Mike Levine on ADM

[DevSecOps]

I don't need to say more. Read it for yourself:

This would also "likely" apply to online orders where it lists ADM if it's going to be applied. That order sheet that you get should be sufficient since you are leaving a deposit as an agreement to the contract. I'm not an attorney but I would assume that's a digital agreement.

The key takeaway... If they want ADM that is too high for you go elsewhere. If the order had no ADM, and they attempt to add it later, this implies that they (he) will help.

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[ILikeTurtles]

I currently have an order placed with a dealer that has said no ADM and is on the "No ADM" list. There is no VIN assigned yet. I'm probably going to ask for an agreement anyway. The 6 month wait time just isn't worth trusting them on their word.

 

[BostonPete]

I currently have an order placed with a dealer that has said no ADM and is on the "No ADM" list. There is no VIN assigned yet. I'm probably going to ask for an agreement anyway. The 6 month wait time just isn't worth trusting them on their word.

Just get in writing from them the "Out the Door" price. This will not only show you the price of the vehicle but also dealer fees and any "Ad-Ons" that a dealer might try and stick you with. Like VIN Etching, paint protection. Some dealers "Require" theses to be purchased so make sure you know what you are getting.

I have mine in e-mail for both X-Plan and Non-Plan and I can only hope / assume my dealer will honor it. I would be out of my mind if I wait 8 Months only to have a dealer try and change the deal.

 

[zvez]

I don't need to say more. Read it for yourself:

This would also "likely" apply to online orders where it lists ADM if it's going to be applied. That order sheet that you get should be sufficient since you are leaving a deposit as an agreement to the contract. I'm not an attorney but I would assume that's a digital agreement.

The key takeaway... If they want ADM that is too high for you go elsewhere. If the order had no ADM, and they attempt to add it later, this implies that they (he) will help.

I wouldn't hang my hat on the online order price. In my case my dealer had listed $5k markup at time of ordering (this is reflected on the summary as "dealer selling price"). Of course I immediately spoke with the GM at the dealership and agreed msrp and x plan pricing. in writing. WHen the car arrived back in may that's exactly what happened, and I was in and out in 1.5 hours or so.

I've seen too many posts on FB and the forums about getting the "adm" markup on an ordered car when it gets to the dealer. My thought is to prevent angst of not knowing better to get in writing from a human being with some authority at the dealership. Easy enough to do.. Here's the original summary on my car.

 

[ILikeTurtles]

I just phoned the dealer. He gave me a breakdown with x-plan pricing. I emailed him my x-plan pin and am currently waiting on a copy of the breakdown out the door price with his signature stating no markup.

I was also assured multiple times that they don't play those games and will honor the price.

 

[deadduck]

The key takeaway... If they want ADM that is too high for you go elsewhere. If the order had no ADM, and they attempt to add it later, this implies that they (he) will help.

No it doesn't say that, not at all. He say's to get a written purchase agreement which is not an online order.

So, why do we have an online order process, if it has no meaning? Clearly it has no meaning if you have to get a written agreement from the dealer.

So, maybe it was all just a cheap ploy to pretend that Ford was mimicking a major competitor?

 

[nhammerschmidt]

I spoke to my dealer this morning on this. His view is that if you order the car from him, you are most likely going to service with him and come back for your next vehicle, it doesnt make sense to add ADM for that customer. Now a stock unit that someone from 2000 miles away is buying in a different story in his eyes.

 

[DevSecOps]

No it doesn't say that, not at all. He say's to get a written purchase agreement which is not an online order.

So, why do we have an online order process, if it has no meaning? Clearly it has no meaning if you have to get a written agreement from the dealer.

So, maybe it was all just a cheap ploy to pretend that Ford was mimicking a major competitor?

Unless you're an attorney and can make that claim with professional expertise, I'm not sure you're correct (No offense meant, we just interpret wording differently).

When you place an online order the dealership has to agree to the order before it's processed. Per Ford, directly from their website:
"The dealer selling price is the price the Dealer is willing to sell the vehicle for in a purchase transaction and corresponds to the estimated dealer selling price for the vehicle displayed in the Pricing Summary at the time of your Online Order..."

From my experience and many others Ford will intervene if the price changes from that of the online order due to ADM after the fact. As for anything however, YMMV

By all means if you want to get it in writing from the dealership then do... All the better.

 

[nvabill]

Signed purchase agreement, such a simple concept and yet so many on this forum and others can't seem to grasp this!

 

[ZuleMME]

No it doesn't say that, not at all. He say's to get a written purchase agreement which is not an online order.

So, why do we have an online order process, if it has no meaning? Clearly it has no meaning if you have to get a written agreement from the dealer.

So, maybe it was all just a cheap ploy to pretend that Ford was mimicking a major competitor?

This, exactly this.

 

[SeattleMachE]

I think Ford could be doing a lot more to help customers. When we place MME orders online, we should be able to filter dealers based on already agreed-upon terms like accepting X-Plan pricing, no mark-up, etc. Ford can do the back-end work with dealers to “certify” to these terms, and then let customers make informed purchasing decisions.
Edit: also, equipped/trained to handle Ford Options, etc

 

[locks66]

I don't need to say more. Read it for yourself:

This would also "likely" apply to online orders where it lists ADM if it's going to be applied. That order sheet that you get should be sufficient since you are leaving a deposit as an agreement to the contract. I'm not an attorney but I would assume that's a digital agreement.

The key takeaway... If they want ADM that is too high for you go elsewhere. If the order had no ADM, and they attempt to add it later, this implies that they (he) will help.

Listen I get it the dealerships operate at individual levels. This still is a bad move overall for Ford. Tesla's model isn't perfect, but it's more customer focused

 

[Reign of Ravens]

From my experience and many others Ford will intervene if the price changes from that of the online order due to ADM after the fact. As for anything however, YMMV

Mike Levine might, but Ford won't. Sorry for those getting sick of my story - I feel like it's all I am posting thee days, because it I am so irritated over it - but here it is: I confirmed with the dealer via email that no markup is added on ordered vehicles, placed the order, went into the dealership to show them ID, and then two months later the website indicated a change in the "difference from MSRP." Dealer would not commit to saying whether they were going to sell at MSRP or not; even after getting the original email forwarded back to them, they'd only say that if they had promised me pricing previously, they would honor it. I had to go there in person to hear it from them directly, finally, that they're going to sell to me at MSRP because of that email. They refused to create a price or purchase agreement, stating that they cannot do it without a VIN (which is likely an untruth, as plenty of others on this forum had that document in hand on the day their order was placed). I am in a one-party-consent state to recording, so to try and guard myself against nonsense, I have the exchange recorded. Hopefully will never need to use it.

Here's the part of interest: I called Ford twice during this process. The help line is great - there was no wait, and both representatives sounded like real people who really cared about my situation. One even shared my outrage. Unfortunately, the answer was the same both times: it's between me and the dealer, and there's nothing Ford can do. Even if I wanted to transfer my order to another dealer, my current dealer would have to have a hand in it. So as I said above, Mike Levine might be willing to intervene (I tweeted him once but did not get a reply), but Ford as a whole won't.

Signed purchase agreement, such a simple concept and yet so many on this forum and others can't seem to grasp this!

It's a simple concept but I was misled by Ford's new process, and I think many others here were too.

Look at the terminology Ford uses on its website: ORDER is consistently used in the wording. Even in your account, it's "RESERVATIONS & ORDERS." I think all of us here have used Amazon or made some other purchase online before. We all know what it means when you see a price and there's a button that says "order" and "complete order" or "submit order" (I can't remember what wording Ford used for that step). Sure, we know there'll be dealer fees and taxes, but I was under the impression that the dealer essentially becomes the cash register and paperwork processor in this process. I know Ford is copying Tesla hard in some areas, and it seemed like maybe they were 90% of the way there with their sales process, too.

What it seems to boil down to, the website is just a way for us to submit a configuration for a reservation to the dealer, who then places the order with Ford. In that regard, it's the same as it always has been, only now we might be able to initiate the process without having to talk to the dealer first, and in some cases, without needing to set foot in the dealership. And if the pricing on the website can change even after an order has been submitted, then what's the point of having it listed at all? It implies something that it isn't.

And then, of course, is the fact that my dealer won't create a purchase agreement with me until we have a VIN. I assume my dealer isn't the only one who refuses to commit to a price earlier on. And why would they? Make someone wait months and catch them when they're at peak excitement, and they'll probably be more willing to agree to some unexpected price increases compared with someone who hasn't waited long at all and still has time to maneuver to another dealer, or another vehicle.

Apologies for my cynicism about dealer greed in this process - there may be good reasons for a lot of what we're seeing, and I'm just not aware of them. The deeper I go in trying to understand this process, the more I realize that it's probably unfair to pin the blame entirely on the dealers; Ford seems to own a lot of this, too. I am envious of the people who have gone through this process smoothly and had a good experience. I am also grateful that my experience is not the worst I've read about on these forums...

 

[zvez]

I spoke to my dealer this morning on this. His view is that if you order the car from him, you are most likely going to service with him and come back for your next vehicle, it doesnt make sense to add ADM for that customer. Now a stock unit that someone from 2000 miles away is buying in a different story in his eyes.

that's a reasonable and common sense approach by the dealer.

 

[zvez]

It's a simple concept but I was misled by Ford's new process, and I think many others here were too.

Look at the terminology Ford uses on its website: ORDER is consistently used in the wording. Even in your account, it's "RESERVATIONS & ORDERS." I think all of us here have used Amazon or made some other purchase online before. We all know what it means when you see a price and there's a button that says "order" and "complete order" or "submit order" (I can't remember what wording Ford used for that step). Sure, we know there'll be dealer fees and taxes, but I was under the impression that the dealer essentially becomes the cash register and paperwork processor in this process. I know Ford is copying Tesla hard in some areas, and it seemed like maybe they were 90% of the way there with their sales process, too.

I think firstly, your dealer sucks. The "can't give you anything in writing about price until they get a vin" is completely nuts. I got a commitment from the GM at my dealer for msrp and xplan the day I ordered the car online. They actually had me log on to my ford.com account at the dealership to place the order.

I guess the skeptic in me doesn't feel like what the pricing summary online says, means a whole lot I why I clarified at the onset and got written confirmation from a human being at the dealership. It's so easy to do, and prevents last minute surprises like "congrats, your car is here, btw, we've decided to add $5k adm simply because we can"

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