Ford Moving Away from Dealers

[Burch20]

Interesting article from Detroit Free Press. Sadly, this will likely mean the end of under MSRP prices. Shady dealer tactics leads to a win for the corporations.

Personally, I feel conflicted. Buying without driving the vehicle I will actually receive is not something I'm excited about. Eliminating dealers from the equation for most orders is great for the most part. The process seems to work well for Tesla but to be fair, most of their buyers are fanboys.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...es-charges-dealerships-customers/69492607007/

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[Mav101]

Good riddance.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

= elimination of competitive negotiation with individual business owners and buy direct from manufacturer. Who becomes the sole seller of a product. So it no longer will be called MSRP but will be MRP (Manufacturer Retail Price). So now we will have to negotiate the add on fees with the retail delivery company. Oh well it's called progress.....

 

[Space]

Odd, as one auto manufacturer moves away from dealerships, another is growing dealerships. Tesla opening dealership in Sarasota, Fl.
Guess that means the end of driveway maintenance.

 

[SWFLGulf]

After what I went through with mine, I have no problem with Ford bypassing them and going right to the purchasers. I wont miss the double talk, misleading statements and the addition of extras to the vehicle that are " required by this dealership. Sorry no one informed you".

 

[ndmiller]

As long as Dealerships are buying vehicles from Ford to resell them, they are free to sell at any price they want. Otherwise uncle sam steps in....Price Fixing.

If you read the article....What Ford is unhappy with is the consumer doesn't always know/see what the price is and some dealers change the price between negotiation and delivery. They are reining in bad actors and that makes a ton of sense as Ford gets the blowback.

They are using a certification process to gain compliance on this and processes around electric vehicles. Doesn't say what happens if dealers don't opt in on certification, but I would imagine less vehicles to sell.

I've only bought one Ford, the Maverick in December and my experience was assemble as it was unique. I called the biggest Truck (multi brand) dealer in the state in Oct23 and asked if I could order a Maverick (aka Amazon like). They told me to build it in the configurator and send them the PDF. They collected a $1000 deposit and the order was confirmed in a few days. I took delivery in December in 30 minutes writing a check. The total was within a hundred dollars of the estimate due to GA DMV fees, but I got that back via a dealership check as they were hedging so they could title in my county 60 miles away.

In my experience almost no-one has this type of process with the great majority of vehicle purchases being a disaster and that's a problem. Dealerships are entitled to a reasonable profit and so is the manufacturer, but these days buying a car and going to the dentist seem more equal than ever.

 

[todd92]

Nothing in that article say Ford is 'moving away from dealers'.

 

[Jman79]

Sounds like an opportunity for an app/service to connect potential car buyers with owners who are willing to show & give rides to potential buyers?

For a small fee to weed out joy riders. I'd likely be willing on both sides of such transaction.

Note, I said ride, not test drive

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Nothing in that article say Ford is 'moving away from dealers'.

I interpreted it to mean that FORD was migrating to separate dealerships for electric vehicles and ice dealerships. Though it might be like the current Lincoln/Ford setups that have the different amenity areas for each. Rumor is that my dealer is considering a separate building next door if necessary!
EXIT TO ADD: It may be more of a new dealer relationship eliminating legacy setups and "spanking" those with an"add on"!

 

[40caliber]

As long as Dealerships are buying vehicles from Ford to resell them, they are free to sell at any price they want. Otherwise uncle sam steps in....Price Fixing.

If you read the article....What Ford is unhappy with is the consumer doesn't always know/see what the price is and some dealers change the price between negotiation and delivery. They are reining in bad actors and that makes a ton of sense as Ford gets the blowback.

They are using a certification process to gain compliance on this and processes around electric vehicles. Doesn't say what happens if dealers don't opt in on certification, but I would imagine less vehicles to sell.

I've only bought one Ford, the Maverick in December and my experience was assemble as it was unique. I called the biggest Truck (multi brand) dealer in the state in Oct23 and asked if I could order a Maverick (aka Amazon like). They told me to build it in the configurator and send them the PDF. They collected a $1000 deposit and the order was confirmed in a few days. I took delivery in December in 30 minutes writing a check. The total was within a hundred dollars of the estimate due to GA DMV fees, but I got that back via a dealership check as they were hedging so they could title in my county 60 miles away.

In my experience almost no-one has this type of process with the great majority of vehicle purchases being a disaster and that's a problem. Dealerships are entitled to a reasonable profit and so is the manufacturer, but these days buying a car and going to the dentist seem more equal than ever.

So glad my dealer didn't have to assemble my truck.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

= elimination of competitive negotiation with individual business owners and buy direct from manufacturer.

Elimination of underhanded/shady surprises when you go to pick up your vehicle.

 

[MacNasty]

Sorry not exactly of target with article, but what site would any of you recommend if I wanted to sell my 2023 Maverick Lariat Hybrid; love it but have a 2024 coming in soon.

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