Melissa Dye

Review of Griffin Ford

I drove from the IL Suburbs to Waukesha, WI to loo...

I drove from the IL Suburbs to Waukesha, WI to look at a used Fusion. I fell in love with it right away, and didn't really even try to negotiate much besides asking them to honor their $100 off coupon from their website. I was thrilled to sign the papers and take it home. I wish I could say that the rest of my time dealing with the dealership was as easy as the decision to buy the car.

I had asked for the walk out the door price before making the drive so that I could get a cashier's check from my bank for the exact amount I would owe. Even though they knew that I was doing this, the finance person still tried to convince me to pay for an extended warranty and had to be told multiple times that I wasn t interested.

Like Wisconsin, Illinois requires the taxes, registration and plates be finalized within 30 days of buying a car, which you can t do without the title. When I called the dealership to find out why I hadn t received the title yet after 2 weeks, they said it would arrive within 2-3 weeks of purchase. After the third week, I started reaching out again. They bounced me around to different departments, and finally someone started working with me via email to get my problem solved. My questions about why I didn t have my title and if they had a tracking number, always took a day or more to get a response, and the reply was generally We re looking into it . Ultimately they took so long that the temporary plates on my car expired, so I had to drive my boyfriends car to work.

A package did arrive, which had my second key, but nothing else. There was no package for the title that anyone signed for or saw on the porch. My boyfriend works remote, so he s always home to answer the door when packages are delivered. After talking with Griffin Ford more, I eventually I got a tracking number from them for the title. It said the package was delivered on my porch, but it never was. There was no indication of which address the package was sent to, and Griffin Ford ignored my request that they confirm the address. I suspect that the tracking number was for the package with the key and that they never sent the title to begin with. Possibly the person I was talking to just saw that there was a package sent to me, and assumed it was the title.

I asked the dealership to send a replacement title.. They explained that in order to do so, they would need to request one from the previous vehicle owner which took some additional time. Their default was to mail it USPS, but I asked that they send it as signature required or certified so that there would be no possibility of being lost in the mail or stolen. The car cost $15k, and we already explained to them that the first title never arrived. It is concerning to have important documents and car keys being sent in the mail without some sort of security.

Finally, I get the title, and take it to the DMV. The title isn t signed by Griffin Ford, and the DMV refuses to transfer it. I send it back to Griffin as certified mail (which they said they would pay for, but never did). The title is again sent back, signed this time. But the dealer number field wasn t populated so I was turned away again. I was eventually able to get the dealer number via a phone call to the dealership, but all of this should have been handled the first time it had been sent to me.

It took 2 months between when I bought the car, and when I was able to get the title transferred. Illinois has since issued me a fine for paying the title tax a month late. I m requesting a waiver from the state for the fine due to the title delay.

I specifically drove the two hours to this dealership because they had overly positive reviews. I wish I could have had the experience that so many others seem to have here. I love the car. It is so beautiful, but I will never go back to Griffin Ford.