Complaint Rating:

I recently tried to purchase a new Ford Explorer from Ernie Haire Ford on Florida Ave in Tampa. I put a deposit down on the car and when I went to pick it up, the price somehow changed after I had this in writing from the salesman I was dealing with. Outrageous if you ask me. Please post to keep buyers away from this dealership. Below is the email I received and minutes after put a deposit down on it.

From: Maurice Rojo [mailto:mrojo AT erniehaireford.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 11:45 AM
To: Michael Addabbo
Subject: RE: Your new vehicle

Sorry to hear about the car. I also understand completely about BS like "I need one more car to get bonus" and whatnot - I hate that crap myself that's why I never do it. I cannot comment on anything that Damian said because I am not familiar with his affairs but I can tell you that everything that I personally have discussed with you is 100% accurate - including the part about getting the best deal the day you buy. It's been like that for decades - a great deal can be negotiated over the phone/Internet but the final juice is squeezed out of the grape only when the seller is satisfied that if he meets the buyer's terms that he will indeed sell the vehicle to him then and there. No one wants to waste their time - neither the seller nor the buyer. The other thing is that you can hold someone to a contract but not a price - some dealers will offer you the world over the phone but when you come in things have a way of changing :) I will never do that to you. With that being said:

My manager is willing to sell you our car at $24,300 OTD without the tint and ball (I can get you a ball receiver though at no charge - they just would not know about it :).

I hope that this price will work for you because without you here I cannot work my manager for anything more - getting him to do this without a client to introduce him to in person was hard enough.

As for the EB with the 3rd row - we have them, but again, there is no "best price" to speak of. The "best price" is the price you get right before you purchase the vehicle - nothing is set in stone at a car dealership - everything is negotiable. You may not like hearing it but its true and the truth sometimes has a bitter aftertaste... I will not sugarcoat anything but I will always shoot you straight. I can tell you though that you have obviously done a ton of shopping and you know your prices well and there is no way in hell that my managers would let you go without giving you the "best price" if you were here and made an offer on their vehicle - not after all of this. I hope that you can see by now that I am genuine in my words - I am not just saying a bunch of BS just to get you in here and waste 3 hours of our mutual time.

I am offering to make you a better deal than anyone - you have but to reach out and take it - Isn't coming down and taking what you want better than all of this back and forth? I hope to see you today and I look forward to handing you the keys to your new SUV and putting this matter to an end for all involved.

Thanks for everything!