Q & A Session... - Ask a Ford Dealer

[T's03GT]

What do you mean by "not what you're expecting"? Surely your local dealer has another vehicle in the same color, the same trim level, same options etc... might be on 10 different trucks...but I'm sure they can show you what to expect. Then, once they go buy the other one, it's your truck unless it gets back to the store and is damaged or missing an option that you requested.

Depends on if I'm hauling it or sending drivers.

The truck I am wanting to find isn't the easiest really, lol. If I trade this truck in, I'm going back into a Cateye. 2006 Duramax, Blue Granite, four door, leather or cloth doesn't matter, full center console. When I say "not what I am expecting," I mean that the dealer maybe didn't specify well enough on what could potentially be wrong with it. For instance, a few weekends ago I went to look at a truck that seemed to be in awesome condition in all the pictures they sent me. Drove the hour one way, got there and they failed to mention all of the rust they hid in the pictures.

 

[13COBRA]

X Plan is about $100 over invoice. Dealership's employees get "D Plan" which is well below invoice, and only $100 over A Plan (what Ford Motor Company employees get).

All of those plan prices are prices...not discounts. They're a set dollar amount.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

X plan was helpful to me because of all the higher than hell dealer fees (750-1k, x plan limits that fee). Going forward I will buy where thats not a factor

 

[ford fanatic]

The truck I am wanting to find isn't the easiest really, lol. If I trade this truck in, I'm going back into a Cateye. 2006 Duramax, Blue Granite, four door, leather or cloth doesn't matter, full center console. When I say "not what I am expecting," I mean that the dealer maybe didn't specify well enough on what could potentially be wrong with it. For instance, a few weekends ago I went to look at a truck that seemed to be in awesome condition in all the pictures they sent me. Drove the hour one way, got there and they failed to mention all of the rust they hid in the pictures.

My only guess is he didn't know you were talking about a used truck.

 

[13COBRA]

The truck I am wanting to find isn't the easiest really, lol. If I trade this truck in, I'm going back into a Cateye. 2006 Duramax, Blue Granite, four door, leather or cloth doesn't matter, full center console. When I say "not what I am expecting," I mean that the dealer maybe didn't specify well enough on what could potentially be wrong with it. For instance, a few weekends ago I went to look at a truck that seemed to be in awesome condition in all the pictures they sent me. Drove the hour one way, got there and they failed to mention all of the rust they hid in the pictures.

I thought you were talking new.

A lot of dealers will not go out and buy a 13 year old truck in hopes you'll buy it. It's not worth the risk.

 

[Lambeau]

Hey Nick,

Thanks for your assistance over the past several days with our search for a new Explorer. Although the logistics/timing didn't make it possible for us to make a deal, I really appreciate your input.
Congrats on the upcoming addition Papa!

Curly

 

[13COBRA]

Hey Nick,

Thanks for your assistance over the past several days with our search for a new Explorer. Although the logistics/timing didn't make it possible for us to make a deal, I really appreciate your input.
Congrats on the upcoming addition Papa!

Curly

All good! I'm glad you got it all ironed out!

Enjoy your new Explorer!

 

[CV355]

Any dealership that you've been to and offered a price less than their advertised price, and them say "nope, that's it. Sorry", are idiots.

I don't miss deals over a few hundred dollars, but I certainly don't have the ability to take thousands off of any of my advertised prices.

I agree. There's a dealership down the road from me that screwed up on paperwork, $300 in our favor. I didn't know at the time. They called a day later and wanted me to come in and write a check for that amount. I said "nah, I'll just bring the vehicle back," mainly because I got totally screwed over on trade in value and had remorse. They replied with "no no, it's ok, we don't want to ruin a deal over something petty." They then went and slapped a 2nd lien on the vehicle without telling me. I found out a year later when the title wouldn't clear for insurance after the vehicle was totaled.

 

[08mojo]

X Plan is about $100 over invoice. Dealership's employees get "D Plan" which is well below invoice, and only $100 over A Plan (what Ford Motor Company employees get).

All of those plan prices are prices...not discounts. They're a set dollar amount.

I learned that the hard way several years ago. I spent a lot of time with a salesman negotiating trade-in value and price on the new car. He went back and forth to the sales manager several times, I think I was there for close to 2 hours. When we finally got close on pricing, I said "now how does Z-plan affect all of this?" His response still cracks me up to this day. He said, "what the ****?" turned his computer screen around and said "here's the pricing--it's set."

 

[13COBRA]

I agree. There's a dealership down the road from me that screwed up on paperwork, $300 in our favor. I didn't know at the time. They called a day later and wanted me to come in and write a check for that amount. I said "nah, I'll just bring the vehicle back," mainly because I got totally screwed over on trade in value and had remorse. They replied with "no no, it's ok, we don't want to ruin a deal over something petty." They then went and slapped a 2nd lien on the vehicle without telling me. I found out a year later when the title wouldn't clear for insurance after the vehicle was totaled.

That would be illegal, and you should have sued them.

If they messed up the paperwork, it's their loss. They can take the car back, but they can't make you pay any additional money.

I learned that the hard way several years ago. I spent a lot of time with a salesman negotiating trade-in value and price on the new car. He went back and forth to the sales manager several times, I think I was there for close to 2 hours. When we finally got close on pricing, I said "now how does Z-plan affect all of this?" His response still cracks me up to this day. He said, "what the ****?" turned his computer screen around and said "here's the pricing--it's set."

Haha waste of time, eh?

That's a VERY common misconception. Everyone thinks of it as a discount, instead of a set price. Some people have a hard time understanding, even after lots of explaining.

 

[CV355]

That would be illegal, and you should have sued them.

If they messed up the paperwork, it's their loss. They can take the car back, but they can't make you pay any additional money.
.

I wish I had asked you about it at the time. They were downright nasty about it when I went in to talk with them. My wife was still unable to walk on her own from the accident, we get to the dealership, talk with the finance manager. He was aggressive about it, so I pushed back. He literally stands up, walks out of his office while we're talking and goes to help another customer. It took two weeks to resolve, and I wound up writing a check for half the amount just to get the title released so insurance could process and people get paid (accident wasn't our fault, but we wound up having to do most of the legwork).

That stunt caused us to buy a replacement vehicle across the street.

 

[13COBRA]

I wish I had asked you about it at the time. They were downright nasty about it when I went in to talk with them. My wife was still unable to walk on her own from the accident, we get to the dealership, talk with the finance manager. He was aggressive about it, so I pushed back. He literally stands up, walks out of his office while we're talking and goes to help another customer. It took two weeks to resolve, and I wound up writing a check for half the amount just to get the title released so insurance could process and people get paid (accident wasn't our fault, but we wound up having to do most of the legwork).

That stunt caused us to buy a replacement vehicle across the street.

I'm so sorry to hear that, that's crazy. Dealerships/employees like that are the reason the industry has such a bad rap.

 

[RedVenom48]

I'm so sorry to hear that, that's crazy. Dealerships/employees like that are the reason the industry has such a bad rap.

It certainly helps to have a member of the family who's name is on the building as the GM of my store. More than once some other dealer in our group tried to pull a fast one on an employee here.

A quick phone call to that store's GM and it magically gets resolved, lmao.

 

[Weather Man]

One of the reasons I dealt with Nick was that after being in powersport/car sales all those years is that working with another salesperson can be like chalk on a blackboard. He knows that I know he knows the dance, LOL.

 

[RedVenom48]

@13COBRA Forgot to ask, if there are any available factory incentives does that apply to a D or X plan?

I understand that the D or X plan is a fixed price, unsure if factory rebates still apply or if D (and X to a lesser extent) make the rebates irrelevant. Thanks!

 

[hockeylover86]

Village Ford in Dearborn has both X and A/Z prices listed right on their website for anyone interested.

I guess it makes sense when you are in Ford's home town.

One thing I have noticed is that over the years Invoice and Plan prices have tightened right up to MSRP. Must be the OE's new sales model.

 

[Papaw]

@13COBRA Thank you for your openness to talk about how car dealerships work. Most dealerships guard this information as if it carried a death penalty to share it.
I had a Ford dealership as one of my accounts for 25 years. I was there twice a week every week. Over time I got to know the owner, his son, his grandson, everyone in sales, parts, service and body shop. I spoke to everyone there all the time, even the detailers (those who spoke English).
I've learned more from this thread than I ever did from the dealership in all those years.
You sir get a happy face on your paper today!

 

[13COBRA]

@13COBRA Forgot to ask, if there are any available factory incentives does that apply to a D or X plan?

I understand that the D or X plan is a fixed price, unsure if factory rebates still apply or if D (and X to a lesser extent) make the rebates irrelevant. Thanks!

Correct. The factory rebates will come off of the plan prices.

@13COBRA Thank you for your openness to talk about how car dealerships work. Most dealerships guard this information as if it carried a death penalty to share it.
I had a Ford dealership as one of my accounts for 25 years. I was there twice a week every week. Over time I got to know the owner, his son, his grandson, everyone in sales, parts, service and body shop. I spoke to everyone there all the time, even the detailers (those who spoke English).
I've learned more from this thread than I ever did from the dealership in all those years.
You sir get a happy face on your paper today!

Thank you!

 

[CobraBob]

Nick, I have a question. So I ordered a 2019 Genesis G-70 33.T AWD from my local Genesis dealer yesterday. I'm going with silver with black interior but my own search in New England/NY/NJ didn't find any. The Originally I told my salesman that I wanted to order it direct from the factory. Mainly because I want to be absolutely certain it's exactly what I wanted, that it hasn't been sitting on someone's lot down in Maryland (LOL), and that when I get it it doesn't have mileage on it from a long drive. So when I left the dealership, the salesman "loosely" said they'd search the inventories and that I might get a call early next week, or two weeks later, or soon after. He had told me on the phone that if they ordered it from the factory that it would take 6-8 weeks, which I was fine with. So when I got back home I'm thinking that maybe they have no intention on ordering it from the factory, so I'll be basically waiting for a G-70 with the same model/colors/packages to show up at another dealership within a couple of hundred miles. Can I/should I call him back and tell him I absolutely want the car ordered from the factory? Or am I being unreasonable? I get concerned knowing potential customers take test drives and the cars sometimes sit outside for a good length of time. This is an expensive car (for me) and I'd prefer it to arrive brand spanking new from the factory. And I'm not thrilled with the idea the someone might drive my car 100-300 miles from wherever.

What's your take on my thoughts? What is the routine ordering procedure these days on a new vehicle? Do a lot of folks state they want to order from the factory?

Thanks for your help and advise Nick.

 

[Weather Man]

Nick, I have a question. So I ordered a 2019 Genesis G-70 33.T AWD from my local Genesis dealer yesterday. I'm going with silver with black interior but my own search in New England/NY/NJ didn't find any. The Originally I told my salesman that I wanted to order it direct from the factory. Mainly because I want to be absolutely certain it's exactly what I wanted, that it hasn't been sitting on someone's lot down in Maryland (LOL), and that when I get it it doesn't have mileage on it from a long drive. So when I left the dealership, the salesman "loosely" said they'd search the inventories and that I might get a call early next week, or two weeks later, or soon after. He had told me on the phone that if they ordered it from the factory that it would take 6-8 weeks, which I was fine with. So when I got back home I'm thinking that maybe they have no intention on ordering it from the factory, so I'll be basically waiting for a G-70 with the same model/colors/packages to show up at another dealership within a couple of hundred miles. Can I/should I call him back and tell him I absolutely want the car ordered from the factory? Or am I being unreasonable? I get concerned knowing potential customers take test drives and the cars sometimes sit outside for a good length of time. This is an expensive car (for me) and I'd prefer it to arrive brand spanking new from the factory. And I'm not thrilled with the idea the someone might drive my car 100-300 miles from wherever.

What's your take on my thoughts? What is the routine ordering procedure these days on a new vehicle? Do a lot of folks state they want to order from the factory?

Thanks for your help and advise Nick.

You are the customer Bob, you can tell them you want it factory ordered or you can tell them it must be flat bedded from any dealer they find it at and if it has more than 10 miles on it, no deal.