- First Name
- Dustin
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2022
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- 12
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- 1,585
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- 2,117
- Location
- Kingston, Wa
- Vehicle(s)
- 2022 Bronco Sport Badlands
Addendum: and [expletive] those dealerships right in the face.
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Actually they could lose their ability to custom order vehicles if they fall below the name match threshold Ford has instituted. Ford also reduced to a very small number the exceptions allowed to name match. They essentially have to sell it to the person who ordered it or Ford will put the screws to them up to expulsion from the name match and integrity policy. As Ford moves away from selling from stock to majority customer orders that will put dealerships in more the category of facilitators of orders rather than sellers of stock merchandise. Here's the latest story on the name match changes.
That said, dealerships aren't fully on board with this yet. They will still try to get away with everything they can. They have an enormous knowledge advantage over the customer. The very best thing one can do is go armed with knowledge, and even that may not be enough. There will still be shenanigans. My idiot dealership pulled the "accessories package we do to every vehicle" BS (paint protection and nitrogen in the tires for $500) and I was told to calm down when I confronted them about it. Result: $500 of accessories of my choosing. If I'm paying, I'm picking.
Ultimately I got what I ordered in a reasonable amount of time and at the agreed upon price, but the only reason I got the price is because I came with documentation on Ford's price protection program that has been in place on retail orders for 6 years. Some dealerships are getting better. Some, like in the OP, will go out of business when Ford only lets them have limited configurations of limited trim levels of a limited number of stock vehicles.
In the story you linked to the author wrote:They essentially have to sell it to the person who ordered it or Ford will put the screws to them up to expulsion from the name match and integrity policy.
I'm not sure how this is applied. What if the person who ordered the vehicle changes their mind?Starting in June, Ford will increase its name-match threshold to 75 percent, up from its current requirement of 70 percent. What this means is that 75 percent of the reservation-order conversions dealers take for new vehicles must match the name of the person that takes delivery of that vehicle.
It sounds like Ford is calculating that, at most, 25% of people placing custom orders are changing their minds.In the story you linked to the author wrote:
I'm not sure how this is applied. What if the person who ordered the vehicle changes their mind?
Ford will accept communication from the order holder that they are abandoning the order and it won't count against the dealership. So, if a dealership tries to price you out of your order DO NOT tell Ford you are choosing to reject the order. Make the dealership eat the name mismatch.What if the person who ordered the vehicle changes their mind?
My dealership did the exact same thing to me with the "accessories package." I told them they can go deflate the tires and put regular air in them as far as I'm concerned because I wasn't paying for anything extra that they didn't have my permission to do in the first place. Not sure if they did or not, but I too ended up with $500 in accessories of my choice.My idiot dealership pulled the "accessories package we do to every vehicle" BS (paint protection and nitrogen in the tires for $500) and I was told to calm down when I confronted them about it. Result: $500 of accessories of my choosing. If I'm paying, I'm picking.
Not to mention that the air we breathe is already about 78% nitrogen.My dealership did the exact same thing to me with the "accessories package." I told them they can go deflate the tires and put regular air in them as far as I'm concerned because I wasn't paying for anything extra that they didn't have my permission to do in the first place. Not sure if they did or not, but I too ended up with $500 in accessories of my choice.
There are theoretical benefits to it, but grrr. At least the Costco in my area has N2 for members after my 2 years of dealership fancy air runs out.Not to mention that the air we breathe is already about 78% nitrogen.
I've seen articles over the years about how Retail Orders are THE FUTURE, but I think we're actually, really getting there soon™. So dealers who act like OP's are either ignorant, arrogant, or want to cash out before they sink. Maybe some combination of all that. But these sleezy tactics on retail orders seem especially shortsighted given the changes in the market.Some, like in the OP, will go out of business when Ford only lets them have limited configurations of limited trim levels of a limited number of stock vehicles.
If Ford plans a shift to a full-up, retail-order-only sales system then dealers might feel like they may as well gouge for all they can get now. There is no haggling with a retail order sales system. You order it, you pay for what you ordered.But these sleezy tactics on retail orders seem especially shortsighted given the changes in the market.
From the Feb. sales report, “In addition to our February sales, our retail order bank continues to expand totaling 72,000 vehicles in February – 4 times higher than last year." I saw somewhere (but can't find it right now) that something on the order 70%+ of sales in a given month were from custom orders rather than from dealer stock.I've seen articles over the years about how Retail Orders are THE FUTURE, but I think we're actually, really getting there soon™.
Laws are only as good as their enforcement.One glimmer of hope is that the FTC just proposed new rules that prohibit dealerships from engaging in many of these behaviors: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/06/ftc-proposes-rule-ban-junk-fees-bait-switch-tactics-plaguing-car-buyers