The Frederick Motor Company

Mark Lawson was a pleasure to work with on our vehicle purchase. Mark is very responsive and does a great job with addressing questions, asks and follow-up. He even came into work on his day off to finali purchase. Mark is very responsive and does a great job with addressing questions, asks and follow-up. He even came into work on his day off to finalize our purchase. I would recommend Mark and FMC to others looking to buy a used vehicle. More

Mark Lawson was the best salesperson ever. Very professional and attentive. Never once felt pressured or rushed. Highly recommend working with Mark. Very professional and attentive. Never once felt pressured or rushed. Highly recommend working with Mark. More

At no point did we feel pressured to buy the SUV I ended up buying. Mark was great the entire time and very nice. up buying. Mark was great the entire time and very nice. More

I bought a vehicle from The Frederick Motor Company (FMC) a few months ago. Unfortunately the experience reinforced the stereotype that the vast majority of dealers are unethical, to put it politely. The a few months ago. Unfortunately the experience reinforced the stereotype that the vast majority of dealers are unethical, to put it politely. There were three primary issues: 1) On the day I submitted my order, the salesperson insisted, several times, that if there were any MSRP increases before the delivery date, I would have to pay them. S/he went on to say "they are usually small". Ford offers "Automatic Price Protection" for all retail orders, and has for years. Any MSRP increases only apply to new orders, submitted after the date of the increase -- they do not apply retroactively, to existing orders (which is as it should be). The salesperson had years of experience, so it is highly unlikely they were not aware of the price protection program. That begs the question, why lie about it? A cynical person might conclude that there is a way for the dealership and/or salesperson to pocket the price protection rebate from Ford, if the customer is unaware it exits. As for the size of the MSRP increases -- on the vehicle I ordered, there were at least 2 price increases, totaling $2,600, prior to delivery. Hardly 'small'. Around the same time, the MSRP on other Ford models jumped by up to $5,000 in one shot! It's easy to see why the salesperson might pretend price protection does not exist -- the rebate would be a nice "bonus" if the customer doesn't know better. Of course it would also be fraud. 2) I was also told that labor is not included in the price of dealer installed accessories. That was false, and also attempted fraud. The labor charges would have been hundreds of dollars extra. 3) My vehicle, like many/most Fords, qualified for the $1,000 'order credit'. That's a Ford incentive to encourage buyers to place orders (rather than buy off the lot), knowing the delays can be months long. It was never mentioned at any time up through delivery -- I had to bring it up. Both the salesperson and another seasoned employee insisted that my vehicle did not qualify for the $1,000 credit. I had to search online and find a Ford webpage confirming that the credit did indeed apply. Then, after I'd found the page, neither of them even bothered to look at it! It was as if they knew all along that my vehicle qualified, and once I found the proof they knew their scam was up. Again, a cynical person might suspect that there is a way for the dealer and/or salesperson to keep that $1,000 credit if they can convince the customer it doesn't apply (or the customer is unaware of it). More attempted fraud -- and '3 strikes'. I have intentionally not mentioned names because a) my intent is to warn potential FMC customers, not get employees in trouble, and b) I cannot be absolutely, 100%, 'beyond the shadow of a doubt' sure that they were aware of: price protection; the potential size of MSRP increases; the fact that labor is included in the price of dealer installed options; and the $1,000 order credit being applicable to my purchase. That said, it is next to impossible to believe that 2 car sales professionals, with decades of experience between them, were completely ignorant of all of the above. I'm all but certain they knew full well what they were doing, but there is a vanishingly small chance that it was ignorance and/or incompetence on their part. Either way though, the result is the same -- a buyer at FMC may end up paying WAY more than they should. I had purchased a car from FMC years ago and that was a positive experience. The negative reviews I read prior to going there this time were almost exclusively for the service dept -- sales seemed OK -- so I went in with my guard down. I was not expecting their multiple attempts to rip me off. It was the complete opposite of my previous experience. In fairness, the reviews of the Ford dealers in Hagerstown and Mount Airy were even more negative. So there's a good chance the buying experience at either of them would have been just as bad, if not worse -- but needless to say, that does not excuse the behavior of the FMC employees. Sadly, buying a car is usually still an adversarial transaction. Most dealers see potential buyers as marks/suckers to be lied to and taken advantage of. Direct-to-consumer auto sales cannot come soon enough. In the meantime, buyer beware! More

Mark Lawson was the best salesperson I’ve ever dealt with. Start to finish and even after. I noticed my used truck was missing the Jack. It wasn’t a Ford so it wasn’t so simple for them but they had a J with. Start to finish and even after. I noticed my used truck was missing the Jack. It wasn’t a Ford so it wasn’t so simple for them but they had a Jack for me within the week. More

We had a wonderful experience working with Mark from Frederick Motor Company. He was very professional, was able to answer all of our questions and was very patient with us as we waited for our financi Frederick Motor Company. He was very professional, was able to answer all of our questions and was very patient with us as we waited for our financing to come through. Thank you again for a great experience. More

The staff at FMC are as good as it gets! Professional, courteous, answered all of my questions, explained the options and worked with me from start to finish-driving off the lot in my dream Professional, courteous, answered all of my questions, explained the options and worked with me from start to finish-driving off the lot in my dream vehicle. We bought a 2020 Subaru from the new car sales staff and have been treated like royalty for every encounter. Big thanks to Mark Lawson and the business team for offering a great price on my trade-in. I recommend Frederick Subaru and the FMC team to anyone looking for a helpful engagement and a great price. More

Mark Lawson was so wonderful, thorough he actually made purchasing a new car a stress free event. He was no pressure something I dread going to a car dealership. As a 4H family and alumni ourselves, we wi purchasing a new car a stress free event. He was no pressure something I dread going to a car dealership. As a 4H family and alumni ourselves, we will for sure recommend this former 4H-er to the folks we know looking for a car. We will be in the market again this summer Mark will be our fist call when we are ready to start looking. The rest of the team were great as well they stayed open late to get the job done! Thanks Ford Motor Company for making professionalism a priority! More

Mark was so wonderful and thorough. I really appreciated how up-front and responsive he was. I would recommend them for sure! I really appreciated how up-front and responsive he was. I would recommend them for sure! More

We bought a Subaru 2019. One of the sales consultants, Mark Lawson, was extremely helpful throughout the entire process. I haven't had service this pleasant in quite some tim One of the sales consultants, Mark Lawson, was extremely helpful throughout the entire process. I haven't had service this pleasant in quite some time. Mark took the time to show us all of our options and find the one that was within our price range. In a few years, when I can afford an upgrade, I will be back at Fedrick Motor Company. More