Took delivery of a new 2019 gt350r last night. Here's how it showed up...

[honeybadger]

This is terrible, just horrific. You would never see Porsche send a car out to a customer like this. Not even a base cayman or even a boxer back in the day would go to a customer like this. And here we are with a Shelby GT350R being delivered in terrible shape. Carroll Shelby is rolling over in his grave. Could you imagine if Carroll saw this

I've seen plenty of Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, etc. have swirls like this. While not as bad as OP's car, here's an example of one of Porsche's halo cars being delivered while still wrapped. Plenty of paint issues:



So many forget this is a 25k Mustang with hot rod parts on it. Does it suck? Hell yeah. Is it surprising or abnormal? Not even in the slightest. Not only that, but it's likely not even permanent. A bit of detailing work and it'll look perfect.

Sponsored

 

[PP0001]

I have to agree with you 100 percent about a relationship with your dealer. I have been very lucky to have a "car guy" for a dealer and it transends to his employees. When my GT350 arrived at the dealer they called to ask if I wanted it preped, I said yes and was heading over. The owner and the tech went over everything with me in the shop, put it up on the lift and got to inspect everything. They are like that on service too even on my F250 and the wifes car. Rare in todays world but that's how he does business.
There are 4 other dealers closer to me but you wont get the kind of service you should from them.
When I go in for an early morning service I pick up a dozen donuts for them. Goes a long way, lol. Was there today to get 4 tires mounted to new wheels and balanced. Service manager told me I could go into the shop an watch if I wanted. The tech treated them like they were his. Very happy with the service..

Terrific to hear stories such as yours as there are a great many Ford dealerships out there that think and treat their customers this way with my dealership providing exactly the same service for me.

As with any successful business it all starts at the top namely with the ownership and the senior management and then transcends down from there to all other departments.

In my case I have many Ford dealerships to choose from in my immediate area but because of the outstanding service from sales, service and body shop that I receive from this dealership that is some ~75 miles away I choose to drive many extra miles in order to deal with them and can honestly say that the extra time and effort is well worth the effort.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

I've seen plenty of Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, etc. have swirls like this. While not as bad as OP's car, here's an example of one of Porsche's halo cars being delivered while still wrapped. Plenty of paint issues:



So many forget this is a 25k Mustang with hot rod parts on it. Does it suck? Hell yeah. Is it surprising or abnormal? Not even in the slightest. Not only that, but it's likely not even permanent. A bit of detailing work and it'll look perfect.

So this is from transportation or from the manufacturer? I am completely clueless when it comes to this stuff. I keep seeing these posts and its making me nervous about my GT350 thats coming soon.

 

[Tacswa]

Just a few comments and observations.

Prior to having the enclosed carrier of your choice pick your car up did you not think of having someone up in the Northeast inspect this car for you as there are a great deal of members on this forum that live up that way and maybe someone could have done some sort of inspection for you?

Secondly, when communicating with your enclosed car carrier did you ask them to be diligent with respect to signing and taking pictures of any issues with your car when picking it up?

Most quality enclosed car carriers will closely inspect any vehicle new or used for any possible damage or paint imperfections and will take pictures and will always note any exceptions on the Bill of Lading.

How did your carrier sign the Bill of Lading at the time of pickup and if he did not make note of any exceptions at the time of pickup then I suggest that you may have some recourse with not only the selling dealership but also the carrier that you chose.

Very sorry to see you in this position but personally I would never take a chance on purchasing a new or used GT350/R especially the R model with CF wheels, CF wing and large front chin spoiler without either inspecting the car personally or having a friend or one of our members help you out.

Hopefully once your car is all cleaned up and detailed that there are very few issues if any?

Good luck!

I like the idea of reaching out to fellow members in certain areas if an inspection is needed prior to purchasing. Good idea. Most of us, if not all are pretty anal about our cars and we would certainly point out flaws on new cars to help a fellow member out.

 

[Tacswa]

One of the most important aspects of purchasing a HP vehicle and in particular a Mustang is getting to know and build up a relationship with your Ford dealership on all levels whether is be sales, service or the detailing department. If you don't want to take time to get to know them and build up some sort of relationship then that is your problem. I have had countless times where by service, sales and the detail department have helped me out tremendously based on getting to know them and a personal relationship.

Based on your comments I suggest that you don't paint all Ford dealerships with the same brush as they all don't use an automated car wash and can tell you that some of the "dinkleberries" at the dealership level have been there for a very long time and many of them know the difference between a gritty was mitt and a clean one. Many of these same Ford dealerships deliver Ford GT's to their customers and who do you think details those cars prior to delivery, it sure isn't the GSM or GM.

I am not suggesting that all dealerships operate exactly the same whether it be their detail people of body shop people but can tell you from 5+ decades of buying Pony Cars from the Blue Oval Brand that there are some very good people out there in these departments and if you haven't found one then suggest it is time to move onto to one that meets your approval.

Over the years I have seen many individuals take home their brand new Cobra R, GT500, Boss 302, 50th Anniversary Mustang GT, GT350/R, etc. whereby they didn't want their cars cleaned up and detailed and only to find that once they got their new rides home and all cleaned up they found several issues after which time they took their cars back to the dealership in question asking for compensation and especially when dealing with CF wheels at ~$6000 a wheel. I personally know a few individuals that have unfortunately gone down that road and you can imagine how that all went.

In this case I suggest that this car should have been completely detailed and inspected by someone prior to the car carrier being involved and then shipped a long ways in a somewhat neglect condition.

If that had been done most or all of these issues could have been dealt with up front and/or eliminated completely but now we have an enclosed carrier involved and a Ford dealership that is a very long ways away and suggest this may not be an easy fix but hope that I am wrong.

With the car coming out of the NE maybe you or one of you car buddies could have helped inspect this GT350R prior to departing for down South and might have caught a great deal of these issues right up front.

You make some valid points, and I can agree with you on some. I was stating my experiences over the past 20 years buying vehicles.

 

[PP0001]

You make some valid points, and I can agree with you on some. I was stating my experiences over the past 20 years buying vehicles.

Totally respect your comments and can tell you that very early on with respect to purchasing new vehicles back in the day that I learned the hard way with respect to not dealing with quality dealerships and their less than adequate support staff.

Based on your long history of purchasing new automobiles you obviously comprehend what I am saying and sometimes the closest Ford dealership is not always the best dealership to deal with in the big scheme to things.

One of the nice aspects of our forum is that we have members on here from pretty every State in America and every Province in Canada therefore if any individual requires some help with respect to being their eyes and ears when purchasing any vehicle away from home I suggest that pretty much most or all us will jump in and help if asked.

I totally get that OTD pricing and allocation availability is paramount for all of us therefore if one of our members locates and purchases a new Bullitt, GT350/R, GT500, Mach 1, etc. in a location not near them and are not in a position to inspect their car personally and don't know someone in the area who could do that for them then I suggest that they get on our forum and ask for some help and it will be taken care of by someone just as anal as you and I.

 

[JR369]

Funny thing is the salesman washed the car a week and half ago. I wasn't too worried about it since I planned to get paint correction done anyway but it looks like he drove it through a dust storm after he washed it.

This makes sense with the swirling on the wheels. Your dumbf**k salesman ran it thru a car wash. I have a black on black R as well. Mistake I made was letting them "detail" it before I picked it up. They did hand wash it but then they polished it and swirled it up. My detailer fixed it all up perfect but he had it three days and it cost me. Just took delivery on a new truck I ordered. I explicitly told them not to touch it. They left it in the wrapper for me. My detailer was very happy about that and the fact it wasn't black. LOL. Advice going forward for you is find THE BEST detailer. If you want it mirror black. You get what you pay for.

 

[HEP#15]

Hey a HEP in Austin! Would love to see in person sometime.

As for OP, just make them pay for the paint correction and a new splitter. Get a quote from a local bodyshop ASAP.

My car was in the showroom for 1 month but was damaged by the delivery company. They want to pay out of pocket but I filed an insurance claim against them right away just in case.

Still fighting the selling dealer to transfer the camber plate credit to my dealer. Ford Performance isn't much help with this FYI. It's all on you to keep pressing.

Absolutely.

 

[HEP#15]

Hey a HEP in Austin! Would love to see in person sometime.

As for OP, just make them pay for the paint correction and a new splitter. Get a quote from a local bodyshop ASAP.

My car was in the showroom for 1 month but was damaged by the delivery company. They want to pay out of pocket but I filed an insurance claim against them right away just in case.

Still fighting the selling dealer to transfer the camber plate credit to my dealer. Ford Performance isn't much help with this FYI. It's all on you to keep pressing.

This HEP R just arrived a Mac Haik in Georgetown. https://www.windowsticker.forddirec...vRW1w/iBK5it/mAPNBg5d4KDrBKnnsZjFd2fAyyew8hI=

 

[shogun32]

there are some very good people out there in these departments and if you haven't found one then suggest it is time to move onto to one that meets your approval.

right. 99.998% of people don't casually saunter past the 'car wash' bay and peer into buckets or watch the low-paid people throwing suds and water around, before having a conversation with a sales droid. You must have just incredible time on your hands. What's it say about a dealership that their wash team can't speak English and looks like they came off shift from the local Maids service? "Don't touch my freaking car" is the correct position to take but the damage is already done at least once. Selling cars is no different then selling Kenmore appliances. NOBODY at the dealership gives a damn about a 70k Shelby vs a 30k EB vs a 85k F150 Premium. There are all just hunks of metal with 4 wheels that have to have enough dirt knocked off of them to pass a casual glance at 5 paces.

1 mile over (do you actually have before/after pics of ODO?) is probably less than, and easily explained by fetching the car from offsite storage and running it thru the bay(s) and onto the truck. Looks to me it was 'washed' and driven out to an unpaved storage lot (dirt road too?) while still wet. And got a half-hearted hose-down when pulled back for delivery. It being a left-over '19 that's been rotting a while, the know-nothing errand boy is probably the same who 'washed' it.

No doubt the GM was delighted to be finally rid of the albatross they failed at extracting huge markups on. But that doesn't remotely translate into any shred of "customer service".

 

[PP0001]

right. 99.998% of people don't casually saunter past the 'car wash' bay and peer into buckets or watch the low-paid people throwing suds and water around, before having a conversation with a sales droid. You must have just incredible time on your hands. What's it say about a dealership that their wash team can't speak English and looks like they came off shift from the local Maids service? "Don't touch my freaking car" is the correct position to take but the damage is already done at least once. Selling cars is no different then selling Kenmore appliances. NOBODY at the dealership gives a damn about a 70k Shelby vs a 30k EB vs a 85k F150 Premium. There are all just hunks of metal with 4 wheels that have to have enough dirt knocked off of them to pass a casual glance at 5 paces.

1 mile over (do you actually have before/after pics of ODO?) is probably less than, and easily explained by fetching the car from offsite storage and running it thru the bay(s) and onto the truck. Looks to me it was 'washed' and driven out to an unpaved storage lot (dirt road too?) while still wet. And got a half-hearted hose-down when pulled back for delivery. It being a left-over '19 that's been rotting a while, the know-nothing errand boy is probably the same who 'washed' it.

No doubt the GM was delighted to be finally rid of the albatross they failed at extracting huge markups on. But that doesn't remotely translate into any shred of "customer service".

Wow, sure happy that you got that off of your chest!!

Don't know what kind of dealerships that you deal with but obviously not the right ones but then again we must remember that you are in love with a Camaro therefore that pretty much speaks volumes.

Sure happy that you provided the OP with all of the answers that he was looking for on his left over 2019 Shelby and that it was simply rotting away.

Lastly, your comments about the low paid individuals who cannot speak English and look like they just came from a local Maids service pretty much speaks for itself.

Go troll somewhere else and suggest that the Camaro forum might be a good start!!

 

[madweazl]

I do agree that the vast majority of dealers couldn't care less about the care of the vehicle; they just want them gone. The rest of the diatribe however...

 

[Scoobs]

I had a great experience with buying my R from an out of province dealer via Harry. Dealership contact was always right on top of things and always got back to me immediately re any questions I had. Even though I was watching progress on tracker they also kept me updated. When vehicle arrived they sent me lots of pictures so I could see the car clearly for any defects. Dealership said they would prefer not to wash it before shipping as didn't want to risk damage, BTW they also said they never washed any of Harry's purchases before delivery. They did ask for my permission to gas up the car before transport to me. When transport arrived they took lots of pics again and sent to me to confirm status of car when shippers took delivery, and they let me know when shipper left with car. TFX, the shipper, took great care with the delivery and when the transport arrived the driver said he had taken more time than usual loading the car because he knew it had CF wheels and didn't want to risk damage. Driver was also very careful unloading and used extra shims to avoid scraping the splitter unloading. I could find nothing wrong with the car when I took delivery. Subsequently upon cleaning up the car myself I found a single tiny paint chip right beside the stripe on the paint just above the grille. Not sure where it had happened but someone had already put touchup paint on it. It's hard to see and would have to be pointed out to anyone else. All in all I was quite happy with my purchase and delivery experience. I must also say that any time I have dealt with my local Ford dealership, their sales staff, parts staff, and service staff have been great to deal with and were all very knowledgeable about the GT350. I had to have an engine replacement done on my previous 350 and it was a totally painless and smooth process. One of the techs actually is also a member at my gym and asks me about the 350 whenever he sees me.
As Harry said there are good dealers out there, but you do have to find them.

 

[shogun32]

Don't know what kind of dealerships that you deal with but obviously not the right ones
...
Lastly, your comments about the low paid individuals who cannot speak English and look like they just came from a local Maids service pretty much speaks for itself.

I don't know... let's try Koons of Sterling and Falls Church - one of the biggest mover of F150 and Mustangs to include SuperSnakes and the more pedestrian Shelby's. Them and Sheehy Springfield. How do I know? Because I had occasion to watch them in action and engage in conversation. And yes, I've personally set foot on their overflow lots, fetched cars from them and familiar with the incredible filth of the cars rotting away on the lots. How else would you characterize a car sitting for a year or longer except as rotting unless it was sitting in a climate-controlled showroom and kept clean? Hell Jerry's had a 2013 Leguna Seca with enough dust on it to grow tomatoes on the hood and that was indoors to boot. Orismann Alex has whole rows of cars sitting at the back of the lot just covered in dirt and bird poo and left that way for many months.

but then again we must remember that you are in love with a Camaro therefore that pretty much speaks volumes.

and yet I own not one, but two MY19 Mustangs... Hmmm
Just because I recognize the superior engineering of GM's Camaro over the Mustang doesn't mean I think the Mustang isn't worthy of ownership or appropriate accolades.

 

[Clump]

let's try Koons of Sterling and Falls Church

I've bought quite a few new Fords from Koons Falls Church. My black PP2 was brought over from Sterling. The car had a lot of swirls, especially on the trunk lid. Nothing I couldn't get out, but they obviously didn't exercise a lot of care with it. I think they wiped dust off with a dry towel.

In March 2020 I bought a black 2019 Ranger from them that had been on the lot since July 2019. They made me a fantastic deal. The paint was a mess. It felt like sandpaper, scratches in the hood and roof and swirl city. I deal with 1 of the sales managers and raised hell with him about the condition. He offered to put whatever coating they use on it free, which I declined. They still made the sale though. It took some work to get it looking good, by far the worst paint I've encountered on a new vehicle.

I understand that these are not Ferraris, but a little bit of care would go a long way. I've seen the lot rats running car after car through an automated wash and then drying them with the same filthy towel. If the management cared they would address it. They still sell a lot of cars and I'm guilty of going there for the deals myself.

In the OP's case it's pretty close to the top of Ford pricing and really deserved better.

Sponsored