Brandon Ford

I called on a 2010 Ford van listed for sale. I asked for a list of all the fees before I fly cross-country to purchase. I even had the financing arranged by over-nighting the paperwork to me for signatures, a list of all the fees before I fly cross-country to purchase. I even had the financing arranged by over-nighting the paperwork to me for signatures, then back to the dealership to avoid any surprises when I got to Fla. When I got there, the running boards which were pictured in the ad had been removed from the van. When I asked the sales person about them, he told me he had "Never seen any running boards on the van." I pulled the print out from Autotrader, but the ad photos were too small to make out the details. I asked him to pull up the ad on the internet & he told me "The ad had been deleted since the van sold." He said a 3rd party took & posted all photos for the site, and he doubted the dealership had them still. I went straight to the sales desk & insisted that even if the ad HAD been removed, there'd be NO reason to have deleted the photos. At my urging, the sales manager DID locate them AND verified the running boards WERE on the van in the pictures. The salesman, Tim Houlis said he didn't know why they'd have been removed, & no one there knew anything about the missing running boards, & even suggested that they may have been "Stolen" right off of the van while on their lot. Having purchased boards before, I knew I could get them for $300. I asked & they reduced the price by the $300. I learned while shopping online, that many dealers add extra fees. When I was explained all of the charges, Tim Houlis told me the dealership would handle the title & registration paperwork, and that there was a charge for these services of $107.95 in addition to the sales tax. He also told me that since they did't know the exact amount of the title and reg. fees N.M. would charge, the dealership would collect $350 & refund the balance later. I let Miranda at the dealership know it was registered ~$93 actual fees. I asked her to refund the remaining $257 of the $350. This $350 was listed on my signed contract, so I had no reason to believe Mr. Houlis was lying to me about this. A week later I got a check from Brandon Ford for $157.00, which was $100 short. I called Mr. Houlis, and asked about it, & he said he would inquire, & to call him back the next day. My calls went unanswered. I asked for a manager, and that call to this day was never returned. I then called the State of Florida, Hillsboro County DMV Regional Office and described the situation to them. They said they thought the charge may not be legal, and asked me to provide them with a copy of the sales contract along with filing a formal complaint which I am now doing. I'm adding to the dozen complaints they already have with the BBB of Florida. I continued to call the dealership & Miranda in their finance/ Doc prep department finally took my call & explained that they "Use a 3rd party for all out of state transactions" & they pay them $100 for these transactions. I told her THAT was never disclosed to me, & that I had been misled that the $350 charge would be refunded less the ACTUAL registration fees. The salesman finally returned my call & told me he spoke with everyone there, and "Since they took care of the running boards" (like that was a FAVOR to me, and not an obligation on their part to avoid obvious false advertising) "everyone in their chain of command felt that this undisclosed fee was legal," & that they were basically done with me. He refused to discuss the matter any further with me. I also informed him that I would proceed with the formal complaint that Hillsboro County suggested I file. I told him I may also have to seek legal advise and further investigate the legality of NOT disclosing a hidden charge in the "TITLE, REGISTRATION AND LICENSE FEES" section of the contract. There IS a section that lists such fees. I was ALSO charged such other fees as: "Dealer Delivery Fee of $595.00, Title & Documentary Handling Fee of $64.95, AND Electronic Registration Filing Fee of $43.00" Clearly printed in this section of the contract it reads "THESE CHARGES REPRESENT COSTS AND PROFIT TO THE DEALER FOR ITEMS SUCH AS INSPECTING, CLEANING, AND ADJUSTING VEHICLES AND PREPARING DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE SALE." This sounds like the section where this $100 fee SHOULD have been disclosed & NOT hidden in the amount designated as the anticipated fees to be collected on behalf and sent to NM's MVD. Therefore, I feel that even if this is somehow deemed "LEGAL" by the State of Florida's AG, it's certainly underhanded, dishonest, AND unethical not to disclose an amount of $100 that the dealership AND the salesman know are going to be collected and charged, and clearly under no circumstance as an out of state transaction would EVER be refunded, since Mr. Houlis AND Miranda subsequently both informed me they pay this $100 to this 3rd party for ALL out of state transactions. If anything similar has occurred to you, please post about it or contact Hillsboro County to file a formal complaint, their number is 813-612-7110 Opt 4. More

The service manager seems to think customers are complete idiots . I was told the solution to my battery going dead in a week to two weeks on a 2010 Mustang is to put a tender on it. This means you can't tak idiots . I was told the solution to my battery going dead in a week to two weeks on a 2010 Mustang is to put a tender on it. This means you can't take a trip and leave a one year old car in an airport parking lot. My solution is buy a Honda! More

tried to have my suv 5000 mile serviced and have some gas mileage problems looked at <br>car was deposited at 09:00am <br>at 09:15 00am mike called and told me that he would have to check my third party warr mileage problems looked at <br>car was deposited at 09:00am <br>at 09:15 00am mike called and told me that he would have to check my third party warranty would cover any extra work carried out<br>I phone ar 15:15 and ask if my car is ready <br>Mike informs me he has been busy trying to sort other things for other people and he will try to get the warranty info<br>10 minutes later he tells me my warranty company will not deal with Brandon ford<br>I make a phone call and are informed they will deal with anybody else in tampa but not brandon ford<br>have to leave a message with mike telling him not to do any work i will pay for service and go elsewere<br>16:00 turn up at brandon ford and car has not been serviced but mike tries to give me a bill for $85:00 for a diagnostic <br>I ask for the manager and eventually he drops the charge telling me i have just received a free diag checkup unfortunately nobody gives me any paperwork confirming this<br>avoid the service dept at all costs More