Angry Australian Ford Mustang Mach 1 Buyers Get Cash Offer

Jul. 17, 2021 12:20 PM ET by Jay Traugott Muscle Cars / 7 Comments

They had every right to be displeased.

Let this be an advertising lesson for every automaker. It's quite simple, really: no false advertising, even if it's unintentional. This is the situation Ford Australia recently got itself into and now it has to make amends to 450 2021 model year Mustang Mach 1 buyers who turned down the original offer last May.

The Mach 1 was originally advertised Down Under with equipment like a high-performance Torsen differential, rear parking sensors, and radar cruise control. All are attractive features for the newest track-focused Mustang. Yet none of these were actually available. Blame a brochure error. But the damage has been done and Ford now has to make amends.

In what could be the largest make-good offer in the Blue Oval's history in the country, a total of $2.4 million AUD is being spent on compensation options. According to CarAdvice, buyers are being given the following choices: a full refund, $5,400 cashback, or free servicing for three years and a special track day event. Only 700 Mach 1s are due in Australia for the 2021 model year and less than 50 remain available.

Angry Mach 1 buyers first realized the packaging error last spring and immediately jumped on social media to express their rightful outrage. The brochure mistake wasn't fixed until April 29.

At first, the only form of compensation to customers who made their purchases before this date was the three-year free servicing and track day. That wasn't good enough for some. Being misled about a product would make anyone upset and free service (valued at just $1,430) and heading to the track for only one day simply wouldn't cut it. Ford Australia would have been getting off too easy. The full refund and cash offers are more appropriate in this case.

Customers who placed orders after April 29, however, are being offered only the free servicing and track day. Owners who bought before that date are now being contacted by Ford Australia about the new compensation offers.