Battling dealers trying to sneak ADM in even when the accepted order says $0 ADM (Tri-Ford, Highland, IL)

[F150ROD]

Some dealers still don’t get it. Like others have said, it’s your order, not a dealer order that they allocated to you. Reach out to those mentioned on Twitter before it’s built. The dealer accepted your order with no markup and must now honor it or have the truck sent elsewhere to another dealer who won’t play that game.

Sponsored

 

[vandy1981]

Like others have said, it’s your order, not a dealer order that they allocated to you.

That's absolutely how the dealers should treat the Lightning orders, but that's not how it functions in reality. We "owned" the reservation and order invite because we had the option to easily switch dealers during those stages. Once the order is placed and accepted by the dealer, they own the allocation and you have no recourse unless Ford corporate makes an exception and moves your order.

I very much hope corporate will do this because there's clear evidence of bait-and-switch, but Ford has not formalized a process to switch dealers in this instance. They should formalize this process because there's no disincentive for dealers playing these games, other than a hit to reputation. It's clear that most sales managers are not thinking about long-term reputation hits based on who customers have been treated in this market....

 

[Fordskeptic]

It is one thing for a dealer to say upfront they are adding ADM or add ons, so you can decide to pay those or take your business elsewhere. Bait and switch is dishonest and needs to be rooted out.

 

[F150ROD]

That's absolutely how the dealers should treat the Lightning orders, but that's not how it functions in reality. We "owned" the reservation and order invite because we had the option to easily switch dealers during those stages. Once the order is placed and accepted by the dealer, they own the allocation and you have no recourse unless Ford corporate makes an exception and moves your order.

I very much hope corporate will do this because there's clear evidence of bait-and-switch, but Ford has not formalized a process to switch dealers in this instance. They should formalize this process because there's no disincentive for dealers playing these games, other than a hit to reputation. It's clear that most sales managers are not thinking about long-term reputation hits based on who customers have been treated in this market....

This is true. Ford Reps (Levine) have said that they can help move the order if the dealer has not kept their end of the deal.

Dealers had their chance to add their Market Adjustment when the order was being placed, and when showing you the order form.

 

[pstansel]

I would still say go to the State AG. There are usually laws about this kind of thing and dealers can be fined big bucks.

 

[Amps]

I would still say go to the State AG. There are usually laws about this kind of thing and dealers can be fined big bucks.

Good luck. Dealers have a lot of power in halls of state governments.

In my state, no pricing is final until you have signatures on a final purchase agreement. Perhaps, if you have an email or similar written commitment not to charge ADM, you could claim something. In any event, what are your damages?

 

[FlasherZ]

So I have an update - they are going to honor the $0 ADM pricing, after Ford reached out to them. I suspect they were told they had the opportunity to handle ADM through the system in December and either chose to use $0 ADM in the system or neglected to configure it.

What sucks is that I'm sure they'll try it with other customers too - they say they have 2 more allocations for MY'22 and I wouldn't be surprised if they tried the same thing with the other customers. But at least my friend has a resolution.

 

[vandy1981]

So I have an update - they are going to honor the $0 ADM pricing, after Ford reached out to them. I suspect they were told they had the opportunity to handle ADM through the system in December and either did not / chose to use $0 ADM in the system.

That's great! How did your friend elevate it to corporate? By calling the CS number?

 

[FlasherZ]

That's great! How did your friend elevate it to corporate? By calling the CS number?

Not sure - I think it may have been through that channel.

 

[FlasherZ]

In my state, no pricing is final until you have signatures on a final purchase agreement. Perhaps, if you have an email or similar written commitment not to charge ADM, you could claim something. In any event, what are your damages?

While I wouldn't want to digress too much here, argument can be made that 1) it was well-known to him and the dealer (via Ford's dealer playbook) that "fair game" dealer ADM was to be configured by the dealer in the order system by December, and such details are visible to the public prior to order lock-in to assist them in making their decisions; 2) that he relied upon the $0 ADM specified by the dealer as part of Ford's ordering system in making his decision to purchase at that specific dealer; 3) he was only made aware of the dealer's desire to ADM after locking in his order, originally shown at the original MSRP; 4) once this occurred, he had no recourse without losing his place in line or paying the ADM, because Ford has stated that once the order is finalized in their system and deposit is taken, no dealer changes are permitted; and 5) a contract was established when the dealer used Ford's system to accept the order in that system at $0 ADM, with proper consideration (a $500 deposit). Therefore, the dealer engaged in numerous unfair, bad-faith practices, including false advertising, deceptive sales practices, conspiracy, and fraud.

When criminal activity is present (e.g., conspiracy), actual damages aren't required for the AG to take action. Would my friend be able to recover something in a civil case against the dealer? Probably not - sucks to be him, he's not getting an early F-150 Lightning. But the threat of public investigation is a potential influence on the dealership cleaning up this mess, as is Ford's influence through its reputation clauses in the dealership agreement.

 

[broncoaz]

if your friend is willing to drive Granger Ford in Iowa has a good rep on this forum and other forums. Des Moines is like 300 miles from Highland not a lot when the savings are immense. 180 doc fee vs 303 in IL not to mention 4% under invoice

How about “If your friend is willing to wait until 2025 to get their Lightning, along with hundreds of Bronco reservation holders who were baited by an under invoice deal, they should check out Granger Ford in Iowa”.

Nothing against Grainger, Chapman, or the other good dealerships who are trying to be straight forward and fair, Ford screwed them by changing the rules in the middle of the game. Both Grainger and all those Bronco reservation holders are upset.

 

[Stlww18]

See if you can switch the order to Bommarito Ford across the river. No ADM on my order, bought my current F150 there and have been very impressed with their service

 

[FlasherZ]

See if you can switch the order to Bommarito Ford across the river. No ADM on my order, bought my current F150 there and have been very impressed with their service

He already has a solution from the existing dealer, but had a local backup if Ford was going to change the order. I suspect the dealer would rather keep the order and its automatic $9k profit vs. losing it to another dealer if it continued to insist upon a $14k profit.

 

[metroshot]

He already has a solution from the existing dealer, but had a local backup if Ford was going to change the order. I suspect the dealer would rather keep the order and its automatic $9k profit vs. losing it to another dealer if it continued to insist upon a $14k profit.

Wow, I like that Ford actually convinced the dealer not to add the $5K markup!

 

[metroshot]

So I have an update - they are going to honor the $0 ADM pricing, after Ford reached out to them. I suspect they were told they had the opportunity to handle ADM through the system in December and either chose to use $0 ADM in the system or neglected to configure it.

What sucks is that I'm sure they'll try it with other customers too - they say they have 2 more allocations for MY'22 and I wouldn't be surprised if they tried the same thing with the other customers. But at least my friend has a resolution.

Confirmed from the dealer too - Eric Rehkemper emailed me back the next day.

Sponsored