Why FORD needs to get a handle on dealers

[JETSOLVER]

This fellow talks about getting fed up with a dealer walking across the street and spending twice as much. Darn it this(and the markup business) are why the company is in a state.TMS

[gt5001]

No better case study on Ford & its dealerships than the Ford GT. Remember the line "Pace car for a company?" Sadly, the prices dealers put on the GT made that a slogan the mother ship didn't intend..... About 90 percent of the dealers who received a 2005 GT still have them on the showroom floor, priced at $100,000 over MSRP. Dealer nearest me has his red GT at $300,000. Guess he and other dealership owners wanted to keep car for themselves. In the process turned off a lot of high-dollar prospective Ford owners who might be fleet vehicles, trucks, Lincolns, etc.

[crispy23c]

No better case study on Ford & its dealerships than the Ford GT. Remember the line "Pace car for a company?" Sadly, the prices dealers put on the GT made that a slogan the mother ship didn't intend..... About 90 percent of the dealers who received a 2005 GT still have them on the showroom floor, priced at $100,000 over MSRP. Dealer nearest me has his red GT at $300,000. Guess he and other dealership owners wanted to keep car for themselves. In the process turned off a lot of high-dollar prospective Ford owners who might be fleet vehicles, trucks, Lincolns, etc.

 

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Agreed. In fact, I think the dealers reduced Ford's production goals on this car because of slow sales precipitated by high dealer mark-ups. My .02

[RodBakerFord]

Agreed.  In fact, I think the dealers reduced Ford's production goals on this car because of slow sales precipitated by high dealer mark-ups.  My .02

 

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Actually, Ford Encouraged Dealers to get what the market would bring, which I thought was odd. We never put ours for sale, had people offer us over MSRP, but the owner is a big car guy and is in love with it and wants to keep it. As far as marking up over MSRP, just winds up ticking people off even though some people pay it, long run it doesn't help you though. Which is going to happen now that anyone can order a SVT when the new one comes out. With dealers only geting 1 or 3 something like that it will screw that up. We will have to give up a bunch of our SVT buyers because we will not be able to support the volume, which sucks because we have been an SVT dealer since it started and have alot of repeat customers. But what are you gonna do?

[JETSOLVER]

Take a list of repeat original SVT buyers to FORD and say"what are you gonna do?"

[TruBlu07]

Yes, I have been shopping for a GT and noticed that they range from 150k up to over 200k depending on where you live.

 

The thing that interests me about the marketing plan is that I didn't know a "Heritage" version was made. Only 150, but I found one at the local dealership. Seems a lottery was done and they won it. Anyhow, when I asked what the going rate was he said 200k+, but wouldn't give me a number. That's a hell of a marketing plan right there. :blink:

 

Needless to say, I am buying the GT500 somewhere else. I don't care what the answer is I just want to know it. Give me the truck of the situation don't play around.

 

Facts are what we want, but unfortunantly they aren't coming out as quickly as we would like.

 

Hopefully, it won't do what the ZO6 did as they are currently 30k over MSRP right now in our area and there is a list of over 25 guys on it and trust me one of them will take it at that price. Problem with that is the Vette is here every year and is always improved upon or left the same. Yet, these guys are dying to get them now!!

 

The relationship between Ford and Shelby is more volital IMO. Seems I would be more worried about the Shelby stopping production first, but that's just me.

 

Hoping to get 3 of them. Autocross, Drag and stock.

[ingram4868]

Agreed.  In fact, I think the dealers reduced Ford's production goals on this car because of slow sales precipitated by high dealer mark-ups.  My .02

 

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Remember that the dealers buy these cars from Ford. So Ford sold every GT car that was built.

[crispy23c]

Actually, Ford Encouraged Dealers to get what the market would bring, which I thought was odd.  We never put ours for sale, had people offer us over MSRP, but the owner is a big car guy and is in love with it and wants to keep it.  As far as marking up over MSRP, just winds up ticking people off even though some people pay it, long run it doesn't help you though. Which is going to happen now that anyone can order a SVT when the new one comes out.  With dealers only geting 1 or 3 something like that it will screw that up.  We will have to give up a bunch of our SVT buyers because we will not be able to support the volume, which sucks because we have been an SVT dealer since it started and have alot of repeat customers.  But what are you gonna do?

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WOW. From the dealer's prospective, THAT IS ROUGH!!! Well, maybe alot of non-svt dealers won't sign up, and you will be in good shape. I'm still surprised that Ford is not leaking more info on this car as it is less than 2 months from the official unveiling....

[Five Oh B]

Unfortunately, Ford cannot "get a handle" on dealers, as there is a franchise agreement between Ford and its dealer body. Ford does not own a single dealership, nor can Ford sell directly to the public. Hence, once Ford sells a vehicle to a dealership, that independantly owned franchised dealer can whatever he chooses to do with the vehicle. Often times that means selling a vehicle at a loss to get it gone (i.e. Taurus, Ranger, Focus, etc.), and hopefully sometimes it means making a profit (most products), and with a little luck make some extra money when demand outstrips supply (Mustang GT, Escape Hybrid, GT500, etc.).

 

Any dealer with integrity would keep a specially ordered car coming on schedule, and not bump his spot down to fill later orders first. It is a shame that the referenced Ford dealer did that on the 05 Mustang GT Vert order.

[ingram4868]

When you see a big name celebrity taking delivery of a hot product like Leno getting one of the first GT's. His he going down to his local dealer and getting on a waiting list and then buying one like the rest of us? Or is the car given to him by Ford? I only ask because you mentioned that Ford can not sell a car directly from the factory.

 

Inquiring minds want to know

[Five Oh B]

Funny you mentioned Jay Leno. Leno actually bought the 2nd Ford GT. The first one was purchased by retired Microsoft exec, Jon Shirley. Jon bought his in 2003 "from Ford" at a charity auction at the big Pebble Beach concours show. Jon beat Jay Leno in a bidding war for the rights to buy the first publicly available GT. The winning bid was MSRP + $400,000. The $400,000 went to charity.

 

Turns out that Jon lives fairly close to the dealership I work at (I'm the SVT rep for our dealer, by the way). So, when it was time for Ford to build & ship Jon's new GT in September 2004, he chose our dealership to handle the delivery. The media was there, Ford was there, and Jon drove his new GT home personally.

 

Even though Ford made the sale of the car, we had to act on their behalf and actually do the paperwork, licensing, titiling, purchase order, etc. as Ford cannot (as I had mentioned in a previous post). And because $400,000 of the transaction price went to charity, we only collected sales tax on the MSRP. And, yes, our dealership earned a tidy sum for handling the sale. I assume that Jay Leno's deal was handled in much the same fashion when he took delivery a couple weeks later in Southern California.

 

I hope this answers your question, 00Vert54x. I'm always happy to answer anything you ask (unless there is something specific that I'm not allowed to reveal per company policy).

[Five Oh B]

Oh, and back to the original thread about the guy who's 2005 Mustang GT Convertible order got bumped or delayed. Here's a recap of our luck (or lack, thereof) with getting 2005 GT Convertibles.....

 

We figured it was safe to order three GT verts for 2005, so we accepted just three deposits from customers (at MSRP - no ADM's of any kind!) and told everyone else they'd have to wait for 2006's. However, we only ended up getting one GT vert for the entire 2005 model year!!! Our 2nd and 3rd orders got bumped (by Ford) into the 2006 model year. Both customers were very understanding and patient (luckily) and took delivery of their 2006's a couple months ago. One had originally ordered her 05 in Sonic Blue (which was cancelled for 06), so she had to settle for Vista Blue, but she is still loving her new car.

 

I guess my point is that sometimes orders get bumped by Ford outside of the dealership's control. We place orders with a good faith effort to get those orders built & shipped, but we are at Ford's mercy when it comes to allocation & scheduling orders. Often times customers get mad at the dealership (instead of Ford) as the dealership is the "face" that customers interact with and that they view as being Ford itself even though dealers are completely seperate entities. Do some dealers act recklessly and deserve heat? Sure do and often from what I hear. But, many dealers are working hard to do the right thing and keep customers very happy and coming back for many years.

[ColdwaterHotrod]

Thanks for you informative insight from a West coast salesman’s point of view, but I have a few questions of my own?

 

1.Are all FORD dealers a franchise? If not what types are available?

 

2.If I come in & want to Order a car with the options I want does that make the car yours or mine if I put a non-refundable deposit down on it?

 

3.If what you say is true about the dealerships buying the cars direct from FORD, then why doesn’t the selling dealerships name show up on a Title search as the very first owner of the vehicle when the title is searched?

 

4.IF dealers are really working hard to do the right thing and keep customers very happy and coming back for many years, then why RAPE a possibly NEW or EXISTING customer with prices way above M.S.R.P. for a car they want & are willing to put down some, most or ALL of the money up front?

 

5.Don’t you think Dealers & SALESMAN are being GREEDY on PROFIT & COMMISSIONS before customer brand loyalty & satisfaction when the Japanese are kicking your butts in market share, lean production & profits and then you wonder why we don't buy more american made cars & trucks?

[Five Oh B]

ColdwaterHotrod:

 

1. All Ford dealers are franchised. Ford tried to open a few company owned stores several years ago and sell directly to the public, but were forced to stop.

 

2. There is no such thing as a non-refundable deposit. If you order a car, then change your mind later and never drive away in that new car, then you are legally entitled to a refund of your deposit. At least, that's how it works in most states. There may be exceptions that I'm unaware of. Every time we've had specialty cars in the past and taken deposits up front, there has always one or two guys who changed their mind (maybe they switch to a Vette or BMW, maybe their kid's college tuition went up, maybe they bought a new house, etc.). We have always promptly refunded their deposits with no hassles, and then simply made that vehicle available to the next guy in line.

 

3. Dealers buy a vehicle from Ford, but there is not a title issued until an actual customer (end-user) buys the car. Ownership by a dealer is documented on an MSO, which can be transferred from dealer to dealer to dealer (like when dealers trade cars with other dealers to get a specific car for a customer that they didn't already have on their own lot). Similarly, when a used car is traded in to a dealer, a new title is not issued in the dealer's name, but transferred to the next customer who buys it.

 

4. You are over-generalizing. Sure, there are some really crappy dealers out there that really suck who should have their franchises revoked. True for Ford, true for GM, and come to think about it, true for just about any brand (foreign or domestic). There are some truly fantastic dealers out there, too. If you haven't found one yet in your area, keep looking farther and farther away. The internet makes this much easier than it's ever been. Also, look past that silly "blue-oval-certified" status that some dealers brag about (any idiot dealer can earn this one). Look for a dealer that is a President's Award winner (preferably multiple & recent awards). The President's Award is Ford's most prestigious award that only a small handful of Ford stores earn each year. There are just 24 Ford stores in the nation that have won 10 or more of them (including the store I work for). The award is given based largely on customer satisfaction scores in sales and service.

 

5. Okay, I get the feeling you're attacking me personally with this one (you used the term "you" and "your" a lot). We are a "one-price" store (quite rare I might add), which means that management sets a super low price on everything and then we do not negotiate - not even a penny. We even have loss-leaders just like any other store, too. As the sales staff has absolutely no control over prices, we do not pay them a commission - just a flat fee that is same regardless of which vehicle they sell and regardless of whether the store made a profit or lost their shorts on that vehicle. The last time we had new SVT Cobras, for example, in 2004 (and even in 2002 when the 2003 "terminator" first appeared) we never priced our Cobras over MSRP, and actually sold most of them well below MSRP. We are generally referred to as the "nice" dealer in our locality, and the vast majority of our business is repeat and referral business!

 

I cannot answer for the truly bad dealers out there, but you are probably correct in saying that there are dealers and salesmen out there who do not care about long term issues and Ford's market shares. They do not work for Ford, they just peddle Ford's product, so they are just trying to make a buck today (often at tomorrow's expense). You're fooling yourself, however, if you continue to think that 100% of all Ford dealers are out to screw you.

[ColdwaterHotrod]

Five Oh B,

 

I THANK YOU for your Professionalism & most of all your Honesty!

 

Sorry if some of my questions were aimed at you…please accept my sincerer apologies. My questions were written very quickly & not meant to be a personal attack against you. You seem to be a very up front person about this information & quite frankly I was testing your answers to see if you really did work for a dealership & know how the process worked to sell cars? Indeed you do.

 

I have been selling used cars in my spare time for about 20 years at auto auctions & recently I have came across a lot of individuals on the internet websites who write a lot of BS about the Shelby GT 500. They tell us what is or what it is not going to be, or what will or will not happen with it as if they were the only fly on the wall at SVT/FORD with insider information on how these cars will sell & how many will be made.

 

Don’t get me wrong, a few have been dead nuts on with their info, but now days I have to question the legitimacy of peoples comments when it comes to this desirable car & how they know so much about a car that has yet to be finalized for production. Others I think are rotten apple sales people working at FORD dealerships trying to convince the American people that M.S.R.P. is dead & gone when it comes to this car before they hit the dealership lots. (just like the FORD GT).

 

All I want to do is order a Shelby GT 500 car with the color & options I want so I can pass it down to my son 25+ years later as my father did with me with one of his cars before mother nature killed it beyond repair, apparently that’s asking too much now a days when a car is in such high demand. Again, please accept my sincerer apologies, they were not meant to be an attack.

[Five Oh B]

ColdwaterHotrod, it's all good and we're all friends here with a common purpose. While I may be our dealer's SVT rep (and internet sales manager), I was a Mustang enthusiast long before I ever worked in the car business. My passion for Mustangs and all things Ford lead me to my current career. I did my homework when searching for the dealer to submit a resume to - had to have a great reputation, be financially sound, and be an SVT dealership.

 

May I tell you what is likely going to happen with GT500's? SVT will likely build 7K to 10K of them for the 2007 model year, and a like amount for 2008 if demand warrants it. Many dealers (remember, not all) will try to get whatever money the market will bare for the handful of early GT500's they get. Problem is, there are plenty of dopes out there with too much money and too intoxicated by the Shelby lore so that they will be easy prey for the nasty dealers who will mark them way up. Many early GT500's will be sold for thousands over MSRP, whether you or I like it or condone it.

 

Once the initial push subsides (maybe mid-2007 or early 2008), supply & demand will level off and MSRP will be the norm, and by the end of the second model year you'll see many being sold for well below MSRP. With enough of an energy crisis, natural disaster, or more war tensions you might even see demand for big trucks, SUV's, and muscle cars fall so bad that GT500's could someday need incentives to sell them (god forbid).

 

I expect a repeat of the 2005 Mustang GT launch for us. We sold our first two 05 GT's for about $1,000 below MSRP and they sold they 1st day they arrived. Other dealers were getting $2K, $3K, and even $5K over MSRP, so a long line formed at our dealership to order them. We decided to raise our price to MSRP to curb some of the demand. We ended up with dozens of orders and customers having to wait as long as 10 months for their car to be built and shipped, but they did wait as we still had the best price in town. 2006 Mustang GT's are still going quickly at MSRP, but demand is tapering off a bit, so we dropped our order price to roughly $500-$1000 under MSRP, and we still have orders coming in faster than Ford can build them.

 

So, this puts us in a pricing bind for the GT500's. We want to be the best deal in town, but we will only get a couple of them. Do we make them cheap and sell out immediately so that we have none for the rest of the year, or do we mark them up a bit to make some money and keep them longer for people to see? My preference is to sell each at MSRP, but only sell them to our best repeat customers who buy & service religiously with us - kind of a thank you to them, if you will.

 

Some of you have compared the 2005 GT supercar's situation to the GT500 citing the greedy dealers who wanted $100K or more over MSRP, thus killing demand. Only a select few people can afford to buy a GT supercar. Jon Shirley paid $557K for the very first 2005 GT. Jay Leno likely paid almost 1/2 million to get #2. I'm sure a few people bought in the $250K-$300K range. We sold our first 2005 GT for $175K, and have our last 2005 GT available now for $172K. There are only a couple others in our county for sale. The next cheapest is $199K, with the rest still posting $250K-$299K stickers - ouch!!! But, the kind of person that can afford $175K can also afford $200K. A $10K or $20K markup isn't such a big deal when you're super wealthy and looking at cars like the Modena 430, Saleen S7, Ford GT, Porsche GT2.

 

While the GT pricing fiasco was bad, that's a whole different kind of customer than the GT500 customer. Any blue collar guy with a decent job and/or credit can afford a GT500 if the loan terms are OK. However, the guy that can afford a $40K GT500 may not be able to afford it at $50K. I'm that guy. I can likely swing a $35K-$40K car, but there's no way I can buy at $45K or $50K. I'll just keep the '03 Mach 1 if that's the case. I would guess that some of you are in the same boat. That's why you (we) get so upset about the prospect of huge markups over MSRP.

[JETSOLVER]

The voice of reason^ Thanks for the info Five O. I hope you get silly wealthy some day selling cars to people like us.

[angelmav]

Hey Five O' From what I have read the Shelby is only going to be a 2yr limited run, do you have any info that contradicts this? From what your saying there is hope for the rest of us that once the interest cools off a bit this car will come back down to earth in price but I dont see that being the case if its gone after 2008. The thing is iafter this "Shelby" run is over there isnt likely to be another. Of Course thats why I dont understand why Ford doesnt try to pump a few more of em out but thats just me.

[mrsuds]

Hey Five O' From what I have read the Shelby is only going to be a 2yr limited run, do you have any info that contradicts this? From what your saying there is hope for the rest of us that once the interest cools off a bit this car will come back down to earth in price but I dont see that being the case if its gone after 2008. The thing is iafter this "Shelby" run is over there isnt likely to be another. Of Course thats why I dont understand why Ford doesnt try to pump a few more of em out but thats just me.

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I positive that the bean counters at Ford ran the numbers and arrived at a figure that will make the Shelby available to some, but not jeopordize the Mustang profitability. From their point of veiw, Ford can crank out 150K units and make more money than building more Shelbys. If Five Oh B is correct that the production run will last 2 years that should give a "reasonable" chance at getting one.

[Five Oh B]

I should clarify an important about me. While I work for a Ford dealership as their SVT rep (among other duties), I do not work for Ford or SVT. That means that I may get some inside info before you guys, but sometimes I'm late getting info.

 

To keep this newest specialty Mustang in perspective, let's go back a few years and look at other specialty Mustangs and see what happened with production. I know that these are not Shelby's, but some were very desirable at the time in their own right for various reasons.

 

1999 - Limited Edition 35th Anniversary GT. Ford said they would build just 6,000 of these. It was a highly anticipated car as Ford did not do a 25th or 30th anniversary model. Ford ended up selling just 4,628.

 

2000 - Spring Feature GT. No SVT Cobra in 2000 (other than 300 "R" models and some Australian exports). The Spring Feature GT was a neat upgrade over a regular GT (I owned one, in fact). Ford said they would offer 6,000, yet only 3,901 were sold.

 

2001 - Bullitt GT. Lots of hype due the Steve McQueen classic movie "Bullitt" from 1968. Very cool car - best handling Mustang ever in some opinions. Ford said they'd build just 6,500 of them, but only 5,582 were sold.

 

So, Ford tried three years in a row with limited production Mustangs, and didn't sell out any of them!

 

2002 - Terminator arrives after lots of hype. Dealers and customers could not believe that a 425hp SuperCharged V8 was available from the factory (which under-rated them at 390hp, by the way). 2003 SVT Cobras were released in two waves of production. The first wave in 2002 and second wave in 2003 amounted to over 13,000 sold. Ford built as many as dealers ordered. By the end of the model year there were too many 425hp monsters available and they finally got factory rebates & special finance rates from Ford to help move them.

 

2003 - Mach 1. More big hype and displayed proudly at Ford event with the Thunderbird and Ford GT. All three styled in a nostalgic manner. I got caught in the hype and bought a Mach 1. We were sold out (as most dealers were) before production started for 2003. Lots of horror stories of MSRP + many thousands. Ford initially said they would build 6,500 (like previous limited editions), but ended up trying to meet demand and built almost 10,000 for 2003! By year's end though, there were some left and rebates aplenty from Ford to move them.

 

2004 - Mach 1 & SVT Cobra continue. Second year blues for both. Yeah, sure, lots of the people who couldn't get a 2003 of either model were happy and accomodated, and ended up getting a much better price and rebates, but production and demand stagnated. I don't have final #'s for either, but 2004 Mach 1 production dropped down to around 7,000 and 2004 Cobra production was about a third of the 2003 run. Lots of customers who may have considered a 2004 were starting to see & hear about the 2005 body style. Even with the 305hp Mach 1 and 425hp Cobra packing less weight and more power than the 2005's, many chose to wait and see/buy the 300hp 2005 Mustang GT.

 

2005 - Mustang GT fever starts in full swing. Dealers gouging left and right, and worse, customers paying over MSRP to get one. The good dealers with fair prices were sold out most of the year, while greedy dealers held onto them. Long waits to special order them - especially the very limited GT Convertible which was released very late in the model year.

 

2006 - Mustang GT still popular, but getting easier to find on lots and much easier to order in a timely fashion. Ford shifted GT production up from just 35% of Mustang production in 2005 to 47% for 2006 to satisfy demand. Unless the spring and summer selling season clears enough of them out, Ford may have to use rebates to clear out Mustangs by year end next fall.

 

Are we seeing a pattern here at all, friends? Something new and cool is only new and cool for a brief window of opportunity. A small handful of "gotta have it now" customers artificially spike demand upfront, and then the patient customers who wait out the model year get the deals. Either not enough demand and prices dropped later, or Ford stepped up production when there was demand and prices dropped later. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, but eventually prices dropped as the hype wore off.

 

As we are realistically 1.5 to 2 years away from GT500's being sold at reasonable prices, how about leasing a 2006 Mustang GT for 2 years to tide you over. Or, find a good, clean 2003-4 Mach 1 or SVT Cobra to buy now, and sell/trade later for the GT500? Resale value has been awesome for the 2005+ GT's and the 2003-4 Mach 1's and Cobras, so you won't spend too much while you wait for your GT500.

 

However, if your that kinda guy that just has to have the first GT500 on your block, be prepared to either pay a lot, or search far and wide for a deal. Personally, I'm gonna be patient and wait for a deal. The risk, of course, is that if I wait too long for the deal, all the new GT500's may be sold out and then I'd be stuck looking for a used one (I'd rather not!).

[gt5001]

Great perspective, Five Oh B.

I've always enjoyed your thoughtful posts. At one point, the very, very small but excellent dealer with whom I do business had three 04 Cobras that sat for 4 to 6 months. Sure wish I had bought one!

[Five Oh B]

Yep, that 2004 SVT Cobra is likely one of the lowest production regular Cobra built from 1993-2004, and may someday be a difficult one to find.

[angelmav]

Five Oh, I completely understand where your coming from and why you have the perspective that you do, the problem as I see it is the announced intent for this to be only a 2 yr run. I dont see the drop off happening on these cars by then meaning pay thru the nose or be left in the dust. I hope Im wrong but I see this as a rather unique situation and again if they hold to only building them for 2yrs at low production numbers well.........

[Five Oh B]

Every limited production Ford built since I started work in the biz in 1999 has gone through the same cycle: big hype/prices upfront later leveling off to MSRP or lower. True for 2002+ T-Birds, true for the Harley-Davidson F-series trucks, true for SVT Lightnings/Contours/Foci, true for the 2005 GT supercar, and true for every limited edition Mustang.

 

Even the 2000 Cobra R (only 300 built) started off selling for as much as $100K, even though MSRP was $54,995. Many were sold in the $60-$70 range. I have a friend who bought one of the last new 2000 Cobra R's who was able to get it at MSRP with some perks thrown in. The 2000 Cobra R may very well be the closest scenario to the upcoming GT500's, only more exotic with just 300 made and a higher price tag. They were a 1 year run, while the GT500's will be at least a 2 year run with a lower MSRP and many, many more being offered for sale.

[NEEDAGT500]

I inquired thru email about the Shelby GT500 situation & got this response- what do u think?

 

 

 

Eric,

All dealerships that I know of are pre-selling their allocation for the Shelby Cobra. We have just recently won another allocation for a Cobra and it is still available. The cars are going to be built the last week in June and I should have them here in the middle to late July. Our first allocation sold for $20,000 over the expected MSRP of $42,000 for the coupe. I have any info on this vehicle you can need, and I will be more then happy to sit down and discuss this with you. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will do what I can to earn your business! Thanks!

 

Thank You and Have A Great Day,

Jason Milburn

Ron Hopkins Ford

Elgin, IL

847-741-7500

 

 

 

From: 015601@salespoint.dealerconnection.com

[Fastbackman]

Too much!

[iceman]

I inquired thru email about the Shelby GT500 situation & got this response- what do u think?

Eric,

All dealerships that I know of are pre-selling their allocation for the Shelby Cobra. We have just recently won another allocation for a Cobra and it is still available. The cars are going to be built the last week in June and I should have them here in the middle to late July. Our first allocation sold for $20,000 over the expected MSRP of $42,000 for the coupe. I have any info on this vehicle you can need, and I will be more then happy to sit down and discuss this with you. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will do what I can to earn your business! Thanks!

 

Thank You and Have A Great Day,

Jason Milburn

Ron Hopkins Ford

Elgin, IL

847-741-7500

From: 015601@salespoint.dealerconnection.com

 

 

 

Not that my opinion on this really matters but I will give it anyway since I have a captive audience

 

It sounds to me as if this guy doesn't really know his product if he is still referring to it as a "Shelby Cobra" but that could just be a habbit he is in. As for all the dealers he knows I suspect that means the one he works for, but it is true that it seems many are pre-selling right now or they are having a silent auction to sell what they get for more. I am looking all over to get a deal I can live with from a $ standpoint and from the principal of the thing. My advice is play along, be interested, but call other places and even go visit. I've been doing this after not getting treated in a way I liked by a dealer close to my house and have found one place I am going to visit this week end that has sold 7 and is expecting more due to a move to a new building and needing the inventory to get up and running on a posative note. I am only about 4 hours south of your dealer too so it may be worth a drive for you to save some $. They did the first 1 at 10K over MSRP and the following 6 at 5K over...I am hoping to see them hit MSRP in round 2

[Big_Slick737]

Five oh , Thanks for the information.. It is always top quality.

 

I am certainly in the same boat as yourself... And will patiently wait

for the price to come back to reality. I'm not worried, the longer I

wait the more I stash for a bigger down payment.. And I feel good

about the dealership that I am working with. They are getting premium

price for the GT500 now, But have told me to be patient it will level out.

 

In Fact the Salesman that is in charge of selling the GT500 for their

dealership told me to come talk to him in Sept of this year, and he thinks

prices will be close to MSRP by then.

I am down a bit on his list 9 or 10 but I expect a few people to fall off

the list or find a deal somewhere else.

 

So If it is not an 07 it will be an 08 model at MSRP..

 

BE Patient and you too will have your GT500 at MSRP. IMHO :happy feet:

 

Oh he also reminded me many months back that this is NOT a limited production Car !!!!

I repeat NOT a limited production car !!!

And it is kind of funny to hear things about possible production increases for 07 beyond

what has already been announced And a possible 3 year run of GT500's that has

been stated in a few recent Mag Articles.

 

Of course this just leads me to believe that my dealer is being very honest and up front. What a Relief

 

GOOD LUCK TO ALL !!!