Matthews-Currie Ford Co.

Remember that scene in “Pretty Woman” where Julia Roberts goes back to the hoity-toity store that treated her terribly and says, “You work on commission, right? Big mistake. BIG.” That’s my feeling about Mat goes back to the hoity-toity store that treated her terribly and says, “You work on commission, right? Big mistake. BIG.” That’s my feeling about Matthews-Currie Ford. Let me explain… My husband and I arrived at their dealership on 12/26/13 full of new car excitement and anticipation. We walked to the row of Ford Explorers and Edges, and proceeded to open doors and hatches, and climb in and out of many of them. Odd how after 25 minutes of doing this, not a single person came out to greet us. But a few people drove by in golf carts without saying a word. Should have been our first sign. We found the perfect car and wanted to test drive it. But this perfect car had a dead battery. Should have been our second sign. We were forced to go into the office to seek help. We walked in, and sales people to our right and left (who were not with customers, mind you) just glanced at us and turned back to each other to carry on their conversations. We stood in shock for a moment before the receptionist asked who we were looking for. My husband said “Someone who wants to sell a car today.” She then told us they were short on staff because “a bunch of people didn’t show up today.” She asks a passerby salesman if he’s busy. He looks annoyed and says, “No.” Introducing… Tony! Should have been our third sign. He asks us which car we want to see. We tell him it’s the 2013 Ford Edge Limited with the dead battery. He asks us to look at pictures on their website and tell him which one it is. We can’t tell. He begrudgingly walks us outside to find it. He then proceeds to try to jump the battery with three different portable jumpers, getting more annoyed each time. After another 25 minutes of this, he gets it started, hands us the keys and says to go ahead, he’ll see us in a few minutes. We drove it right off the lot, without giving him a last name, a phone number, a drivers license, anything. Weird. Should have been our fourth sign. We loved the car; it was exactly what we were looking for. It was a new 2013 model, and considering we were in the last week of 2013, it seemed like the right time to get a great deal. The online price was $32,194. I would venture to guess that 99.9% of people think that the advertised price for a car is always inflated a bit so the customer and sales person can do the dance. The customer offers less, the sales person counters, and they both come to an agreement where the customer feels good about their purchase and the dealership makes some money. That’s how it works. Tony asked what we wanted to pay for the car. My husband gave a pretty low offer as a starting point (the start of the dance). Tony said there was no way, but he would ask his manager. He walked away, came back, and said, “Nope. The advertised price is the lowest we will go. Nice to meet you.” Handshake. Shuffle us out the door. We were SHOCKED. He did not offer alternatives. He did not take our names. He did not take our phone number. He could not wait to get rid of us. If I am going to make a $25,000-$35,000 purchase, I expect customer service. I expect to be treated with respect. I expect kindness, even if you don’t feel like being there. I expect to be offered every option to meet my budget and expectations. If I am unrealistic, I expect you to kindly offer alternatives that may be better suited for my needs. My sister-in-law purchased her vehicle from this dealership and could not believe how we were treated by Tony. She put a call in to Randy, the salesman who assisted her, who she was quite pleased with. He apologized profusely, promising to work with us and be honest about prices and options. He said he had a sales meeting the following morning at 8AM and would be available after 8:30AM. My husband called at 9AM. Randy wasn’t in. So, he left a message. We didn’t hear from Randy until after 10AM. They spoke on the phone a bit, my husband offered $30,000 out-the-door after our trade-in. Randy said he was doubtful, but would speak to the sales manager and get right back to us. He also said they were already giving up their 2.5% dealer holdback. To which my husband said, “Isn’t the Ford holdback 3%?” Randy said, “Hmmm, I don’t know, oh yeah, I guess it is 3.1%” Shady. Well, we didn’t get a call back for over FOUR HOURS. And guess who Randy had call us back? TONY. Awesome. And he had the nerve to ask us if we gave some thought to the price. My husband asked, “Our price or yours?” Tony said their original price of $32,194. Our answer was NO. And Tony basically said, “Have a nice day. Bye.” And hung up. Considering we were only $2,000 apart, the way this dealership treated us is just appalling. Here comes the “Pretty Woman” part… That same afternoon, we went to Gator Ford in Seffner, FL. We were greeted outside by the sweetest person, Lily, before we could even get in the door. We found the exact same car at the exact same MSRP (with even prettier exterior/interior colors). And guess what! Lily and General Manager, Michael, gave us the car for the $30,000 we asked for in less than 5 minutes of negotiating. Every person we came into contact with was kind and personable. They thanked us for our business. Asked us never hesitate to call with questions and to come back anytime. We will be customers for LIFE. And we will rave to everyone we know. Big mistake, Matthews-Currie. BIG. More

While looking for my next vehicle, I went to Matthews-Currie Ford. There I worked with Don Nass. This is the dealership to purchase from if you want friendly, non-pressure sales, as well as Matthews-Currie Ford. There I worked with Don Nass. This is the dealership to purchase from if you want friendly, non-pressure sales, as well as a great price. I was thoroughly impressed, Don was very knowledgeable about the vehicle I was interested in and, he was able to get the vehicle I wanted at a great price. This dealership is not your typical place. I have purchased vehicles in the past from other dealerships in the area & its always the same run around game just to buy a vehicle. Matthews Currie-Ford goes above and beyond the rest in such that there is no pressure and they are very up front about everything, that way you can put your mind at ease knowing that you are getting honesty and the best possible pricing out there. I would definitely recommend my friends and family to work with and buy from Matthews-Currie Ford. As a matter of fact, my son also purchased a truck here shortly after I did. We are both very satisfied with our trucks and will be back again in the future. More

I have purchased 4 vehicles in the past 12 years from Matthews-Curie Ford. Everytime they always find a way to amaze my family whether purchasing a vehicle or having something checked out. In todays age Matthews-Curie Ford. Everytime they always find a way to amaze my family whether purchasing a vehicle or having something checked out. In todays age it is hard to know if you can trust someone. I can share that when you trust this dealership with your hard earned money, they make sure that trust remains intact for life. More

Russell always does a great job for me, always remembering me every time I visit. I bought the car there and have it serviced there. Every time I have been there I have had a great experience. remembering me every time I visit. I bought the car there and have it serviced there. Every time I have been there I have had a great experience. More

I went in to start planning to replace my SUV for a more economical car. Thinking I would need a lot up front and a higher payment for a newer car. Rich helped me weigh out the different models and years economical car. Thinking I would need a lot up front and a higher payment for a newer car. Rich helped me weigh out the different models and years in my preferred price range. And danny was able to get me a lower interest rate than my personal bank. I didn't have to wait, or settle for less of a car. Thanks guys. More

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! through no fault of my own my HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! through no fault of my own my '07 F150's engine seized up at 100,000 miles. I felt it was defective and expected some help bu HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! through no fault of my own my '07 F150's engine seized up at 100,000 miles. I felt it was defective and expected some help but they basically said tough sh** and Matthews Currie was not willing to budge off of the $8500 quote to replace it. I then took it to Englewood Ford only to learn they are OWNED BY THE SAME PEOPLE but they quoted me $6300, however, they initially wanted $2000 up front, then decided to change it to $5000 which is 80%! I am a contractor and I can imagine the reaction I would get if I asked for 80% of a job in advance. So I approached Steve the "service manager" with an alternative, more reasonable payment arrangement he said he would run it by Ed Bielen who I believe is the VP of both dealerships. After a week or so passed Steve calls me and wants to know what I have decided to do with my truck. he seemed to have completely forgotten about our previous conversation and clearly had not talked to Ed Bielen about it. Since Steve apparently dropped the ball I emailed Ed Bielen directly and ran the alternate, more reasonable plan by him noting that Steve must have forgotten to approach him about this because I never heard back from him on it. I guess I must have rattled someone's cage because about an hour later I get a call from Steve in a very pissy tone informing me that they were NOT going to work on my truck AT ALL and demanded I get it off his lot within 24 hours. Given the fact my engine died at roughly half its life span you would think they would have bent over backwards to make this right. Instead they were totally uncooperative, confrontational, and petty, and chased a loyal customer away. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM and if you are already stuck with them, make notes, get things in writing, double check everything...they are very mean spirited, unwilling to do the right thing and really seem to have their heads up their butts More

I have been in for service 4 times since January for transmission work. The first time I left my engine immediately overheated and I was out of coolant. The second time I went in they supposedly fixed t transmission work. The first time I left my engine immediately overheated and I was out of coolant. The second time I went in they supposedly fixed the problem. Then I went in a third time to have the SAME problem fixed again, and all together costing me 3,000 dollars. So it happened again and my engine overheated, and when I went in and waited I realized the owner of the shop coming over just to tell me I was trespassing, and he was calling the cops, when all I wanted was an explanation for my problem. They obviously couldn't admit they did wrong by me, so they rather would handle it like unprofessional children. Can't wait to get the lawyers and whoever else involved to help solve this horrible way I was treated. Would not recommend trusting them with your vehicle. Especially now that because of their wrong doing my whole engine might have blown. More

I brought my truck in for an oil change and a tune up and also to have my truck hard top functional. First off I was told my hard top had been fixed and it was not, After getting an argument from Maryann I also to have my truck hard top functional. First off I was told my hard top had been fixed and it was not, After getting an argument from Maryann I had to ask her to come out and look for herself that it had not been fixed. Then she told me I’d be best off going to a body shop to have that fixed (That’s why I went to your service shop because they have a body shop on the premises)! . Then I was told that my truck would have to be kept overnight because the part needed to be ordered and the part that was installed wasn’t even necessary for the problem that needed to be fixed (of course I was charged for this). Then was told by Maryann that I would have to pay for this or they would take the part out and put my old part back in. then also told by Maryann that I should go to a high performance auto shop for said problem(Which is a belt squeaking). Then your computers were down and me along with all the other irate customers had waited and waited to be able to pay. I was very upset and had asked ' for my trouble could a free ford t-shirt a least be included in the package and was told no( by Maryann) you would think she would have wanted to a least placate me with something as simple as a free t-shirt. This Is ridiculous, I thought my truck was in good hands. I’m sorry to say but I think you have lost my future business. Then just to add to my anger my tire’s where in need of air and that wasn’t even taken care or mentioned (according to the Ford Service commercial there is multi point inspection done when you bring your vehicle in). More

I came in to buy a Ford because I heard nothing but good things about the dealership. I was never pressured at all into buying my Ford and they gave me a good price stress free. I would defintely reccomend things about the dealership. I was never pressured at all into buying my Ford and they gave me a good price stress free. I would defintely reccomend them to anyone looking to buy a Ford. More

Gary took the extra time to find us the exact exact F150 we were searching. I was amazed to learn that he located a Lariat which came off the assembly line July 18th. We purchased it August 6. Gary sho we were searching. I was amazed to learn that he located a Lariat which came off the assembly line July 18th. We purchased it August 6. Gary showed us all of the incentives! He made the deal "too good to refuse!" Keith Grening was very helpful with the filing of the financial papers. Over all, the service was excellent ! We arrived, signed all necessary paper work and drove away in a new F150 Lariat ! More