themselves. The truth is, the same smug representatives you find on these forums will give you the same "who, me?" crap that the dealers are giving you. They won't give you dates or answers on anything, and when you finally do get information is either wrong or completely disappointing.

 

The fact is, I've had it with everyone. The Shelby name used to be something to be respected, but now its just something that has been ruined for me. The name used to symbolize design and power and class. Now it and everyone involved with them symbolize greed and nothing more.

[RichS]

Titus, I'm sorry you've become cynical but the truth of the matter is that we have no connection with Ford's dealer network therefore we can't do anything about the prices they're setting or the deals they're making. I have heard that a majority are going to be selling at MSRP but those who aren't have garnered all the attention. I think if this were a more widespread problem we'd have thousands of posts here instead of the few we've seen.

 

It all boils down to supply and demand. If the public is only willing to pay $40k, the dealers will charge $40k. But this works both ways; if the public will pay more the dealers will charge more. Ford has increased the number of units for 2007 to better meet the demand and I think this will force at least some of the markups to disappear.

 

-Rich Sparkman

Shelby Automobiles, Inc.

[TTitus]

Titus, I'm sorry you've become cynical but the truth of the matter is that we have no connection with Ford's dealer network therefore we can't do anything about the prices they're setting or the deals they're making. I have heard that a majority are going to be selling at MSRP but those who aren't have garnered all the attention. I think if this were a more widespread problem we'd have thousands of posts here instead of the few we've seen.

 

It all boils down to supply and demand. If the public is only willing to pay $40k, the dealers will charge $40k. But this works both ways; if the public will pay more the dealers will charge more. Ford has increased the number of units for 2007 to better meet the demand and I think this will force at least some of the markups to disappear.

 

 

Yeah, I'm sorry I have become so cynical too. You have no idea how disillusioned I've been as owning a Shelby was.. well.. that really doesn't matter anymore. I'd buy the "most people are selling at MSRP" argument if I hadn't called around South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio and Washington (the four states I happy to be in the most often) looking for one at a decent rate. None of those dealers profess to be able to produce one for less than 15K over MSRP.

[amyb]

Unfortunately, this is the same BS everyone has been getting from the relationship Ford and Shelby have made. Everyone else blaims it on someone other than themselves. The truth is, the same smug representatives you find on these forums will give you the same "who, me?" crap that the dealers are giving you. They won't give you dates or answers on anything, and when you finally do get information is either wrong or completely disappointing.

 

The fact is, I've had it with everyone. The Shelby name used to be something to be respected, but now its just something that has been ruined for me. The name used to symbolize design and power and class. Now it and everyone involved with them symbolize greed and nothing more.

 

 

 

Titus, I am sorry you feel that way, but that said, you have absolutekly no right to come on here and disrespect, this site, the people who run it or Shelby and Shelby Autos. This project is a solely run Ford deal and as such they have the rights completely on this car.

 

You are completely out of line here

 

 

Amy