'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
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.