Group 1 Ford of South Austin — Attraction in Austin

Where do I start... I guess I'll start with this... check my reviews (on yelp under Adriana F.) - I used to be yelp elite, but couldn't be anymore bc I have a business page on here and it's a conflict of interest, but I write honest reviews and am all for lifting businesses up, not down. My review on this dealership should be taken seriously as I'm being very honest about this unfortunate experience I had. Do not buy from them because they are dishonest.

What happened? I get to my truck on pick up day and it has paint damage in multiple places on the drivers side door and driver side passenger door- the damage was clearly done within the 24-48 hours we waited to pick it up... you could tell bc under it, it was perfectly white and zero rust. AND for the obvious reason.... It wasn't there before when I looked at it! The manager tried to tell me it was already there... coming from someone that owns a 911 for over 10 years and a nice Mercedes... I pay attention to this stuff and don't appreciate being told it was there when it clearly was not. I always notice the dings and scratches. I showed him existing damage that was already turning darker or rusted vs the brand new damage... he continued to insult my intelligence and denied. Then told me he could seal it so it doesn't rust but will not paint it.

We trusted this dealership to do a good job and with this purchase that they said was in great condition. We didn't go to a random car dealer bc we thought we'd be safe with a well known big dealer...

Not only this, but I saw hail damage on it when I picked it up... was told it's in great condition but zero disclosure of hail damage (didn't think to look for that when it was a "reputable dealership" and it was raining so hard to see that anyway). What dealership sells a truck with hail damage? I'm convinced that happened in the days it sat there before we picked it up, but there is a chance it was already there and the rain hid it when I looked at it, so as painful as it is I didn't complain as much about that bc I don't have proof. However, the new damage was so clear and even in rain you could have seen paint damage like that (especially being on the drivers side) and the new large scratch on the door... it was NOT THERE FOR SURE.

I feel taken advantage of. If I try to sell the car right after leaving the dealership I would have already lost thousands on it bc of the undisclosed hail damage and the new paint damage on the two doors.... They charged me like it was a truck in great shape and claimed that it was in great shape.

Notice the other items that the truck had like the double sided taped headliner... found that out on a hot day... which is almost every day in austin, so not like they didn't already know it was like that.

Before agreeing to purchase I had an agreement with Eric Lindquist (on paper that he signed) on what needed to be done to it before pick up and he would not give me proof of it having been done. I got tired of waiting weeks for that... i've asked more times than i can count, in text, for the documentation but he refused to send it. I finally talked to a manager and he said none of it was done and that he didn't even have authority to offer me that. So Eric basically just lied to get a sale. How evil and unprofessional is that? He asked me two weeks after we left with the truck, for the insurance info which he never asked for before and i got it to him within 24 hours. I won't even get into how rude he was multiple times- all you really need to know is to avoid him from being your sales guy bc he WILL lie to you.

I have not even showed the pics of the interior of the car yet... the dash was broken at pick up. i have a video and pictures of all of this the day we picked it up before leaving the lot with it... i plan on uploading those as well. He literally signed a paper before we finalized the purchase agreeing to have specific things done to the truck and never intended to do it.

Do not buy your truck from these people. They are crooked and run their business like a used...

Customer service was severely lacking. I came in on a Wednesday to test drive a 2022 Escape knowing in advance the sales rep I had communicated with couldn’t be there but was given the name of his substitute. When I arrived I was actually given to a substitute for the substitute because the first substitute was busy. I returned the next morning to buy that same 2022 Escape and was assigned to yet an altogether different sales guy, Troy, because none of the first 3 sales staff were available. No biggie- anyone can do the final sale. After finishing paperwork with the finance manager, Troy returns to “deliver” my vehicle. On the way out he asks if I’ll be able to give a 5 star review and I said “Sure!! It’s been a nice experience!” but that’s where the nice experience ended. I get to the car and he simply takes a video of us in front of the car, hands me a single key fob and walks away. He doesn’t actually do a vehicle delivery. I asked about the 2nd key fob and that’s when he tells me there’s only one but he (Troy) can get me contact info for a guy who can do one for me at a “reasonable price”. I’m not too happy about that but too late to do anything about it so I drive the 75 miles home then begin personalizing some of the settings through the touchscreen. That’s when I realize I need the keyless entry code. I called Troy. The dealership doesn’t have it- didn’t get it during the pre-sales vehicle inspection but I, “can take it to any Ford dealership and they can pull the code for me.” So I called a local Ford dealer by my house, and they can… for a $100 service fee. Called Troy. His only solution… drive the 75 miles back “at my convenience” and Maxwell can do it for free. No compensation offered for the inconvenience that would have been avoided HAD HE TAKEN THE TIME to do proper vehicle delivery in. the. first. place. Called back to talk to a used car sales manager. It was impossible to get anything but voicemail. I ultimately had to go through the finance manager so he could directly connect me to a HUMAN. Spoke with used car sales manager Gemma (person #5) who said she can’t do anything about a 2nd key fob because it wasn’t a “certified” vehicle but she will provide me a full tank of gas to offset the inconvenience of the trip to get the door code, to come in ANY day but Thursday because she’s off, no appointment needed. I arrive on Friday (1week after purchase) and Gemma isn’t there so I ask to speak to any other used car sales manager. I waited 10 minutes but no one comes - go check back with the receptionist. After another 5 minutes used car sales manager Steve (person #6) arrives. I explain the situation as previously told to Gemma and also tell him about an issue with my vehicle that happened the day before that left me stalled in an intersection. He says he will get my vehicle back to the Service Dept and will have them check the battery for that additional issue. An hour later person #7, who says he’s one of the “sales consultants”, finds me in the waiting area. He has the door code. I ask if they checked the battery issue. He honestly looks at me like a deer in the headlights… has NO IDEA to what I am referrIng. Why would he, right?? He’s only the SEVENTH person in this experience that I have been passed through. Now to be fair, after I gave him the rundown about what Steve said he was going to do, the guy did run back inside and check with Steve to see if it had been done. I did get the door code. They did confirm the battery was good and I shouldn’t be left stalled in an intersection again. I’ve read all the positive reviews. I wanted to be one, too, but my experience with this dealership once I got out the door after signing the paperwork was worse than unsatisfactory. To be passed around to that many people, from start to finish, left me feeling like my transaction had absolutely no value to them. Hope yours goes better for you. And to think, I still get to spend another $200+ on that 2nd key fob I didn’t know was missing until after I signed on the...

Terrible experience, read this review before you buy!! the sales person was nice enough but nothing else was even close to satisfactory. For starters they refused to accept my bank for financing and kept pressuring me to finance with them. When I called my bank to let them know what was going on they couldn’t believe it and offered me a cashiers check, you would think that would do the trick but they insisted they couldn’t accept that either. They called me back the next day and said they would take it and I had them send me the buyers order for the vehicle (which they initially refused but eventually did)and asked them to have it clean and charged for pickup the next day and let them know the exact time I would show up for it. When I arrived the vehicle was still completely dirty with literally dirt all over it and had not been charged. I was forced to wait 2 hours for it to be cleaned which made me late for work since I was dropped off at the dealer I had no choice but to wait. I had given them hours heads up that I would be coming to avoid this. After the cleaning I took possession of the car but as soon as I got in I noticed the tire pressure light was on for the right rear tire. I told the salesman who then took the car to the back and filled the tire. I figured this may have been a fluke since the car could have been just sitting on the lot for a while and got on the road but about 1 mile later I noticed the back of the vehicle was making a strange noise that didn’t take place during the test drive. It wasn’t extremely loud but concerning especially after the flat tire at the dealer but at this point I was on the highway and late to work so I continued driving and hoped for the best. When I pulled into my works parking lot the tire air pressure light came on for the rear left tire which was the opposite tire of the flat one at the dealer. I got out and examined the rear tires to see what was causing these flats and the noise. To my dismay the left tire (current light) was completely flat and since all tire places where closed I was forced to park the car overnight at my work. I text the salesman and let him know what was going on. He told me the manager would call me the next morning which never happened. I called over and over with no one taking my call and decided to text the salesman and let him know I wasn’t thrilled with how this all shook out. He text me a few hours later asking if I had been towed and where the vehicle was located and after I responded I never heard from him again. In my text I once again asked to have a manager reach out but no response. At this point I figured they knew the tires had issues and pawned the problem off on me.I understand it’s up to me to check for these things before buying and I did. The tires had great tread so there was no reason to assume they where bad. I spent the day removing both wheels in the rear to see what the issue was because this is a electric vehicle that comes with no spare tire . To my disbelief the left rear tire had 1 large bolt and one small screw in it while the rear right had one large screw stuck in it. The tires had crazy uneven wear on the inside lip where you can’t see it with out removing the wheels first . To get the car on the road I took both tires to be patched and put them back on myself. The tire shop informed me that both tires where bad and need to be replaced ASAP.Imagine buying a car and not being able to drive it home because it left you stranded 30 min after leaving the dealer. I’ve bought over 20 new/used vehicles in my life and I always buy from the bigger dealers to avoid shady practices like this even though it cost more for the vehicle and this is the first time I’ve ever dealt with something like this. It’s been 3 days now and still no call from my salesperson or manager. I just spent 30K on a vehicle that has 2 bad tires that will cost me $500+ to replace. They won’t even give you a call back when a issue occurs 30 minutes...