Gaming the system is causing the back log.

[Jjt24]

Don't blame the genuine buyer (leaving out those who are only looking to resell). Ford has not kept their word and changed the rules. I could be viewed as one of those who "gamed the system". But I only did what was in my best interest.

Back in the summer of 2020, Ford had stated that they were going to build reservations first. Ford tried to control the volume of reservations by limiting them to 2 per name/address. The $100 was not enough of a barrier to stem the volume of reservations by friends, family, and employees of dealerships who had no intent of buying the Bronco for their own use. Ford should have closed reservations at the end of 2020 if not sooner. But they continued to allow reservations to be made through 2021.

When MY'21 production began, Ford reneged on their "Reservations First" policy by introducing dealer stock under the guise that lower spec'd Broncos were not ordered, but could be produced and they had to keep MAP running. Then in the fall, the allocation rules were changed for MY'22 and many of us realized that we had drew the short stick as we would be waiting for years to get our Bronco. Fine. Some of us continued to want to adhere to our original reservation, but wanted the chance to get it sooner than MY'25. Levine proclaimed in October of 2021, "You can move your reservation". There is a thread with his exact words in the thread title, yet we found out that it was another falsehood. Many individuals attempted to abide by Ford's process only to find out there was no process. Only after coming to the realization (for some it took longer than others) that the reservation couldn't be transferred, we were left with waiting in line at our dealership or creating a new order with another dealer.

Waiting for 5 years from original reservation date was untenable. I found a dealer that had plenty of allocation (the only true constraint). In fact, I found 3 that indicated that there was no concern that I wouldn't receive a MY'22 Bronco. I ordered the exact same build at all 3 dealers. My Bronco is built (3/14) and is awaiting delivery. I cancelled the one order. And I have the other, along with my original reservation, set to a priority code '99.

What I did, anyone else could have done. I was content to play Ford's game with the original rules in place even if that meant waiting. But Ford changed the rules after the game started, I only adapted to the rule changes to suit my interest.

You don't really fall into the category as "gaming the system" since you canceled or 99'd the other orders after getting a build. If you got a build and left the other orders out there to get built and take up parts then you would fall into this category. It's the people with multiple orders that let them all get built and only want one that are detrimental to people still waiting.

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[Carolina Jim]

there's a huge disconnect between what Ford thinks is going on and what's actually happening at the consumer level.

True story for'ya: My wife's career was in telephony. In that context, she visited backstage at one of the 24/7 TV shopping channels. The on-screen talent showcasing jewelry or watches has full view of a giant real-time graphic showing incoming phone calls second by second. The on-screen talent learns to adjust their body movement and dialogue to max out those incoming calls.

The customer feedback loop is no longer an important part of business....it IS the business. That Ford remains clueless just reinforces my belief their business acumen mirrors their mediocre product reliability ratings.

 

[M&M Beer]

I think that dealerships are loving the way vehicles are arriving. They are making huge profits and they don't have to carry an inventory. Every vehicle that arrives is pre-sold and they still make a profit. I would love to have a dealership that I don't have to carry a 3-4 million dollar worth of inventory. Then pressure sale someone into buying something they don't want.

 

[Compta38]

There should have been a minimum of $500 non refundable deposit during reservation process then another $500 non refundable to dealer at time of order. My last Ford was bought in 2016 and I had to pay $1000 non refundable at time of order.

People placing multiple orders are 100% adding to the backlog, it's just common sense.

 

[flip]

True story for'ya: My wife's career was in telephony. In that context, she visited backstage at one of the 24/7 TV shopping channels. The on-screen talent showcasing jewelry or watches has full view of a giant real-time graphic showing incoming phone calls second by second. The on-screen talent learns to adjust their body movement and dialogue to max out those incoming calls.

The customer feedback loop is no longer an important part of business....it IS the business. That Ford remains clueless just reinforces my belief their business acumen mirrors their mediocre product reliability ratings.

It's great if you're trying to get the stock price fluffed but when you can't deliver....woof! I agree, it appears they're more concerned with optics and the next great great, they've over the bronco backlog and off to the next headline maker.

 

[Blackcat]

When I ordered my wife's Wrangler, I had to put down a $1K deposit. That definitely added to the 'commitment'.

 

[RoLyMa27]

Yeah, to hell with all those other people working there! They don't need a job! It's unfortunate this has been a fiasco for many people! It truly sucks that some early res holders still don't have a Bronco! But, not all dealers are horrible places filled with terrible people! It just floors me how willing people are to just throw away whole industries simply because things don't go their way or they have a bad experience. Remember, those are human beings working there, doing the best they can to make a living and from my experience, most of them are good people!

 

[Bob 07064]

Stellantis saw this occurring on their side with many of their premium vehicles as well, primarily on the Jeep 392 and Ram TRX. They began blocking all builds that had multiple orders tied to the same customer address. They recognized that the flippers were consuming dealer allotments at a rapid rate and thus saw the market being driven up artificially. Most dealers would notify customers at order that their order would be automatically cancelled if record checks indicated this was the case. I've often wondered if Ford was doing something similarly but not advertising the fact it was occurring.

Stellantis is also offering direct sales. You can order it online, finance and arrange for delivery without going near a dealer...

 

[Cooldude]

That’s not on the dealers , that’s on ford.

 

[Beach_Bum]

You don't really fall into the category as "gaming the system" since you canceled or 99'd the other orders after getting a build. If you got a build and left the other orders out there to get built and take up parts then you would fall into this category. It's the people with multiple orders that let them all get built and only want one that are detrimental to people still waiting.

And just for transparency, I'm a Grange-tober reservation holder. I knew I wanted a Bronco back at the reveal, but I didn't want a MY'21. I was content in timing my reservation so it would be later in the hope that it would fall in MY'22 slot. I would have made my reservation in August/September with another dealer, but I still wasn't certain that would put me far enough back in line to assure a MY'22. I was aware of Granger's positive influence on the community not just here on B6G but also on the Sport Forum. Albert was helping buyers who weren't even his customers with questions. Still wasn't committed to reserving with them, but then they came out with the Grange-tober promotion and it was a no-brainer. Keep in mind that back in Oct. 2020, the notion was that Ford was still going to build reservations before dealer stock and walk-in orders. There was no reason to think that Ford couldn't produce the volume of reservations at that time in 2 years of production. Even if it pushed me to MY'23, I would have waited my turn.

But Ford changed the rules of the game. I still tried to abide by the old rules by transferring my one reservation which I learned that there was no process to do so despite Levine's public proclamation. I'm keeping my Grange-tober reservation and look forward to the model refresh in MY'25. The other order that is '99'd is at a high allocation dealer that I'll likely cancel. But Ford set a precedent with the Everglades ordering making it available to only unscheduled reservation holders. If the Heritage is made available in similar fashion, then I'll option the high allocation '99'd order to it. Because sadly, I still won't be able to option it with my Grange-tober reservation with their allocation.

If the Heritage gets pushed back further or doesn't appeal to me, then I'll cancel the high allocation '99'd order and wait for my Grange-tober order to be built in MY'25. By then my currently built Bronco will be 3 years old and I'll dedicate it as a trail runner.

 

[HarderCorer]

And just for transparency, I'm a Grange-tober reservation holder. I knew I wanted a Bronco back at the reveal, but I didn't want a MY'21. I was content in timing my reservation so it would be later in the hope that it would fall in MY'22 slot. I would have made my reservation in August/September with another dealer, but I still wasn't certain that would put me far enough back in line to assure a MY'22.

God I remember those days, laughing to myself that I'd probably get a removable top vehicle just in time for the freezing salt-bath days of winter...

 

[dallasobx]

Most in Central Texas are requiring a refundable $500 deposit, but I've heard of $1k. They want their name match rate to remain high. Ford requires that 60% of retail orders be sold to the same person who ordered them, as a (weak) means of discouraging dealers from selling customer orders to the general public (those $30k+ ADMs we keep hearing about).

There is a list somewhere on the forum showing which dealers have been honoring MSRP and behaving. Hopefully your dealer is on it!

Yes, thankfully my dealer is on the list as one of the good ones. Hopefully one day I’ll get my Bronco that’s been sitting on ice/dirt mountain for three months

 

[old goat]

should have been 500 for reservation and 2000 to place an order .and in the end result use that toward the down payment when your/my bronco comes in to acquire.
that would have weeded out the multiple gamers and shifty dealers.

 

[Johnny Mo]

While I agree that a larger deposit may have caused a bit of pause for people who were only casually interested, I think from an accounting perspective since each of the dealerships were credited for the deposits - it would've created a nightmare for them at a larger amount given the amount of time that has passed, technically they have accrued interest on the deposits and it either belongs to the customer or the dealership as income. Factor in states with deposit refund requirements vs not and you can see where this goes in a hurry. $100 was a strategic number for both marketing and ease of accounting.

 

[Beach_Bum]

God I remember those days, laughing to myself that I'd probably get a removable top vehicle just in time for the freezing salt-bath days of winter...

" I was content in timing my reservation so it would be later in the hope that it would fall in MY'22 slot. I would have made my reservation in August/September with another dealer, but I still wasn't certain that would put me far enough back in line to assure a MY'22. "

Yes, I was very naive in my logic by delaying my reservation. Silly me to think that Ford would be capable of mass producing a mass produced vehicle. I know people give Ford a lot of slack about suppliers and using the Covid Crutch excuse. But the Bronco was planned for release long before Covid. Suppliers are vetted and approved long before the first reservation was made. We all know of the difficulties that Webasto had with the MIC top, but not having an adequate supplier of PPF or the elusive tow wiring harness is laughable. Ford's best month of Bronco production for MY'21 was still 3000 short of Stellantis' worst month of Wrangler production for the same MY. Ford chose to target the Wrangler as competition. At some point, they need to be a legitimate competitor. Lately, Ford has served as a promoter for new Wrangler sales based on their inability to build/deliver in a reasonable amount of time.

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