I do not regularly post on any forums I read unless I really think it is something important my fellow enthusiasts really need to know soooo......
I found the vehicle that fit what I had been looking for, a 2013 Taurus SHO, on the website for Bob Swope Ford in Elizabethtown, KY. The actual transaction of purchasing the vehicle was painless and the sales associate was very accommodating and friendly. I decided to purchase the vehicle despite discovering that the dealer had permitted the vehicle to be driven as a demo by a salesperson and the mileage was higher by 3500 than the website indicated. There wasn't much I could do about the mileage, but it should have been my first hint that something was off with a dealer that is putting that many miles on cars they have posted for sale online with the odometer reading documented. The financing process was also uneventful and satisfactory. Because this was a Saturday, the detail department was closed and the Cilajet sealant that was part of the purchase couldn't be applied that day meaning another 2+ hour drive from Nashville would be required. I scheduled to take a day off and made the trek to drop off the dealer. They tried to give me a little loaner Focus but ultimately provided a decent Explorer Sport which seems more appropriate considering the inconvenience. My son and I spent the next 6 or so hours in Louisville making the best of the day. We finally picked up the car and it looked very good and headed home to Nashville. Now this is where the issues began; not knowing the service history I took it to my local dealer and had them do a complete service just in case. In the course of doing this I found out that the vehicle had never been run through any sort of service at Bob Swope Ford at all despite them clearly driving it regularly through a service interval. Additionally and most alarming is that despite the vehicle being on their lot long enough to accumulate 3500 miles and my separate visit back, they completely failed to discover and carry out 2 safety recalls (for your reference the specific recalls are 13S04 Fuel Delivery Module Replacement and 14S10 Right-hand Front Half-shaft Retention to which I will let you look up online and decide seriousness for yourself) that my local dealer considered serious enough to recommend not driving the vehicle until they were completed. I was also informed directly by their used car manager that their standard policy/procedure if for no used vehicle to EVER leave their lot with outstanding safety recalls, not because it is required on used cars, but because it is in the best interest of their potential customer's safety. I contacted Bob Swope Ford in writing asking that their GM please call me. The gentleman who did finally call wasn't the GM but he represented the dealer. This representative was very cavalier about my concerns on their lack of concern for customer's safety to which he casually dismissed my concerns and stated that I should have found them myself using a Carfax report. Their attitude was indifferent and dismissive. I don't typically take time to write reviews but I want to make anyone I can aware that given the option, they should consider any non-Swope Auto Group owned dealerships since this apathetic attitude towards their customers safety is likely systemic throughout the organization.
I hope this saves at least one person from a negative experience with the purchase of their next vehicle.
eh, I wouldn't worry about it. Not worth getting upset and spending 10 minutes to write out the negative review.
I bought my '13 SHO with 5500 miles on it 3 months back. I knew about the recalls and verified they were taken care of on the CarFax report. The fuel delivery module should have been done right away, completely agree. Plus they could have made a few easy bucks. I still haven't taken it in for the drive shaft inspection, will wait until I need an oil change or something.
I gotta say that I was expecting a lot worse. I have personally experienced a lot worse (damage to car while in service/ faulty repairs/messed up vehicle title from dealer typos/service claimed to be performed but not performed/etc).
That whole experience really does not sound that bad to me. You could have skipped the whole trip back there for sealant and done it locally. If I was being given a loaner for half a day, I would not be upset about a Focus. Should they have done the recalls? Yes. Should the representative have been nice to you? Yes. But the bottom line is you have a really nice car and all the perceived "bad" experiences are over. Enjoy the car.
When i purchased my car last year brand new with two miles on it the sales man pulls the car up to the front after doing the paper work and a suv parks next to it and left a ding on the door,really **** me off but life is to short and enjoy the new ride.
I agree that if things were managed as they should be, you shouldn't have the headache of purchasing a fairly new vehicle, and then having to undertake the headache of having to immediately place the vehicle into service.
Thanks for taking the time to review your experience. I appreciate that the information is out there for others to make their own judgment.
Hope you enjoy the SHO. Don't be a stranger around here.
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Quote from: ZSHO on September 18, 2014, 02:43:40 PM
When i purchased my car last year brand new with two miles on it the sales man pulls the car up to the front after doing the paper work and a suv parks next to it and left a ding on the door,really **** me off but life is to short and enjoy the new ride.
Terrible thing to happen! Was it something that could be taken out without major work?
Was this car certified pre owned?