California Buyers Snub Dealers And Fake "Market Adjustments" In Favor Of Online Ordering For Mustang Mach -E

The ordering process for the Mach E is an online reservation, followed by ordering at the dealership once the order books open. Hopefully this will keep dealers from trying to markup the vehicles or playing other games with allocations. Dealers who are offering to take reservations for the car are probably just blowing smoke, and will use the "reservation" to try to sell something else to the customer. Ford can't afford any dealership nonsense with this launch, or else customers will just walk and go to Tesla.

There are risks in greed

THe problem is - FORD cannot legally set the FINAL price for its product - that is up to the Franchised dealer in most states - and is illegal for FORD to force a price on its dealers (Even MSRP).

Part of the contract includes that any advertising of the product that includes the price - the price must be established by the Seller (Legally the franchised dealer) INDEPENDENTLY and without any control of the Manufacturer.

THis will likely end up in court - but traditionally Franchisors LOOSE this case virtually every time. You will note that most Ads for franchised products - when a price is included - SAY "at participating Franchised dealers only".

THe way Tesla got around this is not to offer Franchises. Since they are the only contact with the market - they can set THEIR OWN price. However - in the franchise system - the Franchisees are LEGALLY competitors - and people often use this to their advantage.

Not true: "Reports are suggesting that almost nobody (at least in the Southern California region) is ordering the Ford Mustang Mach-E from dealers."

We're at 19 orders with 50% down and sold at list price.

You don't have to be the Amazing Kreskin to see that the internet is going to decimate car dealerships the same way it has impacted every other industry. About time we eliminated that bloated middleman in this archaic distribution model.

I hope they decimate real estate agents too and their 6% fees.

Roughly 40% of our business in the group is via internet.

Agreed USNA1999 - I'm surprised it hasn't happened already, but it's surely coming . . .

@USNA1999 "I hope they decimate real estate agents too and their 6% fees."

You know that the fee is negotiable, right?

USNA1999 Likes getting cash raped because he is too afraid to be ballsy and negotiate.

@FAQMD My favorite gerbil is the guy who does pillow talk with his boyfriend and pretends to be a Ford insider. #priceless

LOL You are guys are funny. My point is that we should get rid of all middle men, car dealerships, market makers, brokers, real estate agents and so on. BTW I have done pretty well for myself for not being ballsy and not negotiating, LoL. Sorry for the late reply I was driving to Savannah.

USNA1999 Likes getting cash raped because he is too afraid to be ballsy and negotiate.
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Yeah, that's the secret.

Your livelihood depends on being a middleman who adds zero value to the transaction, and your business model is a stegosaurus about to be hit by an asteroid.

This "Your livelihood depends on being a middleman who adds zero value to the transaction, and your business model is a stegosaurus about to be hit by an asteroid." is your hatred and ignorance talking.

My livelihood is finding ways to make lot of money to pay the wages of employees and to find all sorts of legal ways to do so.

Your hatred and jealousy doesn't allow you to be magnanimous and give credit where credit is due. Instead, you come from a place of envy and your words betray you.

As I mentioned, 40% of the business of the group is via internet with an internet price posted and that, Mr. Dumbshit, means no middleman in the sense of a salesman in between the customer and the dealer--as many dealers place them.

We have internet specialists that assist customers during the buying process, but they are closers, not salesmen.

40% of the business of the group is via internet with an internet price posted and that, Mr. Dumbshit, means no middleman in the sense of a salesman in between the customer and the dealer--as many dealers place them.
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So what's your role in this type of transaction? Do you hover the customer's hand over the "Buy Now" button and then assist them to push down? And I assume you do this at no charge?

@Mdarringer. The dealership itself is the middleman, the dealership model adds to the sales price of the vehicle just as realtors add cost to home transactions both are not immediately transparent, and not necessarily helpful to the consumer. Dealerships are currently a very large employer in many communities so there is defiantly a socioeconomic concern, but when new automakers such as Tesla eliminate that cost structure it puts the entire model under scrutiny and makes it harder for legacy automakers to compete with the 15-20% margin they give on each vehicle to the dealership sales model. Eventually the model will change to a showroom model like Tesla, most of the dealership employees will still have jobs, but they will not be able to play games and pad their commissions at the expense of customers.