I came across this story about Koons Ford and A customer who claims that Koons went back on a deal? Two sides to every story so here it is:
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Retired FBI agent sues dealer over Ford GT40
By DAVID E. LEIVA, Staff Writer
A retired FBI agent is suing an Annapolis-area car dealer over the new Ford GT40, claiming the dealer backed out of an agreement he made three years ago to sell him the retro muscle car.
Richard Harrison of Chester paid Koons Ford of Annapolis a $5,000 deposit in April 2002 and began waiting for the release of the Ford GT40, a $200,000 sports car owned by fewer than 200 people across the country. But according to the lawsuit he filed in county Circuit Court, when Mr. Harrison went to the dealer on Riva Road to pick it up last month, the price on the fully loaded, V-8, 550 horsepower machine jumped up - before the general manager decided not to sell it to him at all.
"I think a lot of it is the principle. Most of the time it wouldn't make sense to proceed legally," Mr. Harrison said.
Koons' attorney, Frank Daily, declined to comment, and General Manager Pat Shuey and officials with the parent company in Virginia didn't return phone calls.
It's a fight over a car, modeled on a 1960s icon, that has auto world in head over heals.
James R. Healey, reviewing the car for USA Today, called the wide-tired, low-slung rocket "a drop-dead delight to see and drive."
A test drive by Automobile magazine last fall showed the GT hitting 60 mph from a standstill in a mere 3.8 seconds - besting any of the thoroughbred Italian sports cars. Ford says the top speed is better than 200 mph.
Prices vary widely. EBay, the online auction center, lists one Ford GT starting at $170,000. The rights to the first production Ford GT was sold at auction in 2003, for delivery in August 2004. Television host Jay Leno bought the second a week later.
According to court documents, the fight over this particular Ford GT started June 29 when Mr. Harrison arrived with his attorney, Samuel Brown of Annapolis, at the Koons dealership, intent on picking up the car for $139,995, the manufacturer's suggested retail price, plus the destination charges, taxes and installed options.
He had placed that $5,000 deposit in April 2002. But in June, Mr. Shuey informed him that the price had gone up 40 percent, to $197,000, the lawsuit said.
"The defendant contracted to sell the GT to the plaintiff for the then unspecified MSRP in 2002, and now seeks to rescind the contract so it may sell the GT for a higher price because now the supply of this particular vehicle is greatly surpassed by the demand," the lawsuit said.>>>>
Mr. Shuey, according to the lawsuit, said he could get the higher price by selling the car at auction. Before long, the argument got heated.
"I'm not selling this car for MSRP. I will sell this car for a lot higher price, and I don't care what your contract says," the lawsuit quotes Mr. Shuey as saying.
On July 1, a county judge issued a temporary injunction preventing Koons from selling the car to anyone else. Another hearing is set for Tuesday.
Now Mr. Harrison, who works as a security consultant in Annapolis, must wait some more, just as he's been doing since he first fell in love with the original GT as a college student at Bucknell University.
And while he waits, he's trying to keep the dispute in perspective.
"This is a car. There's a lot more important things in the world ...," he said. "Remember, we're talking about a car. That's what I told them."
- No Jumps-
<<<<<
Retired FBI agent sues dealer over Ford GT40
By DAVID E. LEIVA, Staff Writer
A retired FBI agent is suing an Annapolis-area car dealer over the new Ford GT40, claiming the dealer backed out of an agreement he made three years ago to sell him the retro muscle car.
Richard Harrison of Chester paid Koons Ford of Annapolis a $5,000 deposit in April 2002 and began waiting for the release of the Ford GT40, a $200,000 sports car owned by fewer than 200 people across the country. But according to the lawsuit he filed in county Circuit Court, when Mr. Harrison went to the dealer on Riva Road to pick it up last month, the price on the fully loaded, V-8, 550 horsepower machine jumped up - before the general manager decided not to sell it to him at all.
"I think a lot of it is the principle. Most of the time it wouldn't make sense to proceed legally," Mr. Harrison said.
Koons' attorney, Frank Daily, declined to comment, and General Manager Pat Shuey and officials with the parent company in Virginia didn't return phone calls.
It's a fight over a car, modeled on a 1960s icon, that has auto world in head over heals.
James R. Healey, reviewing the car for USA Today, called the wide-tired, low-slung rocket "a drop-dead delight to see and drive."
A test drive by Automobile magazine last fall showed the GT hitting 60 mph from a standstill in a mere 3.8 seconds - besting any of the thoroughbred Italian sports cars. Ford says the top speed is better than 200 mph.
Prices vary widely. EBay, the online auction center, lists one Ford GT starting at $170,000. The rights to the first production Ford GT was sold at auction in 2003, for delivery in August 2004. Television host Jay Leno bought the second a week later.
According to court documents, the fight over this particular Ford GT started June 29 when Mr. Harrison arrived with his attorney, Samuel Brown of Annapolis, at the Koons dealership, intent on picking up the car for $139,995, the manufacturer's suggested retail price, plus the destination charges, taxes and installed options.
He had placed that $5,000 deposit in April 2002. But in June, Mr. Shuey informed him that the price had gone up 40 percent, to $197,000, the lawsuit said.
"The defendant contracted to sell the GT to the plaintiff for the then unspecified MSRP in 2002, and now seeks to rescind the contract so it may sell the GT for a higher price because now the supply of this particular vehicle is greatly surpassed by the demand," the lawsuit said.>>>>
Mr. Shuey, according to the lawsuit, said he could get the higher price by selling the car at auction. Before long, the argument got heated.
"I'm not selling this car for MSRP. I will sell this car for a lot higher price, and I don't care what your contract says," the lawsuit quotes Mr. Shuey as saying.
On July 1, a county judge issued a temporary injunction preventing Koons from selling the car to anyone else. Another hearing is set for Tuesday.
Now Mr. Harrison, who works as a security consultant in Annapolis, must wait some more, just as he's been doing since he first fell in love with the original GT as a college student at Bucknell University.
And while he waits, he's trying to keep the dispute in perspective.
"This is a car. There's a lot more important things in the world ...," he said. "Remember, we're talking about a car. That's what I told them."
- No Jumps-
