This is the reason it will be hard for Ford to compete with Tesla

kikibop

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The higher end makes have taken most of the nonsense out of the dealership experience.
I dunno. My Audi Q5 lease came with the standard back-and-forth between salesperson and several walks back to the sales managers' office, followed by the back-room up-sell pitches for extended warranties, extra damage prevention fee, and other $800 to $1500 extras. Had I not been well prepared it would have been a stressful and expensive afternoon.
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Evermore

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Completely agree with this. It’s been 5+ years since I bought a car and last one was through the fleet department and no nonsense of a luxury brand. In and out, no problem.
This was a mess from start to finish. Waited and waited, had to run back and forth to a manger for a fixed price car that I knew and they knew what the price was. Of course the trade in was a huge mess of negotiation that went exactly as I told my wife (watch, they will come back and say the rims are damaged and it had a crack on the windshield so have to deduct a lot! Lo and behold exactly that word for word.)
Finally got to the finance person. Markups that I didn’t anticipate. My favorite was the window etching. I asked about it - well it’s required and Ford makes us do it. Got to the piece of paper for it and big bold print that says it’s optional. I stopped right there and told them to remove it. Had to go get a manager again, but they removed it finally (“that’s the first time I’ve ever removed that, I didn’t even know you could!” Despite the big bold letters on that paper that she signs multiple times a day). They also didn’t have a clue about Ford Options, gave me the standard lease price....
Finally got done and that was it. Here is the key fob. Here’s a copy of the pseudo-start up manual we printed off in a Velcro carrying case, any questions? That was it. With my wife’s hybrid at the aforementioned luxury dealership they spent about an hour with her going over all the features, setting up her phone and nav, etc. It was honestly a night and day experience.
But what I want most of all is for it to be like buying a car from Amazon. Choose, select, checkout, delivery.
The dealership experience was horrid. Reminded me why I don’t buy cars that often.
 
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Evermore

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This was a mess from start to finish.
Possibly the best part of this whole thing is that the car is right now at the dealership collision repair/body shop as whoever installed the temp plate tried to drill the screws through the bumper rather than using the already provided bolt holes. I discovered this when I installed the real plate.

Was my dealership experience a normal experience??? ??‍♂
 

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Possibly the best part of this whole thing is that the car is right now at the dealership collision repair/body shop as whoever installed the temp plate tried to drill the screws through the bumper rather than using the already provided bolt holes. I discovered this when I installed the real plate.

Was my dealership experience a normal experience??? ??‍♂
Wow. And this was at Chapman? I just got mine there a few days ago and the experience was slow (waiting for finance to be ready) but otherwise just fine.
 

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There are certainly aspects of the dealership model that seem "sleazy" but the dealership model vastly outweighs the direct to consumer approach
No. The dealership model can’t die fast enough as far as I’m concerned. There’s little good about them, they cost consumers more than they’re worth. Killing dealers off would be a service to the car buying public. Honestly, once my MME is here, I’ll have bought my first and last car from this dealer. Or any other.
 


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This thread finally got me to post.

The first car I ever had, Mercury Capri, used to have steering wheel shake at 35-45 mph on a corner. It did it every single time, yet, somehow dealers could never find a problem. And it wasn't a mild shake, my memory is of it moving significantly in my hands.

My Ford Mustang, fortunately at 35K miles, developed a thump when stopping. I don't remember the technical issue, but basically the frame wasn't bolted down completely. It took 2 trips to the dealer to get it fixed because they half-assed the repair the first time. The car itself was OK, but lets be honest, the 1990's Mustangs weren't exactly top-notch vehicles.

I read on one thread that someone said one of the mustang logos is falling off of their car, and my only thought, was, "it's a Ford alright".

I wouldn't hold the markups against the dealers, try buying a Kia.

I really want to like the Mach E, hell I want one, but all I can think is "why do the two best electric cars have to come from these two companies". I actually think Tesla wants to make a good car, they just can't, with Ford, I think they probably care about this car, but it's hard to change a 100 year history of not doing quality.

Sorry for the downer of a first post.
you were not the only one with the Capri shake, rattle and roll, if that be any consolation.
 

jlamarca73

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Many years ago I went with my dad to a Kia dealership as he was considering buying a new car. We sat down with a salesperson to go over some numbers. He had some sheet that showed MSRP and some completely bogus fees and whatnot that raised the price by several thousand. The salesperson said he wanted to 'work with us' to see how he could bring the price down to MSRP or something close to it. The ADM was framed as not coming from the dealership even though that was exactly what it was.

This was just some random economy Kia, nothing special, not a new model, etc. We walked out right away, it was such a joke. This wasn't some 11th hour charge for a few hundred appearing in the sales contract. We literally asked how much the pricing on some mid-size sedan was, probably had an MSRP around $30K, and the salesperson was inflating it close to $40K as the dealer's opening offer to sell.

The sad part was it seemed like a big part of the clientele were recent immigrants with a limited grasp of English - who knows how many people thought these were normal charges, the salesperson was certainly adept at presenting it that way. Could you imagine paying thousands in ADM for a Kia Optima and thinking you got a good deal because the salesperson lied through their teeth throughout the entire process? Not all dealers are like this, but some do definitely deserve their reputation.
Every dealer is different. I own two Kia's. The buying experience was by far the best I've ever had. I bought my SUV for $7k under msrp. My Cadenza sedan sat on the lot for 1 1/2 years and I bought it new for $18k under msrp. No hassles from the dealership. They can't rip you off if your informed. At the end of the day walk away if the deal is untenable.
 
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Yeah I mean you're sharing old stories of dealerships, and back in the 90s and 80s the dealerships like many business's were ran completely different. Now business has changed especially the dealership model.

You can literally search the exact make and model you want anywhere in the country, find the cheapest price, go to your local dealer who may have a higher price - and negotiate using that as leverage. That is how you price shop now. You can negotiate over the phone with the manager like I have done.

I bought my Ford Raptor brand new for 6k off sticker. I knew I was getting a good price because no other dealer in the country had my exact model cheaper. Plus they serviced the heck out of me and gave me an excellent deal on my Tesla trade in. Gave me more than what Tesla would have paid me direct.

So each has their own story, but I can tell ya the dealership model is very good.
Our last intercourse with a Ford dealership before now was about 40 years ago. Not pleasant, obviously.
My wife was partial towards Hondas and we were going to buy another trading her Honda in for a new Civic.
We had a young and new salesman who was trying pleasantly and very hard to find us the vehicle we wanted. He was struggling (there was not one on the lot) so he called the sales manager over to assist. The sales manager tried to force us into a Fit (of which they had many). We did not want a Fit under any circumstance, and we made this quite clear. He belligerently tried to force into the Fit and refused to locate the Civic we wanted. We walked out, went down the road and bought a Toyota.
Needless to say, there will be no more Hondas....... felt sorry for the new guy.
Sometimes price shopping works, but then again....
 

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Yeah I mean you're sharing old stories of dealerships, and back in the 90s and 80s the dealerships like many business's were ran completely different. Now business has changed especially the dealership model.

You can literally search the exact make and model you want anywhere in the country, find the cheapest price, go to your local dealer who may have a higher price - and negotiate using that as leverage. That is how you price shop now. You can negotiate over the phone with the manager like I have done.

I bought my Ford Raptor brand new for 6k off sticker. I knew I was getting a good price because no other dealer in the country had my exact model cheaper. Plus they serviced the heck out of me and gave me an excellent deal on my Tesla trade in. Gave me more than what Tesla would have paid me direct.

So each has their own story, but I can tell ya the dealership model is very good.
I am sorry but in my opinion you are way out of touch. You can sell direct and have great Ford direct service centers in place of franchised “dealers” if you were really forced into it by a free market, which due to Byzantine “dealer” protection laws, we do not have yet. I hate to be blunt, but I too think most “dealers” suck. Consumers hate them with a passion , and for good reason. I put “dealer” in quotes because the very name is an affront to the proper way to sell a product in 2021. Amazon is not a “dealer”. Walmart is not a “dealer “. Chick-fil-A is not a “dealer” either. They are all companies that we buy products from, not third party traders at the local bazaar. Some day, a company will build the car, deliver the car, and service the car while providing a top notch, end to end consumer experience. But we are not there yet. Just because we are aren’ t there yet doesn’t mean that “dealers” are the way to go. I am a sophisticated consumer, just like most of us here on this forum, fully prepared, and yet I am dreading the last mile I am going to “deal” with upon taking delivery of my Space White, ER AWD sometime this summer. Thanks for listening.
 
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Barno

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Possibly the best part of this whole thing is that the car is right now at the dealership collision repair/body shop as whoever installed the temp plate tried to drill the screws through the bumper rather than using the already provided bolt holes. I discovered this when I installed the real plate.

Was my dealership experience a normal experience??? ??‍♂
Yes!
 

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I’m headed into the den today to complete my sale - wish me luck! I’m coming prepared with....
1. Pricing sheet from my salesman with the VIN and all charges and discounts listed (MSRP, minus xplan discount, minus options rebates, plus $100 doc fee, tax, deposit, balance owed).
2. Ford Options program codes for the APR and bonus cash.
3. My little one-page checklist of inspection and setup items.

Let me know if I need to be prepared with anything else!
 

Mgayle83

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Ford needs to find a way to get themselves away from the dealership model. That is their Achilles heel. They need need to start doing direct transaction with customers as Telsa does.

Here is my story/situation and what I experienced recently.

I currently own a Tesla Model 3 and have a leased Ford Focus Electric. I have a Mache on order, which should be arriving soon.. My lease is ending soon, and my buyout is low. It seems that there is some positive equity in the leased vehicle that I would like to get.

First thing, Ford doesn't allow trade-in/Sell their leases to 3rd party dealers which most of other manufacturers do. So that being out of the question, I decided to buyout the focus electric and then sell it as I don't want to pay the disposition fee when I can walk away with some money out of this. I am already loosing the state tax by not being able to sell it directly to other dealership.

Ford also doesn't allow buyout of the vehicle directly from them. They ask us to go through the dealerships(stealerships). Now I am far from the original dealer I got the car from, so ford told me to contact any local dealer to buyout the vehicle.

I contacted my closest dealer and they said they can help me with this and I would just need to fill up a Credit Application even though it was all cash buyout. I was skeptical to provide my SSN, but asked them to make sure not to pull the credit. I made the appointment to come to the dealership to buyout and to start with, the person who I talking to was not even there. I emailed him last night to confirm that I will be coming in. He even told me to come in day time to allow inspection and I need to drop it at the service first. So after some time they send me to a different person, who kept on looking for my file. Eventually he finds it and started working on it. It took almost an hour for him to get it papers ready.

One good thing I was to test drive Mache ca route 1 while I was waiting for all this. It is super nice to drive, it doesn't have the pull/acceleration of my Tesla Model 3, but it it way better fit and finish. The road noise is so low compared to my tesla.

After the test drive I noticed, there was a notice board with all the Mache listed that they have or coming for sale with all of them marked up +3K. I mean it a good car, but come on it would gladly get a model y than to pay these dealers this markup. On top of it, this is the same dealer who told me when I was planning to order the Mache that the $500 deposit is non-refundable. I ordered from another dealer. So if they did not refund the customers who ordered these maches from this dealership, they are basically making $3500 on top of MSRP for each one of them. That is where Tesla works well. You know what you are going to pay and not have to deal with middle man. There was a customer there who was interested in the mache and was inquiring about it. They told him, that there is 3k markup on each. So he asked if that would be the case if he ordered online and they said it won't be but they might not get the car till next year. They are trying all their tactics to gouge more money. That person if cross shopping with model y, would just go back home and order it online and get it in a months time without dealing with all this.

Enough of that, coming back to my lease buyout. After a long wait for the finance manager, we go in to buyout my car and while signing the documents I see the total amount due, which was way higher than the payoff balance from Ford Financial. I knew that I would be paying taxes( which is again unnecessary if they allowed selling to third party) but it still did not add up. I asked the manager for the breakdown, and in there i see a $395 inspection fee. I was shocked to see that. When asked what was that, he said let me get the leasing person back to explain it to me.

That persons comes in and tells me it a California requirement. I stated looking into on my phone immediately and did not find anything like that. Then the finance manager comes back and tells me that this the fee for inspecting the car and check if everything is good. I was like, it is my car and I know everything works. He started showing me that he is working here for 17 years and this is common practice. I was still not convinced. I asked him is this same for every dealership? He said it may be little different. I was not even told once about this fee till that last step. I told him to wait till i call my original dealer and ask them about it. When I asked them they were confused about inspection fee and said that they don't charge that. I was on the speaker it front of that manager and he heard that. I told him, why should I pay this fee and it is not even required. So the person lied by saying it a California requirement. I made sure he shreds all the paperwork before I left the dealership. So I wasted my 2 hours there for nothing.

The problem is, why doesn't Ford financial allow me to buy it from them directly? These dealerships are there to rip-off people.

After that I called few other dealers around in the area and 50% of them were asking for $400 to $500 in different names. Either as "Acquisition Fees" or "buying option Fees". It is clearly stated on my original contract that there is no fee associated if I buy it at the term end.

What I am getting at is that I wish Ford would start transitioning away from dealers and start have more direct relations with customers like allowing buyout directly.

It is good that they allowed ordering mache directly from ford, but they should have changed it a bit. Say for example, it a buyer backs out they should have given an option to any new reservation holder with the same model living in same area to get that vehicle. If no existing reservation holder claims it for a week then allow dealership to sell it. A lot more people would have bought Mache if they would have done it differently. I am sure I would not have found 5 Maches in that dealer lot if it was sold to people waiting for it at the MSRP. Demand is high, but these practices might turn people away from a great car.

This just happened, so I apologize for the rant.
The other frustrating part is that when you order online you are NOT ordering through Ford. You are telling Ford where to send your deposit. It is the dealer that you chose who receives those funds and then actually places the order with Ford. That is so ridiculous but that is why Ford warns you to check with that dealer about the deposit being refundable. I Ford would copy Volvo and deal with the consumers directly it would be a far better experience. My local dealer could not even figure out what the options plan was and insisted on selling me a lease and not including the options incentive. Thankfully I am apprarently more knowledgabele about the MME and its offerings from Ford than they are. Every time I am in the dealer (twice so far and no more. I cancelled my order and created a new one for another dealer) they are selling the MME all wrong. They do not know the features or trim levels and just bash on Tesla. My new order is through Encinitas Ford and they seem to have a handle on things. Someone from these forums recommended them so I am hoping my experience when I go to pick up my car from them will not be too bad.
 

Mgayle83

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I’m headed into the den today to complete my sale - wish me luck! I’m coming prepared with....
1. Pricing sheet from my salesman with the VIN and all charges and discounts listed (MSRP, minus xplan discount, minus options rebates, plus $100 doc fee, tax, deposit, balance owed).
2. Ford Options program codes for the APR and bonus cash.
3. My little one-page checklist of inspection and setup items.

Let me know if I need to be prepared with anything else!
What version of the MME are you getting? I am interested in knowing how much of a discount the xplan gives you.
 

OrchidMania

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I’m headed into the den today to complete my sale - wish me luck! I’m coming prepared with....
1. Pricing sheet from my salesman with the VIN and all charges and discounts listed (MSRP, minus xplan discount, minus options rebates, plus $100 doc fee, tax, deposit, balance owed).
2. Ford Options program codes for the APR and bonus cash.
3. My little one-page checklist of inspection and setup items.

Let me know if I need to be prepared with anything else!
Dont leave us hanging. How did the final pricing go??
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