Dealer asking for $500 Deposit at time of Order

[coolrain]

From what I understand the penalties for units not going to the reservation holder are pretty stiff. Dealers are going to need to guarantee you won’t flake out, I’d expect A lot of dealerships to require $1k+ non refundable.

not buying it... no way there is not a clause that the dealership can purchase the vehicle in the same way they do stock on a confirmed reservation that backs out. Thus not making any change to the Ford bottom line. On any of them that they would want to "return" - ok maybe but that won't happen either.
Do we have anything official about the penalty? If so we need to see all the fine print

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[Nickp]

not buying it... no way there is not a clause that the dealership can purchase the vehicle in the same way they do stock on a confirmed reservation that backs out. Thus not making any change to the Ford bottom line. On any of them that they would want to "return" - ok maybe but that won't happen either.
Do we have anything official about the penalty? If so we need to see all the fine print

They absolutely can, there will of course be people that flake out and those units will become stock units. I’m not sure what the exact penalties are, but they are something that are going to encourage the dealership to make sure they don’t have anyone flaking out.

Just as a note, this is for a reason. Otherwise dealers would just put in 20 orders from staff and family and then “accidentally” have customers flake out and then those become stock units. Ford does not want that happening.

 

[TrailDust]

I don't mind paying an additional non-refundable deposit within reason, and I support it. Hopefully it will weed out the flakes and people who are not serious about purchase. Move up some of the orders. Even if for some reason I lose everything and can't buy it I would consider it a bet that I lost, after all if I'm in that spot I have more to worry about than losing $500-$1000 6-9 months prior.

 

[broncoskip]

I said this before. I think it depends on what you are ordering and/or this is a way for a dealer to gauge your dedication.

Anything above a grand, and the dealer either thinks you are not going to go through with the sale, or isn't willing to risk you ordering that fully loaded Badlands in AMB for $60k and getting stuck with the one Bronco no one wants to afford. Less than a grand, the dealership is just locking you into the sale so that you don't go running to another dealership with your reservation.

I expect to put down $1000 at time of ordering. To me, this is to ensure the dealership is dedicated to selling me that Bronco. Before I set down cash, i am going to be ensuring I am getting mine in for a good price. I mean, you are asking for money, that means we are negotiating, right?

At least, this is what I hope happens at my dealership. I think i would worry more if they didn't ask for at least $500 at time of order, even if i was ordering an F150 work truck. A little cash being exchanged goes a long way to form a relationship that needs to last six months from time of order to delivery.

 

[PSUTE]

Fully expect to have to put $500-1000 down when ordering. If they want it before the time of the order, that would be a red flag...

 

[coolrain]

They absolutely can, there will of course be people that flake out and those units will become stock units. I’m not sure what the exact penalties are, but they are something that are going to encourage the dealership to make sure they don’t have anyone flaking out.

Just as a note, this is for a reason. Otherwise dealers would just put in 20 orders from staff and family and then “accidentally” have customers flake out and then those become stock units. Ford does not want that happening.

I understand the point - I just don't see them penalizing the dealerships like this unless I see the evidence.... sounds like a marketing point. They (Ford) are already shady with the allocations (seems like they are taking care of stock anyway) Our reservations are confirmed by a time and date stamp. Unless a dealer had friends and family plugging away the first couple of weeks with reservations I really don't see this as an issue for a majority of the reservation holders and again I'm not sure this is a Ford priority as they drop x-plan and change the allocation policy
I could be completely wrong, not sure we would ever see the full policy regardless

 

[Edelfin]

not buying it... no way there is not a clause that the dealership can purchase the vehicle in the same way they do stock on a confirmed reservation that backs out. Thus not making any change to the Ford bottom line. On any of them that they would want to "return" - ok maybe but that won't happen either.
Do we have anything official about the penalty? If so we need to see all the fine print

I'm super curious what the "penalty" is as well. Most businesses can factor ANY "monetary penalty" into the cost when they sell something. See the VW "penalty" for lying about EPA regulations, they still made off with profit. If it's an allocation or delivery penalty then it bears a little more teeth.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

I'm super curious what the "penalty" is as well. Most businesses can factor ANY "monetary penalty" into the cost when they sell something. See the VW "penalty" for lying about EPA regulations, they still made off with profit. If it's an allocation or delivery penalty then it bears a little more teeth.

It's been mentioned it is not a monetary penalty.

So basically...Ford will put the dealer in the dog house.

 

[Bullitt]

From a recent Ford email:

"Expect your dealer to request a deposit to confirm your commitment, which will enable us to accurately schedule production."

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

I've seen some rabid responses from folks regarding order deposits from dealers. I did get an response from my dealer specifying they will offer at or below but not above MSRP. They do ask for $500 at ordering time. Anybody see this as a red flag? My dealer is local and I can't justify to myself travelling 6+hrs each way to a dealer for a discount. Doesn't seem fishy to me, just wanting some commitment instead of a bunch of cancels.

A deposit of $500.00-$1K has been pretty much standard over the last 30 years. Not all Dealers do it, many do. I would not call it a deal breaker at all....after all...you are either buying it or you are not. I will gladly put down $1K. And for those that say you are losing interest....interest on $1K for 6 months at todays savings acct rates is about 2 cents.

 

[ontheborder]

I would expect to have to provide a deposit at time of order. That said, I would also expect it to be a refundable deposit given no expectation on delivery. If delivery is 3 months away great. If it's 6-9 months a lot can happen and I may need to go in another direction with a different set of wheels before then.

 

[tlubull]

I agree. Seems logical. I am a committed buyer so no real skin off of my teeth. Barring losing my job in the next year+ I would expect this to be no problem.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

2 cents.

That's 2 cents I could re-invest over 40 years and make 50 cents!!! I don't like to throw away money like that.

 

[Edelfin]

It's been mentioned it is not a monetary penalty.

So basically...Ford will put the dealer in the dog house.

Did some digging. It's an allocation penalty according to someone that owns a Ford dealership. No specific details to share though.

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