stanglife
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Just to let you guys know there's hope out there - here's my story, about as lucky as they come. I'll just start by telling you guys that I paid $5k over for the car. Anyone who might want to come in and tell me how I'm dumb for being happy about paying over MSRP for is can save their breath.
I've been watching this car for a while. I anxiously listened to the sound clips and silhouette videos that popped up. (Which you can hardly find anymore).
Last August, for my Birthday, I went to the Woodward Dream Cruise in MI. The GT350 and R had already been announced and I saw my first ones when I visited the Ford Performance booth. Sat in the R for a few minutes and decided that I'd do a quick look for an R and accept a non-r if that's what I found first. Three days later, I visited my local dealer in Florida - Autonation St. Petersburg...the same dealer I purchased a 2000 GT from so many years ago (they were called something else back then)...and the SAME dealer that my first car, a 1968 Mustang Coupe was originally purchased at. I asked about the GT350 and the salesperson didn't know for sure but found the GM for me. He explained that they had the non-r and a single R allocation which were not spoken for. I asked how much - he said it was $5k over for the non-r.....I asked about the R, he explained, it was also $5k over. I ordered it.
For most of the wait (especially since is stayed in material hold until April '16!), I worried that they might back out or somehow not receive the car. The allocation question was helped thanks to a friends contact who confirmed for me that they did actually have an allocation.
I stopped in a few times during my wait and the GM mentioned to me that people were selling the car for a lot more and that I got a steal, I agreed. ;) Shortly after my August order date, magazines started reviewing the car and prices had been climbing. In the end, my dealer did everything right and the only reason I had to be concerned was based on the stories I heard from other people who thought they had a car but didn't.
Here's a note I sent in to them:
Dear future Autonation Ford St Petersburg customer,
I wanted to write a letter to the dealership thanking them for a great experience but I thought I should write it to future customers, instead. It feels a little strange thanking someone who I just gave a large amount of money to but that’s not really what this is about. It’s about integrity.
August 20, 2016, I walked into this dealership inquiring about the new (at that time) Shelby GT350R – the R being the least common version. I spoke with the GM, John Rossignal. He informed me that they were getting a single car and while it was not yet spoken for, the factory would not be building it for quite a while (there is no formal schedule from the factory, so there’s no way to know). I told him that I would like to order it and with the help of Ed Shugart, we did just that.
While I waited, I stopped in a few times, called/emailed Ed a little more than a few times and generally waited to get information from the factory that it was being built. During this wait, excitement increased dramatically for this particular model of car. Several publications reviewed it very favorably against cars much higher in price. I eventually learned that many dealerships were marking these cars up much higher than the price John and I had agreed on. There were also stories of dealerships backing out of previous deals. I’ll be honest, even though there was no indication to be worried, it crossed my mind. I thought to myself, “Why would a dealership sell a car for less to me than they could someone else?”. Integrity.
In the end, I had no reason to be concerned. John, Ed and everyone in between did exactly what they said they would do and at the exact agreed upon price. They certainly add value to the Autonation group of dealers out there and I’ll consider Autonation first for my next new car purchase.
-Happy GT350R Owner
I wish this could be the rule and not the exception for a lot of you guys.
I've been watching this car for a while. I anxiously listened to the sound clips and silhouette videos that popped up. (Which you can hardly find anymore).
Last August, for my Birthday, I went to the Woodward Dream Cruise in MI. The GT350 and R had already been announced and I saw my first ones when I visited the Ford Performance booth. Sat in the R for a few minutes and decided that I'd do a quick look for an R and accept a non-r if that's what I found first. Three days later, I visited my local dealer in Florida - Autonation St. Petersburg...the same dealer I purchased a 2000 GT from so many years ago (they were called something else back then)...and the SAME dealer that my first car, a 1968 Mustang Coupe was originally purchased at. I asked about the GT350 and the salesperson didn't know for sure but found the GM for me. He explained that they had the non-r and a single R allocation which were not spoken for. I asked how much - he said it was $5k over for the non-r.....I asked about the R, he explained, it was also $5k over. I ordered it.
For most of the wait (especially since is stayed in material hold until April '16!), I worried that they might back out or somehow not receive the car. The allocation question was helped thanks to a friends contact who confirmed for me that they did actually have an allocation.
I stopped in a few times during my wait and the GM mentioned to me that people were selling the car for a lot more and that I got a steal, I agreed. ;) Shortly after my August order date, magazines started reviewing the car and prices had been climbing. In the end, my dealer did everything right and the only reason I had to be concerned was based on the stories I heard from other people who thought they had a car but didn't.
Here's a note I sent in to them:
Dear future Autonation Ford St Petersburg customer,
I wanted to write a letter to the dealership thanking them for a great experience but I thought I should write it to future customers, instead. It feels a little strange thanking someone who I just gave a large amount of money to but that’s not really what this is about. It’s about integrity.
August 20, 2016, I walked into this dealership inquiring about the new (at that time) Shelby GT350R – the R being the least common version. I spoke with the GM, John Rossignal. He informed me that they were getting a single car and while it was not yet spoken for, the factory would not be building it for quite a while (there is no formal schedule from the factory, so there’s no way to know). I told him that I would like to order it and with the help of Ed Shugart, we did just that.
While I waited, I stopped in a few times, called/emailed Ed a little more than a few times and generally waited to get information from the factory that it was being built. During this wait, excitement increased dramatically for this particular model of car. Several publications reviewed it very favorably against cars much higher in price. I eventually learned that many dealerships were marking these cars up much higher than the price John and I had agreed on. There were also stories of dealerships backing out of previous deals. I’ll be honest, even though there was no indication to be worried, it crossed my mind. I thought to myself, “Why would a dealership sell a car for less to me than they could someone else?”. Integrity.
In the end, I had no reason to be concerned. John, Ed and everyone in between did exactly what they said they would do and at the exact agreed upon price. They certainly add value to the Autonation group of dealers out there and I’ll consider Autonation first for my next new car purchase.
-Happy GT350R Owner
I wish this could be the rule and not the exception for a lot of you guys.
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