What ever happened to the Ford "cracking down on" ADMs?

[rachmiel99]

I've been calling like 15 dealerships and the lowest markup is 10k.
This is ridiculous. There was all that hooplah about Ford cracking down on this. What happened to that?

Prairieville Ford in Louisiana rep was all about MSRP in the other DH at MSRP thread now his managers are going to mark them up too.

80-90k for a DH??? Might as well get a mid C8 or a GT500 at this point.

I spent two months looking for a manual transmission convertible, preferably an EcoBoost. A dealer in south Georgia is selling a '22 EB convertible with the 200A package for $1000 over sticker.

A soon-to-be two year old car. That has been languishing for months on a lot. In rural Georgia. at $1k OVER sticker. WUT.

I ended up with a '22 EB with the High Performance Package at a $1700 discount. Couldn't be happier.

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[CoBrArOx]

I've been calling like 15 dealerships and the lowest markup is 10k.
This is ridiculous. There was all that hooplah about Ford cracking down on this. What happened to that?

Prairieville Ford in Louisiana rep was all about MSRP in the other DH at MSRP thread now his managers are going to mark them up too.

80-90k for a DH??? Might as well get a mid C8 or a GT500 at this point.

How do you get them to answer the dealers I have called just say they don't know how much to charge yet.

 

[CoBrArOx]

I'm also surprised to seemingly be the only one here who has access to the A/Z plan.

What is a/z plan?

 

[Bikeman315]

$200 is a lot cheaper than 6% over MSRP.

Or just join Mustang Club of America and get a pin for $50.00.

https://mustang.org/membership-account/levels/

 

[Bikeman315]

What is a/z plan?

Post #27.

 

[llinthicum1]

If dealer asks for an ADM - WALK!! That's the only way to stop this BS. Dealers are exchanging greed over creating customers relationships. It's their business and they can determine what's best for them. But speaking as a consumer, I will remember when the pendulum swings the other way and dealers are stuck with inventories.

 

[dfwford]

What is a/z plan?

The A-Plan is Ford's discount for employees, and the Z-Plan is ths same as the A-Plan except for Ford retirees. It's the most generous of all the corporate discounts available for new vehicles, not including any incentives/credits or dealership-specific markdowns.

Depending on the dealer and vehicle, the A/Z plan discount can be as much as several grand off the invoice.

The nice part about it is that relatives can use the A/Z plan too, and Ford has a very loose definition of who they consider a relative.

 

[Marty1000]

that only applies to people that can’t cut the check.

you gotta figure 1/3 homes sold are all cash. People with the cash don’t give a F about interest rates, (except the opportunity cost on their cash)

I agree the DH is limited in production qty. just like Mach1 and GT350 models to make sure supply vs. demand favors the upper 1% that has the cash. Ford allocates more of these models to dealers that sell high number of F150s and are very large dealers that can add any size ADM they want. Just have to wait to buy a used DH in a few years. The GT500 is another example of ADMs of 30K and up.

 

[313_S650]

A dealer by me wanted a 6k markup on a GT Premium and that’s only if I financed through them

At this point, my 2020 A10 GT might be worth within 20% MSRP biting my nails thinking about consignment lately.

 

[ShaBoingBoing]

Or just join Mustang Club of America and get a pin for $50.00.

https://mustang.org/membership-account/levels/

FYI it takes 90 days from joining to get an X plan pin but it seems well worth it

 

[Ewheels]

If dealer asks for an ADM - WALK!! That's the only way to stop this BS. Dealers are exchanging greed over creating customers relationships. It's their business and they can determine what's best for them. But speaking as a consumer, I will remember when the pendulum swings the other way and dealers are stuck with inventories.

This sounds nice in theory but doesn't work in practice.
If they ask for ADM and you walk away, they don't care cause they know the next guy to walk up will happily pay ADM. That's how a free market works. There's more demand than supply so prices go up.

I don't like these ADMs either but aren't we essentially doing the same thing to them? Look how many people in this thread are talking about how to get cars under invoice. Everyone is trying to screw them over just as much. There's no dealer-consumer relationship going on here. It's a business transaction and both parties fight to get the best deal for themselves.

Personally, I think they should just get rid of dealerships and consumers buy direct from manufacturer, but that's another discussion.

 

[ShaBoingBoing]

Does having the X plan prevent dealers from charging markup or does it just ease the blow?

 

[dfwford]

This sounds nice in theory but doesn't work in practice.
If they ask for ADM and you walk away, they don't care cause they know the next guy to walk up will happily pay ADM. That's how a free market works. There's more demand than supply so prices go up.

I don't like these ADMs either but aren't we essentially doing the same thing to them? Look how many people in this thread are talking about how to get cars under invoice. Everyone is trying to screw them over just as much. There's no dealer-consumer relationship going on here. It's a business transaction and both parties fight to get the best deal for themselves.

Personally, I think they should just get rid of dealerships and consumers buy direct from manufacturer, but that's another discussion.

You make a good point overall, but I must take issue with the bolded part of your part.

That's not a fair comparison because unless we're talking a Granger Ford (which will likely be the exception to the rule), most dealers who sell below invoice will be credited the difference by Ford corporate (in the form of a commission) as those customers in all likelihood will be using the A/X/Z plan discount.

 

[dfwford]

Does having the X plan prevent dealers from charging markup or does it just ease the blow?

My understanding (again, take it with a grain of salt as I'm not a Ford or dealer employee) is that Ford Corporate's rules dictate the dealer can only sell the vehicle within a percentage of invoice if they honor the X-Plan (which they don't have to). Certain fees are also waived.

Now, to address the 2nd part of your question, dealers do lose out in a way, in that they could probably charge MSRP or higher to another customer for that same vehicle (thus they wouldn't be making as much money on the transaction as they could).

 

[Ewheels]

You make a good point overall, but I must take issue with the bolded part of your part.

That's not a fair comparison because unless we're talking a Granger Ford (which will likely be the exception to the rule), most dealers who sell below invoice will be credited the difference by Ford corporate (in the form of a commission) as those customers in all likelihood will be using the A/X/Z plan discount.

I don't know what all these alphabet letter plans are (I think they're employee discounts, right?) but sure, that's a fair counter point.

I personally think MSRP is fair. The consumer gets a reasonable price and the dealer makes their small profit; everyone wins. I'm not interested in haggling and arguing for hours to save a couple $1,000. Just give me the keys and let me leave already.

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