I'm guessing you haven't visited CA. Very few businesses make a practice of being closed on a Sunday. That practice is probably much more common in the Southern US... but, not out here in Disneyland
I didn't realize it until we all left, but his wife drove up in the Escape (which caught my wife's eye). I originally thought they both came together, but didn't see them arrive. He drove up separately in a Lincoln. I probably had my face buried too deeply in the menu when they parked their rides to notice they didn't arrive together...Great story! The most amazing part to me was the owner of a Ford dealer was driving a Ford Esxape.
As is often the case in life... it's being in the right place at the right time. Having 4 previous purchases at this dealership probably didn't hurt either
off to your wife!
My '92 has a 351W (5.8L). That particular engine has never been known as a great powerplant (I'd characterize it as a dog). In comparison, the 2.3 coupled with the 10-speed is a rocket. It will never tow anything, but those days are in my rearview mirror now. My wife thinks "roughing it" at this stage of our lives is a 3-star hotel ;-)
To quote Marty McFly, it was your “density, I mean destiny.” Congrats!
First, I’m a “lurker” here at B6G… I read a lot, and remark very infrequently. What follows is a story of several highly improbable events which led to a ‘21 Bronco in my driveway.
So, my Bronco reservation was made a while ago; my order had been converted; and I was reasonably certain I would take delivery of a new Bronco sometime in a millennium beginning with the number “2”. At least, that was my hope.
About 8 or 9 months ago, the wife and I were out for breakfast at a local café. Due to CoVID, dining was outside. A couple drove up in a new Ford SUV (an Edge as I recall), and took a seat at the table next to us. We struck up a conversation about the car they drove up in, as well as my 92 Eddie Bauer Bronco which was parked nearby. As it turns out, this couple owns the Ford dealership in the city we had just moved from about 18 months earlier (about a 30-minute drive from where we currently live). We had previously purchased several new and used vehicles from his dealership, but never met him before (having only dealt with his staff).
Fast forward to a little over a week ago. October 28, I was tasked with transporting one of my in-laws to a medical appointment. As I started to pull out of my driveway, I glanced to my right – and spied a 2021 carbonized grey 2-door Outer Banks Bronco 2.0 hard-top parked in a neighbor’s driveway, about 5 houses down the street. Outside of clearly NOT being a sasquatch package, it appeared to largely be what I had on order from Ford. So, I turned left – and proceeded to take my in-law to her medical appointment.
Shortly after leaving my house, I called my wife, who was at home at the time, and asked her to walk down the driveway and look to her right to see a Bronco which appeared to be very similar to what we had on order. She was busy when I called, and I didn’t think she would bother to take a look. Several minutes later, I received a phone call from my wife, telling me she had walked down the street and was talking to the owner of a Ford dealership (the same gentleman previously mentioned) – stating he was waiting for me to get back and take a test drive in the Bronco I had spotted. I was almost back home at the time I received that call.
I drove up to where the Outer Banks was parked in my ‘92 Eddie Bauer Bronco, and my wife immediately pointed out to the dealership owner my rear license plate frame was from his dealership (where I had previously had my EB Bronco serviced). So, after exchanging a few pleasantries, I jumped in the Outer Banks and zipped off for a quick test drive. I must say, I was quite impressed. At this point, I had only driven 4-door Broncos, all with soft-tops, and all with 2.7 V-6 engines. This was my first experience driving a 2-door, hard top, and an I-4. After looking around the interior, it didn’t take long to quickly realize that outside of the sasquatch package, this Bronco was equipped with all the options I had ordered (plus a few more).
While I was taking my test drive, my wife, thinking there was a possibility we could have a shot at getting this vehicle, turned on the charm, started working all the angles, and twisting the dealer’s arm.
I returned, and the dealership owner immediately asked me what I thought of the vehicle. I was wearing my best poker face, and told him his Bronco was almost exactly what I had on order. I explained my order was currently with the local Ford dealer in town (which was less than 5 miles from my house). I said when I placed my order on-line, the system defaulted to the local dealership, which was just convenient given it’s proximity to where I lived. He seemed to totally understand. This dealer lives in the same city I currently live in, and explained he just was driving my neighbor home after my neighbor had dropped off his vehicle for service at his lot (apparently my neighbor is a very good customer).
Now it’s time to cut to the chase. I asked him what he wanted for this Bronco (I had not yet looked at the window sticker). He quickly led with the “availability” speech (he’s got plenty of salesman-game left in him, lol), and said he was hoping to get an additional $10K over MSRP due to limited availability – BUT, since I had a purchasing history with his dealership – he would let it go for MSRP. Thinking back to another B6G member who recently posted he waited 16 months for his Bronco to go from order to production, and still didn’t have it yet… it took about a nanosecond to extend my hand and say “I think we have a deal”.
The dealer told me he only had this particular vehicle on his lot for 2 weeks (1600 miles were already on the odo) and Ford is requiring him to keep his demo vehicles on the lot for 6 months or 6K miles on the odo before he can sell them – BUT, he was going to contact Ford to see if he could deliver the vehicle sooner than 6 months since I already had an existing order in for the same trim level and options.
I already had the dealer’s business card in my wallet (from our earlier chance meeting) which he was happy to see, and asked me to e-mail him my order information. He said he would get back to me the following day after speaking to Ford. At that point, I figured I would have to wait 5.5 months to take delivery – which was a heck of a lot shorter span of time than my order was going to take. As for the missing sasquatch features on this vehicle… I figured I could add those options later.
So, after the dealer drives away… my wife and I start asking ourselves… what are the chances:
There were just too many pieces of a HUGE puzzle falling into place to make this story come together as it did. I would not have believed it had I not been living it.
- We previously met this dealer and his wife at a local restaurant and had a conversation about my EB Bronco, his dealership, and the sales staff we had previously worked with;
- That I had to take my wife’s mother to a doctor’s appointment on that particular day, at a time of day when the dealer, by happenstance, was in my neighborhood – and at a time of day when I’m typically not out in front of my residence;
- I looked opposite of the direction I was going to travel, and a good distance further down the street than I would normally look when pulling out of my driveway, only to see NEARLY the exact same Bronco I already had on order - parked at my neighbor’s house; AND
- My wife walks down the street and strikes up a conversation with the owner of the dealership moments before he is about to drive off (and likely would have been LONG GONE by the time I returned home).
So, the following morning I looked in our e-mail inbox, and saw the dealership owner has sent an e-mail asking if I could come to his lot to take possession on Sunday. I was SHOCKED! How fast could I type YES! I never thought it would happen this quick, let alone at all. I’m not entirely sure I’m supposed to be getting this vehicle (or that perhaps something was misunderstood between Ford and the dealership) – BUT, I’m not asking any questions either! When opportunity knocks, you charge thru the door, right?
My wife and I showed-up at the dealership right at opening on Sunday. Shortly after locating our salesman, we are approached by the GM… who, after introducing himself, tells us how pissed everyone was that the owner had decided to sell the Bronco to us at MSRP, with no ADM. Then he laughed, and said it was our gain! Damn right! As an aside, my wife and I had been at a Ford dealership in a nearby city two weeks earlier, and were told by that dealership’s GM they had just sold a ’21 FE to a professional athlete with a $100K ADM. The only added fee we were hit with was a tinted window charge – as the dealership owner had the windows tinted off-site upon delivery at his dealership. That was it. No complaints!
By coincidence, the day after we took delivery, my order status was updated – assigning a VIN.
We haven’t been able to drive the Outer Banks too terribly much since delivery (it’s been a little over a week). But, it’s been a heck of a lot of fun thus far. We took it up the CA central coast this past weekend, and it seemed every town we drove thru was having a classic car show. More show quality old woodies and vintage pick-up trucks than we could count… and many eyes cast back our direction, fixed on the unicorn we were driving… a new 2-door hard-top Bronco.
It’s still hard to believe how this all fell together…
2.3L 2-Door Carbonized Grey Outer Banks; Modular Front Bumper; Lux Package; Roof Rails; and Leather/Vinyl Seats.
So i guess for me its a North-east thing.. I really should start getting out more often.I'm guessing you haven't visited CA. Very few businesses make a practice of being closed on a Sunday. That practice is probably much more common in the Southern US... but, not out here in Disneyland
You are SO RIGHT! Without my wife's involvement, this likely would have NEVER happened!Christmas came EARLY!
Congrats on that snag, and hats
Lots of old Blue Laws in NJ.
