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February 2024 by Bryce B.
BUYER BEWARE!!! I am not one to write negative reviews because I do believe most people are honest and have good intentions. However, I believe my experience with Essential Ford warranted one. TL;DR Essential Ford's negligence has costed me hours of driving, three days leaving work, and a $160 part that doesn't fit my vehicle and I cannot install without dealer programming. There lack of knowledge on their own policy almost costed me even more. After speaking with Ford Parts and Ford Customer Relations, they were unable to offer me a refund or exchange but suggested that I "find a different dealership". I used my Ford pass points to pay for an accessory through Fords parts website. On the website, it said the part fit my VIN and I called the Essential Ford to make sure. The person I spoke to didn't really seem like they knew for sure but said it probably does. As soon as the part came in, I scheduled an appointment for install. Upon arrival, they informed me that they didn't mention that I need both keys for the install and they couldn't do it that day without messing with the trucks computer. They told me once I had both keys, they could knock it out in 30 minutes so I didn't need an appointment. The next time I came in, I walked in around 3 (a few hours before service closed) and told me they couldn't do it because they don't have any available techs that late in the day. Lol, I thought this was a super easy thing that could be knocked out quickly. I come back again a few days later with both keys and earlier in the day. It took them about 30 minutes... to tell me that my part was incompatible and they couldn't exchange it because it is now outside the return window for Ford Parts, so I'd have to call them. They also told me they don't honor Ford Parts online pricing for service and it would be $160 for labor, which I already paid for. I later confirmed this is incorrect and Essential Ford is actually contractually required to honor it, according to Ford Parts. After contacting Ford Parts and Customer Relations, they all ultimately they end up pointing fingers at the dealer and I now have a part that I have no use for. Awesome.
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December 2023 by Shana P.
The sales manager and staff refused to complete paperwork to convert my 2023 F450 order to 2024 order. Extremely rude and could care less about the issues they have created.. when asked to create the document, the manager stated Ford is closed and there is nothing they can do.. so i lost the vehicle that I have been waiting for.. it appears the customer is not important, and they don't need the sale of a new vehicle. Thanks for nothing Essential Ford
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December 2023 by Gregg W.
DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM THIS DEALERSHIP!! I purchased a Fiat Spider from Skye, contingent on them replacing the four bald tires and securing the rocker panel on the passenger side. Three weeks later- they refuse to fix the rocker panel- saying I agreed to purchase the car as is!! NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!! The car was delivered filthy! There were stains on the passenger seat, and when I went to wash it, filthy brown water came out of the seat!! The car was never detailed and cleaned for a new owner!! I am beyond disgusted!! I paid cash for this car!! BIG MISTAKE!! avoid this dealership at all costs!
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October 2023 by Douglas D.
Bait and switch with their pricing. Vehicle listed at 68k on their website and wanted 75k once we arrived. Avoid these clowns at all costs.
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October 2023 by William G.
Essential Ford of Stuart is a dishonest and unprofessional company with a bad business structure! Our experience was so bad I wanted to share it all. 9/22 Arrive at Essential Ford to look at and test drive vehicle. We went back and forth but we left that day having not come to an agreed price. 9/23 I called and made an 'out the door' offer, they said no. They called right back to accept my 'out the door' offer. The price was confirmed again (and signed) both on paper and then again verbally by the salesman AND his trainee. I asked Jose (salesman) if there were going to be any more fees and he said no. After signing, they added the same fee my bank was charging me. We used our finance at a lower APR. They took the fee off after admitting they were wrong, and came back with a different fee that was not on the original signed bill. Upset we signed papers but couldn't take the car. If financed through them, we could have taken car home that day. Instead, a 10 day wait period for us to take the car...we left with no car. 9/24 Brandon (finance) at Essential Ford filled out the required papers incorrectly when sending the dealer funding request to help quicken the process, so it was pushed back longer... 9/26 Received phone call from GM Randy Allen who had me picked up so I could sign something at dealership to allow us to take the car that day. I drove back to the house and went to reverse into driveway and heard a metal knocking sound. LESS THAN 1 HOUR AFTER LEAVING THE DEALERSHIP! I called the dealership and the sales person Ben said it should be fine. In the background I hear, "I KNEW WE SHOULDN'T HAVE SOLD THAT CAR." I hung up made an appointment at a tires plus close to me for first thing the next day. 9/27 Took car into tires plus at 7am. I was contacted by tires plus within a couple hours and was told that it was problems with the rear axel and to take the car back to the dealership to return it or have them fix it, as they were not equipped to handle such a significant job. **CAR HAS BEEN NOW OFF DEALERSHIP LOT LESS THAN 24 HOURS!** Contacted Essential Ford and they told me I could bring the car in. 9/29 Took car to service center at dealership. 9/30 Andre (service manager) verified noise was coming from left rear axel but needed to get car on lift to again verify... 10/2 I called for update but no mechanics there, they would know more the following day... 10/3 Again I called for update and was told it was going to be almost $800 to fix it and the GM, Randy was the only one that could authorize repairs, at their expense, to the car. Essential Ford verified there was a problem and it could be fixed. That's all I was looking for. I was also told the car was sold as is and I could pay the $800 to "fix it" or just come pick up the car. It hurts that a dealership can get away with doing something like this to a hard working family of 6 just looking to get a fair deal on a working and safe vehicle. When asked if unsafe...both sales manager and Andre said, "IT MIGHT BE, but it might not be." So they were okay with selling us, and letting us drive away with a potentially dangerous vehicle. When I asked the sales manager for his name he laughed and said Santa Claus. After some back and forth he finally gave me his name. Brian McHugh. RANDY ALLEN, the general manager, wouldn't even come out to the sales floor to speak to me and my wife face to face about the issue. He hid behind his wall of dishonest employees. We left with the car and I am taking it to the Nissan dealership as advised by the Ford corporate formal complaint representative, to have it repaired. Between 10/6 and 10/7 Nissan verified issue and was able to fix car. Total cost was $1066 and came with a warranty. **I can honestly say, this entire experience with BRIAN (sales manager), RANDY (general manager), BRANDON (finance) and Essential Ford overall, was the ABSOLUTE WORST we have ever had!** Customers went home not only SAD and very UNHAPPY, but a little WORRIED/SCARED for our future safety in
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October 2023 by Doug B.
They can do better ... brought my vehicle in for scheduled service on Monday 10/02/23) at 08:13am and here it is Tuesday 10/03/23 @ 12:20 in the afternoon , and the dealership has yet to touch/inspect my vehicle - proof in the photo attached - it's their app. Why schedule service if you're not going to be able to perform service. If your excuse is the app doesn't work , why use it? These are management issues plain and simple
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September 2023 by Erica K.
Bought a used Dodge Charger. Robert was absolutely incredible!! He went above and beyond to ensure we had the most personable and pleasant experience! His customer service went above and beyond any expectations we could have had. I highly recommend for anyone to walk in and ask for Robert! He knows his stuff :)
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July 2023 by William J. S.
Bought a new 2021 Mustang there and it wasn't a good experience. The car is good but the whole process was a mess. We drove back over an hour each way to redo the paperwork that they did wrong the first time. They said they would give us a $60 gas card but never did. Just a poor sales process. The Mustang is nice though.
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July 2023 by Nabil E.
I will start with a summary just to confirm the other reviews, these guys try to take advantage of hardworking people and when they get caught, they hide and try to find the next victim!!! I took my 2020 Ford with 18000 miles in for an oil and filter change. I was told my the service adviser that my brake rotors were shot and needed to be changed! With only 18000 miles I challenged them and was told that the "humidity" might cause that. I insisted on a second inspection in my presence by a senior mechanic who confirmed that my rotors were as good as new!! I was given a card for a complementary service as an apology but when I tried to schedule my service, I was told that David (the Service Manager) placed a note in my folder not to schedule me. So here you have it, guys who try to take advantage of customers and when they are caught red handed - they will crawl back in the hole they crawled out of. Be Careful of those guys!!!!!! The good news, is there are plenty of other Ford Dealers in the area who would love to have the business.
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March 2023 by Brian R.
Don't ever do business here, or order a vehicle to this location, especially an F150 Lightning.First off, they don't even do the complete work that they force on you at the last minute. I was told that they were going to put 3M cup guards and door trip protection which they didn't even do to the driver side front and rear door, but charged me for it any way. They don't disclose these packages that require them to modify your vehicle until the very last minute, in my case it was a few days before I was supposed to take delivery of my vehicle after a 605 day process. When I saw these charges I stated I didn't want them and they responded that if I don't accept the yet to be done work and pay the extra $ they would sell my vehicle to someone else.Dishonest establishment, from the top down. Randy, the GSM who never reaches out, Brian McHugh, the lying sales manager who insists they don't charge over MSRP and then adds on packages that they do not disclose to you (don't ever order a vehicle to this location, especially an F150 Lightning) and finally to the service department who installs these 'packages' but doesn't even complete the work. They care about one thing and one thing only and that's the sale in front of them. I will never purchase another Ford product again due to the horrendous experience I had here. If this is the network Ford utilizes to sell their vehicles, you can keep them. Having walked two different folks through on how to switch their Lightning reservations to other dealerships from Essential Ford (you do so through Ford.com) I plan on continuing to do so to protect the consumer and their future investment
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February 2023 by Heather S.
The peeps at essential ford are amazing! That Dustin character is something else....Gina there is the bomb!!
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February 2023 by Lincoln W.
Had my car in for service for a click coming from the right front wheel. Took the car in and the dealer couldn't duplicate the problem so I had to drive there and do a road test with the technician. We didn't make it out of the parking lot and he acknowledged the problem. Had it fixed but had problems after that. Took the car back in for a shake. Gina the advisor said they took it for a road test and told I needed tires. That wasn't the problem, Not once did they hoist the car and notice the play in the front wheel. If they would have went through the process, they would have know that it is a wheel bearing problem which I knew before coming in. Also asked for a nail repair in the left tire which they didn't even bother with because I wouldn't buy new tires. The advisor when asked about eliminating the wheel bearing, told me my car is out of warranty, which was false my car is a CPO with powertrain to 100k. You can change the name of the dealer but the sneaky, dishonest practices haven't left this place. A shame that they would refuse one service request because I refused to spend 1300 on tires that weren't needed.Take the time do do to another dealer than this one!!!
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February 2023 by Bob B.
Scheduled a 8:00 am appointment for an oil change.9:30 am they finally took the vehicle in.Apparently appointments mean nothing at this dealership. 10:19 am, still no vehicle. WORST experience I've had with a Ford dealership in 30 years.Stay away.
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October 2022 by Art S.
Staff is not knowledgable of their vehicles. I was looking for a F-150 Black Ops truck. The lady had no clue Ford made one.
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October 2022 by MBeeezzy
I have to say Susie and Heather made this service experience run seemlessly.
