Having a hard time ordering 2021

[jblc]

I've been trying to get the attention of several SF Bay Area dealerships to special order a 2021 XLT, i feel like I'm talking to a wall with each dealership.
Does anyone have advice?
Details:

1) Due to covid I'd like to get a basic price quote (for a build) over email/phone.
Some dealerships will only talk about ANY details, no matter how minor, in-person. I'm avoiding those dealerships.
I'm fine with signing/etc to be in-person.

2) Other dealerships are open to email / phone, but we've been spinning wheels for weeks: each email reply of theirs is basically asks again what I literally just answered in the prior email two lines below their reply, etc.

Eg: after discussing some build details, the next email is usually something like: "are you still interested in a 2020 ranger? Let me show you what we have in stock", etc.
It's as though the conversation disappears; we're stuck at the first step.

3) I don't think I understand what's going on -- I'm looking to give them money , but I'm having to work very hard to get them to take it


Does anyone have tips for getting a dealer's attention and a quote?
Is this normal?

Should I give up on local dealers, and look further away? (Any non-obvious disadvantage to that?)

Thanks for any thoughts.

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[RedlandRanger]

I've been trying to get the attention of several SF Bay Area dealerships to special order a 2021 XLT, i feel like I'm talking to a wall with each dealership.
Does anyone have advice?
Details:

1) Due to covid I'd like to get a basic price quote (for a build) over email/phone.
Some dealerships will only talk about ANY details, no matter how minor, in-person. I'm avoiding those dealerships.
I'm fine with signing/etc to be in-person.

2) Other dealerships are open to email / phone, but we've been spinning wheels for weeks: each email reply of theirs is basically asks again what I literally just answered in the prior email two lines below their reply, etc.

Eg: after discussing some build details, the next email is usually something like: "are you still interested in a 2020 ranger? Let me show you what we have in stock", etc.
It's as though the conversation disappears; we're stuck at the first step.

3) I don't think I understand what's going on -- I'm looking to give them money , but I'm having to work very hard to get them to take it


Does anyone have tips for getting a dealer's attention and a quote?
Is this normal?

Should I give up on local dealers, and look further away? (Any non-obvious disadvantage to that?)

Thanks for any thoughts.

I don't have any good advice for you other than keep looking for a dealer willing to work with you. When I was looking to order my truck I was amazed at how most dealers really don't appear to want to deal with orders - they want to sell you something from inventory. An order (in my mind) is a sure sale, just a few months out. Like you said - I wanted to give them money but they didn't seem interested.

I ended up finding a dealer (a friend of mine used to work there) - they are a small, family owned dealer that has been around since the 40's. I was exceptionally pleased with them even though it is an hours drive out to the dealership. There are good dealers out there, but trying to find one can be difficult.

Good luck finding a dealer willing to work with you.

 

[Dahveed]

This is why I try to cut the dealer out of it as much as possible. I showed up at my dealer and said, "I want that one. Please go get the keys for a test drive. Here are the keys to mine, go look it over for a trade-in."

I've never attempted to place a special order before, however.

I hope that Tesla is successful in making the dealership obsolete someday.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

This is why I try to cut the dealer out of it as much as possible. I showed up at my dealer and said, "I want that one. Please go get the keys for a test drive. Here are the keys to mine, go look it over for a trade-in."

I've never attempted to place a special order before, however.

I hope that Tesla is successful in making the dealership obsolete someday.

Our neighbors have a Tesla. It has logged more miles on the flatbed of a roll back thank it has logged on the street. A total POS according to the neighbor but he is stuck with it for now...

I agree the dealership network is loaded with crooks. I told my engineers in my department to get it right and keep the customer of new Rangers away from the dealer...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[FoD]

I've been trying to get the attention of several SF Bay Area dealerships to special order a 2021 XLT, i feel like I'm talking to a wall with each dealership.
Does anyone have advice?
Details:
...

Thanks for any thoughts.

I dealt with the Internet Sales Manager at Heritage Ford in Modesto CA (initially through their contact us form). Most of the conversation was email, all the way up till I drove over from the coast for a test drive and then it was in person all after that.

I don't know if she is still there (don't have name handy) but she was very helpful and answered all questions truthfully ( I believe) including rebates they weren't directly advertising (just asked straight out about it).

The one "interesting" piece was she gives the sales over to actual sales for the detail work (test drive, paperwork offer, trade-in...). No big deal, guy was nice too. Overall experience was a + for me - caveat emptor...of course, this was all during covid time in late June and I was looking at a 2019.

Funist car ever...

 

[ch47dmechanic]

Buy it through Costco. I've done that for the last five trucks I've bought, including my current Ranger. They set me up through Livermore Ford and the dealer had to travel to Fresno to get exactly what I wanted...which they happily did since they're counting on the Costco relationship for margins and the last thing they want to do is piss you off. Costco will come down on them hard for a bad sales experience. I did it all over emails and phone calls until they had the truck I wanted in their possession.

 

[ch47dmechanic]

Is pricing different when buying through Costco compared to getting a Costco discount at a dealer ?

I would assume it's the same. Costco has the discount already locked in with Ford so the Costco-authorized dealers have to honor it. The process starts through Costco though instead of just asking if the dealer has a discount.

 

[RedlandRanger]

I would assume it's the same. Costco has the discount already locked in with Ford so the Costco-authorized dealers have to honor it. The process starts through Costco though instead of just asking if the dealer has a discount.

FYI, Costco pricing is almost identical to X-Plan pricing. When I was looking the Lariat was like $60 cheaper on X-Plan while the XLT I was pricing was about $50 cheaper on the Costco plan. More or less a wash - but I couldn't choose the dealer on the Costco plan since only a few participate in it.

 

[jblc]

I get they want to clear out 2020 stock.
But a sale is a sale whether they sell you one today, or order you one for tomorrow.

Why is it you want a 21 over a 20?

Thanks, that makes sense. I'm looking for 2021 only because I'm looking for a specific feature combination that I can't find -- and it's not possible to order 2020 anymore.

 

[jblc]

Buy it through Costco. I've done that for the last five trucks I've bought, including my current Ranger.

Interesting thought, thanks. I don't have a costco membership, but I'll consider getting one just for this purpose.

Is Costco only for in-stock purchases, or can they work with special orders?

 

[jblc]

Be firm, hopefully you find a salesman that will listen.

Frustrating.

Thanks for sympathizing Agreed it's frustrating. I'm continuing to find other sales people, hopefully one of them will end up being helpful.

 

[ch47dmechanic]

Without even asking, our dealer included the Costco discount which was around $2500 at time of order. Much less months later at delivery. Dealer still honored the original $2500.

The discount was deeper for my Ranger when I bought it in March of 2019. I don't know if the percentage varies, though.

Interesting thought, thanks. I don't have a costco membership, but I'll consider getting one just for this purpose.

Is Costco only for in-stock purchases, or can they work with special orders?

I don't recall ever seeing anything in the language that said you had to take from the dealer's stock. Hell, if that's the case, I shouldn't have been able to get my Ranger since no dealer in the Bay Area stocked what I wanted. I just worked with Livermore Ford to find what I wanted anyway and they went and got it.

 

[RedlandRanger]

The discount was deeper for my Ranger when I bought it in March of 2019. I don't know if the percentage varies, though.



I don't recall ever seeing anything in the language that said you had to take from the dealer's stock. Hell, if that's the case, I shouldn't have been able to get my Ranger since no dealer in the Bay Area stocked what I wanted. I just worked with Livermore Ford to find what I wanted anyway and they went and got it.

I was working with a salesman on the Costco plan for my order, so they can be an order - like I said earlier, it is very similar to X-Plan, which can be used for orders or for dealer stock purchases.

 

[Texasota]

Are you e-mailing back and forth with one specific salesman? If yes, then you need to find a different salesman. If you are talking to multiple people in sales, then it is not surprising there is little continuity in the e-mail exchanges.

I have bought our last four Fords from the same salesman and I have always used e-mail with him when getting ready to order a new vehicle. My advice is to find a good salesman and then communicate directly only with him via his e-mail.

 

[jblc]

Are you e-mailing back and forth with one specific salesman? If yes, then you need to find a different salesman.

Yes, it's with the same salesperson, so there is continuity -- it just seems like emails are lost into a black hole; they seem to ignore.

In the case of three dealerships, I gave up on who i was talking to, cold called the dealership, and talked to someone else -- and they requested I write to them. But, the same thing happened with the new salesperson in each case.

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