Mike Levine on ADM

[Chicago-E]

Ummm, this is not at all true. When the iPhone was launched it was in partnership with Cingular wireless. This was largely because of the popularity of Cingular and technical limitations with the radios preventing them from being used on CDMA networks.

Even then, the iPhone was available directly from Apple, it just couldn't be activated on any other network other than Cingular.

Cingular bought ATT and then renamed itself back to ATT later on. they Had an exclusive deal with apple for a few years

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[jamelski]

I don’t get people

If a dealer chargers ADM it’s their choice get over it

you want a MME find a dealer with out it. Which their are tons of them.

Or pay the ADM

Suck it. Up. Sheesh

 

[DevSecOps]

Cingular bought ATT and then renamed itself back to ATT later on. they Had an exclusive deal with apple for a few years

You're missing the point... The argument isn't about the name or who bought who. It's about the post you replied to. Apple has always sold direct to consumer, Ford does not. Your comment implies that Apple only sold through Cingular (AT&T) ("originally you did have to buy an iPhone thru AT&T"). That is inaccurate, as they sold direct to consumer as well.

The reason for the partnership was in regards to the radio. Apple could have picked either Cingular or Verizon at the time because they were the two largest wireless providers. Since, back then, we didn't have dual band radios, they had to pick one or the other, or they had to make a phone with a different radio for each carrier. They chose to stick with Cingular and a single radio, which was common at the time. Either way, they sold direct to consumer and there was no legal restriction preventing them from doing such (unlike with auto mfgs in many states).

I don’t get people

If a dealer chargers ADM it’s their choice get over it

If you would read every comment you would see that no one is complaining about stock purchases and ADM in this thread. We are mostly discussing adding ADM after an order was placed (i.e. bait and switch). Either by modifying the online order after deposit or changing it up at the time of purchase. Both of which are likely illegal.

ADM on stock purchases is the right of the dealer and you are correct, move on if they want to charge ADM on a stock purchase, but that's not what this thread or the tweet from Mr Levine are in regards to.

 

[Mag76bhs]

I have an email from the dealer -

"Here is your discounted pricing on the Mach E AWD Premium with the Extended range:

$56,100 less all applicable rebates and tax credits. "

Will I have a problem holding them to this?

Note: I contacted the dealer before I ordered the car online on October 19th.

 

[DevSecOps]

I have an email from the dealer -

"Here is your discounted pricing on the Mach E AWD Premium with the Extended range:

$56,100 less all applicable rebates and tax credits. "

Will I have a problem holding them to this?

Note: I contacted the dealer before I ordered the car online on October 19th.

There's a 99.984% chance you'll be fine. Just keep the documentation you have plus your deposit receipt. You might even go online and pull up your reservation and print out the pricing online as additional backup.

 

[littlD]

Adding trash FSD for 10k to all their used car prices is very customer focused. Also marking up their cars massively of over the last year is also very customer focused. The Model Y long range all have a 9k ADM from early 2021. Model S 15k etc.

I love Tesla and plan to own a Model S one day but its a stretch to say they are customer focused IMO.

Love 'em or hate 'em, simple difference with Tesla: The price when you order is the price you pay. It doesn't change when you come to take delivery.

And you can include FSD or not, it's an option when you order. Basic Autopilot is included std.

Agreed, their prices have gone way up in 2021. Yet, those who had orders in before saw no increase. And, whenever you placed an order, that price is your price on delivery day.

None of us like price increases, until it's time to sell. Recently sold my 2018 Model 3 Long Range Rear Wheel Drive with 56,309 miles and FSD for $39,500 to VRoom. They'll turn around and sell it for $43,999.

 

[littlD]

Ford owns and controls 0 (zilch) dealerships I believe. I'm assuming it's not allowed sorta like separation of powers or something, but they really can't do a thing to dealers to force them on a price I don't think.

Again, I don't think it's purely a Ford problem, but a total legacy manufacturer/dealership structural problem for pretty much every car manufacturer outside of Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, Fisker.

These price changes happened with Toyota and the Rav 4 Prime, Mercedes and their EQS, Chevy Corvette, etc...

I guess bottom line is supply/demand and people like the MME or even a Tesla, but Tesla just jacks up the price for everyone by 10k in a year. I still can't believe people are buying Tesla's for 10k more, but maybe I'm just not a fan.

306,800 crazy people just this quarter

 

[JRinOAK]

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.

While this dealership may be trustworthy, never give your PIN to the dealer until you're sitting in the car and ready to actually buy it. A dealer could use your pin for the sale of any other purchase to any other customer and pocket the savings, rendering your PIN useless.

 

[Kevin P]

When I placed my actual order for the MMEGT on April 27th, the dealer pretty much told me we had to have a signed agreement. It listed purchase price, the deposit I put down, etc. I can't see how you would order one without a signed agreement with both parties (dealer and buyer).

 

[DevSecOps]

When I placed my actual order for the MMEGT on April 27th, the dealer pretty much told me we had to have a signed agreement. It listed purchase price, the deposit I put down, etc. I can't see how you would order one without a signed agreement with both parties (dealer and buyer).

I have purchased about 10 cars in the last 15 years, all custom orders (mostly Audi) and never once signed anything, as a matter of fact, the MME was the only one with a deposit.

Most people are honest and most dealerships aren't going to try and screw you over. If they do, move on to the next and order another.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Wow, sounds like you have a major case of victimhood going on here.

Again while I sympathize with you for having a bad dealer experience I'm not going to ever agree with you when you don't do your proper due diligence when making such a large purchase. In ordering the Mach E online you literally have to agree to the Ford terms and conditions which clearly says the dealer sets the price.

This goes back to my original comment that you felt a need to comment on, get a signed purchase agreement as to price of anything you are going to buy. It still amazes me how many people don't do this when purchasing a $50,000 to $70,000 automobile and then wonder why things go south!

Bottom line David, you have to decide in life if you are going to be a wolf or sheep and be a victim. I know which one I am and you can decide what you want to be from now on.

Best of luck in your Mach E purchase, hope it all works out for you.

The quote in @nvabill's signature says it all - this all comes down to Economics 101. Dealers are selling the cars, not Ford. Ford already sold it to the dealer. Now it belongs to them and they set the price.

Just remember you vote with your dollars. So you can either pay and not complain, pay and complain, pay someone else, or stay on the sidelines. Now if you have a binding, legal contract which you feel has not been honoured, you may want to litigate and ask for relief. This is business, and there are no hard feeling in business. If someone takes advantage of you that's on you. If they broke a legally binding contract that's a different story.

I personally did not reserve online - I went to a dealership, took two test drives, and then sat for 2 ½ excruciating hours in the dealership, put down $1,000 and walked out with a purchase agreement.

Maybe the takeaway here is Ford is not Tesla.

 

[nhammerschmidt]

What Ford should have done with EVs is similar to what Polestar did. They should have an addendum to the dealer agreement that in order to sell the EVs the maximum price they can charge is the MSRP. Don't want to participate, then you cant sell Ford EVs. Ford already has similar restrictions on EV dealers (cant sell if you dont want to do the chargers or service requirements) and Lincoln dealers with the Black Label program.

 

[RickMachE]

There's a 99.984% chance you'll be fine. Just keep the documentation you have plus your deposit receipt. You might even go online and pull up your reservation and print out the pricing online as additional backup.

I just have to jump in here, after reading through this thread. For you to state a 99.984% chance that they'll be fine is simply outrageous. From where does the ability to project to 3 decimal places in accuracy come from? Where is your equation?

#ThisForumIsFullOfGeeks ? ?

 

[RickMachE]

What's X-Plan and under what circumstances would it not be "honoured"?

X-Plan is a Ford discount plan that you can be eligible for in many ways.

1) A Ford employee gives you a PIN. Most often they have the ability to give out 4 per calendar year.

2) You belong to one of the thousands of organizations that have this discount setup with Ford. Check with your HR department. Here's a list that is likely inaccurate - https://www.oxmoorflm.com/ford-a-x-z-plans/x-plan-partner-companies/

3) Join a club or organization that offers this benefit. Experimental Aircraft Association, Mustang Club of America, a major university's alumni association. Wait 90 days and you're all set.

4) Buy 100 shares of Ford stock and hold them for 6 months or longer.

X-Plan for MOST vehicles is 99.6% of invoice, plus $275 administrative fee, with max of $100 paperwork fee. For the Mach-E, invoice and MSRP are the same. The X-Plan price is about $800 or so below the MSRP / Invoice. My 2021 on order that became a 2022 has an MSRP of $57,395, with an X-Plan price of $56,531, or $864 lower.

It baffles me how so many people come to a forum like this, read about X-Plan and how they'll save money, then take no steps to get it. Most dealers will honor X-Plan on ordered vehicles. Many will not honor it on in-stock Mach-Es at this point. There is literally no reason to not use this to save ~$800, unless you like giving away money.

Note - the dealer gets money from Ford for each X-Plan sale, they are NOT "losing out" if you use it. However, they are restricted to max of $100 for paperwork, and many gouge the customer mightily charging $499, or even $799.

While this dealership may be trustworthy, never give your PIN to the dealer until you're sitting in the car and ready to actually buy it. A dealer could use your pin for the sale of any other purchase to any other customer and pocket the savings, rendering your PIN useless.

While I agree that you don't need to give your PIN to them ahead of time, they cannot use it for another sale. Ford audits every X-Plan sale, and PINs are unique. In addition, there are no "savings" to pocket for the dealer, since the customer gets a lower price, has to sign forms for the X-Plan sale, etc.

 

[Kevin P]

Note - the dealer gets money from Ford for each X-Plan sale, they are NOT "losing out" if you use it. However, they are restricted to max of $100 for paperwork, and many gouge the customer mightily charging $499, or even $799.

Yep, my dealer had to lower their doc fees, from I think $175, to $100. Finance guy even mentioned to me, I suspect because he knew that I was educated on how x-plan worked. Had I not known he would have probably told me it was because they were just wonderful

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