Greg Ledbetter | Page 3

Short Summary - If you are buying and live in Florida, Walker Ford can be a good place to buy a vehicle, but if you live out of state, I would look elsewhere. Too much time wasted after the sale dealing Walker Ford can be a good place to buy a vehicle, but if you live out of state, I would look elsewhere. Too much time wasted after the sale dealing with poor or nonexistent communication concerning title and registration issues. Long Review: Found a used 2019 Ram 1500 for sale at Walker Ford in mid December 2020. Reached out to them and was assigned Vic Haul as my sales representative. Initial communication through email was slow and required me to have to ask multiple times in multiple emails for info about the truck and my situation. I prefer email so that I have things in writing for reference later if needed. This was annoying and frustrating at times, but ultimately manageable. The price they asked for the truck was fair, but the biggest hold up initially in price discussions was they charge around a $800 fee for paperwork and back house processing of things, but do not include that in their listed/advertised sales prices. I understand that these fees are usually needed, but I am use to dealers charging $100-$200 which is more reasonable. Furthermore, upon digging deeper, Florida actually has laws stating that they can charge these fees so long as they are included in the advertised price to avoid consumer confusion. That was not the case here, and it wasn't until I pointed that out that Walker Ford reduced the price of the vehicle sales price to offset the fee to make the final sales price match their advertised price on their website. So, once the price was hammered out and I confirmed the truck had everything I was interested in, I relayed to Vic that I would be flying in to Tampa, FL from Houston, TX to purchase and drive the truck home the week between Christmas and New Years. I relayed all my travel info to try to keep Vic on the same page to make sure everything possible was lined up and ready to go including pre-filling out a credit application with them alongside bringing my own from my credit union. I informed Vic that because of the tight time frames, I wanted to try to be in and out as quick as possible as I would be starting the drive back to Houston that evening after buying the truck. Upon arrival to Tampa, Walker Ford sent a porter to pick me up from the airport. The porter was nice and friendly, but drove very erratically at times almost hitting a car or two in the process. Once at the dealership, I met with Vic to test drive the truck and finalize the paperwork. Turned out Vic was an older, old school gentleman (which explained the poor email communication) who was retiring at the end of 2020, so he was ramping down his work loads. Not sure if that was the case why I was assigned to him instead of another sales rep, but it is what it is. Vic was nice and helpful and the test drive went well, to I was then handed over to the Finance Department with Mike Blankenship. Mike processed and explained everything too me. All numbers matched the latest emails and agreements so I said I would buy the truck with the best option being through one of their lenders. He tried to hard sell the extended warranty coverages, albeit in a polite way, but was also respectful when I declined. I was informed of what paper work I needed to get once back in Texas to send to them to finalize my title and registration information as they use a 3rd party company to process out of state purchases. Walker Ford currently still does everything via hard copy paper work when I purchased the truck, so there was some extra time involved there, but overall things progressed smoothly and I was done and ready to head out about 3 hours after arriving. I was aiming for 2 hours, but still not bad all things considered. At this point I was pretty happy overall with the transaction. I processed the last of the paperwork and inspections Texas requires and sent the documents to them within the first week of coming back. Communication then began to degrade again. First, when I was trying to confirm the received all the paperwork that I sent via FedEx, several emails and calls to voicemail went unanswered before finally I got an email confirming they had the info and were submitting it to the 3rd party to process. A week or two went by with no follow up. I reached out via email and phone calls to voicemail of Gregg Ledbetter who was the sales manager over Vic and took over for Vic with him retiring to ask for status updated. Many went unanswered for several days and attempts before an updated of "still processing" or "the are working through a delay" was replied. The end of January came and went and the temporary tag I was given became expired. I notified them of this and asked if they would send another temp tag to avoid driving around illegally and or can they provide an update on my tags and license plates. Same delay, then eventual answer of still processing. This continued weekly through all of February. No new temp tag, no real updates or explanations of what the hold up was. Towards the end of February I wasn't getting any return communication at all. Through all of this, my frustration and concerns grew. Frustration turned to anger when I was STOPPED BY A LOCAL POLICE OFFICER FOR EXPIRED TAGS like I knew would happen. It was only after pleading my case and showing him the emails to Gregg concerning the tags/plates did he give me a warning instead of writing me a ticket and impounding the truck. I immediately emailed Gregg to relay this and demand and update of what was taking so long. Again, nothing. Radio silence. At this point, I determined I had to figure out what was going on because I wasn't getting anywhere with Walker Ford. The final straw was upon contacting my local DMV to inquire about the status of the registration, I was informed they had received and processed all the paperwork ON FEBRUARY 5TH! So, it took a month for their 3rd party to take the paperwork Walker Ford sent them and forward it to the Texas DMV. The issue with getting my registration and tags? UNDER PAYMENT OF $11.50 ON THE SALES TAX. So, their system estimated things wrong, the State of Texas relayed back to their 3rd Party the issue who, per the state's records, indicated they would send a check for the $11.50 difference to finish the process, and then LET IT SIT FOR A MONTH ALMOST COSTING ME THE TRUCK TO IMPOUND, TOWING AND IMPOUND FEES, AND A TICKET AND COURT COSTS. So, now I will be driving to the local county DMV to pay the $11.50 myself today February 25, 2021 so I can get my plates and registration today directly and by pass the whole screwed up system they are running with this 3rd Party company. It just amazes me that in this day and age of car sales being more and more done online which in turn brings in more out of state buyers, not having a fluid system to handle that whether in house or 3rd party is disappointing to say the least. If it wasn't for the last 2 months, I would have rated them 4.5 or even 5 stars for the sales experience, but given everything I have had to deal with and do for them at this point, they should be lucky I am giving them a 2 star instead of a 1. Unfortunately, this just looks like another dealer that forgets about the customer service side of things once the sales part is done. More

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I’ve been a customer at Walker Ford and specifically Kevin Jewel salesman . I couldn’t have had a better experience buying my Ford Edge Sport . Thru the entire process and since Walker Ford has never Kevin Jewel salesman . I couldn’t have had a better experience buying my Ford Edge Sport . Thru the entire process and since Walker Ford has never been more friendly ,Professional,welcoming . Service is just as friendly and and professional Not pressuring you to buying something you didn’t ask for . Walker Ford is the only Ford Dealership I’ve recommended to family or friends . More

by TASHINAMUF1 Verified Customer Verified Customer

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Dealership Resolved Major Issue I recently purchased a 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat. There were some issues with the interior leather. The customer service that I received from Denise an I recently purchased a 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat. There were some issues with the interior leather. The customer service that I received from Denise and Greg was exceptional. Sherry Markwart was especially attentive to other minor issues and resolved everything to my satisfaction. I greatly appreciate their efforts!!! More

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Great experience from start to finish Most importantly I wanted to feel their pricing was fair and that I felt they were honest. I was greeted by Keith Cox. I didnt need to purchase that d Most importantly I wanted to feel their pricing was fair and that I felt they were honest. I was greeted by Keith Cox. I didnt need to purchase that day. Long story short, I purchased a car for myself that day and a second car for my daughter a few days later. I was in the car business roughly twenty years ago. I know how it all works. I never felt the need to even bring that up. My salesperson Keith Cox was great. My finance guys were excellent; Mickey and Harry. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mark who quickly offered to drive my daughters car to my home so it could be a surprise. This company truly deserves FIVE STARS. More

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Commercial KUV Transit Van Purchase We worked with Jim Andrews in the commercial sales department for our new KUV purchase. He was professional and exceeded all of our expectations from We worked with Jim Andrews in the commercial sales department for our new KUV purchase. He was professional and exceeded all of our expectations from start to finish! I would highly recommend this dealership and Jim Andrews to everyone that i know!! More

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New purchase I just purchased my 3rd new 2018 Ford vehicle from Walker Ford. I traded a 2016 Ford Fusion SE for a 2018 Ford Focus Titanium for my son. I was once I just purchased my 3rd new 2018 Ford vehicle from Walker Ford. I traded a 2016 Ford Fusion SE for a 2018 Ford Focus Titanium for my son. I was once again provided the greatest customer care and service by every employee I came in contact with. Even the employees that had nothing to do with the purchase took time to greet me and made sure I was being waited on. Every aspect of the purchase was handled with the utmost professional care and courtesy. Once again this dealership hit a home run for me and my family. I highly recommend this dealership to anyone looking to purchase a new or used vehicle. Once again, great job and thank you. More

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Purchase of a new vehicle. I just recently purchased my 4th new Ford from Walker Ford in the past 3 years. The entire staff greats you with smiles and open arms. I did not get I just recently purchased my 4th new Ford from Walker Ford in the past 3 years. The entire staff greats you with smiles and open arms. I did not get rushed by sales personnel to purchase a vehicle like I had $100 bills taped to my chest as soon as I arrived on location. Every person was polite, professional, and courteous with no type of haggle or hassle. Every purchase has been a pleasurable experience with the greatest customer care. I highly recommend this dealership for any new or used purchase in the future. I know I will keep coming back. More

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Wonderful experience It was a great buying experience. I would recommend all friends and family to buy their next vehicle from Walker Ford. A true family experience. It was a great buying experience. I would recommend all friends and family to buy their next vehicle from Walker Ford. A true family experience. More

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NO PRESSURE 5 STAR PLEASURE This is our second car from Walker and we drive from Sarasota to buy our cars from them. Why? Because from the time you contact them by phone, email, This is our second car from Walker and we drive from Sarasota to buy our cars from them. Why? Because from the time you contact them by phone, email, website or in person it a pleasure. Professional, causal fun family feeling from their team from the uplifting hello when you call to the final handshake when you leave and get behind of the wheel of your new ford, PRICELESS👌 More

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Very pleasurable experience. No haggle or no hustle. Purchasing my new Ford vehicle for the 3rd year in a row was once again a pleasant experience. Every employee was very polit No haggle or no hustle. Purchasing my new Ford vehicle for the 3rd year in a row was once again a pleasant experience. Every employee was very polite and very helpful. I will continue to purchase my vehicles from Walker Ford in the future. I want to thank everyone at the dealership for all your assistance with the purchase of my 2018 Ford Ecosport SES. More

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