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Saleen Is In Cold Water, As Dealer Lawsuit Shows Company Finances Are Low

Saleen Automotive, the company run by Steve Saleen, is under the spotlight again after a Ford dealer in Texas has taken it to court.
2015 Saleen 302 based on Ford Mustang 30 photos
Photo: Saleen
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This time, a dealership from San Antonio says that Saleen Automotive has breached a contract with them and has committed fraud. According to Red McCombs Ford, Saleen Automotive was six months late on delivery for three modified 2015 Ford Mustang models.

Furthermore, the dealer accuses Saleen Automotive of not fitting upgrades that were paid in advance, and the costs add up to $22,000. Because it has not received a refund for the missing equipment, or the extra months of waiting, the dealer from San Antonio has decided to sue Saleen Automotive.

Meanwhile, another Ford dealership is pointing fingers at Saleen, after ordering a “Yellow Label” Mustang 302 that was ordered over a year ago. It was supposed to be delivered to the Friendship Ford dealership in Bristol, Tennessee, by the end of 2015, but the dealer says it has not been presented yet, even though Saleen representatives claim they shipped it in early June, Automotive News reports.

Steve Saleen, the founder and CEO of Saleen Automotive, says he is unaware of the lawsuit, which was filed at the beginning of June. When asked about his opinion on the matter, he stated that all of the cars ordered by the Red McCombs Ford dealership had been delivered, and sees the legal action as “a little frivolous.”

On the other hand, Steve Saleen complains that dealers do not understand his business, and claims that each car is built with parts made from scratch. Because of this, Saleen says, delays are created. Furthermore, with the company’s current financial situation not in the clear, Mr. Saleen feels it is a “small miracle” that Saleen Automotive is still operational.

The company was first founded in 1984, after the race car driver started tuning cars, but he had to restart after leaving the original company and even losing the rights to the name. Eventually, Saleen got the right to use his name for a car company again, but regulatory filings show that the company only made a quarterly profit once, in 2014, and is now in debt.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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