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

[ssj4sadie]

Maybe this was covered already...but how does a dealer receive allocation for specialty vehicles (i.e. Raptor, GT350, etc)? Is it at the start of the MY or throughout the year? So basically, am I screwed trying to find a dealer (anywhere in the country) that has an allocation for me to order a MY '17 Raptor at MSRP?

 

[13COBRA]

Maybe this was covered already...but how does a dealer receive allocation for specialty vehicles (i.e. Raptor, GT350, etc)? Is it at the start of the MY or throughout the year? So basically, am I screwed trying to find a dealer (anywhere in the country) that has an allocation for me to order a MY '17 Raptor at MSRP?

Different for everything..

The GT350s and 2013/14 GT500 dealers had to buy in for $1,000 per year and were guaranteed at least one vehicle per year. Any additional were based on Mustang sales market share.

The Raptors, every dealer that wanted one, could get one. The remainder were allocated based on F-150 sales leadership.

Unfortunately, the Raptors are a hotter commodity than GT350s are...it'll be awhile until those deals will be readily available.

 

[ssj4sadie]

So what you're saying is you're charging ADM on your Raptors...Bastard! Lol


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[13COBRA]

So what you're saying is you're charging ADM on your Raptors...Bastard! Lol


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I sold mine to a dealer in Denver for $8k over MSRP. lol Sorry...

 

[ssj4sadie]

I sold mine to a dealer in Denver for $8k over MSRP. lol Sorry...

So you're not getting any more allocations? It seems like every dealer here has 4+ on the lot.


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[BlksvtCobra01]

I would say you will have a hard time finding one at msrp at the moment. They are new, high demand as well. While I don't care for markups it's supply and demand.


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[ssj4sadie]

I would say you will have a hard time finding one at msrp at the moment. They are new, high demand as well. While I don't care for markups it's supply and demand.


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I understand I'm just giving @13COBRA shit


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[bssmith1220]

I'll play. We use a reconditioning pack so to speak at my dealer. Instead of actual recon cost going to individual stock units a flat cost is applied to all at the time they are brought into inventory. The idea is to always know what your recon cost will be and not turn away trades that you know need a lot of work (hopefully the low cost recon cars leave you room to spend lots when needed). We thought we would see noticeable gains from this in regards to more units retailed and more front gross, but results seem flat and it's more work for accounting. Have you ever seen this? What are your thoughts?

 

[Blk04L]

Say I want to sell a truck with an extended Ford premium warranty.
Truck has been in service for a repair under warranty, and still has 40k left on warranty, bought it with 50k on the clock. I still get a prorated return from that dealer/Ford?

 

[13COBRA]

I'll play. We use a reconditioning pack so to speak at my dealer. Instead of actual recon cost going to individual stock units a flat cost is applied to all at the time they are brought into inventory. The idea is to always know what your recon cost will be and not turn away trades that you know need a lot of work (hopefully the low cost recon cars leave you room to spend lots when needed). We thought we would see noticeable gains from this in regards to more units retailed and more front gross, but results seem flat and it's more work for accounting. Have you ever seen this? What are your thoughts?

I have friends that have tried it. But by averaging it out, the cars that don't need recon, you're not paying enough for...and the ones that need a ton of recon, you're paying too much for.

It hinders your ability to trade with people who take care of their cars, and you're catering to those who have not.

I'm completely against it, because the people that take care of their cars, are typically the people that come back to the store for repeat business, not to mention they make use of the service drive. Joe Schmo who's trading in his car that is 21k miles passed his recommended oil change, WILL NOT be an asset to your company nor your service drive.

I would talk to whoever you can to get that hacked as soon as possible.

Say I want to sell a truck with an extended Ford premium warranty.
Truck has been in service for a repair under warranty, and still has 40k left on warranty, bought it with 50k on the clock. I still get a prorated return from that dealer/Ford?

Yes. You just call the dealer you purchased it from. They will need an odometer statement and a lien release. If you don't provide them with a lien release, they will send the prorated refund back to the lienholder.

 

[ssj4sadie]

So in my search for a Raptor are there markets to avoid? I will have no boundary for my search of an allocation at MSRP. So if I find one in CA, is it going to have "CA emission" stuff installed that wouldn't otherwise be? Is an allocation in the north going to have a block heater that I don't need? So on and so forth.

 

[13COBRA]

So in my search for a Raptor are there markets to avoid? I will have no boundary for my search of an allocation at MSRP. So if I find one in CA, is it going to have "CA emission" stuff installed that wouldn't otherwise be? Is an allocation in the north going to have a block heater that I don't need? So on and so forth.

None to avoid. I'd jump on the first one for as close to MSRP as you can get.

 

[ssj4sadie]

None to avoid. I'd jump on the first one for as close to MSRP as you can get.

Why oh why don't you have one for me?! Would make things so easy.

 

[busta]

Hey 13COBRA,

Could you possibly provide me with the following lease information? I'm looking at a 2017 Ford Escape Titanium for my girlfriend with an MSRP of roughly $35k.

Residual for 10,500 miles/year for both 36 & 39 months
Base MF/APR
Any available incentives
And what dealer discount to negotiate for

Unfortunately I can't get the loyalty incentive because my Cobra's a '94. The cutoff is '95 lol.

Thanks man!!

 

[Snagged]

Understood. I've always had a lot of fun and enjoyed the industry.



The problem with just setting a price and not having a fee is then you inadvertently just priced yourself your fee above the competition.

With 2 clicks, you can search 1,000 cars by price low-high...the further from the top I am, the smaller chance I have of selling you a vehicle.

Some dealers that advertise the ridiculous prices will take out delivery charges off the invoice for advertising, then add it at the end.

It's just a game.

You pay fees on a ton of other things, why should car buying be different?

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I've always wondered what sort of jobs you could get at a dealership other than the basic ones. I certainly know of sales, service reps, technicians... I was thinking more on the side of second tier positions.

And that is good to know about the about the admin fees because I believe I had one lobbed at me........ If I remember correctly but I will have to check when I get home. I'm in the market now for a new car and loved I stumbled across this thread. It is very helpful to me and much appreciated.

Which leads me to a question on the used car side of things. Do you find it common dealers pad the prices of used cars because they figure the customer is going to want the price of said used car lower than the initial asking price?

And what kind of incentives/price drop should I expect from a '16 model that are still on lots?

 

[Snagged]

I'm sure they get different rates based on sales volume.

This also triggered a question for me. Would you be likely to find a better deal on a car at a bigger dealer as opposed to smaller dealers? EDIT: I think this was already answered since it was said most dealerships have the same prices.

 

[Snagged]

Several times in the past I ordered a car through dealer in Oregon. Saving the huge 9% California sales tax as long as I do not bring the car into California before it has the required number of miles on it.
Enabling me to avoid that tax and register it as used.

Do dealers have any problems with these types of tax avoidance schemes? It's frowned upon in California but if you cross every "t" and dot every "i" they have to allow it. Last car I did it on saved me $5245 in fees and taxes.

Wow, just wow, those are a lot of extra fees.

 

[Snagged]

Hey 13COBRA,

Could you possibly provide me with the following lease information? I'm looking at a 2017 Ford Escape Titanium for my girlfriend with an MSRP of roughly $35k.

Residual for 10,500 miles/year for both 36 & 39 months
Base MF/APR
Any available incentives
And what dealer discount to negotiate for

Unfortunately I can't get the loyalty incentive because my Cobra's a '94. The cutoff is '95 lol.

Thanks man!!

That sucks there is a cutoff for that.

Just read the whole thread and gained a lot of great knowledge.

 

[13COBRA]

Why oh why don't you have one for me?! Would make things so easy.

Oh believe me, I wish I had about 30 of them. They'd be sold within a day.

Hey 13COBRA,

Could you possibly provide me with the following lease information? I'm looking at a 2017 Ford Escape Titanium for my girlfriend with an MSRP of roughly $35k.

Residual for 10,500 miles/year for both 36 & 39 months
Base MF/APR
Any available incentives
And what dealer discount to negotiate for

Unfortunately I can't get the loyalty incentive because my Cobra's a '94. The cutoff is '95 lol.

Thanks man!!

PM your ZIP Code. Without that, the information I'm giving you wouldn't mean anything.

I've always wondered what sort of jobs you could get at a dealership other than the basic ones. I certainly know of sales, service reps, technicians... I was thinking more on the side of second tier positions.

And that is good to know about the about the admin fees because I believe I had one lobbed at me........ If I remember correctly but I will have to check when I get home. I'm in the market now for a new car and loved I stumbled across this thread. It is very helpful to me and much appreciated.

Which leads me to a question on the used car side of things. Do you find it common dealers pad the prices of used cars because they figure the customer is going to want the price of said used car lower than the initial asking price?

And what kind of incentives/price drop should I expect from a '16 model that are still on lots?

There are plenty of jobs. Dealerships have 5 main departments: New sales, Preowned Sales, Service, Parts and Body Shop. But there is also administration work, accounting, marketing, IT, etc.

It used to be common for dealers to pad their prices, not so much anymore.

Think about it this way. I'm spending well over $100k a year just advertising my cars on AutoTrader. If I padded my price and didn't offer a competitive price upfront, I'm not even getting calls from people. The market is too competitive to pad prices.

As far as 2016's go, it just depends.

This also triggered a question for me. Would you be likely to find a better deal on a car at a bigger dealer as opposed to smaller dealers? EDIT: I think this was already answered since it was said most dealerships have the same prices.

Not really. At the end of the day we can all sell them for the same money.


Also, multiquote is your friend.

 

[08mojo]

Think about it this way. I'm spending well over $100k a year just advertising my cars on AutoTrader. If I padded my price and didn't offer a competitive price upfront, I'm not even getting calls from people. The market is too competitive to pad prices.

Also, multiquote is your friend.

As an employee of the parent company for Autotrader, I'd like to thank you for the business!

Multi-quote has made forums so much easier over the past several years. I used to hate cutting and pasting [/Quote]...such a PITA.