I love my new F-150, but I will never recommend this dealership to anybody. I was looking for a very specific F-150, and one of those requirements was that it had to have a maximum towing package. Autonation Ford Torrance seemed to have the truck I was looking for. I made it very clear to the Sales Associate (Martin Romero) what my requirements were, and I asked him to make sure all of those requirements were included in the truck BEFORE I drove down there to purchase it. He assured me that it had everything I was looking for. So, we drove 1.5 hours in traffic to Torrance, to purchase the truck. Upon getting there for my appointment, Martin had left for the day. So, I was assisted by Marc LaGreca instead. Marc was a lot of help and informative throughout the entire process – great guy. However, after the test drive, I noticed that the truck did not have the integrated trailer brake, which comes with all trucks that have the maximum towing package. Marc confirmed that the truck did not have the max. towing package. It was at that time that I realized I had wasted my time and went home. The next day, Marc called me to explain that there were a few differences between a regular towing package and maximum towing package – it basically came down to the bumper and the integrated trailer brake. I had been looking for quite some time, so I knew how difficult it was to find this type of truck (3.5 Liter Ecoboost, Supercab, 4x4, etc). So, I decided to go for it. I asked Marc to ask his GM if they would include the installation of the trailer brake into the deal ($500 value). The answer I got was “not a chance”. He said that he was already losing money on the truck because it was such a great deal. I accepted his position and asked if I can place it on hold until the weekend so it would be easier for me to get down there. He then added that I would NOT be able to use Autonation’s “Hold” feature to place this truck on hold. He decided that effective immediately he would not be doing that for any 2018 trucks, and that they were now first come, first served. My wife also called the GM attempting to make the same request, and he was EXTREMELY rude and condescending to my wife. There was really no rational reason for putting the truck on hold, and moreover, there was NO EXCUSE for the way he spoke to my wife. Nonetheless, nobody purchased the truck before us and we met Marc extra early (before the dealership opened) on that Saturday to sign and pay for the truck. Because of the strict deadline they gave me, I had to pay additional delivery fees to make sure that Autonation got their check on time – this purchase took place on 5/4/19. On 5/23/19, I start to get calls, emails and texts from Autonation Ford Torrance, telling me to call back ASAP. I was out of town and had bad cell service, so I figured I would call them when I returned home. Suddenly, I get a text from Marc letting me know that both my checks (deposit check and check from bank), WERE BOTH ACCIDENTLY SHREDDED, and if I would be so kind as to RESEND THE CHECKS. I explained to Marc that I had paid additional postage fees just to get the checks there in time to meet the deadline that the GM gave me. Marc assured me that Autonation would reimburse me for any fees (which included the fee for the stop payment on the check they shredded). The fees were only about $20 for that, but to this day (7/10/19) I have not yet received that promised check from Autonation Ford Torrance. In fact, the reason I took so long to write this was because I was giving them at least 30 days to send the check, just to be sure I was not getting it. It’s not the amount owed that bothers me, it is the fact that they gave me their word that I would receive a check, and never did. I am very big on loyalty, trust and respect, and unfortunately, this dealership FAILED all three of those categories.
Michael Machado
Jul 10, 2019