Ford to Impose Non-Negotiable Pricing on EV Sales as Part of Model E Division Plan

[Dancefreak]

To be fair, local tire shops would only normally do this for people who bought/installed the tires at their shop. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds idiotic to have your staff do free work when they aren't working for you for free. I assume none of us work for free neither in our normal day jobs.

Dealers aren't great and they probably could've patched it, but I really doubt dealers do a ton of tire work other than replacing.

Costco does free tire patching when you buy tires from them. A lot of tire shops do the same thing.

My neighborhood tire shop will plug any tire for free. The owner has told me they do it entirely for goodwill because it only takes them a few minutes and those people they helped come back when they or someone in their family need to buy tires. Not idiotic at all to build a customer base as there's many more options for tires within a very short drive.

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[Mach1E]

My daughter was not looking for free. She offered to pay them and was shocked when they refused payment. They said just comeback and buy tires from us when you need them. The dealer could have said that it is probably fixable, go to a tire store, but they said it was not reperable and she needed a new tire. No one was looking for free service just honesty. By the way the same $350 tire quoted at the dealership was available at the tire store for $230

Girls get free drinks at the bar too.

I wouldn’t necessarily expect the same treatment. ?

 

[yngwenli]

Well, that's generous of tire shops. I guess tires, being a consumable makes more sense to build good will since eventually, all car owners will need tires at some point, even EVs.

I haven't had anyone do a tire plug/patch for free for me ever so ignorance is no bliss here I guess.

I tend to just use Costco though and they have that covered service (but you have to install the tire there so not exactly free).

I guess from this discussion, don't get tire work done at dealerships. It'll eventually only end badly.

 

[AiKiMache]

Of course the big problem right now is a severe supply shortage vs demand, so the retailers can pretty much name their price. But it's not normally that way. This is just a severe seller's market right now.

True, but dealers who are charging over MSRP for cars may be hastening their own demise -- they are just making the case for Ford and other manufacturers who are frustrated by the impact of the practice on their reputation and sales and want to curb the dealerships. Buyers in the market now are unlikely to forget which dealers were saying they charge more "because we can."
We are likely to be buying several cars over the next few years -- and when supply side balances out again, we will still be driving 100mi out of town to do business with the dealership not charging ADM rather than doing business with the local dealer charging $5K ADM now..."because we can."

 

[Mach1E]

True, but dealers who are charging over MSRP for cars may be hastening their own demise -- they are just making the case for Ford and other manufacturers who are frustrated by the impact of the practice on their reputation and sales and want to curb the dealerships. Buyers in the market now are unlikely to forget which dealers were saying they charge more "because we can."
We are likely to be buying several cars over the next few years -- and when supply side balances out again, we will still be driving 100mi out of town to do business with the dealership not charging ADM rather than doing business with the local dealer charging $5K ADM now..."because we can."

It’s an interesting theory, but more likely wishful thinking that dealers who are making more profit are more likely to go out of business.

 

[Timelessblur]

Maybe. GM did this with Saturn (non-negotiable price) and we see where that went.


Aside: While Saturn didn't negotiate, I was able to get a good price on one because my daughter played high school with the daughter of a GM VP. The sales manager told me the price I got was considerably better than what he could buy one for as an employee. The old adage "it's not what you know, but who you know" played out in this case.

It worked really well for Saturn until GM being GM made Saturn cars just rebadged GM cars with all the GM issues. They also kept it forced on the you can only get what is on the lot.
Early on it worked great at the end GM ruined Saturn by being GM.

 

[dbsb3233]

True, but dealers who are charging over MSRP for cars may be hastening their own demise -- they are just making the case for Ford and other manufacturers who are frustrated by the impact of the practice on their reputation and sales and want to curb the dealerships. Buyers in the market now are unlikely to forget which dealers were saying they charge more "because we can."
We are likely to be buying several cars over the next few years -- and when supply side balances out again, we will still be driving 100mi out of town to do business with the dealership not charging ADM rather than doing business with the local dealer charging $5K ADM now..."because we can."

Interestingly, it's been like this all along. Dealerships have routinely sold at market price. It's just that in normal times, that market price was below MSRP, and people were ok with that. Now that there's a severe supply crunch vs demand, market price has drifted above MSRP. While perfectly logical, it's created a perception problem among buyers who cry foul now, but were perfectly fine with paying below MSRP before.

It would be ironic if MSRP-only policies go into effect just about the time the supply crunch ends and those buyers would have gotten them below MSRP.

 

[Mach1E]

Interestingly, it's been like this all along. Dealerships have routinely sold at market price. It's just that in normal times, that market price was below MSRP, and people were ok with that. Now that there's a severe supply crunch vs demand, market price has drifted above MSRP. While perfectly logical, it's created a perception problem among buyers who cry foul now, but were perfectly fine with paying below MSRP before.

It would be ironic if MSRP-only policies go into effect just about the time the supply crunch ends and those buyers would have gotten them below MSRP.

You didn’t hear anyone complaining about market price in 2015 when you could get $12,000 off an F150.

I don’t think it’ll be ironic if the policy goes into effect when the supply crunch ends, it’ll be planned.

MSRP is a moving made up price. But it’s a magical number that people obsess over. Manufacturers know this. It used to be the “ridiculous high price no one pays.” Now it’s the floor.

 

[Skip Towne]

What??? No more ADM??

What are they trying to do - ruin the dealer experience?

But I hope we can still pay extra for paint treatment, fabric protector, tire wax, void-if-used extended warranties, asteroid strike insurance!! Why else do we need dealers?

 

[audiograce]

Saw this and have been paying attention to the ADM horror stories for both the MME and F150 Lightning (fortunately, my dealer doesn’t do ADM).

Ford is not just competing with other EV makers for consumer attention and sales, but also with new emerging business models for direct-to-consumer selling.

As an ‘older’ guy with a dozen or so dealership buying experiences in my lifetime, I've become adept at seeing, and walking away from, any tactics geared solely for the dealer's financial benefit. Millenials have zero tolerance for these games or negotiations, so the dealership model will be forced to change for all car makers...and change fast. Good on Ford for making this happen now vs. when forced to in a year or two.

Who is your dealer?

 

[JoeDimwit]

But it's not.

I can make a $30k commercial computer purchase direct from the manufacturer (Dell or Apple or...). I can go to their website, select exactly what I want, configure the entire system, etc, then save the system in the shopping cart. I can then go to a reseller, submit the same specs, and compare the prices, including tax and shipping, service agreements, etc.

I can order a TV directly from Samsung, or the same one from BestBuy, from Wal-Mart, from Target, or from a dozen other sources. And while the prices are all nearly the same, that's not always the case.

And with all of these I can have the product delivered to my home without ever having to fight with someone about some worthless etching or coating added (and charged) without my consent.

Now do skirts.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Now do skirts.

Which "skirt dealers" are protected by law from competition?

 

[JoeDimwit]

Which "skirt dealers" are protected by law from competition?

Which skirt manufacturer can you buy a single skirt directly from?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Which skirt manufacturer can you buy a single skirt directly from?

Seriously? Basically all of them.

We can buy directly from Levi's; we can buy directly from Madewell; we can buy directly from Private Label; we can buy directly from Dolce and Gabbana; Guess; Old Navy; J. Crew; American Eagle Outfitters; Ralph Lauren; we can buy directly from almost any clothing manufacturer. Same with shoes. Same with almost any kind of clothing. I can't think of a clothing brand you can't order directly from.

I'm sure someone will find some, but the reason we wouldn't be able to buy directly from them is because they choose not to sell directly, not because state laws prohibit them from selling directly to consumers.

 

[Chiboyal]

1) 30% of Ford dealerships in the US have already opted out, they aren't EV certified.

2) See #1. They cannot service an EV.

They will likely be left behind in the smoke and dust of the antiquated ICE vehicles.

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