[extrachrispy]

My local dealer found me a 2018 GT350, Ruby Red w/black stripe and convenience package--the exact car I would have ordered; however, the stripe ends at the front of the hood and does not extend down the front fascia. Looking closely, the paint appears to match, but it still gives me pause. Furthermore, the dealer my dealer obtained the car from in turn drove the car 130+ miles from a neighboring dealer, which I find odd.

The dealer my dealer got the car from claims that it came without the stripe extending down the fascia, which also seems very odd--I would have expected the first dealer to have filed it as a mis-build with Ford, but Ford Performance has no record of that for this VIN (I called them today). It's been recommended to me to have a body shop verify that it's original.

My dealer has offered to order the striping from Ford and have it professionally installed, and assures me that it would still be considered "factory original."

Would you take delivery of this vehicle at MSRP? Would you take delivery of it at all?

Here is the car:

 

[Svtride]

My dealer has offered to order the striping from Ford and have it professionally installed, and assures me that it would still be considered "factory original."

Would you take delivery of this vehicle at MSRP? Would you take delivery of it at all?

Here is the car:

View attachment 6809

That is odd that it left Flatrock that way. But odder stuff has rolled out car plants. Great color choice BTW.
Is the OTT stripe on the build sheet? Perhaps the original dealer added the OTT? Does the SIRIUS antenna sit on top of stripe film?
Was the front fascia perhaps damaged and replaced in the 130 miles? Look closely at signs of non factory install evidence..missing fasteners, poor panel alignment, anything that might hint the fascia was R&R'ed. Ask the selling dealer for an OASIS report print out for car. May indicate something if dealers made claims to Ford.

My stripe is peeling just in from of the decklid spoiler...so I am thinking of removing it entirely from car and black filming the whole roof.

If all checks out, try to get some $ knocked off or get the dealer to throw in some free oil changes.

GLWP

 

[extrachrispy]

Yes, the OTT stripe is on the sticker, as verified from the internet Ford window sticker. We know who the original receiving dealer was, and we will be calling them this morning to see if they noted it when they received the car from the truck. Interestingly, they originally had a $10K ADM on the car, which I find surprising if the car came off the truck missing the stripes on the nose. We'll be calling that dealer's new car manager this morning to see what they have to say. If the story checks out, great, though it is still curious why they wouldn't have filed a mis-build and have Ford make it right.

Color choice: thanks! I've seen the car in my dealer's detail bay, and it is beautiful in person! I just want to make sure that if I'm buying a car represented to me as new and original, that it really is new and original. I don't intend to ever sell it, but if the future ever brings me hard times and I have to, I want to make sure I don't take a bath on it.

 

[JimT]

Yes, the OTT stripe is on the sticker, as verified from the internet Ford window sticker. We know who the original receiving dealer was, and we will be calling them this morning to see if they noted it when they received the car from the truck. Interestingly, they originally had a $10K ADM on the car, which I find surprising if the car came off the truck missing the stripes on the nose. We'll be calling that dealer's new car manager this morning to see what they have to say. If the story checks out, great, though it is still curious why they wouldn't have filed a mis-build and have Ford make it right.


Color choice: thanks! I've seen the car in my dealer's detail bay, and it is beautiful in person! I just want to make sure that if I'm buying a car represented to me as new and original, that it really is new and original. I don't intend to ever sell it, but if the future ever brings me hard times and I have to, I want to make sure I don't take a bath on it.

Warning, make sure the dealership has not replaced or repainted this bumper (or any Dealer it has visited). This is the type of car a Dealership is willing to trade due to this issue. I don’t know the retail laws in Texas, but many times a component replacement (Bumper) does not need to be disclosed like other transportation damage. And if this was an accident by the Dealer, many times it gets brushed under the carpet. I don’t think this car would have made it past Final inspection if Ford Final Assemby “forgot” to put on the stripes. Something smells, sorry.

 

[extrachrispy]

[MENTION=4162]JimT[/MENTION], yes, that is where I am with this. I need firm documentation that the car arrived from FRAP that way, or else I need to have the deal adjusted to reflect that this is not an original car, but a repaired car, or else I walk away from the whole thing.

 

[GT_Dave]

Most likely the front was scratched or chipped, or a paint flaw from the factory, that is the type of results we have seen from cars out of the body shop.
If it was a minor repair and it is undetectable, it would not stop me from the purchase of a car with the color and options I needed, with the right deal. As long as the dealer completed the car and the condition of the repair was documented for the warranty history. Someone has the story on this condition, dig in until you find out for sure . . . the car is definitely worth the effort if it has what you want.

 

[ringmaster]

My local dealer found me a 2018 GT350, Ruby Red w/black stripe and convenience package--the exact car I would have ordered; however, the stripe ends at the front of the hood and does not extend down the front fascia. Looking closely, the paint appears to match, but it still gives me pause. Furthermore, the dealer my dealer obtained the car from in turn drove the car 130+ miles from a neighboring dealer, which I find odd.

The dealer my dealer got the car from claims that it came without the stripe extending down the fascia, which also seems very odd--I would have expected the first dealer to have filed it as a mis-build with Ford, but Ford Performance has no record of that for this VIN (I called them today). It's been recommended to me to have a body shop verify that it's original.

My dealer has offered to order the striping from Ford and have it professionally installed, and assures me that it would still be considered "factory original."

Would you take delivery of this vehicle at MSRP? Would you take delivery of it at all?

Here is the car:

View attachment 6809

It's a beautiful car so I hope you find out what the real story is. The 130 mile joy ride is really odd. And is the chin spoiler just not installed or is it missing? Good luck!

 

[extrachrispy]

The latest is that the Ford sales manager saw that the paint had been blended on the front bumper cover, and the dealer was not happy that he had accepted the car in that condition. The dealer from whom my dealer got the car is under major renovation after his shop was largely destroyed by hurricane Harvey, and has pledged to do whatever is necessary to make it right. The dealer from whom he got the car swears that it came that way. None of us believe him--he is a collector of red Mustangs who has won awards for his collection--but he's willing to put it in writing, so we're good on that score, and my dealer will fix what needs fixing prior to me taking delivery.

That leaves the mystery mileage, for which we are still seeking answers.

 

[extrachrispy]

Here is what we think happened, as the carfax report on this car shows that it was checked in at dealer #2 with 11 miles on it in January, with another service entry nine days later noting 12 miles, and it was picked up by my dealer via flatbed from dealer #2 with 149 miles on it: we think an employee of dealer #2 nabbed the dealer plate and went for a joyride, got into some boo-boo that damaged the bumper cover, and had a buddy in the body shop try to cover it up. That would account for the mileage. We have yet to ask dealer #2 about this.

Question: is there any kind of telemetry available via the OBD-II port that would let us know how it was driven? Max RPM? Number of times it hit redline? I am at this point leery of paying MSRP for a car represented to me as "new" that may have had the living snot beat out of it by some joyriding moron.

 

[Svtride]

Question: is there any kind of telemetry available via the OBD-II port that would let us know how it was driven? Max RPM? Number of times it hit redline? I am at this point leery of paying MSRP for a car represented to me as "new" that may have had the living snot beat out of it by some joyriding moron.

Not that I am aware of w/o airbag deployment. Ford builds in an event recorder into the restraints system but only logs seconds worth of before and after event parameters.

Can the crumbs in the Nav system maybe be looked at?
As a stretch, I'd look at MPG average in the eco screen page. If there're in the singles digits may indicating flogging. I've read of people noting this after there car has been in for service but they knew what their MPGs were before going in.

 

[17snake]

Ford is continuing to produce the 350s in 2019 and that will mark its fifth year in production. MSRPs are common these days. Looking at the vehicle and the mileage, personally, I would stay away from purchasing a new vehicle with unknown miles placed on it. That joyride theory is pretty strong. Often times, I see these Youtube videos of the so-called car reviewers who are ordinary Joes taking a vehicle from the dealership on a drive to do their reviews. I just don't know how they could've sold these cars after so many miles placed on them from those reviews. I wouldn't touch one if I knew some Jackass was doing a drive review on it. One of my criteria was to ensure no extra miles put on the vehicle when I researched for one. I bought mine with 4 miles and it was 1k under MSRP last year. Fast forward six months after I purchased mine, I am sure you can find MSRPs all over the country if you are willing to play shipping cost and willing to be flexible on the colors/stripes combo. If I was going to purchase a 350 with excess miles on it, why not just buy it used and saved $$. I have never seen stripes stopping at the front of the hood like that. Something tell me someone is trying to cover up unreported damage.

 

[extrachrispy]

I ended up accepting the car. My dealer is going to make sure the front end is correct (at his expense), and close inspection revealed no balled-up rubber either on the tires or on the carpet that lines the back of the rear wheel wells. Avg. mpg was 13.4mpg, making the revised theory that the GM of the other dealer probably drove the car home to show his wife. My gf, who has been a manager at several Ford dealerships, was satisfied, and she has been the pickier of the two of us on this deal.

 

[extrachrispy]

And I ended up taking the car back and unwinding the deal. What looked like a cosmetic issue apparently hid more serious problems, that the other dealer completely concealed: on the drive home, I found that the A/C didn't work, the climate-controlled seats didn't work, the buttons and dials for the radio didn't work, and I kept getting TPMS faults. For what these cars cost, I'm not about to buy one for the privilege of spending the next several months taking it back in to fix the next surprise.

Credit to my dealer: he took the car back without any hassle. Now we're trying to get another one from a nearby dealer, that has none of this questionable funny stuff going on.

 

[JimT]

I ended up accepting the car. My dealer is going to make sure the front end is correct (at his expense), and close inspection revealed no balled-up rubber either on the tires or on the carpet that lines the back of the rear wheel wells. Avg. mpg was 13.4mpg, making the revised theory that the GM of the other dealer probably drove the car home to show his wife. My gf, who has been a manager at several Ford dealerships, was satisfied, and she has been the pickier of the two of us on this deal.

Then your girlfriend will understand the therm “Due Bill”. This is the dealership putting in writing what they are willing to do after the sale to make this write, IN WRITING! Good luck with your purchase, sounds like you got Control, keep it.

 

[17snake]

Of course we all have different opinions, but I believe you made the right choice. Simply put, there are just way too many GT350s around now to take a chance on one.

 

[extrachrispy]

My dealer took the bad car back without fuss, my gf found one nearby, and my dealer got it from them, brought it up, and I took delivery of a pristine Ruby Red w/black stripe + convenience package, with 15 miles on the odo, and no BS backstory.

I introduce to you, Ruby Gale!

 

[Svtride]

Looks good. Great for outcome for you. Congrats!

 

[rob-wl]

My dealer took the bad car back without fuss, my gf found one nearby, and my dealer got it from them, brought it up, and I took delivery of a pristine Ruby Red w/black stripe + convenience package, with 15 miles on the odo, and no BS backstory.

I introduce to you, Ruby Gale!

View attachment 7025

Great color! Is that you behind the car?

 

[extrachrispy]

That's the sales guy, Nick, with the temporary tag. This is me:

 

[ringmaster]

I recognize that smile. It's the same one that's plastered all over my face whenever I drive my 350. Love that color combo.