Need advice. Am I getting "screwed"? Should I allow dealership to add this to new badlands I'm about to order?

[Warpious]

I also need to figure out if buying my current leased car and then selling it is a wiser move and then I can get the bronco sport at later time. I woudn't buy my current leased car until later this year since my lease doesn't expire until Black Friday this year in November and I put $3,300 down on the lease... if I terminate lease so early I'll lose my deposit =(

Yeah my sis bought her car at the end of it's lease as CarMax quoted her way more than Nissan was giving her (it was a rogue and she wanted a new Santa Fe) so that makes sense.
As always, if it feel wrong pull the ripcord, but not every sales guy is slimy is out to get you. These custom orders, other than they take several months to come in, are an easy sale for them when you come in. They might be able to make an extra buck jacking around with after crap, but for example with our purchase we were just waiting on the finance guy while our actual sale guy was working on selling a second car to a different group of buyers. The time it takes to talk you into an extra $1000 add on usually isn't worth losing out on another sale unless they're just totally desperate. Just giving my experience though.

Sponsored

 

[sajohnson]

Leases are based on the residual value, basically an amount that the lender estimates the vehicle would be worth after the lease. Difference between that and the selling price is divided by the # of months with essentially interest and fees added. So that residual amount is generally baked into the contract in terms of a lease buyout cost.

Given the current market, a lot of lessees are finding out their leased vehicles depreciated much less than anticipated. The actual value is higher than the buyout so they can buy out the vehicle and then immediately sell it to get back some of the lease payments, essentially.

That's what I suspected, but I hadn't looked into it.

 

[sajohnson]

sajohnson

Thanks for your reply.
The other thing the salesman said is that if make ANY change to the car then the price is not honored. This I totally understand and am OK with but not the other nonsense I was being told.

Since I didn't sign that form yet is why the salesman didn't sign it... I think, not sure, but I think he will sign it once I sign it and am ready to actually pace the order... but my conern is that nowhere on that piece of paper does it state the price is a fixed guaranteed price... meaning that car is to be sold to me at stated price without being hit with ADM when the car arrives on their lot several months from now. That piece of paper is not even titled/labeled with anything... it doesn't say "purchase order form" agreement... nothing.

I wanted their manger to also sign it, not just the sales guy. Sales guy said "NO we dont work that way you will just have to take my word for it". Am I being silly or too paranoid? I feel like the paper should state "VEHICLE TO BE SOLD TO (my name) AT FIXED PRICE $45,514.40 or something like that...

Being naturally cynical/skeptical, and having had numerous bad experiences with dealers over the years (none of them Ford) I don't think you're being silly or paranoid at all.

You're right that, "...the paper should state "VEHICLE TO BE SOLD TO (my name) AT FIXED PRICE $45,514.40 or something like that..." It definitely should. IDK why they refuse to do that, other than what I said in an earlier post:
1) Preserving their ability to engage in future extortion.
2) Some legit concern, like MSRP increase combined with Ford discontinuing their "Automatic Price Protection".

And you're also right that the salesman and sales manager (or higher) should sign.

You are not being unreasonable at all. If we're all operating on trust, then maybe they should just sign titles over to buyers who cross their heart and promise to pay...

It is an established fact that some dealers (a small percentage) do sometimes try to strongarm the buyer into paying ADM on delivery (aka, extortion/ransom). One recent extreme example was the guy who ordered a Mercedes EV for over $100,000. At delivery, the dealer said (essentially), "Give us $50,000 ADM and no one gets hurt!" The buyer left and bought a Lucent EV instead.

How frequently that stuff happens is unknown. Chances are, with the signed (or even unsigned) order summary the buyer will be fine. It spells out all options, the vehicle, and all of the costs. So while it's not a contract, it clearly indicates what the buyer and salesperson agreed to.

At the end of the day though, the dealers hold the cards. The state laws are written by them, for them. They can do almost anything they want. Salespeople can *legally* lie to buyers. Even the mfrs cannot rein them in. The only thing keeping them (sort of) in line is the internet and word of mouth. If they made a habit of burning customers they would lose business.

 

[Bronclahoma]

Unless you value what they plan to add to the vehicle in the "desert protection package" and whatnot nonsense, then yes, you are getting ripped off. $499 for the "doc fee" is also really high..

If all you want is the vehicle itself, tell the dealer in no uncertain terms that you just want the vehicle with your build criteria (trim, options, colors) from the factory, you don't want the dealer to put anything else on it, you will not pay for it. Get them to give you that price in writing.

I agree. This is nothing more than an attempt to disguise additional dealer markup.

 

[Tom 5778]

Okay I'm going to play devil's advocate as someone who ordered at the dealership, signed nothing, and put no deposit down. The dealership logged into the Ford website through their portal (looks just like the regular ford site except it has them set as the dealer) we built it out and clocked submit. That was it. Come to think of it, we did get a print out similar to what they handed you to sign saying yes we did order this vehicle and here's the price of it, but that was it. That protects both parties from price changes dealer add ons etc. The order is placed in your name, and should they do try to do something shady you can always walk away. This second place doesn't sound as shady as the first one imo.

I did mine the same way. Except I never went to the dealership. And never signed anything until I picked up my OB. Entered my configuration via the Ford site. Dealer contacted me via email. I sent a copy of my DL via email. All communication was via email until the day I picked it up. No dealer markups or add ons. No doc fees. No pressure to buy extended anything, although he did ask.

 

[thekingprawn]

I did mine the same way. Except I never went to the dealership. And never signed anything until I picked up my OB. Entered my configuration via the Ford site. Dealer contacted me via email. I sent a copy of my DL via email. All communication was via email until the day I picked it up. No dealer markups or add ons. No doc fees. No pressure to buy extended anything, although he did ask.

Maybe some dealerships are starting to figure it out.

 

[MaxVelocity]

As always, if it feel wrong pull the ripcord

This.

@tropical2022 It is a pain, but finding a third dealer may be the best option. Otherwise If you're not 100% happy with a deal it will be added stress during the months you wait for your BS to be delivered.

My family member and I both had signed documents when we ordered. I think her dealer used the order sheet and my dealer used a draft purchase agreement. I'm not an attorney, but in my mind that constituted agreement on price, which was MSRP. My dealer also asked for a deposit which I was happy to provide as assurance that I was not a tire-kicker.

With that being said, I was still a bit nervous about ADM, but fortunately neither dealer attempted that or tried to leverage add-ons.

 

[Glamdring70]

So glad I hit the dealer I did. Almost same deal as OP. But the adds on both of those papers looks crazy to me. Over $4,500 in state fees? Would have expected it from CA but not AZ.

MSRP/cash price of $40,999 for the vehicle and options. Dealer has a $119 doc fee. $366 was state title and plate fees for Oregon. Forget the state tax, was maybe $300. My total additional costs were under 4k including a $2,900 extended warranty contract.

 

[Monkey]

I’ve included screenshot below showing FIRST dealership vs SECOND dealership’s quote. I have 3 worries remaining:

1. Second (new) dealership I went to says when I sign the below paper that I am “guaranteed” to be able to buy the vehicle at shown price without having to be weaseled around in price war. They told me all I need to do is sign below piece of paper and they will order the car. The problem I’m having is that the below piece of paper does not seem to BIND anything? It isn’t even a contract or is it? NOWHERE on that paper does it state that I am guaranteed to buy the car at noted price without fear of price war when car actually arrives at dealership!!
2. I am financing car. Dealership said there are NO pre-payment penalties and that pre-payment penalties became illegal? Is this really true? I plan to put ZERO down and will select 72 or 84 month finance but after the first year or so I will pay it off early… so hopefully there really are NO pre-payment penalties.
3. I feel insane for not negotiating MSRP lower than what is listed! But I guess in these crazy times I should be happy to just pay MSRP with no mark-ups?

Sorry for all my questions… kind of scary buying a car… I don’t trust dealerships ?

Haven't read through the rest of the posts, but you should be good. If you sign and agree to a price, it's pretty much binding. There is always a slight chance they could try and alter the deal on you, but it's pretty rare that dealerships actually do this.

Doc fee is a bit high, but in many of the larger markets it seems dealerships kinda fall in line with each other and have similar fees. You can definitely get below MSRP by exploring alternate markets -- for example I spend most of my time between Denver and Phoenix, but, I've bought two Bronco Sports from Granger Ford in Iowa. It costs me $35 on Frontier to fly from Denver to Des Moines and then I have a boring 10 hour road trip back but no dealerships in Denver or Phoenix or these larger markets will drop below MSRP right now with the production shortages.

There are no pre-payment penalties on new car financing. Not allowable by law. You can always explore financing through your bank, credit union, other sources... Rates are kinda crappy right now though. With inflation ticking up it seems most lenders had taken the initiative to bump their rates in January. We found that out when picking up our Badlands last month. Oh well, like you, I'm just going to pay off early. We bought our '21 Badlands in May of last year with 0.9% financing through Ford Credit. This time around Ford had no special rates, in fact their rates were horrible. Ended up through some random bank I'd never heard of and my own bank, and outside sources I tried didn't come up with anything great either. Hmph...

You might be able to score a bit better rate if you can contribute a down payment. Also inquire about incentives now and then again when you take delivery. Ford's policy is that you qualify for any current incentives at the time of order and any new incentives at the time you take delivery. I believe Ford is still offering the $1000 incentive for custom orders.

 

[tropical2022]

I just spoke to the sales guy on the phone and asked him WHY exactly is it such a problem for them to put "VEHICLE TO BE SOLD TO (my name) AT FIXED PRICE $45,514.40 or something like that..." and the sales guy said because we do not work like that. If you don't trust us then you should not buy from us. We are rated #1 for a reason" was the reply. I again told him I'm not comfortable with that. It SHOULD state FIXED price on paper. Period. They refuse.

He said once I sign paper and he signs the paper that the vehicle will be sold to me at the price listed on the below paper I took screenshot of.

He said he will sign the below piece of paper once I decide to place order. That's it.

After that conversation I'm leaning more towards simply buying out my current car that I've been leasing for 2 1/2 years. I'll then wait another year and then see if things become less crazy. I told him this so he is aware. This whole thing (game playing it seems at the dealerships) is really TURNING ME OFF.

PS: This morning I got an odd email from this sales guy saying:

"Thanks for getting the order in . I will get it put in and you will get confirmation from ford by email.
Thanks:"

It is why I immediately called him because I NEVER placed any order with them EVER!!!!! He claims it was an "error". I was at the dealership yesterday because I told him I'm conflicted between getting the BS BL or the BS OB so I went there to look at the BS BL because they didn't have any BS BL first time I was there. He knows 10000000% that I was to get back to him when I'm READY and have made my decision in regards to me wanting the BS BL or the BS OB. Yet this morning I get an email saying THANKS FOR YOUR ORDER. I did not even sign ANYTHING at all yet. He KNOWS I did not place any order with them for anything. Strange!

 

[tropical2022]

I was in hurry when I wrote above post. After reading more replies (about piece of paper shown in my above prior post) it seems I should hopefully be OK. If I'm not and they try "stuff" when bronco sport arrives at the lot my Plan B is to buy out my current car I'm leasing.

I'm trying to figure out if it's better I buy-out my current car that I'm leasing anyway and then wait a year to buy the 2023 bronco sport. My current car is mercedes GLA 2020 only has 17,000 miles and I was told to buy it out would be $26,850 (MSRP on it at the start of my lease was $38,500). But I wouldn't buy it out until later this year in November so by then it should be even cheaper to buy it out... not sure what to do I have No idea if I should buy out my current car. I really suck at this!

... so I'm still not sure if I'm going to order the bronco sport for this year...

 

[tropical2022]

... I can't believe I didn't notice but yesterday when I was at that dealership he wrote WRONG interest rate for 48 month finance term. He wrote 3.9% interest rate for 48 month. The interest rate for 48 month term should be about only 1.9%! He has not run my credit yet. My credit is in the 800s. I told him this.

I just texted sales guy about the below. Hoping the below was honest "mistake". Hmmmmm.

 

[WinTech]

Costco includes nitrogen in their installation -- $16 each total, mount and balance, with nitrogen fill. So, in other words, it must be pretty darn cheap, because $16 is a good deal without nitrogen.

It's not worth much, but it does have the benefit of not being as effected by temp changes. That's basically it -- more stable pressure.

You can add ordinary air to a nitrogen filled tire, it will just dilute it.

I never understood this nitrogen scam. Air is already 78% nitrogen. If it is included like at costco, fine but $300 to get that extra 22% is obscene.

 

[thekingprawn]

You shouldn't be doing any financing paperwork to put in an order.

 

[WinTech]

... I can't believe I didn't notice but yesterday when I was at that dealership he wrote WRONG interest rate for 48 month finance term. He wrote 3.9% interest rate for 48 month. The interest rate for 48 month term should be about only 1.9%! He has not run my credit yet. My credit is in the 800s. I told him this.

I just texted sales guy about the below. Hoping the below was honest "mistake". Hmmmmm.

You may want to check with MB on that lease if you plan on trading it in. Some manufacturers are requiring leases to be only traded in to the manufacturer dealer. I know Honda is doing that for sure. You can only trade in a leased Honda to a Honda dealer. It shouldn't apply to you if you were just going to return your car at the end of the lease and buy the BS though. However with car values the way they are, your car may be worth more than the lease payoff. In that situation you could pay it off and then trade it in. Not only would you have some equity, the amount of the trade in will reduce the sales tax you owe. When I got my BS, my trade was worth more than the BS and so I paid zero sales tax because you only pay on the difference.