Andy York

I’m sharing my experience purchasing a used vehicle from Cocoa Ford because of serious concerns about how my financing and credit inquiry were handled. After approximately two weeks of negotiating the pr Cocoa Ford because of serious concerns about how my financing and credit inquiry were handled. After approximately two weeks of negotiating the price and working through various markups and add-ons, we finally reached an agreement. Despite my top-tier credit, someone in the finance department told me that 9.4% was the best rate they could offer. They encouraged me to seek outside financing if I could do better. Within five minutes, my bank approved me at 6.4%. Because I live three hours away, I arranged to visit the dealership to inspect the vehicle, get the out-the-door price in writing, and leave a deposit before finalizing my bank loan. My plan was to return two days later, on Saturday, with a cashier’s check and complete the purchase. During my visit, I clearly explained those intentions to Alex Braun in financing and my salesman, Andy. Alex repeatedly encouraged me to finance through one of the dealership’s lenders. I told him I would only consider that if he could beat my bank’s rate. He said 9.4% was still the best he could offer—three percentage points above my bank’s rate. Nevertheless, he continued suggesting that I take the dealership’s loan and then pay it off with my bank’s loan. I firmly declined. I wanted a straightforward transaction and explicitly stated that I did not want two loans for one vehicle. Alex and Andy then told me they needed to pull my credit to hold the truck. They said that even with a deposit, someone else could purchase it the next day unless they checked my credit. I questioned this, explaining that holding the vehicle was the purpose of my deposit. After considerable discussion, they assured me that the inquiry would be a soft pull, would not lower my credit score, and would not be submitted to any banks to shop for financing. Relying on those specific assurances, I reluctantly agreed. I then waited approximately an hour while Alex and Andy met privately in the finance office several times. Eventually, they returned with paperwork and a temporary tag, telling me I could take the truck home that evening. I declined and reiterated that I would return Saturday with my bank’s check. When Alex presented the paperwork for my signature, I understood that we were preparing the purchase documents for Saturday. After initialing the first page, I turned to the second and saw a 9.4% annual interest rate. At that point, I realized I was being presented with dealership financing documents despite having repeatedly declined that arrangement. I stopped signing, expressed my anger and concern, and left. On the drive home, I received a Credit Karma alert reporting a hard inquiry from Cocoa Ford, along with a decrease in my credit score. This directly contradicted the assurances I had received about a soft inquiry. I ultimately returned and purchased the truck because it was the specific vehicle I had been searching for and was difficult to find. However, completing the purchase does not change my concerns about what happened. Based on my experience, I strongly recommend obtaining your own financing quotes and carefully reviewing every document before signing. The dealership offered me 9.4%, while my bank approved me at 6.4%. More concerning was being presented with financing I had explicitly declined and seeing a hard inquiry after being assured the credit check would be a soft pull. I found this experience misleading, unprofessional, and deeply troubling. Customers should be able to trust that their financing decisions will be respected and that statements about credit inquiries will be accurate. My experience at Cocoa Ford left me without that trust. More

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