Needs to be said.

[Irving]

Ford is screwed.

They are prohibited from selling direct and yet face stiff competition from Tesla who only sells direct.

meanwhile their network of dealers continues to harm the experience of purchasing and servicing vehicles. Sure there are some great dealers, but it’s pretty rough out here overall.

Ford lacks agility to adjust to the market and dealerships and working with them is a large part of it.

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[Grumpa]

Ford is screwed.

They are prohibited from selling direct and yet face stiff competition from Tesla who only sells direct.

meanwhile their network of dealers continues to harm the experience of purchasing and servicing vehicles. Sure there are some great dealers, but it’s pretty rough out here overall.

Ford lacks agility to adjust to the market and dealerships and working with them is a large part of it.

I think most dealers suck! My son and his wife have bought two Teslas and they love it! BYW.. the are not eco nuts!

 

[JimParker256]

While some only lambast all dealers and will NEVER pay above MSRP or NEVER allow an add on, others are enjoying their Mavericks. I sold my EB to a DEALER for a profit when my hybrid, so I join the rest of you who did that as a scumbag in the eyes of some who replied

whatever you scalpers and flippers need to tell yourselves to sleep at night... happy flippin' life...

I'm with JBryant on this one. Those accusing Maverick owners who sell their vehicles for MSRP++ of being scumbags (or worse) are big-time hypocrites. I'm willing to bet that if they were putting their house on the market, one of the FIRST steps they would take is to determine the current market value. Sure, you paid $150K for that house 20 years ago, but does that mean that if you had the opportunity to sell it for $250K and take it, you're a scumbag? No - you're a realist. My parents bought a cabin in the late '50s for $7,500. In 1980, they sold it for $165,000. Nowadays, that exact same cabin would EASILY sell for $350K+.

If you would sell your house for than you paid for it, you've got ZERO claim to the "moral high ground" over the guy who sells his Maverick for more than he paid for it. I suspect you're just pissed off that you cannot afford to do it yourself.

I'm equally amused by those who would get on someone's case for paying above MSRP for a Maverick that became available when someone refused their ordered Maverick. "That's ridiculous! I'd NEVER pay a PENNY above MSRP for a Maverick," they say... Then they will happily turn around and take delivery of THEIR $27K Maverick (ballpark average MSRP for a Maverick), then proceed to put 10% down, and finance the rest of the purchase at 5% for 72 months. Guess what? They are paying over $4K more for their Maverick than the guy who paid ADM with cash.

Why is it perfectly OK for them to pay $4K in loan interest, but not for someone else to pay ADM to remove all doubt about getting the Maverick that they want? Hypocrisy at it's finest.

 

[JokingJ]

That does sound like something someone who'd worked in a dealership for a couple of decades would say.

So while we humor you, imagine this: you need a new washing machine, you look at Samsung, LG, Maytag, Whirlpool, etc. You do research, figure out you want a shiny new Korean beauty, and call your local appliance store to see if the Lucky Goldstar of your dreams is in stock. It's listed at $799, and they have one! But "this is an in-demand washer, and there's a markup" you hear. Well, okay, fair's fair -- how much is it out-the-door then? "Let's talk about that when you get here -- how does the middle of a weekday sound? There's a lot of people interested, better hurry!"

You'd hang up the phone, and you'd wonder why LG doesn't just set a price and require resale shops to adhere to it within +/- 5%, list it on a tag, and stop with the BS. None of this "well, the free market..." Just frustration and a friendly/accurate "you're an asshole" to the real life asshole trying to rake you over the coals.

And obviously Ford knows this is a problem, as does every other legacy automaker and newcomer, and that's precisely why they're all doing everything they can to force dealers to adhere to their pricing models for the next wave of electric vehicles (that is if they can't cut them out altogether). If the dealers really can't make it work the way they're all bellyaching about, Ford corporate will know soon enough, and the prices will go up across the board, get adjustments for rural areas, whatever. So be it.

 

[JEMiculka]

Buying a house is nowhere near the same analogy as buying a Maverick. I’ve done both recently.

You go to close on a house and you are ready to sign, when the owner says, oh by the way, I’ve added on an alarm system to the house, I repainted the walls to a different paint, I’ve added an air purifier for for better nitrogen consumption, I need to add on transportation fees since I had to drive to the closing this morning and I need to recover my realtor advertising fees and a few more things, so the add ons are now an additional $54,000.00 to the price of the house. Nothing to do with house appreciation value

 

[cclark440]

Well, I guess I am a scumbag. I just took delivery of my Second XLT Hybrid Saturday, and as soon as I get the registration I am taking it to CarMax for the $6000 over what I paid for it.

The only way ADM is going to stop is if people stop paying it. As long as there are people willing to pay it, it is going to continue. I might as well take my share of the profits.

When I picked the MAV up, almost every car on the lot had ADM on it. They had a new Raptor with a sticker price of $85k marked up to $110k The salesman told me if I had refused delivery of my Maveric, they would slap a $10K ADM on it, and it would be gone in a couple of days.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Well, I guess I am a scumbag. I just took delivery of my Second XLT Hybrid Saturday, and as soon as I get the registration I am taking it to CarMax for the $6000 over what I paid for it.

The only way ADM is going to stop is if people stop paying it. As long as there are people willing to pay it, it is going to continue. I might as well take my share of the profits.

When I picked the MAV up, almost every care on the lot had ADM on it. They had a new Raptor with a sticker price of $85k marked up to $110k The salesman told me if I had refused delivery of my Maveric, they would slap a $10K ADP on it, and it would be gone in a couple of days.

there are long term investors who fund growth and projects and then there are day traders that cause market instability.... there are folks who have purchased a home, raised a family, maintained it well, and then enjoy a healthy sales price commensurate with the increased cost of living and then there are folks who buy up everything they can and fuel gentrification. capitalism, survival of the fittest, however it's labeled... fairness of it can be debated ad-nauseum.

never referred to any of you as anything other than flippers / scalpers and didn't make it personal. enjoy the fine work of extracting the most csh you can from others for personal transportation while it last. in the end, it adds no value (other than to your own short term cash flow) and is frustrating to those of us still trying to acquire this economy truck at a reasonable price without destroying it's value proposition. i don't relish handing any of you $5k or $10k extra for doing almost absolutely nothing, contributing nothing.

but my purpose is not to convince you of the wrongness or rightness of it. just some perspective, why some of us find it so absolutely repelling; especially the coming to these forums to brag about it and justify it... happy flipping life you financial geniuses... apparently you all are in good company.... enjoy the climb to success in this big race to the bottom.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

"Making" money is all about some risk- the old car sales model where dealership buys vehicles (assuming risk) and hoping customer buys them at the price they can make some money off them has been on pause since Covid.

I agree it's scummy for dealers to not honor verbal agreements for orders, or even better, put an agreement in writing and honor it. I think that written contracts for vehicle order purchases could save everyone the headache- but make it harder for dealers to hide extra profits.

As far as the flippers- the game is good right now, but eventually the market will level out and "someone" will end up holding onto a vehicle they can't sell for profit, and will probably even take losses. Taking advantage of a situation is pretty human, to me it's morally wrong to not add something of value while doing business- "taking advantage" of someone else is pretty dirty. BUT, as long as the market is all wack, some people will apparently be enabling the flipping.

 

[JBryant]

I'm with JBryant on this one. Those accusing Maverick owners who sell their vehicles for MSRP++ of being scumbags (or worse) are big-time hypocrites. I'm willing to bet that if they were putting their house on the market, one of the FIRST steps they would take is to determine the current market value. Sure, you paid $150K for that house 20 years ago, but does that mean that if you had the opportunity to sell it for $250K and take it, you're a scumbag? No - you're a realist. My parents bought a cabin in the late '50s for $7,500. In 1980, they sold it for $165,000. Nowadays, that exact same cabin would EASILY sell for $350K+.

If you would sell your house for than you paid for it, you've got ZERO claim to the "moral high ground" over the guy who sells his Maverick for more than he paid for it. I suspect you're just pissed off that you cannot afford to do it yourself.

I'm equally amused by those who would get on someone's case for paying above MSRP for a Maverick that became available when someone refused their ordered Maverick. "That's ridiculous! I'd NEVER pay a PENNY above MSRP for a Maverick," they say... Then they will happily turn around and take delivery of THEIR $27K Maverick (ballpark average MSRP for a Maverick), then proceed to put 10% down, and finance the rest of the purchase at 5% for 72 months. Guess what? They are paying over $4K more for their Maverick than the guy who paid ADM with cash.

Why is it perfectly OK for them to pay $4K in loan interest, but not for someone else to pay ADM to remove all doubt about getting the Maverick that they want? Hypocrisy at it's finest.

Jim, as usual, you nailed it. You said it far better and in more detail that I did. Keep up the good work, my friend. Now, will that change anyone's mind, and will people still get on here and call others scumbags and a*holes, probably not until the administrator gets some of them to clean up their language and treat people with respect. It is not the 99% of the great people on the forum that have the problem, it is the one percent.

 

[StephMavXLT]

Ford is screwed.

They are prohibited from selling direct and yet face stiff competition from Tesla who only sells direct.

meanwhile their network of dealers continues to harm the experience of purchasing and servicing vehicles. Sure there are some great dealers, but it’s pretty rough out here overall.

Ford lacks agility to adjust to the market and dealerships and working with them is a large part of it.

I think this is why Ford is splitting the EV side of the business into its own company. This new EV-only Ford company can not sell direct and does not go through dealerships. So Ford is trying to turn dealerships into repair only. The showrooms would have a few models so you can see the car before buying directly from Ford. So they are heading for the Tesla model of selling cars for EV's at lest.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

meh, whatever you all need to tell yourselves. but it's silly to come on a fan site and brag about gaming the system and then act surprised by the pushback from sensible folks.

patience and self-control will continue to work in my favor and I'll order only what I intend to take possession of and use at a price that makes sense longterm.

 

[PapaRico]

OP sorry to disagree but if a dealer adds market value increase after the fact they are scumbags.

I agree, if it is to the person who originally ordered it. If they back out then the truck is a stock truck and dealer can do what he wants to whoever will pay it. Not a fan of ADM's but it is the market we are in. Glad my dealer honored my order price.

 

[TheSEARCH]

So I have owned several small businesses in my life and also worked in the car business for a few years. Worked in sales for two separate dealerships. One was a scumbag lying dumpster fire and the other one was a highly reputable company that I am still closely in touch with to this day (20 years later). I make no excuse for dealerships who pull tricks, lie to people, sell Factory orders out from under people or mislead their customer as to what they're buying price will be. I also personally hate unwanted add-ons that soak extra thousands of dollars from the consumer's pocket. For what it's worth I've never been a huge fan of any of extras including extended warranties, window etch, ceramic coating etc etc etc. That all being said, so long as a dealer is open and honest about what they're doing I have no problem with them selling their vehicles at actual Market value. I believe that any dealer that sells a new Maverick at sticker to a consumer deserves a trophy and is doing you a favor. I think a lot of us if we have the opportunity and cash to buy an extra XL hybrid at sticker would do it and turn around and sell it to carvana for a few thousand dollars in extra cash. It's crazy to me how people will call a dealership that's selling a vehicle at actual Market value a scumbag but would do essentially the same thing tomorrow if they could. At the end of the day there are people in this world who care a lot more about their own pocket than the guy buying their truck. Some of them are dealers and some of them are us. Enough said.

NOT on an order. Order price should be honored. Enough said.

 

[JimParker256]

That does sound like something someone who'd worked in a dealership for a couple of decades would say.

So while we humor you, imagine this: you need a new washing machine, you look at Samsung, LG, Maytag, Whirlpool, etc. You do research, figure out you want a shiny new Korean beauty, and call your local appliance store to see if the Lucky Goldstar of your dreams is in stock. It's listed at $799, and they have one! But "this is an in-demand washer, and there's a markup" you hear. Well, okay, fair's fair -- how much is it out-the-door then? "Let's talk about that when you get here -- how does the middle of a weekday sound? There's a lot of people interested, better hurry!"

You'd hang up the phone, and you'd wonder why LG doesn't just set a price and require resale shops to adhere to it within +/- 5%, list it on a tag, and stop with the BS. None of this "well, the free market..." Just frustration and a friendly/accurate "you're an asshole" to the real life asshole trying to rake you over the coals.

And obviously Ford knows this is a problem, as does every other legacy automaker and newcomer, and that's precisely why they're all doing everything they can to force dealers to adhere to their pricing models for the next wave of electric vehicles (that is if they can't cut them out altogether). If the dealers really can't make it work the way they're all bellyaching about, Ford corporate will know soon enough, and the prices will go up across the board, get adjustments for rural areas, whatever. So be it.

The primary difference is that automobile dealerships (and their auto dealer associations) are THE single largest donors to state and local governments, which pass "protectionist" laws forcing the manufacturers to ONLY sell through dealers. In Texas, for instance, auto dealer associations and auto dealers contributed almost 33% of the funds donated to state-level offices, according to a report I saw from one of the campaign watchdog organizations. And that same report showed that they donate basically equal amounts to both parties. They don't care what party you belong to, as long as you remember who helped pay for your campaign...

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