2021 Bronco NOT Eligible For X-Plan (Official Document Confirmation) [Update: Confirmed by Ford]

[hemiblas]

First, for those that believe that Ford should be prohibiting ADM, they can't -- the dealer lobbies have been very effective in ensuring dealer franchise laws block that. At most they can "cajole" the dealers.

My apologies for the length of what follows; feel free to skip it all.

The primary reason I was looking forward to x-plan was not the discount -- I've already moved to Stephens, and at $1000 below invoice, an additional $25 ($300 benefit-$275 x-plan fee) was trivial. The driver for me was the x-plan's cap on dealer processing fees.

Background for what follows at the end:

I've purchased 7-8 Fords from the local Ford store. In each case I bargained on cars they needed to move, usually at the end of the quarter when sales quotas were weighing heavily on the mind of the new car sales desk manager of the day. In every one of these cases, after stating:

(i) that I believed processing costs were overhead (you'd never get charged a processing fee for a vehicle such as a bicycle),

(ii) that as I understood it, these fees were originated by some clever dealer in New England in 1967 that decided to try increase profit by adding a $25 ($50?) processing fee to see whether customers would balk (which they didn't), and they've simply grown exponentially as dealers have found that most sheep will accept them (especially with the "we have to include it in every deal for legal reasons") -- to which one honest manager readily agreed, stating that their fee was "pure profit";

(iii) that I understand that the primary dealer profit centers are F&I, service and at some stores used cars, not new cars (i.e., they could afford to make a large profit on someone else -- maybe even me later in service/accessory purchases, as I've been dealer-loyal for 2 1/2 decades)

(iv) then they can lower the price of the vehicle by the processing fee if they want to complete the deal,

they happily accepted, knowing that at a *minimum* they'd more that make up the difference between what I was willing to pay and what other less-informed people would pay, likely just in the quota bonus.

Side note: I wasn't bargaining based on starting at "invoice" pricing (I started lower). "Invoice pricing" is a term that has totally lost any real meaning over the past few decades, as the published "invoice" prices have gone up faster than MSRPs -- in other words, Ford's "invoice" pricing no longer comes close to a dealer's true cost for the vehicle. This is the reason that for non-high-demand vehicles, many dealers are thrilled when you come in and say you want to pay "invoice": that is a guaranteed "no-loss" price, from which their only task is to get you to move up.

Side Note 2: For the record, I completely understand and accept that the dealer's "cost" also must include a reasonable mark-up to cover overhead (both fixed and variable costs) and provide a reasonable profit that keeps them in business.


It is in this context that I say that avoiding my local Ford dealer's ridiculous $799 processing fee was the #1 reason I was lured by x-plan pricing on a hot new vehicle. I absolutely do not need a Bronco (I already have an F-150, Mustang and C7 Corvette Z06 in the driveway, along with several BMW motorcycles). So given the choice between paying what I view as just another form of ADM now or waiting until I could get a good below-MSRP price, there was no question that I would have waited. Stephan's offer just means I'll get my loaded 4-dr Badlands sooner than I otherwise would.

Good post!!!!!!

I also agree. The dealers thought this was going to be a cash cow. Now they are starting to realize that it isnt. In the end all they are going to do is run people off. I think Ford was trying to help them out, but it isnt going to turn out how they wanted.

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[PatientlyWaiting]

you're sounding more and more like a dealer....

I believe he said he was in an earlier post. He signed up just for trolling.

 

[Vigor]

Long thread, hard to keep up! Pages are being added faster than I can read them!


Lots of overreaction here. Okay, the X-Plan isn’t available. Things change. Roll with it. Make a trip to Iowa or West Virginia or Texas. Pay more from a local dealer. Negotiate with your local dealer, like in the old days. Or just wait until 2022--you’ve waited this long already!

Speaking of negotiating, I partially agree with the posts that said X-Plan doesn’t lower your price *that* much. In fact, on many vehicles it’s not hard to get below X-Plan. However, that misses the point. On high-demand vehicles it isn’t always so easy with a local dealer (yes, I know you can travel to get the low price). It’s just nice to know that you’re getting a competitive price on a “hot” vehicle, and not going to be stuck with various mark-ups and fees--without buying a plane ticket.

BroncoT said it well: “The best part of the X Plan is the ability to just order and know you’re getting a reasonably fair price with minimal effort. I was fine with a local dealer walking away with $500-1000 more from me, just to save the hassle. Now I have to care and haggle and all the crap I hate about buying a new vehicle.”

CinciGP as well: “Not sure everyone understands what x plan gives you. It limits doc fees and fully defines the vehicle price. No games, no adm, no paint protection and no waste of a day negotiating. It not just a few hundred dollar savings. … Nothing I hate worse then having to play the dealership games. We do this a few times in our lifetime, but they do it everyday. X plan elimates that.”

Another good take, from Potatomafia: “For me, the x plan was not so much the savings over MSRP, it was protection against unfair and unscrupulous hidden fees and greedy ‘documentation’ and ‘dealer’ fees. The trip into the finance manager's office is undoubtedly the worst part of the car buying process. I hate playing games. It's a huge waste of time. I have yet to buy from a dealer that does not do this to some degree. … Will not being able to use the x plan prevent me from ordering a Bronco? No, but a dealer that decides to throw on an ADM or play stupid games will.” Amen.


I agree with the post saying that Ford doesn’t *owe* us anything. Sure, it might not be the right long-term plan on their part, to piss off their most passionate customers, but they’ve made their choice. They think that the additional cash is worth the loss of goodwill, especially since most people really aren’t that loyal when it comes to buying cars and trucks (I’m one of those who is not--I’ve owned multiple brands). I think this quote by D Fresh said it perfectly: “Ford has gambled that the market will support no X plan pricing. Time will tell if they're right.”

There is another puzzle piece here. Ford wants to keep their Dealers happy, they *need* to keep them happy. Ford’s direct customers are its dealers, even if you are the ultimate customer. I think people are missing something fundamental here. Ford doesn’t own their dealers but they are required by law to sell through them. They have a close relationship, obviously, but they are NOT the same. Their business interests are NOT the same. Gotdesl got it right: “Sad reality is that we aren't Ford customers, the dealerships are. We can ONLY be customers of the dealership unless the sales model changes. … Pick who's customer you are carefully, and may the rest never sell a vehicle again.”

I saw some critical comments about Ford trying to copy Tesla, and failing. Why? Do you not realize that the business models are completely different? This is why Tesla has been fighting so hard, legally, to sell directly to customers! Ford literally cannot copy Tesla, even if they did things perfectly. They cannot completely control the process 100% because they are not selling you the Bronco directly.


The real underlying issue here is Ford’s mismanagement of the X-Plan program, and it’s coming back to bite them now. If literally anyone can get X-Plan pricing for the cost of $25, then it means nothing. As opposed to employees having a limited number of X-Plan PINs they could give or stockholders getting preferred pricing. Even the “Ford partners” aspect has been diluted, it’s way beyond Ford suppliers at this point.

Put yourself in the dealer’s shoes. You have a supposedly independent business, you think you can set and negotiate prices, within reason. You have to eat s#!& on a lot of deals because, frankly, a lot of the product you need to move isn’t that great. If you don’t move that product, you won’t get as much allocation for the hot vehicles. Along comes a vehicle where you can finally make some money (not ADM necessarily, although some surely will do that, but a vehicle that they don't have to heavily discount), and Ford undercuts them by letting anyone in the country get X-Plan. Of course the dealers won’t like that, it ties their hands.

The dealers could take the low-price, high-volume approach--and some have. But even those doing that, they want to do that through reservations (reservations come before dealer stock). More reservations probably means they get more dealer stock after reservations have been delivered. You think they’ll be offering those low prices on dealer stock Broncos? Dream on. No disrespect at all, they’re playing the long game and playing it well.


For the record, I bought 100 shares of F. I figured I don’t want to be part of the Mustang club (no offense, just another thing to clutter my life) and I’m not even sure when Ford will build my Bronco (then I might have to renew). Just made more sense to take a flyer on some stock that might even make me some money by the time I sell it.

As for me, my plan is …. do nothing, not yet anyway. Sounds like the earliest I’ll get a Bronco will be in the second half of 2021, even with a July 14 reservation. I will swing down and have a chat with my dealer, after B&P is released. If X-Plan, or something close, is not honored then I’ll shop around. I might not know this until November or December, whenever ordering takes place, so I'll hold onto my reservation until then at least. I can still move my reservation to another dealer, which I'll do *after* talking to those other (hopefully local) dealers. If that doesn’t work, I’ll wait until the prices come down and/or X-Plan is honored. If none of that works, I’ll buy something else. It’s just a vehicle.


Oh, one more thing: I intend to make it less appealing for my local dealer to add last minute mark-ups to get me to cancel in order to get a hot car on the lot to sell. How? Simple, I'll just order the manual transmission, nobody wanders onto a dealer lot to buy a manual nowadays so the dealer won't even want it! Better advice, from timhood: “I will be requiring everything in writing with whatever dealer I choose before I convert my reservation to an order. No trust, no surprises.” Amen to that.

Such a great post! Have to quote it because it may get buried in this huge thread!! Thank you!

This all can get so much worse. Every dealer is thinking up new ADM strategy‘s right now and how to keep their reservation holders on the hook as long as possible. Everyone is thinking that their recourse is to just switch dealerships. The concern is what if Ford cant make that happen? Switching isn’t just a couple of clicks on a website. It involves calling a call center that has currently been handling a few dozen requests probably daily max. What happens when thousands of people want to switch dealerships? Number is busy, time is running out, rumors flying. Think Ford is going hire more call center agents? Can’t just fill up a call center in COVID is a good excuse. Once dealers realize the switching process is broken all bets are off and it gets ugly fast.

Fear mongerer! ?

 

[LuckyDevil]

Not gonna lie ... eyes starting to wander...

? Jeeps will be $10,000 off MSRP the minute the 1st Bronco rolls off the line. ? You know.... Like they should have been for the past decade or so AND Used Wranglers will Cheap & Obsolete! ? lol

 

[Andy6GRealG]

The biggest thing about the x-plan was making the buying experience easy and fun. set fee's set price... now we have to go dealer by dealer and make sure there is no bullshit added and all the other reasons people HATE BUYING CARS - would have been nice to just have a great experience overall and Ford has made this more difficult now

Switch to granger or my dealer Stephens and life will be golden again. We are basically still getting things for close to x-plan price and I mean that within a few hundred dollars. I love buying cars, but I love to haggle too. It’s all part of the fun of it. Make it a game that you have to be willing to walk away from. Still Granger and Stephens are too good for me to pass up and I won’t even have to haggle. They are both on the level for quality dealerships. Very few and far between.

 

[Thechief86]

I spoke to my salesman at Miracle Ford in Gallatin, TN yesterday, and he confirmed that they will not be accepting X-plan for the '21 Bronco, however, they are not planning to add any markup over MSRP, and will include a Lifetime PowerTrain warranty in the purchase. As long as I can walk out the door with a monthly payment under $400, with a manual transmission and factory backed lockers, I'll be a happy boy. I plan to have a down payment of at least $5k, perhaps more if they don't expect the full down payment at ordering time.

 

[PatientlyWaiting]

Its still cheating the system. Understanding fords programs is what makes it a situation of abuse

You keep saying its "cheating". If you want to blame someone, blame the Motor Trends or the Car and Drivers out there. I had never heard of X-plan until those magazines started posting the blueprints on the easiest way to get Xplan. Take your dealer glasses off for a second. People are just looking for a better deal or a coupon. You've never looked on the internet for a coupon? Have you ever signed up for a musician or band's fan club, knowing you give two S@##s about the button and the free sticker, just to be able to score a ticket to their next ridiculously over priced concert?

One group you are leaving out in this "cheating the system" theme, is the ones who bought a 100 shares of Ford stock. What about those people? Do they get the big middle finger too?

Full Disclosure, I never signed up for X-plan. If Ford reverses course you better believe I'm going to sign up to get my discount.

 

[Hamhands]

I am glad I reserved a base, hopefully get base manual squatch. I am surprised how many peaple are thinking about spending Denali money on a beat around town fun truck. Disappointed about xplan but not surprised.

 

[GetWild]

You keep saying its "cheating". If you want to blame someone, blame the Motor Trends or the Car and Drivers out there. I had never heard of X-plan until those magazines started posting the blueprints on the easiest way to get Xplan. Take your dealer glasses off for a second. People are just looking for a better deal or a coupon. You've never looked on the internet for a coupon? Have you ever signed up for a musician or band's fan club, knowing you give two S@##s about the button and the free sticker, just to be able to score a ticket to their next ridiculously over priced concert?

One group you are leaving out in this "cheating the system" theme, is the ones who bought a 100 shares of Ford stock. What about those people? Do they get the big middle finger too?

Full Disclosure, I never signed up for X-plan. If Ford reverses course you better believe I'm going to sign up to get my discount.

Go back a page to bloominguez post and then try putting some dealer glasses on. It goes both ways. For the record, every dealer who was asked if they would honor x plan said they would honor it if Ford allows it.

 

[317_OffRoad]

I was led to believe that was because the 2 & 4 door Bronco's were not in production yet. But this new document is very concerning. Especially since Mike Levine tweeted that Bronco would be eligible for X Plan. This is BS! A Jeep Rubicon is looking like an option now. I may need to reconsider? Everyone who is X Plan eligible on this Forum needs to let Ford know that they may lose a lot of potential sales! This is not cool!

Im already planning my Gladiator build as we speak!

 

[Boxer4]

I am glad I reserved a base, hopefully get base manual squatch. I am surprised how many peaple are thinking about spending Denali money on a beat around town fun truck. Disappointed about xplan but not surprised.

Agree

 

[Andy6GRealG]

I spoke to my salesman at Miracle Ford in Gallatin, TN yesterday, and he confirmed that they will not be accepting X-plan for the '21 Bronco, however, they are not planning to add any markup over MSRP, and will include a Lifetime PowerTrain warranty in the purchase. As long as I can walk out the door with a monthly payment under $400, with a manual transmission and factory backed lockers, I'll be a happy boy. I plan to have a down payment of at least $5k, perhaps more if they don't expect the full down payment at ordering time.

What trim and for how many months are you looking to pay? A base with Sasquatch will probably give 400 a month for 84 with $5000 down and thats with a apr under 3%.

 

[DrewBronc21]

What trim and for how many months are you looking to pay? A base with Sasquatch will probably give 400 a month for 84 with $5000 down and thats with a apr under 3%.

yeah probably no Bronco can be had for a $400 payment with only $5k down

 

[tallboy33]

yeah probably no Bronco can be had for a $400 payment with only $5k down

That's what I was thinking...
Getting a deal really helps curve buyers remorse. Lets face it, nobody needs this Bronco, it's just that we are Ford lovers at heart and that's why not honoring the XPlan feels like a kick in the teeth from the one you have always been loyal to. Some of us don't buy anything without finding the best deal and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm so grateful Stephens is only a couple hours away as their offer provides me a way to still get a deal. Local dealers will lose out but that's ok, they have had a chance to match and declined.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

I cancelled my reservation. Not because of price, but on principal. I also put a sell on all my Ford Stock which was up a nice 62% since April). A Rubicon will do just fine in my driveway. For me, X-Plan has always been a way to get an honest and fair deal. I have never supported a dealer that didn’t support X-Plan, and I will no longer support Ford.

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