Serramonte Ford Mach-E Specialist Here

[Gloff]

This is untrue actually. The CVRP only cares about the base model of the car, namely, the Select lowest priced model at $43,895.

If you search for Ford, you can see the MME is still there:
https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/en/eligible-vehicles

This was heavily discussed in the sedan vs. SUV threads and I even wrote the epa to get it revised. The 2022 model is now a Small SUV (vs. Station Wagon for the 2021 model...maybe Ford took care of it, but it's "fixed" now in case there is ever (never) a Build Back Better EV deal).


At the end of the day, this back and forth with the PP boils down to which dealer would you want to deal with? A dealer that I have to wait to get the PP check in 45 days or one who simply credits me now and will "deal with it" themselves and doesn't hassle me if Ford has push back (why is this my problem anyways)?

As a consumer, it still looks like some dealerships care more about themselves than the customer. There is no denying that plain fact.

Why some people just buy stuff from Costco simply for the no-fight return policy for "most" things.

Good information, thank you for correcting me. @Avelli, note the above poster.


Price protection is only relevant after the vehicle is built and delivered, you would have had to know prior to December that the pricing would change, ask the dealer about it, and then deal with it now. As I said, this is a hot issue now, but it won't be forever, Ford doesn't make a habit of changing pricing four times per model year.

If this is going to stop you from doing business with a dealer, that's your right. I'm saying the total package is more than just price protection, it's how knowledgeable are the employees, how good is the service department, how good is communication, etc...

There dealers flat out denying price protection exists, or completely ignorant of it, and I'm offering some transparency in how we plan to manage it.

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[Avelli]

According to CVRP's rules, no. The Base MSRP is now $61,995. They haven't excluded it in particular, but I'm sure they will catch up to it eventually.

Honestly this is a little frustrating, as Teslas that were ordered and subsequently price-increased past their base MSRP limit are eligible, in spite of the fact they are now over the cap. Not blaming you, but any advice or suggestions are welcome!

Also losing out on $2k may be why the Premium and CA Rte 1 are moving more than GTs.

Edit: this is what I get for not reading the whole thread. Lots of info I missed!

 

[pmd]

That's not how the Price Protection works, Ford only pays out the protection amount after the transaction is reported to Ford, and only if the vehicle is sold to the ordering customer. The program was posted by @WNKent above.

Gloff, thank you for starting this thread.

When you say ordering customer, can the PP apply to an immediate family member i.e. father/son or spouse?

 

[Gloff]

Honestly this is a little frustrating, as Teslas that were ordered and subsequently price-increased past their base MSRP limit are eligible, in spite of the fact they are now over the cap. Not blaming you, but any advice or suggestions are welcome!

Also losing out on $2k may be why the Premium and CA Rte 1 are moving more than GTs.

Edit: this is what I get for not reading the whole thread. Lots of info I missed!

I tagged you in a response that another poster posted, the GT is still eligible.

 

[Gloff]

Gloff, thank you for starting this thread.

When you say ordering customer, can the PP apply to an immediate family member i.e. father/son or spouse?

Not to my knowledge, it has to be the ordering customer.

 

[FullyCharged]

Thank you Sean for all of the dealer perspective and insights. You have truly been a breath of fresh air.

While many have made their disapproval clear regarding the “we’ll pass along the price protection credit once we receive it from Ford” approach, I must say I’d much rather that than the dozens of posts I’ve seen indicating “my dealer doesnt understand price protection and/or refuses to even look into it (or is going to pocket it).“ I appreciate and can respect the upfront clarity from the dealership you represent versus the unknown position and anxiety around potential shenanigans at pickup.

 

[jcdjcd]

@Gloff would you recommend I say something specific to a dealer who is playing semi-dumb on price protection? First was (a) they had no idea what PP was, then was (b) Oh, yes, there is PP, but they need *me* to provide documentation of it (I did), then (c) we actually have to speak to our Ford rep.

It seems we are in playing-games phase but wondering if there is some magic language.

 

[Gloff]

@Gloff would you recommend I say something specific to a dealer who is playing semi-dumb on price protection? First was (a) they had no idea what PP was, then was (b) Oh, yes, there is PP, but they need *me* to provide documentation of it (I did), then (c) we actually have to speak to our Ford rep.

It seems we are in playing-games phase but wondering if there is some magic language.

No magic. I would reach out to the General Sales Manager or the General Manager to ask how they're handling it. The Ford rep should know what is going on and would be able to give them the steps to process your price protection. I would ask for the GSM or GM's email to correspond so you can keep it documented.

 

[yngwenli]

Honestly this is a little frustrating, as Teslas that were ordered and subsequently price-increased past their base MSRP limit are eligible, in spite of the fact they are now over the cap. Not blaming you, but any advice or suggestions are welcome!

Also losing out on $2k may be why the Premium and CA Rte 1 are moving more than GTs.

Edit: this is what I get for not reading the whole thread. Lots of info I missed!

Tesla's are price locked when ordered so when you get your order sheet or what not, it'll show the right below $60k for the MY and $45k for the M3. Both are over the limits now however.

The MME GT also qualify from everything I've read since again, CVRP ONLY cares about the base model which is the Select.

Maybe someone who ordered a GT who qualified and got their check can chime in with validation.

 

[MisterSofa]

Tesla's are price locked when ordered so when you get your order sheet or what not, it'll show the right below $60k for the MY and $45k for the M3. Both are over the limits now however.

The MME GT also qualify from everything I've read since again, CVRP ONLY cares about the base model which is the Select.

Maybe someone who ordered a GT who qualified and got their check can chime in with validation.

How about an official FMC response on price protection. I know that they monitor this forum. I don’t think that we will hear an official Ford response in any matter that can hold them legally responsible. They only respond to softball issues. That’s the issue right there. It’s best Ford doesn’t monitor this forum. They do not add anything. Just my opinion.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Welcome to the forums @Gloff. Your presence is appreciated, honest. I’m not sure just why there is so much pent up frustration about sales being directed your way, but I'm
sure people appreciate the insight.

For me, Serramonte Ford is one of two dealers in the Bay Area that I personally will deal with (The other is in Walnut Creek). Sean was involved in the sale of several Mach-e’s to forum members during launch in 2021 and I’m sure quite a few since then. He also came within 20 minutes of being our sales person, as I was about to move our reservation to them, until Jim Farley personally stepped in and quashed the adm being added on to reservations out here back in 2020. The information I got from him was also one reason we had our Lightning reservation with them.* They’re also the easiest California dealer to get to from here. While I won’t always, or even often, agree with a dealer on much of anything, I haven’t had issues here. At least you’ll get an answer instead of evasion.

* We ended up canceling the Lightning Rez as 4 brand new Fords in 3 years would have been bit of a budget buster. I had several email conversations with Sean about that. If an electric Ranger shows up though, all bets are off. That vehicle, if it ever comes, will be bought in the Bay Area in all likelihood.

** and yes, buying in California and shipping here can often save you a fair bit of money, even after the extra shipping costs you incur by doing that. It’s all just a business decision.

 

[MRyan7465]

@Gloff I placed my Mach E CR1 order online on December 7th and got an email that same day from Ford at 8:35pm PST saying “Your order has been confirmed.”

Price increase kicked in December 8.

When I use the Ford tracker, it shows my order being confirmed December 8, and my window sticker shows the MSRP with the $2000 price increase. When I look under “My Reservations,” it shows my order date being December 7. However, it also shows the MSRP with the higher price.

Any insight on whether you think I have a shot at being price protected? My dealer (Ford Store Morgan Hill) has been pretty darn good when we bought an Explorer from them in January.

 

[OrangerGT]

@Gloff I hope you try not to take the heat here personally. I'm sure most/all of it is not directed at you. Hopefully you understand that it is literally the only outlet most people have for their frustrations with the whole process. I think most people on the forum have little communication with their dealer and even less with Ford so imagine when they see someone who is willing to listen to them show up!

With regards to price protection, I think it is pretty clear that any given Mach-e customer is in or thinks they will find themselves in one of three situations:

1. Dealerships plays dumb and pretends such a thing doesn't exist.
2. Dealership acknowledges that PP exists but for whatever reason does not give that difference in price to the customer at the time of sale and instead provides a promise that some money will show up at some vague time in the future.
3. Dealership reduces the amount the car costs at the time of sale by the PP amount.

From the customer's perspective, I see only these three options. All other behind-the-scenes details about why it is one situation vs another are pretty irrelevant for the customer even though it is very interesting for us here on the forums.

I believe it is pretty clear that #1 is least desirable and #3 is most desirable with #2 somewhere in the middle (again from a customer's point of view).

In my opinion, if a dealership chooses to place a customer in situation #2 instead of #3, then they are making a conscious decision to make the customer's experience worse than it could be. Maybe that's ok for them, maybe that's not. On the other hand, if a dealer chooses to take on the additional risk to place customers in situation #3, they are providing a service to make the customer's experience better.

Personally, I think it is completely fair that customers would want to know from the dealership before even placing the order which situation they will be placed in. I think many customers, if given the choice, will want to go with a dealership that promises #3 and not #2.

By the way, if Ford's intention (and therefore all their dealerships' intention) is to compete with Telsa in customer service and sales experience, then the Tesla benchmark is even less hassle than #3. For example, why should there be a PP policy in the first place? When you place an order for an item on Amazon, and the price of that item changes between when the good arrives at the customer and when the order was placed, the customer doesn't have to know or care about that. It seems that Tesla has a similar experience with the car. As soon as the customer places the order and puts a deposit down, the price is fixed and that's the end of it.

Whichever legacy automaker is able to most quickly change their entire outlook on the relationship with the customer to one where the question they ask themselves every minute of every day is "how can the experience be better for the customer?" will be the automaker that thrives in the post-Telsa world. It seems Ford is trying but I'm not convinced they will change fast enough especially if they have to convince each individual dealership to do what's best for the customer.

P.S. I don't think I believe that Ford will not do price changes frequently. They've already done it and they were on the verge of another Mach-e price increase at the same time as order books closed this year.

 

[yngwenli]

It seems Ford is trying but I'm not convinced they will change fast enough especially if they have to convince each individual dealership to do what's best for the customer.

I think the problem is this balance is not possible. Buying cars for most people is a 1 time purchase every few years. Even though it's true that some customers get benefits with dealing with the salesperson, asking questions, etc...a lot would rather skip that. There's a reason that cars salepeople are the 2nd most hated profession in terms of trustworthiness.

In the modern car buying experience for the main EV only sellers, the dealership doesn't add much value anymore sadly/honestly.

The dealership and the manufacturer is sorta at odds if you think about it since they're forced to use this model now so there is no "choice" to improve since they're not allowed to.

As costs goes up for the manufacturer, they can't just charge a dealership more $$ for said ordered car. The dealership however, can jack up the price. The manufacturer doesn't get any of that mark up. On a downturn, the manufacturers can help move inventory by offering incentives and stuff, but can a dealership do that as well? Probably not so the manufacturer is left holding the bag.

A lot of salespeople talk about service, but is there really much/any service needed anymore? There is like 0 maintenance other than adding washer fluid and rotating tires. Some folks get that free from the tire shop (where you have folks here complain their dealer tried to rip them off on tires).

At the end of the day, the dealership is now more of a middleman costing consumers $$ for little added value. There IS value again for folks who needs the hand holding, but similar to index funds, I think very informed consumers don't really need the hand holding of the dealership anymore. Maybe not everyone, but I'd say most people here who follow these threads knows more about the MME than probably 95% of all "salespeople" at a basic Ford dealership. We spend FAR too much time here refreshing every link multiple times a day and following all news. Some of us even own Ford stock following the business side as well.

I can read the MME manual cover to cover if needed if I need to know more about the product. I can bet that 99% of all Ford salespeople never do that (I wouldn't neither I suppose if I was a Ford saleperson).

 

[MellowJohnny]

Quick one: I have a signed contract from my order placed in Oct. 2021 - duly signed by all parties. When the car finally arrives next month (crossing fingers) what happens when I go into the dealership?

My assumption is I drop off a cheque for the amount of downpayment I want to make (there is only financing available in Canada), they hand me the keys, and I quietly pull away from the lot.

Any chance for shenanigans? Again, I assume the signed paperwork guarantees the price we have already agreed to - the only variable is the amount of downpayment, thus affecting my monthly.

From where I sit this is a done deal.

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