When does the 2018 Shelby GT350 available for order and for sale?

[02GTKB]

I said it a while back that the '18 GT350s would be a short run. Ford expanded '17 production to make up for the abbreviated '18 production. I predict there will only be about 300 '18 Rs built, if that, and between 1500 and 2000 regular GT350s. Markups will probably be worse than ever.

Well I maybe a lucky one, a somewhat local dealer to me is almost certain he can order an '18 R since he has sold 2 in the past, and best of all selling it at MSRP! No BS cause I never ever will pay these crazy markups...what happens when you try and trade this car in say a year from now? Dealer going to give you over msrp lol? I have a great opportunity to trade my '16 in and be situated better financially in the R because it is so much desirable..can not wait for the phone call tomorrow!

 

[TheZman]

Well I maybe a lucky one, a somewhat local dealer to me is almost certain he can order an '18 R since he has sold 2 in the past, and best of all selling it at MSRP! No BS cause I never ever will pay these crazy markups...what happens when you try and trade this car in say a year from now? Dealer going to give you over msrp lol? I have a great opportunity to trade my '16 in and be situated better financially in the R because it is so much desirable..can not wait for the phone call tomorrow!

Let us know if you get it! My local Ford dealer just got an R in and called me to come look at it. MSRP $68k but there selling it for $84,999. Its ridiculous I hate dealers that do that. I even told them I would buy it at MSRP but they told me no but said if its here after a couple months they'll let me know. But by then it would be too late because My Hellcat order wouldn't be able to be canceled. Oh well. Gotta love Greedy dealers.

 

[13COBRA]

Let us know if you get it! My local Ford dealer just got an R in and called me to come look at it. MSRP $68k but there selling it for $84,999. Its ridiculous I hate dealers that do that. I even told them I would buy it at MSRP but they told me no but said if its here after a couple months they'll let me know. But by then it would be too late because My Hellcat order wouldn't be able to be canceled. Oh well. Gotta love Greedy dealers.

Does that dealer sell Fiestas and Focus' too?

 

[TheZman]

Does that dealer sell Fiestas and Focus' too?

Yes they do.

 

[13COBRA]

Yes they do.

Then imagine this:

Let's say they sell 130 Fiesta's, 180 Focus' and 1 GT350R every year. The average markup on a Fiesta sold is between $80 and $100, the average markup on a Focus sold is $110-125. Selling the GT350R for $18k over MSRP nets them about $23k.

At the end of the year (assuming they averaged the high end of the profitability with the Fiesta and Focus), and selling the GT350R....they would average $188.10 per car in gross.

Yes, they will make finance money, increase service work, etc....but instead of calling them greedy, maybe you should think of them more as maximizing their profit. They're following the law of supply and demand to a T.

Ford sets the supply, not the dealers.

I would trade off selling vehicles at MSRP+ if EVERY vehicle on my lot was sold at MSRP.

 

[TheZman]

Then imagine this:

Let's say they sell 130 Fiesta's, 180 Focus' and 1 GT350R every year. The average markup on a Fiesta sold is between $80 and $100, the average markup on a Focus sold is $110-125. Selling the GT350R for $18k over MSRP nets them about $23k.

At the end of the year (assuming they averaged the high end of the profitability with the Fiesta and Focus), and selling the GT350R....they would average $188.10 per car in gross.

Yes, they will make finance money, increase service work, etc....but instead of calling them greedy, maybe you should think of them more as maximizing their profit. They're following the law of supply and demand to a T.

Ford sets the supply, not the dealers.

I would trade off selling vehicles at MSRP+ if EVERY vehicle on my lot was sold at MSRP.

Sorry but I disagree. I get its there business and they can do whatever they want. But every time a dealer marks up a vehicle like the Gt350 R All the other dealers follow. Soon every single GT350 R for sale is marked up and unattainable for guys like me that cant afford $85k+. Not only that but usually it ends up being someone from out of state buying it with deep pockets and the local people get screwed out of owning one.

Also as nice as the GT350 R is I don't think its $85k+ Nice! Just my opinion. Hell even at $68k its pushing it for its performance capability. Heck even the Camaro 1LE keeps up with it at the track and that car is waaaay cheaper. And the ZL1 beats it pretty good for less money as well.

But with that said I do like the GT350 style and looks far more then the Camaro and I love its feel and sound. And I prefer it over both Camaros. But looks and sound don't warrant the price being so much more. At that price the dealers are pretty much catering to the collector car crew that probably wont even drive the car. Just park it away in there car collection and talk about it! But whatever to each there own.

Also the more GT350s and GT350 Rs you sell don't you get more allocations? You can make 1 big profit off only 1 car or make a bunch of small to medium profits and sell a bunch and get more in and be more known as a high performance dealer which ends up putting your dealership on the map with having a lot of high performance cars always on the lot for sale!! Which also get more people in looking at the other cars!

 

[13COBRA]

....

I don't think you understand.

1.) What do you disagree with? I just reread what I said in hopes of seeing what you could possibly disagree with, but after reading it again I'm even more confused. I presented proven facts.

2.) One dealer doesn't drive the market. There were dealers that sold them at MSRP, few and far between. I sold 11 GT350's for MSRP, and 4 for well over MSRP to other dealers; if I had an R allocation, I would've either of kept it or sold it for much over MSRP, because that's what the market will bear. If supply is greater than demand, which it's not, then prices would fall. Since demand is quite a bit higher than supply, prices increase.

3.) I sold my 2016 GT350 that I had ordered for myself, and purchased a Gen IV ACR because I didn't think the GT350 was worth how much I sold it to another dealer for; and that the ACR was a much better performance car for the money. As far as pricing goes, Ford has always done a great job of driving the demand for their product while keeping supply low. GM sells their "halo cars" for thousands off MSRP every year to move them, Ford doesn't have to do that.

4.) I'm sorry that you can't afford an $85k car. By marking up the price, they are not marketing to the collector car guys, they are marketing to the people who want the car. If the R's traded hands at MSRP, they would have been sold out immediately, and by the time you created this thread, you'd be SOL anyways. The bottleneck is not dealers charging ADMs, it is Ford limiting production on them. The 2018's will be even worse due to their shortened model year.

5.) If I could sell 500 R's at MSRP, instead of 10 at $15k over...of course I would; but that's not feasible. The R's are allocated at the beginning of the model year, you could sell them all in 5 minutes and not be allocated any more. So your premise of making 'small to medium' profits off a lot of cars and securing a name for yourself as a performance dealership is flawed.

 

[TheZman]

^Well either way that R is still for sale at the dealer. I hope it sits there.

 

[Tob]

Sad that such a good car is held hostage. There really has to be a better way.

 

[TheZman]

Sad that such a good car is held hostage. There really has to be a better way.

I agree. Ford and other companies need to stop making limited cars and letting Dealers Screw the customers over! Just build at least enough to cover the demand and sell them at msrp.

 

[gjcavana]

^Well either way that R is still for sale at the dealer. I hope it sits there.

I agree.

After I had contacted Shelby American to discuss options for various Shelby's they put in in touch with a dealer in who had a SS and a couple other Shelbys. I realized very quickly that everything this dealer had was drastically marked up including a GT350 that he had. I blew him off knowing that I was never going to pay him what he was asking. I ended up getting my GT350 from a dealer who had a GT350 that wasn't selling when he got another one, so I was able to get it for MSRP. I loved telling the first guy that I found one for sticker when he called to follow up and his was still sitting unsold. I have no sympathy for greedy dealers.

 

[13COBRA]

Sad that such a good car is held hostage. There really has to be a better way.

The best way would be if Ford allowed dealers to order as many as they have sold orders for. If I could get 50 of them a year, I'd sell them all at MSRP. But once Ford limits a dealer to a few, they try to capitalize.

I agree. Ford and other companies need to stop making limited cars and letting Dealers Screw the customers over! Just build at least enough to cover the demand and sell them at msrp.

If a GT350R was as easy to come by as a 5.0...then the allure for 90% of the market would be gone.

I have no sympathy for greedy dealers.

I don't think anyone is asking for sympathy, just explaining a point.

There aren't many business ventures that sell a product making less than 0.5% profit and stay in business. The Auto industry does this every day with their cheaper vehicles.

 

[CO Mack]

You guys do not understand the car manufacturing business.

CAFE standards, there are supplier limitations (I bet the wheels are a big constraint) etc etc. Ford is not necessarily limiting supply (and profit) for fun.

 

[Tob]

The best way would be if Ford allowed dealers to order as many as they have sold orders for. If I could get 50 of them a year, I'd sell them all at MSRP. But once Ford limits a dealer to a few, they try to capitalize.

I remember helping my father fill out the paperwork for a '93R. We got it in quick and then got a phone call saying that all had been sold. You had to provide proof of a competition license (SCCA, etc). I forget what the rules were in '95 and '00 but both of those were clearly intended for competition versus what I see now in the GT350R models. I'd like to see Ford Racing make these available for purchase through them and then delivered to a dealer of your choice.

I have yet to see the exact, specific wording that precludes Ford from doing this and I've read through some older Ford franchise agreements.

You guys do not understand the car manufacturing business.

CAFE standards, there are supplier limitations (I bet the wheels are a big constraint) etc etc. Ford is not necessarily limiting supply (and profit) for fun.

I assume when you mention wheels that you are referring to the R wheels. As far as I know, they are not the limiting factor as there is room for more than what Ford is asking for.

 

[13COBRA]

I remember helping my father fill out the paperwork for a '93R. We got it in quick and then got a phone call saying that all had been sold. You had to provide proof of a competition license (SCCA, etc). I forget what the rules were in '95 and '00 but both of those were clearly intended for competition versus what I see now in the GT350R models. I'd like to see Ford Racing make these available for purchase through them and then delivered to a dealer of your choice.

I have yet to see the exact, specific wording that precludes Ford from doing this and I've read through some older Ford franchise agreements.

I believe if they produce any less than 1,000 total units (GT350/GT350R) they can do it that way. For example, the new Ford GT, Cobra Jets, etc.

But if it's a mass produced car, they can't cut the dealer out. Like I mentioned, selling 1 GT350 even at MSRP makes a dealer the same amount of money as if they sold 15 Fiestas.

 

[tomshep]

I remember helping my father fill out the paperwork for a '93R. We got it in quick and then got a phone call saying that all had been sold. You had to provide proof of a competition license (SCCA, etc). I forget what the rules were in '95 and '00 but both of those were clearly intended for competition versus what I see now in the GT350R models. I'd like to see Ford Racing make these available for purchase through them and then delivered to a dealer of your choice.

I have yet to see the exact, specific wording that precludes Ford from doing this and I've read through some older Ford franchise agreements.

For 93 and 95, the dealer had to send in the order request to SVT along with the intended purchasers racing license to be awarded the vehicle. There were 107 93s and 250 95s. There were a surprising number of these cars purchased under NHRA licenses, but very few made it to the drag strip. There were no requirements for the 00R.

Tom

 

[Ghoust]

I bought my 2017 at MSRP after searching for it. I had another dealer that wanted $10k over and after I purchased mine, I made it a point to show up at that dealer with my new car and explained to them that not only did they lose the GT350 sale, but a potential F150 sale towards the end of the year as well as the bad publicity when I tell Team Shelby. They seemed to not care but I guarantee you that it will affect their bottom line.

 

[R-CODE]

You guys do not understand the car manufacturing business.

CAFE standards, there are supplier limitations (I bet the wheels are a big constraint) etc etc. Ford is not necessarily limiting supply (and profit) for fun.

You are spot on. Straight from engineering mouth in Dearborn; the cf/wheels are the constraint.

 

[Tob]

No doubt early on. But Carbon Revolution has expanded production quite a bit to meet demand so I believe now the constraint is one of choice by Ford.

 

[CO Mack]

No doubt early on. But Carbon Revolution has expanded production quite a bit to meet demand so I believe now the constraint is one of choice by Ford.

We simply have no way of knowing. I used the wheels as an example, as early on it was publicly acknowledged as a constraint. I just know from experience it can be very difficult to ramp production in the face of unforecast demand.

It could be that Ford is intentionally constraining Rs as originally suggested but who knows. We know overall Ford has to control their product mix for CAFE; they publicly talk about the Eco-Boost/aluminum trucks allowing them to sell more performance vehicles.