Ferman Mazda of Brandon

Reviews 3

A

A Cohen

I have been coming to Ferman of Brandon for over three years. It doesnt sound too impressive until you know that, in the past, I have driven my car from Fort Lauderdale to Brandon because the service was THAT good and I felt that I was always getting an honest opinion and great service. It was over 550 miles per round trip, but they were wonderful. Boy, do I miss Brian W.!!!! This week, I drove from Fort Lauderdale to Brandon once again to have recall maintenance performed on my vehicle. I called a week prior with a question and was told that a service rep would get back to me. A week later, I had to call to find an answer to my question. When I asked if I could drop the car off the day before and leave it, the woman who answered the phone acted as if it was a huge inconvenience. Her response was, "Well, you can do that, but they are very busy with customers. If you take it this afternoon, youll have to wait until they have time to check you in." WHAT??? Am I not a customer? I did drop the car off the day before and the service rep was nice enough. Told me how busy his day was.... By 2pm the next day, I received a call that my car was done. I was in the middle of a project and asked if I would be able to pay for the service (simple oil change) and pick the car up after hours. (By the way, I have done this before at Ferman.) Roger said he would call right back with an answer. I told him that I was working outside so if he could call sooner, Id appreciate it. THREE and a half hours later, Roger calls back (5:30, and they close in 30 minutes), and says that I have to pick up my car during regular hours or the next day. (I had already mentioned that I was from out of town and leaving the next day.) When I told him that I had been waiting for his call, his defense was that he had customers and didnt have time to call me. He offered no options, only exasperation. Again, what am I? Not a customer??? Theres more to the story, however, the bottom line is that I was made to feel as though I was a bother to their service department. In the end, my bill was only $21 for the oil change (check for coupons before you go), so Dan called me and agreed to my offer that I drop a check in the mail. He left my car out for pick up after service hours. When I picked up my car, the floor on the drivers side was full of dirt and debris. I had my car detailed before I brought it in. (The outside was dirty from the drive, but the inside still smelled of Armor All....) Remember the days when they would give you a complimentary car wash when you brought it in for service? Now they just give you complimentary dirt. I know that I was only having recall work and an oil change performed. I know this isnt a huge portion of their profit for this month. I have had other costly maintenance done in the past and WOULD have gone back to them for future maintenance and possibly for my next vehicle purchase. Not after this. The late Jim Ferman, Sr. used to say, "never forget a Guest...and never let a Guest forget you". Way to go, Ferman Service. I will never forget your terrible service!

SU

Sumedh Vijayakar

I asked Ferman Mazda for a quote on a new CX-5 that I was in the market for. Initially, the experience was great. Their internet sales manager, Braxton quoted a good lease price. Since a car with my exact specifications wasnt available, they found another car that was loaded with more features and were willing to do a dealer trade. They even quoted a good lease price for me. My wife and I went in to the showroom after work. Monica met us there since Braxton wasnt in that day. However, after the initial handshake, she and another manager disappeared into their cabin leaving my wife and me hanging. That should have been my first red flag, but I let it drop. With the lease terms decided and prior approval from Mazda Capital Services, I paid a deposit for them to get the car using my credit card. While at the cashiers desk after swiping my card, Monica casually asked me if my social security card had any work purposes only endorsement on it. I hadnt seen my card in ages as only the DMV ever asks for it, so I said probably not. I do recall distinctly that there was no question about such an endorsement on my social card on the Mazda Capital Svcs website where I initially applied before going to the dealer. The next day, Monica mailed me and confirmed that they had procured the car and we set a delivery date. Then a couple of hours later, she asked me to send her a copy of my social card, which, as it turns out, HAD the work purposes endorsement on it. The moment they saw that, they started saying that the bank wouldnt finance the lease. Although it was a disappointment, I would have still put it down to the banks paranoia. The least the dealership could do after such an anticlimax was to refund my deposit. However, when I asked for my money back, they said that it was non-refundable and that they had fulfilled their part of the deal by procuring the car. They said that I should buy the car with financing that they were willing to arrange for me (obviously, at an inflated rate). Since financing the car which was loaded with a lot of stuff I didnt want in the first place would be too pricey, I said I was not interested and insisted I get my money back. After a lot of grumbling and a show of bravado (telling me that they had a lot of buyers for the car and that it would sell by the weekend and that they were doing me a favor by holding it for me), they said that I would have to come in to the showroom to get the deposit amount refunded to my card. When I said that they could process the refund remotely, they refused point blank and said it was not possible unless I came in physically. I called up my card provider and they said going in was not necessary and they would process a dispute. This was an honest retelling of events by my recollection. I shall leave the reader of this review to judge the dealership based on this. As for me, I am pretty sure I shall not do business with any of the Ferman dealerships or send any business their way.

WI

William Barker

bought my wifes new Mazda CX5 sport in February, the sales staff was really great to work with, as with all dealerships the process was way to long. In May we refinanced it because the company they did it through was way to high, so we refinanced through our own bank. After the refinance went through we took the letter from our bank to the dealership to get a refund on the $700.00 charge for the GAP insurance (As we were instructed to do by the dealer) and our bank. this process was done on Saturday, May 23rd and was told we should have our refund within 6 weeks. I have contacted the dealership 3 times in this matter, 1st) was told the bank was behind on issuing refund check, 2nd) 2 weeks later was told Ferman Mazda would resend paperwork to lender (which makes me think it was not sent in the first place), 3rd) spoke to a manager about problem and was told the finance manager would return a call to me the following day. Finance Manager called me to tell me the lender was closed on Saturday and he would have to get back to me on Monday, well Monday August 17, 2015 came and went with no call from Him. Wife and I were going to go to Ferman Ford in Clearwater looking for new mustangs because of how well we were treated by the sales team we dealt with for the purchase, but think we will be going elsewhere now. Hope to get my $700.00 back soon. Will be going to BBB if no refund soon. 8/18/2015: received call from Braxton at Mazda today about issue with refund, told him the situation and he said he would check into it and call me back before end of day. Never heard back and still waiting.. Not impressed at all with the customer service here.