Out-of-State Purchase Complications

[JohnRanger]

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just recently purchased a 2025 Ranger Raptor from an out-of-state dealership and pretty much brokered the deal over email and text, with a few phone calls to settle some of the paperwork/details.

This happened about 3 weeks ago and the dealership still has the vehicle. During the back and forth of the initial inquiry, it came out that the truck had a "screen glitch" and needed to be repaired. I feel as though the severity of the issue was downplayed and there was a sense that it was a minor issue that could be cleared up pretty quickly. Well, this has escalated to a 3 week repair and now Ford Corporate is involved since the service department does not have a fix. After some more prodding, I was told that the infotainment screen doesn't boot upon vehicle startup, but will eventually turn on after the truck warms up.

My question is, does this seem normal and I just had some bad luck here? This is my first time buying a brand new vehicle without physically going to a dealership, so I'm a little wary of the process. I'll be bummed if I have to wait for more than a month, but I'm also not sure what would be considered a reasonable amount of time to remain patient. Should I even consider backing out or should I just wait this thing out?

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[superj]

i would ask for your money back, or them to give you a different truck. something is wrong

 

[JohnRanger]

It's unfortunate that the Ranger Raptor (at MSRP) is so rare around my neck of the woods, I was stoked to lock one down. I think I'm going to try to secure another one and then cancel this deal because yeah, something is feeling off about it at this point.

 

[snowman3]

we've bought a few new + used from out of state or delivered from out of town. New from factory is less risky but condition of car can still go bad. One suggestion is to ask for videos + FaceTime. They can show startup, how it behaves, etc. But gut feel is most important and that RR sounds like gremlins. Might be good to pass on it.

 

[gmarcucio]

If the deal has not progressed into you signing the paperwork, registration process, etc. I would back out of it. Would probably be more problems trying to back out of it if it's already purchased via paperwork and you signed and paid for it. Unfortunately this is what we are dealing with today with electronic glitches. It's not only Ford either. I had a 2024 Corvette Z06 with intermittant blank screen and my son has a 2023 Chev Blazer with screen issues and no fix as of yet. And... if you don't keep after the dealership it just gets brushed under the rug. I think Ford had a big issue with no reverse camera issues and for quite some time there was no fix and they issued a stop sale on the Mavericks.

 

[JohnRanger]

Unfortunately the deal has progressed into paperwork and the dealership has taken my money. I'm pretty sure there's a clause in the paperwork regarding cancellation of the "Order" if the vehicle hasn't been delivered. I do think it would still be a hassle to navigate that all. Really don't think they should have sold the vehicle knowing it had issues, I would have been completely fine putting down a deposit to wait it out.

I asked the dealership for a video of the problem and conveniently it seems that the screen is disassembled in anticipation of the replacement part. No update on whether or not the part is actually on the way either, the GM is supposed to be getting more information today, but that's basically the same old story. They did state that Ford was going to credit me $1000 in Reward Points for the inconvenience of it all, which I guess is fine.

I think I have the tolerance for another 5-7 days of getting the runaround and then I'll be cancelling. I appreciate everyone's input so far, it's been helpful!

 

[sweeks888]

It's unfortunate that the Ranger Raptor (at MSRP) is so rare around my neck of the woods, I was stoked to lock one down. I think I'm going to try to secure another one and then cancel this deal because yeah, something is feeling off about it at this point.

Just my opinion... don't start out with a lemon!
Who knows what else is wrong with it as well. Not only that, when the truck was built, it was built to a very specific assembly procedure, by trained employees who have one job and quality control overseeing everything (theoretically).
Now you've got techs working at the dealership that mostly just have a basic knowledge of how to go about repairs, with "some" specific training and are trying to fix an issue they have likely never done before. My opinion, most of these guys are just working there for the pay and like working with their hands. Many could care less about how factory perfect your truck was on delivery (except for the screen issue)... how much are they gonna muck up during the attempted repair behind the dash. I've watched several dealership mechanics at work before (being a perfectionist in my own work) and they mostly just don't have a great caring attitude. Not all of course, there are plenty of good competent mechanics out there, doing great work. But, did you get those guys, or ones just there for the pay. This is my opinion only, and everyone is entitled to their own in the country.

 

[POULINR]

Get a lawyer ? Your getting screwed - something’s up also call Ford Customer Service….

 

[superj]

Just my opinion... don't start out with a lemon!
Who knows what else is wrong with it as well. Not only that, when the truck was built, it was built to a very specific assembly procedure, by trained employees who have one job and quality control overseeing everything (theoretically).
Now you've got techs working at the dealership that mostly just have a basic knowledge of how to go about repairs, with "some" specific training and are trying to fix an issue they have likely never done before. My opinion, most of these guys are just working there for the pay and like working with their hands. Many could care less about how factory perfect your truck was on delivery (except for the screen issue)... how much are they gonna muck up during the attempted repair behind the dash. I've watched several dealership mechanics at work before (being a perfectionist in my own work) and they mostly just don't have a great caring attitude. Not all of course, there are plenty of good competent mechanics out there, doing great work. But, did you get those guys, or ones just there for the pay. This is my opinion only, and everyone is entitled to their own in the country.

and their pay reflects how many vehicles they get out a day so they are not prone to investigate and do a great job unless they are just very particular about their work. they are paid in "flag hours" which means the book says they get 5 hours to do job X. if they do that job in 3.5 hours, they made more money so most of the time mechanics have short cuts to speed up jobs.

i learned this back in the day applying when i applied at a lot of local shops because i was tired of being on the road monday through friday. automotive places don't like hiring aviation mechanics though, is what each place told me, because then management feels like you are going for their jobs since a lot of aviation guys have to go to a specialty school, or classes at their local college, and have degrees in aviation technology.

 

[Alan Hale]

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just recently purchased a 2025 Ranger Raptor from an out-of-state dealership and pretty much brokered the deal over email and text, with a few phone calls to settle some of the paperwork/details.

This happened about 3 weeks ago and the dealership still has the vehicle. During the back and forth of the initial inquiry, it came out that the truck had a "screen glitch" and needed to be repaired. I feel as though the severity of the issue was downplayed and there was a sense that it was a minor issue that could be cleared up pretty quickly. Well, this has escalated to a 3 week repair and now Ford Corporate is involved since the service department does not have a fix. After some more prodding, I was told that the infotainment screen doesn't boot upon vehicle startup, but will eventually turn on after the truck warms up.

My question is, does this seem normal and I just had some bad luck here? This is my first time buying a brand new vehicle without physically going to a dealership, so I'm a little wary of the process. I'll be bummed if I have to wait for more than a month, but I'm also not sure what would be considered a reasonable amount of time to remain patient. Should I even consider backing out or should I just wait this thing out?

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just recently purchased a 2025 Ranger Raptor from an out-of-state dealership and pretty much brokered the deal over email and text, with a few phone calls to settle some of the paperwork/details.

This happened about 3 weeks ago and the dealership still has the vehicle. During the back and forth of the initial inquiry, it came out that the truck had a "screen glitch" and needed to be repaired. I feel as though the severity of the issue was downplayed and there was a sense that it was a minor issue that could be cleared up pretty quickly. Well, this has escalated to a 3 week repair and now Ford Corporate is involved since the service department does not have a fix. After some more prodding, I was told that the infotainment screen doesn't boot upon vehicle startup, but will eventually turn on after the truck warms up.

My question is, does this seem normal and I just had some bad luck here? This is my first time buying a brand new vehicle without physically going to a dealership, so I'm a little wary of the process. I'll be bummed if I have to wait for more than a month, but I'm also not sure what would be considered a reasonable amount of time to remain patient. Should I even consider backing out or should I just wait this thing out?

I had the same problem with my RR and the dealer replaced the module behind the screen. They had to run a bunch of tests before they could charge the part out and That was at about 4500 miles and now I have over 20000 without anymore problems.

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