Bell Ford sent my husband a letter stating they wanted to buy back our 99 Taurus he had previously bought from them. The letter stated when he had purchased the car, how much the payments were, and then read that based upon this information, they would like to exchange our 99 Taurus for a new 06 Ford near or below our current payment. There was no fine print or any other statements like oac, etc.
Based upon this letter, we went to Bell Ford on 1-6-06 thinking we would get a new car. We were approached by Dave one of the sales managers. We gave him the letter and began to shop.
The first Focus we decided upon was when the financing paperwork began. At this point Gil (a salesman) was designated to help us. He kept running back and forth with numbers. Finally Dave came back and told us that because of the street package, they could not get us financed for this car, and if there was another Focus we might be interested in.
We finally found one that we liked. Then the financiang game began again. We got unreal numbers. The final numbers ended up $419.00 a month for 72 months. I brought up the letter again and was told by Dave, "in this industry that is considered near".
We were then taken to finance to sign more paperwork. We were told everything looked good but if we got the maintanance packages and different insurance, the finance companies would have no problem financing us because they would see that their investment was protected. This brought our payment up to $534.00 a month. We signed upon protest and left.
On 1/10/06 Karen from Bell Ford called my husband and asked for us to bring a utility bill and 5 references when we come to sign final paperwork that night. He then asked her if that meant everything went through, she said yes.
When we got there Gil approached us and asked us to have a seat. Dave soon came up and told us, "sorry guys, it didn't go through, we have three options: 1) we need another $3700 to put down because of the upside down equity 2) do you know of anyone who we could put the car in their name 3) we have an 05 Taurus we could put you in for the same contract".
They had already raised the price of the Focus to make up for upside down equity along with the rebate, trade equity assistance, and $300 down payment. I told him no and reminded him of the letter we received and what they had done was fraudulent. They brought around our car and we left.
During the first financing session we were asked if our car had any previous accident exceeding $500 in damage. It did not click until 1/14/06 so I ran a CARFAX. My husband had bought his 99 Taurus as a Certified Pre-Owned unit from Bell Ford the end of 12/02. This car had been in 2 previous accidents exceeding $1400 in damage. Theese facts were not disclosed.
On 1/16/06 I contacted Pat the Customer Relations Manager and was told regarding the letter it was a form letter and legal. He then asked me to fax it to him. I also informed him of what my research had turned up. He said he would call me back by the end of the day. I faxed the letter and have still not heard back. How unprofessional can you get? I have all documents to represent both claims.
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