Lightning Reservation Holders Beware...

[rdr854]

That’s great, which dealer can I switch to that won’t charge me ADM and is also stating Ford won’t penalize me based on allocation?

This is the crux…this forum has provided a great list of honest dealers (none in MD), but now Ford is telling us and holding meetings with dealers, telling them they will not receive anymore allocation even if a reservation is transferred.

I hope you understand my complaint. I can’t switch and guarantee that I won’t be penalized. To add insult to injury, I never worked with my dealer…Ford forced me to select a dealer when I placed the order, a truly random selection.

You have not placed an order yet. You only have a reservation to make an order. The dealer that I made my reservation with was bought out by a dealer chain. My dealership has told the chain that they do not want to charge ADM on reservations - which was the practice under the old ownership. They are still await a decision from the new owner.

Will be interesting.

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[greenne]

This is the crux…this forum has provided a great list of honest dealers (none in MD), but now Ford is telling us and holding meetings with dealers, telling them they will not receive anymore allocation even if a reservation is transferred.

Where did you hear this? Was it a thread on this forum? Was it something a dealer told someone who then relayed to all of us?

I would be cautious taking anything you hear on this forum at face value regarding allocations, ordering, production numbers, etc. . I would be very surprised if Ford has decided any allocation yet and/or finalized production numbers yet. Think about it...how can you say how many(by number) a dealer will get if you can't even tell us how many you will produce? Moreover, how do we have any idea where we will end up until reservations start converting to orders? We have no idea what the conversion rate will be?

The whole idea of the reservation system was to preserve your "place" in line even if you switched dealers. I've been told the Bronco system went off the rails...hoping Ford does a better job this time.

Maybe our dealer folks on here can chime in..but I think a lot of people are getting worked up very early and stressed out in what is going to be long process that will require patience.

As an aside, I lived for 14yrs in the Washington DC area. Its a cesspool. The problem is too many people with too much money and too many inflated egos. Why do all the dealers in DC have ADM? Because they know some person with more money than sense will pay it. Its sad but true. Everything costs 2x as much as it should. You're a little fish in a very big pond of consumers. I bought 2 new vehicles during my time in DC...both I ended up having to purchase from non local dealers(one in NJ, one in SW Virginia) because they were literally thousands less than any of the DC dealers.

If you want a recommendation I know a Ford guy(dealer) in Christiansburg VA. I bought my hybrid there in 2005(at invoice) when all the DC dealers wanted $5-8k ADM. If you're willing to make the drive I can recommend and pass along a name. He's no nonsense, no BS. (My family has bought several vehicles from him).

 

[greenne]

Yes but there is no sense of value per dollar spent as there are no consist model year builds and Elon pulls features out he decides you don't really want. Add shenanigans like the pricing changes Tesla has pulled with their solar tile roof, and they become scary to do business with.

Not to mention the build quality problems. I understand growing pains... but Tesla's "take it or leave it" bullshit has turned me off as a potential consumer

 

[FordLightning]

Where did you hear this? Was it a thread on this forum? Was it something a dealer told someone who then relayed to all of us?

This was sent to me in writing from a reputable dealer in PA. Key management was included in the email and they conveyed to me that Ford corporate had a recent meeting to state they would not get additional allocation.

For this reason, they had to politely turn down my transfer. This is not the dealer’s fault, this is Ford’s. This is the reason I am so upset. Essentially the dealer (Koon’s Ford in Annapolis) and Ford’s policy is preventing me from making the transfer.

This response was provided after they first turned me down with no details and I said what happens if I select them as my dealer of choice with Ford directly?

 

[sbreech]

So you're trying to tell me that if you're buying a new appliance(say a new washer)...you don't get the price from Lowes and then check to see if it on sale at Home depot...or call the local appliance store to see if they'll beat it? Because I sure do.

Or if you see a TV on amazon you don't also check costco or Best Buy?

Isn't capitalism at its core gamesmanship? Where in life does it say purchasing products has to be fair? Its all about supply and demand...economics 101.

Ok, capitalism and economics 101. That makes perfect sense, and with that logic, there should be the ability to order directly from Ford if you want, OR go to a dealership and haggle.

 

[greenne]

This was sent to me in writing from a reputable dealer in PA. Key management was included in the email and they conveyed to me that Ford corporate had a recent meeting to state they would not get additional allocation.

For this reason, they had to politely turn down my transfer. This is not the dealer’s fault, this is Ford’s. This is the reason I am so upset. Essentially the dealer (Koon’s Ford in Annapolis) and Ford’s policy is preventing me from making the transfer.

This response was provided after they first turned me down with no details and I said what happens if I select them as my dealer of choice with Ford directly?

Tbh I have a hard time accepting that a dealer has accurate current information, no matter how reputable. I don't think this is on purpose...I just think Ford is keeping them in the dark and there are a lot if unknowns.

Perhaps our Granger or other dealer reps can chime in...Do you guys have any insight into how many Lightnings you'll be getting?

 

[greenne]

Ok, capitalism and economics 101. That makes perfect sense, and with that logic, there should be the ability to order directly from Ford if you want, OR go to a dealership and haggle.

Do you buy your dishwasher direct from Maytag? Do you call Panasonic and buy a stereo? (Although to be fair some mfr have retail stores, some do not)

 

[personalt]

So you're trying to tell me that if you're buying a new appliance(say a new washer)...you don't get the price from Lowes and then check to see if it on sale at Home depot...or call the local appliance store to see if they'll beat it? Because I sure do.

Or if you see a TV on amazon you don't also check costco or Best Buy?

Isn't capitalism at its core gamesmanship? Where in life does it say purchasing products has to be fair? Its all about supply and demand...economics 101.

That is not the same. I can price shop a washer/dryer in 5 minutes between Lowes, Home Depot, PC Richards(East Cost Appliance chain), Amazon and Best Buy. Last truck I bought was a base Tacoma - like 4 cyl with no options). Being an option less truck it would be easist truck to price. Still took me all day to email/call enough dealers to make sure I was getting an okay deal

 

[sbreech]

Do you buy your dishwasher direct from Maytag? Do you call Panasonic and buy a stereo? (Although to be fair some mfr have retail stores, some do not)

Some items yes. Apple products can be purchased from Apple OR retailers, as can products like Wyze, Allen Edmonds, Edward Green, and many other clothing manufacturers. Why not cars? Have the option to eliminate the middle man. Eliminate an entire day at a dealership.

 

[FordLightning]

I’m pushing this to the top. This is the issue that is not only making transfers risky, but that is preventing transfers. Confirmed in writing by at least one reputable dealer.

 

[astricklin]

Do you buy your dishwasher direct from Maytag? Do you call Panasonic and buy a stereo? (Although to be fair some mfr have retail stores, some do not)

There's nothing legally preventing them from selling directly to me like there is for automobiles. I have purchased TVs, computers, vacuums and other consumer goods both from retailers and direct from the manufacturer.

 

[astricklin]

That is not the same. I can price shop a washer/dryer in 5 minutes between Lowes, Home Depot, PC Richards(East Cost Appliance chain), Amazon and Best Buy. Last truck I bought was a base Tacoma - like 4 cyl with no options). Being an option less truck it would be easist truck to price. Still took me all day to email/call enough dealers to make sure I was getting an okay deal

The higher the purchase price, and potentially the savings, the more time one is typically willing to invest into the purchase process.

 

[greenne]

The higher the purchase price, and potentially the savings, the more time one is typically willing to invest into the purchase process.

It took me total 3hrs tops and 10 emails(back and forth to confirm details) to save more than $10k off MSRP on my last vehicle purchase in 2019. People obviously don't know how to use the internet to search for vehicles, determine fair price of vehicles, and buy vehicles from a dealer's internet sales manager. Obviously YMMV and the chip shortage has thrown a wrench into this....but fully believe there will be deals to be had when things return to normal supply and demand.

Still don't understand why everyone wants to pay more and limit choices.....

 

[greenne]

There's nothing legally preventing them from selling directly to me like there is for automobiles. I have purchased TVs, computers, vacuums and other consumer goods both from retailers and direct from the manufacturer.

You still can..buy from Rivian or Tesla...

 

[EaglesPDX]

The whole idea of the reservation system was to preserve your "place" in line even if you switched dealers.

The reservation system was something started by Tesla and used to gain an idea of demand and, in Tesla's case, cash as Tesla initially asked for $1k and got $400M in reservations plus a lot of advertising exposure.

Ford and others do the same to gauge demand and models within demand.

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