Dealer said $1000 nonrefundable fee?

[Lifeliberty]

Wouldnt that also punish the people with reservations at that dealership if dealer gets fewer allocations? It seems like that would irritate people enough to drop out thus creating a vicious cycle.

It's just shitty dealers fucking it up for everyone, Ford trying to level the playing field, and pressure turned up on the customers.

Not good, but that was Ford's solution

Customer can shop around, i recommend it

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[Roger123]

I hate to point out the obvious but... Why would you bother collecting a deposit if it’s refundable?

Ultimately you have the choice to shop other dealers, decide if the trade off of increased travel time is worth it to you to avoid a deposit. But I don’t understand getting upset with a dealer for doing totally normal practices to protect their business.

Because many people don't have $1000 in their pocket even though they're buying a $50,000 car. With 100% financing for 84 months there's many people out there buying cars that they maybe shouldn't be.

 

[Drex]

31 replies and not a single person took the time to actually read the original post. It is not a deposit. It is a 'fee' for ordering. That means it is not going to be refundable and it is not going to be be applicable to the purchase price. It is a dealer saying that you will pay me $1000 (not a deposit, but a fee, nothing in return but ordering) right now before I order. That money is gone.

Change dealers right now.

 

[Roger123]

31 replies and not a single person took the time to actually read the original post. It is not a deposit. It is a 'fee' for ordering. That means it is not going to be refundable and it is not going to be be applicable to the purchase price. It is a dealer saying that you will pay me $1000 (not a deposit, but a fee, nothing in return but ordering) right now before I order. That money is gone.

Change dealers right now.

You may be right but I took fee to equal deposit. If an actual fee then run for the hills!!!!!

 

[Jhicks]

Wouldnt that also punish the people with reservations at that dealership if dealer gets fewer allocations? It seems like that would irritate people enough to drop out thus creating a vicious cycle.

The transparency that the ordering system has created is good for the customer and will prevent some of the gaming of the system that dealers might have attempted by having employees load the reservation system and them covert those reservations to orders. In that example the dealer gets ground stock, and can sell with additional dealer markup, while all the competition only has sold inventory coming in so people who were not invested in Bronco early could have one before people who have been waiting since July 13th.

The issue is not everyone that has a reservation really has the ability or desire to actually purchase a Bronco. A deposit is an easy way to determine the intention of the buyer, similar to earnest money that you would put down on the offer to buy a house.

If the dealer is not applying the deposit to the purchase price at the time of delivery find a new dealer.

 

[Drex]

a dealer is not going to use the word 'fee' when they mean 'deposit'. Never.

 

[De Brus]

I don't know how anyone could pay a non refundable deposit on a vehicle nobody, let alone the buyer, has test driven. We have no idea how the bronco rides/drives besides what we hear on YouTube from pre pro test drives. My dealer asked no additional deposit and said money won't exchange hands until I drive the vehicle and tell him I want it.

I would seriously consider switching dealers personally.

 

[linbackr99]

Mine is ordered. No additional deposit. I would not have ordered if there was a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit . . . I have zero issue with the deposit but I not if it's non-refundable. With the uncertainty of my trade allowance (and bottom line) and who knows what the vehicle might look like upon delivery - will it have all the right options? . . . damage? . . . etc. Seems totally unreasonable to me.

 

[BossMann]

Deposits are fine as long as they are refundable

 

[Razorbak86]

The penalty for the dealerships that fall below the 80% delivery rate is the loss of a months allocation of Bronco inventory. For the dealer it is critical that the person that orders the Bronco is the person that takes delivery.

Thanks for your reply, Jeff. Welcome to the forum!

I am glad that you, as the General Manager at Rockwall Ford, take this matter seriously. As a Ford shareholder, I greatly appreciate your leadership on this matter. Unfortunately not all of the thousands of Ford dealers in the United States do.

FWIW, there is an interesting discussion about this topic on a recently created thread here on the forum. It contains a lot of mis-information — e.g., people getting the terms “reservations“, “converted reservations”, and “final sales“ confused — so I would encourage you to visit that thread and offer your perspective...

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...-policy-violations-exceptions-and-faqs.11717/

I am sure the B6G community could learn quite a bit from your real-world experience as a dealer. Thanks again.

 

[ResidualGenius]

Spoke to dealer, planning on putting the order in Monday. Dealer said $1000 nonrefundable fee at order time. Anybody else hear about that?

Ordered Wednesday and paid zero extra, Phil Long Ford Denver

 

[Big Boss]

You are ordering a vehicle made to your specs, and my understanding is the dealership is penalized if you don’t purchase your vehicle after order (is that correct?)
A $1000 deposit seems pretty reasonable to me. My dealer is asking for a $3000 deposit, but that’s not an issue because I know I’m taking it home. If you’re unsure then you might want to try your luck elsewhere.

Its not the dollar amount its The non refundable part is an issue for me. What if it shows up and the body panels are all out of whack or something isn't right or is damaged during transit or any other number of issues that can happen when purchasing a vehicle. Let alone one that no one outside of a select few have driven let alone even sat in.


Re read OP. For sure if its a fee I would run away fast

 

[Trav]

I placed a $1000 deposit with my order today at a small local dealer.

 

[Broncogoat]

Spoke to dealer, planning on putting the order in Monday. Dealer said $1000 nonrefundable fee at order time. Anybody else hear about that?

Which dealer or town are they in I'm OH as well

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