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Buyer Beware! Bill Currie Ford Tampa

scottmoyer

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I'm in the market for two new vehicles and I found that Bill Currie Ford in Tampa advertises their prices very aggressively. The "fine print" on their website states that the advertised price does not include a dealer fee of $699, an electronic filing fee of $99 and other dealer installed option fees not listed.

I called them to ask what these additional fees were and was surprised to find out that all 2018 vehicles get upcharged $1495 dollars for options that you CANNOT remove. The options are a waste and probably have a very high profit margin on them. These options include:
A GPS tracking system (Lojack)
Crystal Fusion Windshield Treatment (RainX)
Door edge protectors
24 hour roadside assistance

I mentioned that I wasn't interested in Lojack since my vehicles will have Sync, don't like RainX, don't need door edge protection and Ford offers 3year/36k mile roadside assistance. The dealership sales manager and general manager told me to shop elsewhere as they would NOT remove the wasteful charging.

Be sure to know the charges before wasting your time with a dealership!!
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Silver Bullitt

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I ran across that same thing here in KC when I test drove a 2018 Camaro SS 1LE. It included LoJack, 3M film, door guards, nitrogen filled tires and I don't remember what else. It was like $2K. But, they shot me a hell of a price ($39,100) on a $45K+ MSRP and said they would remove the 3M film and not charge me for everything else. They were really trying to sell me that car. I believe they has 6 SS 1LE's on the lot at that time. Their disclaimer does mention that but it doesn't say how much. IMO, not respectable at all. Leave that shit off and try to sell me afterwards where I can just say no.
 
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scottmoyer

scottmoyer

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Brandon Ford is the largest selling dealer in the southeast. They aren't far down the road from Bill Currie Ford. I bought my $43,475 Mustang GT for $34,875 last year at Brandon Ford. Nobody else could even come close to that price. This year, I found a 2018 GT with Performance Pack, Nav and 301A at Brandon Ford for $34,4xx. Bill Currie has the same car, minus Nav, for $33,9xx. So, they are trying to tap the price market in Tampa to get people in the door, but by adding mandatory options, I feel it's bait and switch. Just be careful if you shop there.

BTW, they also state on their website that the online pricing is for Florida residents only.
 

Allegro

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These tactics are becoming more and more common everywhere. Ran into it when we were buying my wife a new SUV last summer. Dealer installed options totalling $1800 that included nonsense like splash guards, nitrogen filled tires, scotch guard, rear sill protector and a $46 gas subsidy. The gas subsidy was explained to me by a sales rep as covering test drives and moving of the car around the lot. They would not remove these items. Needless to say we didn't buy at that dealership.
 

Silver Bullitt

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These tactics are becoming more and more common everywhere. Ran into it when we were buying my wife a new SUV last summer. Dealer installed options totalling $1800 that included nonsense like splash guards, nitrogen filled tires, scotch guard, rear sill protector and a $46 gas subsidy. The gas subsidy was explained to me by a sales rep as covering test drives and moving of the car around the lot. They would not remove these items. Needless to say we didn't buy at that dealership.
Yea, they probably have $200 in that stuff trying to mark it up to $2,000.
 

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Madtel4

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Don't walk but RUN from any SOB dealer like this. Tell everyone you see about this BS as well. Thanks for posting this.
The small dealer that I ordered from has no fees of any kind. Be sure to tell them why you are not buying from them.
Lee
 

sed6

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Everything is negotiable. And the real negotiating isn't done on the phone, it's done face to face. Tire kickers call around for the best deal, real buyers go into the dealership. There are exceptions of course but they have no incentive to offer you theor best deal over the phone. Your buyer beware title is a little overstated, it's not like you actually got ripped off...
 
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scottmoyer

scottmoyer

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This dealership was notified that I need two vehicles really soon. One of them is going to be an F150. So, a 2018 Mustang GT with PP and a 2018 Ford F150 4x4 sale was just lost because of their stupidity. I agree that any clown can call and ask for best pricing, but I explained to them that I live two hours away, and I need to buy two vehicles. I did not want to spend $3k unnecessarily. They were price matching another dealer in the area, and I commented on that. They told me to go buy from the other dealer. So, I guess I will. They just lost two sales for the month, any factory sales perks and my $80k+ in vehicles. That's just being stupid!!! Plus, they will lose more hopefully because of this post.

BTW, they had my phone number and name and could verify that I was calling from a location two hours away. I also told them that I would buy there Saturday morning if they waived these costs. Of course, any good salesman would get a monetary commitment to hold the vehicles I'm interested in. Their loss.
 

michail71

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Dealers also like to forget about discounts and negotiated prices on the initial offer. It's almost funny.
 

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hcappie

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Everything is negotiable. And the real negotiating isn't done on the phone, it's done face to face. Tire kickers call around for the best deal, real buyers go into the dealership. There are exceptions of course but they have no incentive to offer you theor best deal over the phone. Your buyer beware title is a little overstated, it's not like you actually got ripped off...
I for one hate going to the dealership and dealing face to face. I’ve purchased about 15 cars or so, and negotiated several more for family/friends in my lifetime. I CANNOT stand the fact that most dealers treat you like a smuck who should feel privileged to be talking to them. I am tired of the same deceptive tactics each and every time. Especially going in well informed and knowing what I want. A good salesman should know within a few minutes of talking to you who they can play games with and who to drop the charade with. I prefer internet and phone dealing. Not everyone is a tire kicker and not a potential sale just because they use phone and email. I have purchased 2 cars this way and have gotten good deals without having to sit for hours at the dealership while the salesman goes back & forth trying to out psyche you. Gone in to test drive the vehicle, continued to negotiate via phone and email, and gone to the dealer to sign & drive away without a hassle. Or maybe I just don’t like people *♂. Just my 2€
 

Cardude99

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Lots of dealers are this way. I was lucky with my ecoboost, happened to be at a very upfront no BS place. I highly recommend Chapman Ford in Scottsdale, AZ. I told them I don't want to be sold. This is the car I want give me your best out the door price and I'll come in if it's fair. Well they did. Came in that afternoon and signed.

Good for you for going elsewhere. Screw dealers that pull that crap. Peoria Ford does it here in town and I refuse to ever do business with them again.
 

EcoBoostang

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Brandon Ford is the largest selling dealer in the southeast. They aren't far down the road from Bill Currie Ford. I bought my $43,475 Mustang GT for $34,875 last year at Brandon Ford. Nobody else could even come close to that price. This year, I found a 2018 GT with Performance Pack, Nav and 301A at Brandon Ford for $34,4xx. Bill Currie has the same car, minus Nav, for $33,9xx. So, they are trying to tap the price market in Tampa to get people in the door, but by adding mandatory options, I feel it's bait and switch. Just be careful if you shop there.

BTW, they also state on their website that the online pricing is for Florida residents only.
Glad you had good sales support from them, I ended up at Veterans. They treated me right. They came down from 35k on my loaded non-PP EB to 28, and gave me more than they should of on my trade.

Although Brandon Ford has done a lot of my warranty work and their service dept. has been top notch. Robert has been killer there.
 

glmarker

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For you guys in the Central Florida area, don't forget about Bartow Ford in Bartow. I have found them to be very straight forward in my dealings with them over the years.

Gary
 

Evolvd

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Gary Smith Ford in Fort Walton Beach is the same. They pinstripe EVERY fuggin car on their lot and then tack on a $1K upcharge for "appearance package". I special ordered my Mustang from Military Auto Source and had it delivered to Gary Smith, and those ass hats pinstriped my Mustang! LOL...I told the sales rep to take that crap off my car and don't touch anything else. I swear to God he tried to convince me that 1980's pin-striping made the cars look better.

Also, since I own a Toyota that's pre-owned certified I got to Toyota for my services. Walking their lot one day I noticed they have ADM on EVERY DAMN CAR! From the baseline Corolla to the souped-up Tundra...every single car, by at least $1500 and up.
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