Chasing Unicorns in 2023

[BeeGuyNC]

So here is a head scratcher.... My local Ford dealer University Ford in Durham, NC posted three 2023 Hybrid Mavericks in Oxford white with spray in bed liner, trailer hitch, 400 w invertor, and tow package last night. They were listed at exactly MSRP $24,865. So I started the buying process for Stock Number 99131, VIN: 3FTTW8E36PRA08028. The website even let me put a "deal together", finance, make an appointment for 9 am today (12/29/22). Now, the dealer threw in a "University Package" at $1010.00 for wax and a wash.....who knows what else in addition to $699 doc fee.....Don't get me started. At 10:20 pm last night, I was very doubtful this would go through but stranger things have happened. The final price $26,574 with all the dealer "hidden" markup and NC taxes and reg. To be fair the fine print on my "deal" pdf stated it was not binding and vehicle subject to prior sale before arrival. I arrived promptyly arrived at 9 am for the website scheduled appointment. I met Omar, nice young man, who re-established how broken Ford is in its customer experience. The three 2023 Maverricks were delivered recently to the dealership. They were a fleet order. He said they always place inventory that they take delivery on on their webesite even though they have already been sold or and have designated customers. He asked why was I chasing Unicorns. I was not mad or diasspointed. I went in knowing this adventure was a fairy tale. Not my first rodeo with Ford. Yet, here are some of my observations:

1) Customers are told Hybrids are in short supply and Ford can only produce 35% of the 2023 orders. Yet, here were three 2023 models at one dealer alone.
2) Trailer hitches are also a constraint - all three 2023 had trailer hitches.
3) Where is the service for the average consumer? It seems ridiculouse that fleet vehicle orders are getting to production before the average guy. Side note: explains why there were all white.
4) It feels like there must be some kind of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) laws that are being broken when websites are advertising deals that do not exist.


I ordered my original 2022 Maverick in October of 2021 a standard base model XL Hybrid with Trailer Hitch in Area 51. My order was rolled over for 2023. The Maverick fairy take continues. As of 12:42 pm, all three listings have been removed.

Sponsored

 

[NoVaJimmy]

As you mentioned they almost always list special orders on their website. Mine was and so was my father's at a different dealership. I think they do this to generate leads and hope to get people in the showroom with hopes of selling them something that isn't unobtanium. Remember that every single thing a dealership does on their website or through their practices is geared towards getting you, the consumer, in their showroom where they can try and apply any and all tactics to sell you something.

 

[2023maverickhopeful]

The online bots you do for pre-approval usually mean nothing and Ford/dealer usually posts inventory that may already be sold.

Fleet buyers are buying in bulk and basic trims so of course they'd get priority...more profit for a large order vs. a one off.

 

[sprcoop]

According to this there are 22 hybrids for sale in Phoenix. Mostly XLs.

https://shop.ford.com/inventory/mav...9&Radius=50&Engine=2_5l_hybrid&Order=Distance

I don't think so.

 

[bingobangobongo]

I've seen the same thing in my area using Ford.com inventory search. Plenty of plain white XLs in the inventory, and they're all fleet orders. I think these are the last of the 22 models.

 

[johnpbrewer]

So here is a head scratcher.... My local Ford dealer University Ford in Durham, NC posted three 2023 Hybrid Mavericks in Oxford white with spray in bed liner, trailer hitch, 400 w invertor, and tow package last night. They were listed at exactly MSRP $24,865. So I started the buying process for Stock Number 99131, VIN: 3FTTW8E36PRA08028. The website even let me put a "deal together", finance, make an appointment for 9 am today (12/29/22). Now, the dealer threw in a "University Package" at $1010.00 for wax and a wash.....who knows what else in addition to $699 doc fee.....Don't get me started. At 10:20 pm last night, I was very doubtful this would go through but stranger things have happened. The final price $26,574 with all the dealer "hidden" markup and NC taxes and reg. To be fair the fine print on my "deal" pdf stated it was not binding and vehicle subject to prior sale before arrival. I arrived promptyly arrived at 9 am for the website scheduled appointment. I met Omar, nice young man, who re-established how broken Ford is in its customer experience. The three 2023 Maverricks were delivered recently to the dealership. They were a fleet order. He said they always place inventory that they take delivery on on their webesite even though they have already been sold or and have designated customers. He asked why was I chasing Unicorns. I was not mad or diasspointed. I went in knowing this adventure was a fairy tale. Not my first rodeo with Ford. Yet, here are some of my observations:

1) Customers are told Hybrids are in short supply and Ford can only produce 35% of the 2023 orders. Yet, here were three 2023 models at one dealer alone.
2) Trailer hitches are also a constraint - all three 2023 had trailer hitches.
3) Where is the service for the average consumer? It seems ridiculouse that fleet vehicle orders are getting to production before the average guy. Side note: explains why there were all white.
4) It feels like there must be some kind of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) laws that are being broken when websites are advertising deals that do not exist.


I ordered my original 2022 Maverick in October of 2021 a standard base model XL Hybrid with Trailer Hitch in Area 51. My order was rolled over for 2023. The Maverick fairy take continues. As of 12:42 pm, all three listings have been removed.

If XLT that is basically my 2022 Maverick with VIN that got rolled over and I am still waiting a schedule date.

 

[Lucky B]

I gave up chasing unicorns several months ago because of the games those dealers were playing. I still have hope that my October 20, 2021, order for a XLT, Hybrid, drop in bed liner, and trailer hitch will still be built in the coming weeks or months. It is a priority 2 again and clean. But the hybrid and the trailer hitch have been said to be constraints. Several months ago, I did the bucking horse ride with a VIN and multiple build weeks before being cancelled and told I would now get a 2023 MY Maverick. Hope springs eternal they say. But, I'm thinking if it is not produced, I am going to have to buy something else by April when Spring Gobbler season kicks off in Virginia. I've missed having my Maverick for two Gobbler seasons and two deer seasons already. This situation has gotten very old. I'm thinking maybe a base mid-size truck or even a SUV with a trailer hitch?

 

[MostlySafeBear]

He said they always place inventory that they take delivery on on their webesite even though they have already been sold or and have designated customers.

I've run into this as well, and it's extremely annoying. They're essentially offering vehicles that they have absolutely no intention of selling. It's bait and switch with a lame justification that makes no sense.

I wish I knew how to filter these offers out. I can already kind of do that for ads that use the really obvious photoshop, which means that they don't actually have the trucks.

 

[MostlySafeBear]

Ford/dealer usually posts inventory that may already be sold.

I call that bait and switch, or worse.

If I can't sell something that I don't actually have for sale, then why are they allowed to do that?

 

[CTYankee]

This is a recurring topic here on MTC, but so far it looks to me like people don't really understand logistics and inventory tech.

When a vehicle is shipped (brand is irrelevant to this description), it is in transit for tracking and inventory purposes, but it is still in the manufacturer or dealer possession, also for inventory purposes. In order to be in inventory, it has to be received in someone's system.

Generically (the details may vary by brand), once the manufacturer ships the vehicle, it belongs to the dealer and enters their inventory, although it is not yet released for sale. It's categorized as "in transit", for example. It has to be received at the dealership and prepped for sale. Once that's done, it's released for sale.

To the consumer looking at websites, you'll see it pop up on the dealer website at some point in that process, depending on how their systems interface. I'd expect it to be an automatic feed from the inventory management system to the website.

It doesn't matter whether the vehicle is a customer order or a stock order; it still needs to be tracked through into inventory so there is an audit trail. Once a customer order has completed the purchase process, the system takes the vehicle out of inventory and changes the status to sold so it no longer shows up on the website. That's likely why the 3 fleet units dropped off relatively quickly.

This isn't something dealers do to lure customers. It's just how the system works. The process is independent of how a salesrep might try to leverage your call about that vehicle for reasons of his/her own.

With respect to fleet customers, I can tell you (as a former business owner now retired) any good business is going to give volume, repeat (i.e., fleet) customers priority over single-unit retail customers. That's true at the dealer level and all the way up to the manufacturer level. It's why fleet customers don't deal with the salespeople on the showroom floor; they deal with the fleet manager in the back offices.

 

[MinntoMich]

Hmmm... Promising and or advertising something you can't deliver...

I don't think politicians are going to take lightly dealerships moving in on their territory.

Ask the salesman if you can pay with money that really isn't here yet. I know there is always an angle and everybody does it but I won't call it fair or honest. I've been through that Maverick snipe hunt as well.

 

[danstefanrpicop]

I got tired of this bait and switch game. When I get there they try to make me buy a ranger. I even called ahead. When I tell them that my decision is made already, they call in the manager to convince me and ofc same story, he shows me a Ford Rangers base with 60k miles for $30k. I started giving 1 star reviews to the dealerships that do that and just walk away from the start. I cannot wait for the day when all the vehicle manufacturers start taking orders and deliver directly to the customers.

 

[MostlySafeBear]

This is a recurring topic here on MTC, but so far it looks to me like people don't really understand logistics and inventory tech.

When a vehicle is shipped (brand is irrelevant to this description), it is in transit for tracking and inventory purposes, but it is still in the manufacturer or dealer possession, also for inventory purposes. In order to be in inventory, it has to be received in someone's system.

Generically (the details may vary by brand), once the manufacturer ships the vehicle, it belongs to the dealer and enters their inventory, although it is not yet released for sale. It's categorized as "in transit", for example. It has to be received at the dealership and prepped for sale. Once that's done, it's released for sale.

To the consumer looking at websites, you'll see it pop up on the dealer website at some point in that process, depending on how their systems interface. I'd expect it to be an automatic feed from the inventory management system to the website.

It doesn't matter whether the vehicle is a customer order or a stock order; it still needs to be tracked through into inventory so there is an audit trail. Once a customer order has completed the purchase process, the system takes the vehicle out of inventory and changes the status to sold so it no longer shows up on the website. That's likely why the 3 fleet units dropped off relatively quickly.

This isn't something dealers do to lure customers. It's just how the system works. The process is independent of how a salesrep might try to leverage your call about that vehicle for reasons of his/her own.

With respect to fleet customers, I can tell you (as a former business owner now retired) any good business is going to give volume, repeat (i.e., fleet) customers priority over single-unit retail customers. That's true at the dealer level and all the way up to the manufacturer level. It's why fleet customers don't deal with the salespeople on the showroom floor; they deal with the fleet manager in the back offices.

All of that inventory stuff is BS, because all it would take is a single field in the inventory system that says "Is vehicle already promised to someone or otherwise unavailable for walk-in retail sale?" with a yes or no answer, and then you filter out any vehicles with a "yes" answer, everything else left is actually available to buy.

 

[NoVaJimmy]

All of that inventory stuff is BS, because all it would take is a single field in the inventory system that says "Is vehicle already promised to someone or otherwise unavailable for walk-in retail sale?" with a yes or no answer, and then you filter out any vehicles with a "yes" answer, everything else left is actually available to buy.

I agree, some Ford dealers actually opt out of having their special order vehicles listed so the idea that it's a necessity for their inventory management seems silly. I'm sure dealers get a decent amount of calls from upset customers asking "Why is my XXXXXXX listed on your website with a markup???" but I'm sure the leads that vehicle generates far outweighs the upset customers calling about their special order.

 

[CTYankee]

All of that inventory stuff is BS, because all it would take is a single field in the inventory system that says "Is vehicle already promised to someone or otherwise unavailable for walk-in retail sale?" with a yes or no answer, and then you filter out any vehicles with a "yes" answer, everything else left is actually available to buy.

I agree, some Ford dealers actually opt out of having their special order vehicles listed so the idea that it's a necessity for their inventory management seems silly. I'm sure dealers get a decent amount of calls from upset customers asking "Why is my XXXXXXX listed on your website with a markup???" but I'm sure the leads that vehicle generates far outweighs the upset customers calling about their special order.

I agree that a field could be added to the inventory database but that has to be accompanied by application code to use that field. Since every dealer website looks the same, I suspect they are using a central database and application code. Some dealers may mark special orders as sold as soon as they arrive, so they disappear from the website or never make it there. But it's probably a manual step that some dealers don't bother to perform.

Nowhere did I call it a "necessity". I described it as an automatic feed. If the system allows a dealer to control which arrivals go on the website, some may choose to do so, and others may just let the feed happen.

But, if some folks choose to believe it's all about luring people in, have at.

Sponsored