CEO Farley: Ford is Going to 100% Online, Fixed-Price Sales For EVs

[rdr854]

Yes, but there are still other things that require service and repair, such as brake fluid, coolant, interior parts, window regulators, software, etc.

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[GDN]

Yes, but there are still other things that require service and repair, such as brake fluid, coolant, interior parts, window regulators, software, etc.

Many all done easily on site. I had a window regulator replace on a 3 in my garage.

Not all repairs fit this and I'm OK with it. I think there are plenty of things left the dealers will need to do and I have no idea if Ford would embrace mobile or not, but the days of tearing down drivetrains and engines and having transmission fluid and oils and filters all over the place are changing.

 

[Oneand0]

Games are going to be over!!! I bought a Tesla and thought it was super easy with no surprises. Happy to hear Ford EV buyers will experience the same.

 

[PV2EV]

The last two purchase experiences I had in dealers (VW; 6 hours waiting for a price & Ford; verbally assaulted by a sales person when I asked for a manager) drove me to buy "online", shopping around mostly on the phone with fleet and "internet" sales managers. The last two purchases were smooth as a result.

If I only have to go to a dealer for service, I will be very happy, and much more willing to use them for non-warranty work. Also, as drivelines become more common/less diverse, hopefully the quality of service will increase. Bad dealer service is a much worse experience than being jerked around by a sales team. A dealer service nightmare is the only time I ever sued.

 

[VTbuckeye]

Three of the last four vehicle purchases were great. Two were at the local Volvo dealership. Everything arranged by email/phone. Sales guy was great, no pressure. Probably not the most efficient sales model, but in 2016 the sales guy took care of the paperwork/ financing arrangements with absolutely no pressure to buy any extended warranty. No surprises and pricing was agreed to prior to purchase date... This has changed be a bit (September 2021) with the addition of a finance guy, but it probably took 5 to 10 minutes to sign and decline everything, again with no pressure. With our 2019 bolt the final purchase was painless, though to he be process was more complicated. We were shopping at be a few different dealerships to get the best price and I spent more time than I liked waiting around at one of them, though still not too bad. The one that we purchased from is about 50 miles away. They drove the car and brought the paperwork to be signed to my place of employment and drove away with the Volt. The other purchase of our Tacoma was more typically bad. Waiting at lunchtime for the appraisal of our trade in after a couple of hours looking at a few other trucks (Saturday). Wait and wait and wait for sales manager approval on an pricing... Pickup/paperwork was on Monday after work. Expecting a fast experience like Volvo...Not so much. Had to wait in line for the finance people to finish with other customers. Took way too long to decline everything. Was hungry, inconvenienced my wife with the kids...What should have taken from 520 to 540 lasted past 7PM. I am not a fan of big
dealerships. I like the smaller family owned (not a family that owns a half dozen dealerships) places. I still want to have local service and don't want dealerships to go away, but the experience could be much better in some situations.

 

[Regular150]

The key about service and Tesla is the number of things they are able to do in the field and there is nothing like not having to show up and worry about leaving your car early in the morning and then not having transportation for the day. Tesla isn't the best about their scheduling, but I've had 3 or 4 very good experiences. They come to me, make the repair right in my garage. The appointments made online, payment made online if needed.

So think about this, although Ford says they can service the batteries, it will not happen often. First it shouldn't be needed, second if it is, early on, I'm trusting they just replace the battery and then send the original back for review to improve their build process. Same for the motors, rarely should they need to be opened up. We are entering a different world of service and repair. If you take the full drive train out of the picture the vast majority of other items can be done easily almost anywhere. I have nothing to say that Ford is moving to a mobile repair model, but there are some big advantages to it.

While we agree where we live in the Panhandle it is a two hour drive to get our friends Tesla repaired. That is not convenient either.

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

Too bad that wasn’t this year, maybe I could have avoided ADM from the dealer.


https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a40175990/ford-online-sales-no-negotiation/

https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...online-sales-non-negotiable-price/7468899001/

"We've got to go to nonnegotiated price. We've got to go to 100% online. There's no inventory (at dealerships), it goes directly to the customer. And 100% remote pickup and delivery," Ford CEO Farley said in New York during Bernstein's 38th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference streamed live."​

AMEN!

 

[Brocked]

This all works great when the inflation is not 25% on cars. When we get back to some normalcy and with car prices you will be paying MSRP at every dealership. Zero negotiation. Is that better?

 

[beatle]

This all works great when the inflation is not 25% on cars. When we get back to some normalcy and with car prices you will be paying MSRP at every dealership. Zero negotiation. Is that better?

Definitely.

 

[beatle]

Many all done easily on site. I had a window regulator replace on a 3 in my garage.

Not all repairs fit this and I'm OK with it. I think there are plenty of things left the dealers will need to do and I have no idea if Ford would embrace mobile or not, but the days of tearing down drivetrains and engines and having transmission fluid and oils and filters all over the place are changing.

The only thing Tesla has been able to replace in my driveway was the 12v battery. Everything else (MCU swap, MCU2 upgrade, steering rack shims, half shafts, air strut, swaybar endlink, tail lights, door handles) required me to take it to the SC on 4 or 5 different occasions. The door handle could have been done in my driveway, but it failed between me opening the ticket for my 12v battery and the tech arriving onsite so he could not do the replacement that day.

Tesla also asked for access to my garage when doing the 12v battery. This is so they can roll the window down so they can still get into the car with the battery out, and weather can be unpredictable. This is understandable, but I wouldn't be able to accommodate that with the truck since it's too big to fit in my garage.

 

[FlasherZ]

This all works great when the inflation is not 25% on cars. When we get back to some normalcy and with car prices you will be paying MSRP at every dealership. Zero negotiation. Is that better?

Yes, because it will be a much better experience. It won't be a hidden, "I won't be able to eat tomorrow because you're cutting me to the bone here", "let me go talk to my sales manager", "yeah, but that TrueCoat", charge-you-$1k-for-a-serial-number-etched-on-glass, I-found-you-a-deal-at-20%-APR, experience.

It's a competitive market, and Ford will set pricing now in competition between manufacturers. I really hope they will take steps to remove the sleaze from dealerships.

I imagine it will end up being like iPhone, but without the carrier subsidization (which has been disappearing anyway in favor of straight payment plans). You'll be able to order directly through Ford at Ford's pricing, to be delivered by a dealer. You'll be able to go to the dealer and order it if you'd like. The dealer may stock a handful of vehicles you can get today. In certain cases, a dealer may choose to compromise their profit and make it up in volume (similar to sale days you see iPhones at 4% off at Target or Best Buy). Ford can run discount programs that are universal, instead of "participation may vary".

Personally, I like it. I understand why some don't - they live to negotiate and don't feel comfortable until they've squeezed every last drop out of a deal. But that's not me - last time I went into a dealership to buy a car, I had all my ducks lined up - "I want stock #<x>, I'm paying cash, I'll pay exactly <$x> which gives you a fair profit, I'm not buying any additional services, and you have to have me out of the dealership in 30 minutes or I walk -- the purchase agreement is the last document I will sign. Deal?" The entire time I was with the "finance office", I kept looking at my phone and made it clear they were on the clock - and they got me out the door at 25ish minutes.

 

[Kev12345]

This all works great when the inflation is not 25% on cars. When we get back to some normalcy and with car prices you will be paying MSRP at every dealership. Zero negotiation. Is that better?

yes. like everything else you buy, Ford will need to price the lightning competitively so I don't go across the street and buy a chevy at its advertised price.

 

[VTbuckeye]

If every car sells at MSRP, then a dealer that wants to get more business or make this sale will have to come up with other ways. They can be creative (discounted warranty plans, extra $$ for your trade...).

 

[KevinC]

Yes, but there are still other things that require service and repair, such as brake fluid, coolant, interior parts, window regulators, software, etc.

I don't like the dealer setup the way it exists today, but I think the notion of making it 100% online is premature. Ford may get away with it for a couple of years, but once there are more truck ev's and ev's in general, people are going to want to see them in person before buying. Right now there's so much buzz and hype that people are riding on that we're looking past our normal instincts to be part of the excitement. Once EV's are commonplace, I'm more likely to get one where I can go see it in person. I would still like to do fixed pricing, but I see the need for still being a limited stock. Let's face it, some people are still going to need a car in an emergency and they're not going to wait 4-8 months for their build week and then hope the vehicle is what they thought it would be.

 

[sotek2345]

I don't like the dealer setup the way it exists today, but I think the notion of making it 100% online is premature. Ford may get away with it for a couple of years, but once there are more truck ev's and ev's in general, people are going to want to see them in person before buying. Right now there's so much buzz and hype that people are riding on that we're looking past our normal instincts to be part of the excitement. Once EV's are commonplace, I'm more likely to get one where I can go see it in person. I would still like to do fixed pricing, but I see the need for still being a limited stock. Let's face it, some people are still going to need a car in an emergency and they're not going to wait 4-8 months for their build week and then hope the vehicle is what they thought it would be.

I agree with seeing it in person. I think a big role of dealers going forward will be as demonstration facilities. They have 1 or 2 of each vehicle in stock for folks to test out before they order.

I also like what Polestar has been doing. You can order what you want, but they also have a central inventory of a few common configurations that you can get in a week or two instead of waiting for a build week. Good solution for those who need a car urgently (and maybe let them use a demo unit while waiting).

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