Let Ford (Mike Levine) know if you see dealer ADM on Mach-E

[JamieGeek]

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[SteelMach]

I'm glad he's stepping in to help, but the idea that a company needs to have an executive on standby to help customers not get ripped off by *representatives of his own company* is still a sign of massive problems. Going on the offense at the same time isn't helpful, IMO.

My dealer was great (other than claiming to not have heard of Options before I mentioned it) - but not a single "market" fee, no mandatory wheel locks, ScotchGuard, undercoating, etc. Price was transparent, no haggling, no attempt to sell anything I didn't want. Just a "are you interested in hearing about any warranties?" - that's it.

It's a shame ANYONE has to deal with ADM. There needs to be a crackdown.

 

[JamieGeek]

I'm glad he's stepping in to help, but the idea that a company needs to have an executive on standby to help customers not get ripped off by *representatives of his own company* is still a sign of massive problems. Going on the offense at the same time isn't helpful, IMO.

Technically dealers aren't "representatives of his own company" as dealers are independent businesses from Ford.

 

[SteelMach]

Technically dealers aren't "representatives of his own company" as dealers are independent businesses from Ford.

They've got the oval on the building, don't they?

They represent Ford, I didn't say they were Ford. That's how franchises work. They represent a brand, under license from the trademark owner.

 

[machefan]

Time would be better spent from Mr Levine (who actually blocked me on twitter for some unknown reason), by sending a letter to all dealerships with a statement. However I am not a Tesla fan but one has the option to buy that 10K self-driving software, one does not have a choice with ADM when it's added on. Yes I know one can leave and go to another dealer. I have a feeling Ford is going figure this one out soon, but really should have been before the first delivery. One can hope for others this gets taken care of...

 

[RonTCat]

I'm glad he's stepping in to help, but the idea that a company needs to have an executive on standby to help customers not get ripped off by *representatives of his own company* is still a sign of massive problems. Going on the offense at the same time isn't helpful, IMO.

My dealer was great (other than claiming to not have heard of Options before I mentioned it) - but not a single "market" fee, no mandatory wheel locks, ScotchGuard, undercoating, etc. Price was transparent, no haggling, no attempt to sell anything I didn't want. Just a "are you interested in hearing about any warranties?" - that's it.

It's a shame ANYONE has to deal with ADM. There needs to be a crackdown.

Show me the law you sponsored to change this, and I will vote for it.

 

[SteelMach]

Show me the law you sponsored to change this, and I will vote for it.

I'd help with a voter sponsored initiative but that's not allowed in all states.

 

[shutterbug]

Show me the law you sponsored to change this, and I will vote for it.

There is no need for a law. Ford and market will eventually fix this because:

• Ford is not exactly powerless in this
• Ford understands what a huge dissatisfier this is for customers
• Customers are slowly getting wise to all the dealers shenanigans

As Ford pointed out way back in 2019, MME is profitable from day one. The dealers are making a reasonable profit on them as well. If only more customers drew a line and refused to pay ADM, that practice would disappear.

 

[malba2366]

Great that he is offering to help, but helping someone find another dealer (with a 3+ month wait) is not the solution here. The solution is to clamp down hard on the dealers doing this to people with existing orders.

Maybe Mr. Levine should stop his obsession with Tesla, and focus on fixing some of the horrible dealerships out there. Honestly, I have not bought a non luxury vehicle in about 20 years, and the entire experience in going into a couple of local ford dealers to work out a "deal" on the mach e (to not pay over MSRP) felt pretty slimy. Ford has some pretty great vehicles coming down the line, and at higher price points, if they want to earn and keep these customers then they should look at the dealership experience very closely. If the dealer wants to add ADM on a vehicle they ordered for stock then that is their business, but to tack it onto cars ordered months ago with no disclosure at that time is a horrible practice. Does he really think paying for FSD is even remotely close to paying a dealer markup??

 

[DBC]

I hope this means Ford is on schedule with its hands free Co-Pilot. Otherwise this could be embarrassing. LOL

As far as ADM is concerned, yes Ford has influence but it is really swimming against state laws. Anyone is Florida try to get a discount on an extended service plan?

Does he really think paying for FSD is even remotely close to paying a dealer markup??

No really comparable because in the latter case you'll actually get what you pay for.

 

[shutterbug]

As far as ADM is concerned, yes Ford has influence but it is really swimming against state laws. Anyone is Florida try to get a discount on an extended service plan?

Are dealers forcing you to buy the plan? If not, just buy from another dealer in another state.

FWIW, my dealer's finance guy just said that if I want an extended service plan, just ping him and he will provide the pricing. I already know that his prices will not be cheap, so thanked him and didn't.

 

[DBC]

Are dealers forcing you to buy the plan? If not, just buy from another dealer in another state.

You seem to have missed my point entirely so I'll be more explicit. You can't get a discount on an extended service plan in Florida because the dealers convinced all those free market loving legislators to pass a law making it illegal to discount such a plan. In order to protect consumers of course!

Same BS with pricing. Ford cannot legally force a dealer to sell at MSRP.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

A lot of PR in that post and very little substance.

Mike Levine shouldn't have to intervene on behalf of dealers suddenly taking on ADM to cars that were ordered. That should be a non-strater.

Find another dealer? Right start the wait all over again.

Fix the dealership morass.

 

[Maric]

I think Mike is getting sick of being trolled by the Tesla Mafia. More and more he's pushing back but he'll never win that war because trolls will always be there.

That said, Mike helped me directly get my car out of 'Dealer jail' (Ford put a stop on my car as it got on the lot). I'll forever be grateful to him. My car has zero issues so the hold by Ford makes even less sense now. But Mike had the car released to me in 4 hours.

On top of that Mike has had dealers remove their markups. The guy is doing as good as job as anyone could hope for from a corporate employee. I do agree there should be a room of 10 people taking calls and being the hammer between the customer and the dealer to stop the markup idiocy. Dealers should realize they are really digging their own grave with this nonsense.

 

[Woeo]

Does he really think paying for FSD is even remotely close to paying a dealer markup??

At least with ADM the buyer gets a car for a price they willingly pay.

With FSD the buyer is willingly paying for a scam. They are promised a robotaxi and get L2 automation.

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