1,920 Ford dealers have enrolled in Model e program for 2024-2026 period

[Reign of Ravens]

You spent 5 hours because you were haggling to get a cheaper price - at Tesla you pay what they say which means they make extra money off of you. A lot of money - to the point that they have big enough margins to knock $15k off the price without blinking. Think about that.

You certainly could have done no haggling at your dealer, but somehow you would feel cheated paying what the dealer said - but not the Tesla employee?

I'm not sure that I spent five hours because I was trying to haggle particularly hard. Guys here who give their stories would probably laugh and call what I tried to do pathetic. To be fair, part of the reason it took so long was because it was an electric vehicle when the dealership didn't have many salespeople who were knowledgable about them, and because my initial salesman was in training. But people joke that car dealerships will say they're going to go back and discuss something, only to then go read the newspaper and leave the customers sitting uncomfortably - I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if that happened to us.

When I bought that vehicle it was in the days when MSRP was for suckers and you were expected to get cars for less. It was also the first new car I ever purchased. I didn't really know much about the car buying process beyond what I had heard.

These days I have more money and less time. I've also spent many more hours with dealerships and on car buying since then. I've learned what I value and what I really despise. Tesla doesn't offer negotiations, so I don't feel the need to try. If Ford wants to lock the price, as well, I'm fine with that.

The real question is what I would do if prices weren't fixed and things went back to the way they were pre-pandemic, when supply was more favorable to the consumer and dealerships were offering deals again. Would I still try to haggle? Probably - why not just ask a question and see if it can save you a few hundred dollars or more, right? But if I could do the purchase online, going into the dealership only to sign some papers and take the keys? I'd probably take that option over even trying to ask about a reduced price.

Car dealerships in Hawaii are brutal - I haven't met anyone else who lives out here who likes their dealership. People will go to the mainland and get cars shipped back here. If you've had good dealership experiences, count yourself lucky. Maybe when my kids are grown and I have more time I'd find it fun to play games with the dealerships... but I still think I'd rather spend my time differently.

Sponsored

 

[BigMach-E]

I don’t love the game, but I’ve kind of learned to play it. I have a decent Ford dealership, finally. My previous experiences with a Ford dealership was terrible, but it taught me what to look out for.

I think the Model E program forcing dealerships to invest in charging infrastructure that costs 500k to sell more than 25 EVs a year feels very short sighted, in my humble opinion.