Ford CEO Finally Confirms New "Agency Model"

[DeathRanger]

I've ordered 2 vehicle from my cell phone in under 5 minutes each. It's so simple and I know I'm paying same price every other person is paying. No hassling, no hoping they will do me a favor. just a simple retail transaction. I see no reason for a dealer. They are just another added expense to acquiring my vehicle.

On pickup day the vehicle was pre setup with my paperwork already inside. I arrived at service center, logged into phone app which unlocked my brand new vehicle. Got time to get in and inspect. Once I was happy with my own predelivery inspection, I went inside, signed a few papers and was on my way home in under 30 minutes.

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[P. A. Schilke]

I agree Phil and IF it's done right it'll be so much easier to buy a vehicle this way. I think many of us are/were spoiled by the rebates/incentives we're all use to. But from a business standpoint this makes a lot of sense. No business can survive overproducing vehicles only to have to blow them out with rebates later in the year. Plus the dealers incur huge carrying cost which will now disappear.

I'm guessing there will be a special code to enter for special plan pricing and employee discounts?

Hi Dave,

A bit of a back story....I was sent to a dealer in rural Kansas to diagnose an NVH issue on a Ford F350 and saw new Crown Vics priced below dealer invoice out the door. Being a small dealer, I delt with the owner and fixed the F350. I asked him about the pricing on the Crown Vic's. He said..."This is Truck Country...not Car country! To get trucks, Ford makes me take a quantity of these POS Crown Vics that nobody wants...so I have to dump them". The new agency strategy would have really helped him as he lost money on each Crown Vic in order to sell Big Trucks...

Best,
Phil

 

[AzScorpion]

Hi Dave,

A bit of a back story....I was sent to a dealer in rural Kansas to diagnose an NVH issue on a Ford F350 and saw new Crown Vics priced below dealer invoice out the door. Being a small dealer, I delt with the owner and fixed the F350. I asked him about the pricing on the Crown Vic's. He said..."This is Truck Country...not Car country! To get trucks, Ford makes me take a quantity of these POS Crown Vics that nobody wants...so I have to dump them". The new agency strategy would have really helped him as he lost money on each Crown Vic in order to sell Big Trucks...

Best,
Phil

That's what I love about this IF they do it right. It will make ALL dealers even so these larger ones can't monopolize the little guy. At least that's how it sounds in the video. Plus if this works like that I bet you see customer service get a lot better. Now these dealers can't screw customers with high markups so there's no incentive to keep going to them. With this new system they're going to have to work to earn your business.

 

[LostMy65]

Some dealers will make up for potential lost vehicle sales profits by finding new ways to gouge the customer on services , then Ford will have to address that.

This is already happening in the service departments. Go to dealership reviews and see all the happy buyers, and then read the service department reviews.

 

[myothercarizahearse]

So.... would there be no more dealership commercials? nice

 

[Friday yet?]

Sixteen states have laws in place to protect dealerships from direct sales. It can be done but it's not as easy is dealership buys. Mostly aimed at Teslas but it will cover others as well the same way.

https://texasview.org/why-you-cant-buy-a-tesla-in-texas/
You can't directly purchase a Tesla in the Texas because Texas has a law that prohibits manufacturers from selling directly to consumers. You are, however, able to own and operate a Tesla in the state. Texas created the law to protect and encourage car dealerships.

Car dealership lobby no doubt.

 

[Friday yet?]

I'd love to just see a bottom line price and not have to deal with salesman ever again. Just show up at the dealer, inspect the vehicle and sign the papers.

This.

 

[Friday yet?]

I realize that many are very angry at dealers for the huge markups of late which is part of the supply and demand but I firmly believe as the market returns to more normal supplies, the costs will also drop as competition for the purchasing buyer increases. I believe what we have been seeing for the last year or so is not sustainable as supplies return to a normal level.

Got to say, I think my initial enthusiasm for this message from Ford was due to my frustration and borderline anger at some dealer shenanigans with market markups etc. in the current world between supply chain, Covid, Bronco demand, etc. Of course in fairness I also need to be frustrated with the idiots paying those "market adjustments."

Historically I can be just as big of an asshole during the buying process as the dealer sales team is..... it's just such a hassle to have to behave that way when simply trying to buy a vehicle. Luckily for me I can safely say that I've never been screwed via a vehicle purchase. But I've had my share of angry moments involving unkind words and walking out of dealerships... which is just ridiculous. All that said though, the more I think about this potential change the more I'm not sure that I like it. Or maybe I do like it. Don't know. We'll have to see.

 

[Friday yet?]

refused to give x-plan

Ditto! Every single Ford dealership I contacted wouldn't even discuss XPlan! Except for the guys I finally bought from, Ford of Dalton (GA). Their attitude was if you are willing to order it, and wait for the order, we will still do XPlan. Needless to say I was all over it. If you buy off the lot, MSRP. Guys had a great attitude about it. Were very willing to discuss their philosophy. Simple economics. When they used to sell 500 vehicles a year they could haggle and make a profit. Now when they struggle to get any vehicles for stock they cannot afford to do so. Hence MSRP.

They also did not like the games other dealers are playing. Said it makes the entire industry look bad. Their long term hope is that the customers will remember them for not playing games. While I hope so too, the public seems to have very short term memories. So once the market settles down a bit I can totally see the consumers heading right back to the slime ball dealers as if all of this crap was a simply a bad dream.

 

[rydfree]

The downside to this is warranty service. If you think it is difficult now just wait until the "Agency" is not allowed to sell the vehicle for what it would like to. Add this to the fact Ford will be reducing the number of locations and the Agency will basically be a paperwork/pickup location for new vehicles and a used car lot. Be prepared for long waits to get an appointment ahead of the used vehicle that they made a ton of money off of .

I love the Agency model idea but reducing authorized service center numbers would be a major concern.

 

[AzScorpion]

The downside to this is warranty service. If you think it is difficult now just wait until the "Agency" is not allowed to sell the vehicle for what it would like to. Add this to the fact Ford will be reducing the number of locations and the Agency will basically be a paperwork/pickup location for new vehicles and a used car lot. Be prepared for long waits to get an appointment ahead of the used vehicle that they made a ton of money off of .

I love the Agency model idea but reducing authorized service center numbers would be a major concern.

It's like that now in a lot of areas. When my HVAC box went they were so backed up they wanted me to leave my truck for a week just to look at it. Then once they get the parts they said another 7-10 days to fix it. So 3 weeks without my truck and no loaners is why I tore it apart myself and took the broken actuator out and now manually flip the switch twice a year.

I wonder if they'll have "certified" places you can bring them to if/when they do this? It would only make sense seeing as they'd be getting rid of several dealers. It wouldn't make sense to fix one mess yet create another.

 

[rydfree]

I wonder if they'll have "certified" places you can bring them to if/when they do this? It would only make sense seeing as they'd be getting rid of several dealers. It wouldn't make sense to fix one mess yet create another.

You could start seeing "Ford Certified" signs hanging in the Walmart service center

 

[AzScorpion]

You could start seeing "Ford Certified" signs hanging in the Walmart service center

Dear Lord just hang this sign on Fords door now if that happens. ?

 

[Motorpsychology]

It's like that now in a lot of areas. When my HVAC box went they were so backed up they wanted me to leave my truck for a week just to look at it. Then once they get the parts they said another 7-10 days to fix it. So 3 weeks without my truck and no loaners is why I tore it apart myself and took the broken actuator out and now manually flip the switch twice a year.

I wonder if they'll have "certified" places you can bring them to if/when they do this? It would only make sense seeing as they'd be getting rid of several dealers. It wouldn't make sense to fix one mess yet create another.

10-4. It may become like home appliance service. Sears used to have their own in-house service cadre. Now to get warranty service, you call a certified outfit that does warranty work on several brands. Same-same; 7-10 day wait and then an 8 hour eta window. I suspect that, like specialty medical, in some regions, there are traveling techs for some of the (supposedly) seldom repairs, like HVAC and other interior maladies. You have to wait for the specialty tech(s) to be scheduled to your uh, agency, once parts arrive.

I don't know if this is actually the case in automotive, but it is happening in healthcare.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

So.... would there be no more dealership commercials? nice

For our members in Western New York, this is gonna be HUGE!

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