Coughlin Ford of Heath

by erkman on 07/18/2023

Coughlin Ford of Heath is a below-average dealer. I am pleased with my truck but I will not purchase another vehicle from Coughlin Ford of Heath or the rest of the Coughlin family of dealerships. I felt Coughlin cared more about sales quotas and not about the customer. Interactions with Coughlin in the 18 days since the sale have strengthened my feelings. ISSUE 1: Lack of customer focus. The sales agent (Chris) seemed more intent on selling a vehicle than selling me the right vehicle. He lacked an understanding of the vehicle– incorrectly identifying a power inverter as a radio amplifier, not knowing what or how upfitter switches work, and similar issues. I would expect the sales agent to be very knowledgeable about their product line. ISSUE 2: Delivery of a poor vehicle. I purchased a 2020 F350 with 15,000 miles on a Saturday evening and upon arrival at home found the headlights (high and low beams) didn’t work. On Monday, a service appointment was scheduled for Thursday. (6 days of no driving at night or in the rain.) It was found the previous service done before the sale was not completed correctly. I would expect work was done correctly the first time and a simple inspection would be done before selling a used vehicle (such as lights, wipers, blinkers, tires, etc). ISSUE 3: Recall issues not addressed in a timely manner. 4 days after getting the truck back for the headlight repair, Coughlin notified me of 2 recalls. An appointment was set for 7 days out. The morning of the work, service called to say one recall was fixed and they were ordering the recall kit for the second. The recall kit took 2 days to arrive. I would expect known recalls would be resolved before putting the truck on the lot. In addition, I would expect parts would be ordered and available for known issues (such as recalls) before the vehicle arrives for scheduled work. ISSUE 4: Non-transparent pricing and non-customer-focused sales techniques. One truck I was interested in was “in transit to a sister dealership lot”. The sales agent could not say when it would arrive, if it would be available when it arrived, and that I would need to purchase it sight unseen if I was interested. This tactic felt cliché/sleazy even if it is true. I purchased a different truck and worked with finance (Bob) on the paperwork. He presented a few year/mile extended warranty plans and prices verbally in such a way it was difficult to understand what was the best option. A few weeks later I found the same warranty I purchased was $381 (about 10%) cheaper on the Ford Corporate website and $1,720 (45%) cheaper online at other Ford dealerships. I went back and let Bob know the warranty selected was not in my best interest and I would like to change it or cancel it. Bob stated it could not be changed and he would cancel it. He did not ask questions to understand why it was not appropriate and didn’t know if my sales tax would be returned when asked. I would expect Coughlin’s pricing would be competitive, the information on pricing would be presented in a way that helps the customer make a decision, and the finance agent would be knowledgeable about finances (taxes). (Side note if you’ve made it this far – google “Ford ESP” and you’ll find Ford dealers you can purchase the Extended Warranty through with transparent and competitive pricing.) This was my third vehicle purchased from Coughlin in 15 years and will be my last. I will seek out a dealership that cares about the customer, provides fair and honest pricing, is able to provide accurate data, and makes customer service (not quotas) their number 1 priority.

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