Reserved within first 15 minutes, but dealer just told me I won't get a Lightning until 2023.

[jpepper07]

I'd be shocked if you found many committed EV buyers who agree with that statement. I would argue that it's the opposite for most people.



Yes, but that's at least more rational than having to depend on a dealer who wants to sell prioritizations or give them to family or friends or people that they like for any silly reason.

Yeah I agree with all of this. Screw the dealers. Ford should have more control over dealers. Ford wants the control and they are trying to take it back with the EV market. Laws prevent them on the ICE side.

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[Nick Gerteis]

The other thing no one has really talked about (I think) is that the dealer prioritization actually probably protected a lot of customer orders from being supplanted by "flippers."

How many of those first 3 days reservations do you think were people plopping down $100 for a chance to get an early allocation that they could flip for a profit. Dealer prioritization helps them identify actual customers who will use the truck over people who are going to turn it for an immediate profit. At least this way they know they're getting more of them into the hands of actual truck drivers and previous Ford customers other than whoever had the fastest trigger finger at launch.

I can't count the number of people I've seen post on forums that have a Lightning, CT, and Silverado reservation. If I were Ford (or a dealer) those would be low priority customers for me.

You’re simply pulling this out of….well, out of thin air. No proof whatsoever.

 

[vandy1981]

Prime dealer benefit for me is having an actual throat to choke and a more local place if you need service or parts.

This is absolutely the way forward for Ford and other legacy automakers. Jettison the antiquated new car sales model as much as legally possible, and focus on creating an excellent service network that puts Tesla and Rivian to shame.

 

[Stlww18]

You’re simply pulling this out of….well, out of thin air. No proof whatsoever.

I mean, half of this forum is basically people pulling stuff out of thin air....I don't think it's unreasonable to say that a system which allows dealers to prioritize reservations from repeat customers would get more trucks into the hands of actual loyal customers instead of flippers and profiteers.

Same thing happens locally with rare bourbon and scotch allocations at our liquor stores. Stores don't sell it to whomever gets in the door first, they only sell it to their repeat customers who they know aren't going to turn around and flip the bottle for 300% profit online.

I have no idea why my reservation got selected before earlier ones did; it's not like I'm pals with the dealer. But I bought my current F150 from them and have kept it for 5 years; if I were Ford, I'd rather give that customer priority over the random internet reservation holder who might sell it to the highest bidder on ebay.

 

[greenne]

This is absolutely the way forward for Ford and other legacy automakers. Jettison the antiquated new car sales model as much as legally possible, and focus on creating an excellent service network that puts Tesla and Rivian to shame.

I do think Ford will transition dealers to a delivery mechanism, service and/or a "showroom" where people can demo the vehicle before placing a custom built order. I don't see Ford being successful in going completely direct order. I have found very few people who give high marks to Tesla service.

If I have a problem with my ICE car..I have several Ford dealers I can choose. If one does a bad job, I can choose another one instead next time I need service.

I have a problem with my Tesla(hypothetical)...I have no choice but to keep going to the same crappy service center and they have NO incentive to do a better job to keep my business.

 

[beatle]

Just how many wheeler dealers are out there that enjoy looking around for a vehicle that meets their specs and then negotiating for the best price? Ironically those are the people who would keep the dealer model alive, but those aren't the customers dealers want.

And for another perspective on the manufactuerer/dealer/customer relationship:



It's about motorcycles, but I think a lot translates to cars as well.

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