'A very isolated incident': B.C. dealership responds to complaints about electric vehicle purchases
Car dealer Go Auto confirmed there were “some challenges” with the sale of electric vehicles after it took over ownership of Dams Ford Lincoln on the Langley Bypass, but said it is actively resolving those issues.
The admission comes after buyers told CTV News the vehicles they ordered from the dealership months ago were either not built or sold to someone else.
“It’s a very isolated incident,” said Jared Biggs, Go Auto Senior Vice President. “It would represent less than point one per cent of the transactions that our family-run business would complete in a year.”
One such customer is Ryan Lopez, who ordered an electric Ford Mustang Mach-E in July of 2022.
Despite having the car’s vehicle identification number, or VIN, and watching its assembly progress online, “they couldn’t find any history of my car being ordered,” said Lopez of the new management at Dams Ford Lincoln.
That same Mustang was sold to somebody else.
The most recent customer to come forward is business owner Dave Mellis, who said he has purchased at least a dozen vehicles from the Surrey dealer over the years.
In September 2021 before the dealerships changed hands, Mellis signed a contract and put down a deposit for a Ford E-Transit Cargo Van. He was told it would take several months to a year to be built and delivered.
In the meantime, Dams Ford Lincoln was sold to Go Auto in August 2022. When Mellis asked the new management for an update on the electric van, he received an email message indicating it hadn’t been built.
“I have noticed that your 2022 E-transit order has not been built. Are you interested in ordering a 2023 E-transit. The MSRP has gone up on the vehicle,” the email read.
He went to the dealership to get his deposit back. The attendant questions why he wanted a refund because “it was in the system and ready to be delivered,” Mellis said.
When Go Auto bought Dams Ford Lincoln, it assumed all existing contracts, and Biggs said during the transition, clarity may have been missing on some of the files.
“I would invite anyone across any of our locations – and specifically Dams Ford with that transition of ownership – if they feel like there’s an issue that’s unresolved, or they have any concerns, I would personally love the opportunity to sit down with them, rectify any issues,” he said.
He insisted customer care is the company’s core value.
Biggs also told CTV News his team will be reaching out to Dave Mellis to see if they can resolve the issue surrounding the van, and said a new Mustang has already been found for Ryan Lopez and that “he’s definitely a happy customer.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Indianapolis 500 delayed as strong storm forces fans to evacuate Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed as a strong storm pushed through the area Sunday, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to evacuate about 125,000 fans who had already arrived for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Hamas rocket attack from Gaza sets off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in months
Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months on Sunday in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel's massive air, sea and ground offensive.
At least 13 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least 13 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where dozens sought shelter in a restroom during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.