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false advertising

  • Thread starter Thread starter jkressly
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jkressly

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I am pursuing a claim against the Ford Motor Co. about a tv ad that appeared last September in the Philadelphia-Lehigh Valley market (maybe elsewhere too). It was called the "Free Ride" campaign, and the commercials showed a number of Ford models including a red T-bird with the words "Every car- 0% interest," etc.

Later I found out that the very car pictured in the ad (T-Bird) was the only one not eligible for 0% interest. I paid more than $5,000 interest on my new black bird, but I am determined to get it back!

Has anyone else been the victim of this false advertising campaign? If so, maybe a class action suit would get the company's attention!
 

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Do you believe everything you see on TV? Did you sign the papers without reading them when you purchased your Thunderbird? Did you ask Ford Customer service about their ad before you bought? I don't believe it is false advertising. I too saw the ad and if I remember correctly, there was a disclaimer about not everyone qualifies for 0% financing. That is their way of not having to honor the 0% financing. I suggest that you pursue other areas as I don't believe you have any substanial grounds for a lawsuit. No, I am not a lawyer, just a person who has been around the block a few times.
 
I was told, by the dealer on the front end, that the 0% did not apply to T-Birds
 
You guys don't get it! As long as we EXPECT them to lie in ads, the deceit will continue forever.

They told me the 0% didn't apply to the Thunderbird. I bought the car anyway. Then I see the ad with the same car pictured next to the 0% claim! THEY CAN'T DO THAT! And as long as we put up with it, they will!

The small print said "Not all buyers will qualify." It didn't say "Not all models will qualify." You don't put a picture of the car that doesn't qualify in the ad!

Let me know if you saw the ad in question. I'd like to know if it was a regional or a national ad.
 
Unfortunately I don't think that is false advertising. By saying that not all buys will qualifiy they have covered themselves for a situation like yours Because you were the buyer of a car that didn't offer 0% APR. So therefore, you as a buyer didn't qualify for 0% APR.

As far as I know, the 2003 Mustang Cobra doesn't offer 0%APR either. Most people who buy Thunderbirds and Cobras don't buy them because they offer 0%APR. And for people who ordered their Birds before September 2001, 0% APR wasn't offered for any car.
 
When I was a little kid, there was a boy on the block who use to chase me for money. He was faster and bigger than me, and he would catch me right at the fence in back of the school. One day on TV, I saw an ad for P.F. Flyers. They were sneakers that were supposed to make you run faster and jump higher. So I saved up money from my paper route, and bought the sneakers. The next day, the kid saw me and gave chase. Well he ran after me, but I got to the fence before him and tried to jump over it. Guess What? They did not make me run or jump faster at all. Now I was out not only my lunch money, but the money for the sneakers. I just wish the shoe salesman had told me that they wouldn't make me run faster or jump higher before I bought them. There is a lesson here, that I learned at a very young age.
 
I saw did not see the ad, so do not know if it was regional or national. In MA, I heard about 0% financing on the radio so I asked my dealer. That's when he told me NO for T-Birds. So, if you go to court, you would probably have to have a tape of the ad to prove your case.
 
0% Interest

Have seen a ad here in Texas that sounds like the same ad. Two different sets of small print appeared on the bottom of the screen, one following the other. The first one said that not all buyers will qualify for 0% APR. The second said "Excludes Thunderbird, Lightning, & SVT vehicles" even though a Thunderbird was shown in the commercial.
 
I too saw the ad in Michigan with the red T-Bird. It did spark my interest so I made sure I watched for another commercial. When I did see it the second time it specificly excluded the T-Bird. I would suggest going after some other deep pocket company. If you do you should realize that most class action suits fail.

Actually, I think you should drop the whole idea!
 
Originally posted by jkressly
I am pursuing a claim against the Ford Motor Co.
Click to expand...

Get real, do you really think that the Ford Attorneys didn't put in a disclaimer for that car? All the ads had disclaimers just like Chevrolet and the Corvette.
 
Let me see if I understand...

You KNEW the 0% was not applicable to the Thunderbird but bought it anyway so now you want to sue because????? The false advertising lured you into buying the car? No, you said you already knew when you bought it. So, let's see....you think you won the lotto and you want to collect from FoMoCo? Yeah, that's it!!! Go for it, just be ready to pay the counterclaim for a frivolous law suit. This is a JOKE!!! And we wonder why there are so many dumb, baseless law suits. You seem to really think you have a case. That is the scary part. There seems to be no doubt in your mind, anyway.
 
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I recall the same ad. It was a nation-wide campaign. Not only did it show a short clip of the 'Bird, it also said (in small print of course) that the promotion did not include the Thunderbird.

I bought my car because I love it, I also got enough off the sticker to offset my financing. Essentially I paid retail MSRP with 0% or visa versa. I love my car and that's why I have it. Life's too short for these things, especially as an afterthought. My 2 cents.
 
I guess the real answer is this. You already bought the car prior to the ad being placed. Even if the ad included the T-Bird, no one would expect prior sales to included in a new ad campaign.

I see ads for $4,800 off 02 T-Birds all the time, but my dealer is not going to rebate me the difference. Get the best deal you can, but do not expect the manufacturer to make current offers available to prior sales. All ads I have seen exclude the SVT Vechicles from such offers.

This is actually good for us, since all such offers devalue the car.

Don't be mad, be glad because this is the best convertible sports car for the money.
 
I too saw the same ad with 0% financing and with no disclaimer. This was about the time I was to receive my 2003 bird. I called FORD and Ford credit and was told the 0% did not apply to birds and that they have never even heard of the ad. My dealer said the same thing. I do also think that this was wrong on Ford's part and was somewhat misleading. Still I wanted my bird and arranged for the money myself.

LET THE BUYER BEWARE
 
Had you bought the car, and it was eligible for 0.00 financing and the dealer lied and told you it was not, you may have a claim IMO. Since you bought the car under your own free will and was willing to pay the interest, I don't see why you think you have a claim here. You bought this item (which is a luxury, not a neccessity) under your own free will knowing it was not eligible for 0.00 percent financing.
 
TBird

I do not think I have any claim as I did purchase the car knowing that there was no 0 interest from FORD. My only point as are several other posted here that the ad in itself was very misleading. You see the product and then are told no it does not apply to that product. This I feel is a basic defect in the "system"
Perhaps this type of misleading advertising is what gives the car salesmen, Dealers and factory a bad name and image.
Having worked in the car business all my life I knew it happend all the time, but I still do not agree with it. I wanted the car and did the best deal I could and I now will live with it.
Dennis
 
All good points here expect for the poster.
Everyone wants something for free. It's just to bad they have to tie up our court systems tyring to sue everybody for everything.
You can get your 5 Gs back by selling your bird. Then that will be one less moron degrating such a great car.
 
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