John Kennedy Ford Incorporated

Review: I am contacting you to put this car dealership on notice, and to protect other potential customers of the bad sales practices going on at this dealership.

I was looking for a car for my niece and found a 2005 Ford Escape, one owner, low miles, and clean carfax report. I proceded to negotiate a price and that was agreed upon on Saturday 10/26/13 and all I wanted to do was have my mechanic check out vehicle before we completed deal. Dealer agreed and I took 2 hours and $150.00 out of my day to have them check out car at his shop and then give me the ok to buy the car. No problems existed , or so I thought.

I shook hands with [redacted], the salesman and he asked if I could come in Wed or Thur to close the deal. I said Thur and it was set up.

I get a call last evening (wed 10/30/13) at approx. 8:45pm , from [redacted] saying the car's engine blew and is no longer available.

He said it happened in moving car ??? I have know idea what that means or do I care. I was totally shocked by their tactics and dishonesty .

To confirm my suspicions , I called this morning to inquire about car and spoke with a sales rep who said CAR WAS SOLD LAST NIGHT(10/30/13).

I said that is funny, because I received a call from [redacted] just last night and he informed me car's engine blew out.

After a few minutes, sales rep gets back on line and apologizes , saying he was referring to a 2006 Escape , not the 2005 , and in fact the 2005 did blow an engine.

I think their sales practices are the reason the automotive business has such a poor reputation . It further enforces my belief that you CAN"T TRUST JOHN KENNEDY FORD and JP KENNEDY gen manager.

I can't saying it any clearer , DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM THIS DEALERSHIP. THEY CAN"T BE TRUSTED.Desired Settlement: Sell me the car that we had an agreement on at the agreed price . THAT"S IT!

Business

Response:

The policy for all John Kennedy Dealerships is that a vehicle

is always for sale until we receive payment on the vehicle. For that reason we do not hold vehicles or accept

deposits to hold vehicles. In this

particular case, the customer wanted to take the vehicle, they were interested

in, to their mechanic. The salesperson

told the potential customers that they could not pick up the vehicle for the

day to show there mechanic because other potential customers were scheduled to

come in and possibly purchase that same vehicle. So our sales personal did the folks a favor

and quick ran it over to show there mechanic so the vehicle could be brought

back to show to the other potential customers. Apparently the mechanic gave the ok to them on

the vehicle, why they waited three more days to want to purchase is not our decision

it was there’s. It was made clear from

the begin that other customers had interest in the vehicle. The reason we do not hold vehicles in our

organization is because roughly 40% of customers who say they are going to buy

a vehicle never end up actually purchasing, hence why we do not hold

vehicles. Why the salesperson decided to

tell the customers that he couldn't sell them the car because of an engine

issue was wrong and he has been reprimanded.

Regardless the vehicle always gets sold to the first paying customer, in

this event the potential customer waited too long and one of the other many

people interested in the same vehicle purchased before them. We have over 400 preowned vehicles between

all 8 of our stores, I’m sure we can find a similar vehicle for these folks. Sorry.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

The Salesman ([redacted]) asked me what day(Wed or Thur) would work for me to come in to finalize deal on Escape. I said I'll be in first thing Thursday. He said I'll see you then.

If I knew these people would sell this car out from under me , less than 24 hrs from delivery, I wouldn't of wasted 3 hrs of my time , my mechanic's time, and my niece's time.

Regardless of what the Company says about people waiting on this vehicle, IF SALESMAN ASKED ME FOR A DEPOSIT I WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM ONE. WE had an agreement and they they didn't show me the respect the customer should be given to complete this transaction. I've moved on to find a new car for my niece. I'm not holding my breathe on getting any reimbursement on the cost of checking car out prior to purchase.

Final comment on this issue,

DO NOT TRUST A WORD YOU HEAR FROM THIS COMPANY . SALES TACTICS LIKE THEIRS GIVES THE AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIPS THE INTEGRITY THEY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SHED FOR YEARS.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Were are sorry that you feel this way. We did not ask for a deposit from you because our policy is first come first serve and do not accept deposits. Unfortunately you had to pay a mechanic to look at the car for you. Please send a copy of your bill to us at (730 Valley Forge Road; Phoenixville, PA 19460) att: JP Kennedy and we would be more than happy to reimburse you for your troubles. We never have intentions of angering people over the potential sale of a vehicle unfortunately this has been our policy for the past 50+ years. The first customer to pay for a vehicle, we have for sale, is the customer that purchases it. Glad you were able to find another vehicle, and wish you many safe miles on it.