Ford sets rules for dealers selling electric cars: Fixed no-haggle pricing

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Autoblog

Are you tired of reading about shady dealers marking up cars and taking advantage of buyers? Apparently, Ford is, too. According to The Drive, The Blue Oval issued a warning at its annual dealer conference, telling franchisees that they have until the end of October to decide whether to commit to fixed, no haggle pricing or be cut out of selling EVs.

Ford is far from the only auto brand watching its dealers make up their own pricing, but it’s been one of the quickest to act on the issue. Earlier this year, the automaker split its business operations, with one part of the company focusing solely on electric vehicles and powertrain development and the other continuing Ford’s gas vehicle development. If dealers want to sell EVs, they’ll have to opt into the rules for Ford Model E (the brand’s electric business arm) — one of which is a commitment to transparent, no-haggle pricing.

Once they’ve agreed to the terms and conditions, Ford dealers become Model E Certified. The automaker views this as an opportunity to push more of its network toward a model that Tesla and other startups adopted. Many younger buyers favor direct sales, as it limits the in-person time required to buy a car and makes the purchase process easier for many.

This is undoubtedly an annoyance for dealers, but they’ve long been asked to make investments to promote new products and initiatives. The shift to electrification has required the franchisees to make even more significant commitments, and in some cases, sizable financial investments, to meet automakers’ new requirements. Automakers, including Ford, have provided off-ramps for dealers not interested in making the switch to EVs. Cadillac saw an exodus of more than a third of its dealer network after it issued new rules for electric vehicle sales.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ford-sets-rules-for-dealers-selling-electric-cars-fixed-no-haggle-pricing/ar-AA11POBa

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About time. Dealers were getting as much as a $50,000 mark up on the F-150 Lightning.

[nycbos]

1. I thought haggling was good

[rpannier]

5. I liked the haggling over whether the guy was dead in Holy Grail

[TheRealNorth]

2. I don't care for haggling

Haggling usually only benefits people with the most power in a transaction.

I would rather have price transparency and be able to shop based upon the advertised prices.

[ZonkerHarris]

4. This prevents dealer gouging that turn off buyers forever. and gives that transparency to the

comsumer

[pstokely]

11. some will pay more avoid haggling

Saturn was no haggle (including used cars) Carmax is no haggle, but you might get a better deal a place that will haggle

[NullTuples]

16. My mechanic used to say that Saturn was so good for its loyal buyers, GM shut it down

[TheRealNorth]

19. But wouldn't you agree..

That a person who is driving a rental because their car was just junked is in less of a position to haggle than someone who has a car that is just a few years old and is just looking to upgrade to a newer year?

[bcool]

3. They'll still be able to sell over MSRP...

...they'll just have to tell the buyer what the final price will be at the time they place an order.

Some dealers are waiting until the ordered vehicle shows up (months after the order was placed), and then they tell the buyer "oh, yeah, we're going to add another $XX,XXX to the price - if you don't like it, we'll sell your car to somebody else who'll pay it". Needless to say, that's a disgusting practice.

I ordered a Mustang Mach-E in April of this year, which is scheduled to arrive at the dealer in November or thereabouts. If my dealer tries pulling that crap I'll be one unhappy camper. From all indications, they're not going to, but if they do....#&@!?!@#$@

[NullTuples]

15. The pandemic shortages resulted in some truly outstanding pricing - from the dealers point of view

[Wingus Dingus]

6. I liked haggling. Got some pretty good deals.

You have to come in prepared and know what you want, and know what the options and values are, and know what others pay.

[Bayard]

7. Me too!

And I was good at it. With my first husband, I always handled the vehicle buying. My ex used to laugh about me leaving salesmen crying.

[Wingus Dingus]

9. LOL, yep--same here. My husband got to the point where he just lets me do my thing,

which is being polite but stubborn, until I've wrangled them down to something reasonably below MSRP. I didn't insult them with super-low offers, but I expected a pretty good discount. I guess the younger generation all want to just pay sticker price or MSRP now.

[Bayard]

12. Sticker price?

Where's the fun in that?

The best deal I ever got was on my truck (that I still have, 1997). There ended up being 3 salesmen involved, and they kept bringing me out gifts--Chevy suede gloves, Chevy travel mug, Chevy windshield scraper, etc. I think I ended up with 3K+ off the price, and a really good trade in for my other truck.

[NullTuples]

14. Late 90's trucks lasted *forever* & imo had better ergonomics.

[SalamanderSleeps]

8. The 4-Square: Don't Get !@#$%& When You're Buying a Car (Former Dealer Explains)

[SalamanderSleeps]

10. I forgot to mention that this was the best video I could find....

....that explains the least dramatic 4 square method.

This is what I know personally.

When I was a mechanic at a Chevy dealership I heard things like:

"Man, my sales manager loves your car, but he can only give you about 3,000 dollars for it." This was the standard offer to anything over 5 years old.

It could be the original "Batmobile" and 3,000 dollars was where the sales-script said to start.

If the customer did not like the number they could walk.

However, many came back....softened and desperate.

Car dealers know that after 5 years many people fear that the next repair bill will bust their budget.

Car Dealers are swindlers in Polo and khaki.

[NullTuples]

13. I hated haggling & add-on sales attempts.

I'm glad to see it go, assuming the pricing is still fair & not bumped up a bit from what it would've been after haggling.

The last time I bought a vehicle was in mid-2020. I told them I wasn't comfortable being inside with so many unmasked people & they ended up using that against me by keeping me there for six hours. I got nearly the vehicle I wanted (it was just as the shortages were starting) at 0.9% and they gave me full value for my trade-in without checking it out first. I tried to tell them the condition it was in but they'd tag-teamed in a fresh salesperson who apparently didn't get any info from the guy who went home. I assume the first guy got the bulk of the commission. The new one just rushed the close and that was that. I'd estimate my old vehicle was worth scrap, I'd worn it completely out over two decades & a few hundred thousand miles despite excellent maintenance & repairs. It was a good vehicle.

My all time best was maybe 10 yrs ago when the dealer called my spouse the next day when I wasn't home and tried to coerce them to bring in our copy of the signed contract because they said they "needed to issue a new one". They'd realized we got the car we wanted at the price of the leftover last years models and at 0% financing outside the current special promotion. Funny thing is, I was completely up front during the negotiations; the sales person just wasn't good with math. They'd obviously trained him hard to focus on pushing low monthly payments but taught him nothing about starting price, interest rate, term of the loan & how they interact. I came to the negotiations armed with those & he eventually agreed to my terms because the monthly payments matched what he was supposed to be pushing.

I still hate vehicle haggling. For the most part they've got the advantage & get trained to use it.

[JCMach1]

17. Most money at dealers is made off of the finance of deals now

Anyway...

[oldsoftie]

18. But they'll STILL be sky high. Don't see one in my future at all.

But for that matter, I don't see ANY brand NEW car in my future. I refuse to pay these ridiculous prices being charged over the past few years.
Used forever till the wheels fall off!

[RipVanWinkle]

20. Eighteen months after buying a Tesla thru their website,

I can safely say that I would do it all over again (buying a car online; no-haggle pricing).

I will never buy a car from a dealer again

[Tree Lady]

22. My daughters Honda dealership

Charges $500 above what they are paying for every new car. They are number one in sales because of this. She said they make most of their money from car loans and service. They gave the salespeople a really good base rate to make up for it.