Granger Ford -2022 Bronco Allocation - No one said it was going to be easy

[Shinersmike]

I have a good sense of how the allocation system works and how it is justified. But with the Reservation System rollout and backtracking, it seems the allocation on this product should be tweaked a bit. Customers, many of whom are coveted conquest sales are being punished. Many will defect and buy Jeep products. Most all will have a lingering dislike for anything Ford.

Kind of funny in a way. This policy is going to make Zach one of the largest Jeep Dealerships in the world.

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[HotdogThud]

If I had the option of switching my order to these guys this late in the game, I'd do it in a second.

Fuck ford for getting bent over by its dealer network, and fuck every other dealer for bending customers over for decades.

All in favor of replacing Jim Farley as CEO with the reanimated corpse of Chris Farley?

One Farley is clearly better than the other.

 

[SumBronco]

As another member mentioned, I may also be interested in whether or not you have any deals on '21 or '22 Jeep GCs (in the meantime)...

 

[2.3BigBend]

Wow, that sucks, but you guys at Granger are awesome. So far my dealer "communications" are as follows:

• Placed a reservation with Ford 4/23/2021
• Dealer contacted me and placed order 4/29/2021
• I contacted dealer about driving mannequin unit 7/20/2021 and went for a test drive
• I contacted dealership last week to ask if their were any updates on reordering my Bronco ( They told me order banks didn't open until December 1st)

So there you have it. Through all of this, my salesman has not text or emailed or called me once. I don't want contacted daily, but a simple update seems warranted. I would love to have a dealer with transparency and WORK ethic!!

 

[BadBoyBroncoBilly]

Granger Ford is 1,426 miles from my front door. That would be a fun 2 day road trip!

 

[Zero_chance]

My grandfather owned a gas station that my father worked in as a young boy. It was what you would picture as a typical small town full-service gas station in rural Iowa. He grew up around the gas station and that is where he learned his blue-collar work-ethic. It is also where he first started to sell used cars at the age of 16. Fast-forward to 1978 he purchased a Dodge store in Granger, Iowa and later in 1987 he purchased a Ford dealership in Dallas Center, Iowa. He then relocated the Ford store to Granger and become what is now Granger Motors & Granger Ford.

He had a saying when we would complain growing up. “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” The last week has been a great reminder of that. Our staff, starting with Albert and now continuing with a 5-member team, has worked very hard over the last 16 months. Yesterday’s allocation announcement was a gut-punch. I tend to be a glass is half-full guy, and this certainly has been a test of that.

We have the Bronco6G community and a lot of loyal customers to thank for all their support and my responsibility lies with them. We want them to be taken care of properly. There is no other way to sugar coat it, the allocation formula does the biggest disservice to our customers. Ford decided to dip their toes in the “reservation” system emulating a method made popular by Tesla’s recent success. In the end, they couldn’t dive all the way in and reverted more closely back to the franchise/allocation system that has been in place for over 100 years. I get it. You want to reward the dealerships that have sold hundreds and thousands of vehicles on an annual basis. The franchise system also benefits the consumer because of discounts and aggressive pricing. If this was Tesla, there would be no discounts. There would be no Granger Ford.

To recap 2021, we received allocation of 203 units. This was on roughly 600 reservations we received before the allocation cutoff. It was reasonable to assume that moving from 6 to 12 months of production would safely bump our allocation to around 400. It was also a reasonable assumption that including all reservations as a factor, instead of just the September cutoff (1300+ reservations), would double our allocation count again to around 800 units. Adjusted down slightly, we were anticipating 700-ish Broncos for 2022. That isn’t how it is going to work out. Moving the “bronco” factor down from 50% to 25% and moving the factor from reservations to 2021 allocations was the worst possible scenario for our customers. We are left with 1075 orders converted from reservations currently. I would anticipate being able to fill 10-20% of our reservation count for 2022. That amounts to 120-220 Units depending on how production plays out. We received 11 for 2022 Model Year production start up.

So where do we go from here? Like I said before, our obligation lies with you the customer. So, whether you end up purchasing your Bronco from me or not, I want you to have a great experience and I want you to get your Bronco. So, there are a few things we can do as a store to help increase that allocation number.

What is Granger Ford going to do?

1. Bronco Facility – There is a Bronco facility upgrade that dealerships can opt into. This can increase our 2022 Allocation by 18 total units. We are absolutely going to spend the money and sign up for this.

2. Bronco Sport Sales – 25% of the allocation formula is Bronco Sport sales. We are going to become better at selling Bronco Sports than Broncos. We are now offering 6% under invoice on a Bronco Sport order. We are going to get as creative as possible to shoot this sales number up ASAP. We are going to be relentless in this pursuit. In my mind, this is our biggest opportunity.

3. Share of Nation Sales – This is over a 36-month period, so it’s going to be the hardest number to move. But because of our loyal online following and progressive business model. We have quickly moved up 20+ spots in our region YTD and I anticipate being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Ford dealer in the state of Iowa for 2022.

4. We are committed to only selling to our reservation holders - 100% of our Broncos delivered have been to our reservation holders. Ford lowered the dealer’s name match standard to 60% because other dealers seem to have trouble making that work. We have it down to a science and will continue to value long-term commitments rather than short term profit.

5. Discount lock-in – We absolutely are going to honor our pricing agreements with our customers. $1000 under invoice or $2000 under invoice October special. This will not change.

6. Honest Conversations – Over the next 30+ days we are going to have open and honest conversations regarding your reservation and where you stand among our total reservation count. We will do our best to advise you of your best options and talk you through what makes the most sense for you. We are going to have your best interest in mind, regardless of whether you end up purchasing from us.

What can our reservation holders do?

1. Hang in there – No, we’re not going to send you a hammock. But I know there are a collection of our reservation holders that are loyal to us and how we do business. Their patience will be put to the test, but we are going to do our best to give monthly updates on our allocation and progress that we’re making on Bronco deliveries as well as our other goals to increase allocation.

2. Buy a Wrangler/Gladiator at 4% Under Invoice – if you are tired of the Bronco ride, we can offer you a Wrangler/Gladiator purchase at 4% under invoice and have it delivered to our store in 60-90 days. 2022 Wrangler and Gladiator ordering opened yesterday. Email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send you a quote.

3. Find Another Bronco Dealer – I have confirmed that Ford will allow transferring of reservations/orders. We have heard of ADM horror stories, but there are other dealerships who are treating customers right. While they may not match our discounted pricing, you can make some calls/send some emails to other dealers and see where they stand. If you choose to transfer, you’ll need to call Ford’s customer service line at 1(800)392-3673 and request a transfer.

The next 12 months are going to be a grind and we’re committed to working harder than we have the past 16 months. We are starting to reap the rewards of our labor and by the end of the year, we will have the pleasure of delivering 150+ Broncos to our reservation holders. I don’t want your sympathy. We signed up for this. If anyone deserves your sympathy it is our reservations holders, who in my opinion, only deserve the best. We will keep grinding and we’re not going anywhere. Hey! If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Zach

Thanks as always Zach, makes me glad I’m committed to ‘23 at the earliest. I suffer from brand loyalty however so I’ll be sticking with you even if I have to wait till ‘25!

 

[jonwithanelcamino]

Oh he’s pissed now!! This is how Ford feels about their end users. 100% .
definitely moving on from ford.

@Zach@Granger im sorry that Ford feels like this about your business with them

 

[GotGOAT]

@Zach@Granger thank you for your honest and continuous communication during this botched roll out.
@Ford Motor Company should make every member of their Communications Team study how effective your communication strategy is.
The Bronco is going to die early based on how poorly @Ford Motor Company is handling the roll out. The reservation holders that leave due to this allocation vs reservation fiasco aren’t coming back. JEEP thanks Ford management (boy that’s saying something).
Granger is not going to be the only dealership that has reservation holders pushed to MY23 or worse.

 

[JaxGtc]

Dropping the match rate to 60% is the biggest slap in the face. Why is Ford rewarding dishonest dealers that pumped up reservations with every employee, family, and friend grabbing one just to convert them to what is essentially "dealer stock". And then converting every reservation, even when the people didn't want to place an order.
Why not take the '22 allocation and then apply the match rate % to give the final number, allocating those left overs to good folks with 90%+?
I didn't order from you, but I have admired your candor and consumer-minded approach. I always think that good guys finish first eventually, wishing you some good Karma.

 

[jsharpe]

I'll second the idea of needing a hashtag to collect/find all the tweets.

 

[Toccoa]

Oh he’s pissed now!! This is how Ford feels about their end users. 100% .
definitely moving on from ford.

 

[Wanted33]

Thank you for the honesty Zach. I'm gonna stick for the time being, and will go ahead with a '22 order for the Bronco. But, I'm sending your team an email with a question about your Jeep offer. I'm an old Boy Scout, and still like to "Be Prepared".

 

[LOSTXGOLD]

Thank you for everything y’all do for the Bronco community - I don’t care if I don’t get it til late 2022/2023, I would rather go with a dealership that communicates and has our best interest in hand.

We pray that the burden lessens, & hopefully Ford notices your hard work & dedication to their customers.

 

[Al Cowlings]

WOW. Oh Mike, you're going to wish you could take this one back.

However, it's nice to know how Ford really feels about us.

Message received!

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

My grandfather owned a gas station that my father worked in as a young boy. It was what you would picture as a typical small town full-service gas station in rural Iowa. He grew up around the gas station and that is where he learned his blue-collar work-ethic. It is also where he first started to sell used cars at the age of 16. Fast-forward to 1978 he purchased a Dodge store in Granger, Iowa and later in 1987 he purchased a Ford dealership in Dallas Center, Iowa. He then relocated the Ford store to Granger and become what is now Granger Motors & Granger Ford.

He had a saying when we would complain growing up. “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” The last week has been a great reminder of that. Our staff, starting with Albert and now continuing with a 5-member team, has worked very hard over the last 16 months. Yesterday’s allocation announcement was a gut-punch. I tend to be a glass is half-full guy, and this certainly has been a test of that.

We have the Bronco6G community and a lot of loyal customers to thank for all their support and my responsibility lies with them. We want them to be taken care of properly. There is no other way to sugar coat it, the allocation formula does the biggest disservice to our customers. Ford decided to dip their toes in the “reservation” system emulating a method made popular by Tesla’s recent success. In the end, they couldn’t dive all the way in and reverted more closely back to the franchise/allocation system that has been in place for over 100 years. I get it. You want to reward the dealerships that have sold hundreds and thousands of vehicles on an annual basis. The franchise system also benefits the consumer because of discounts and aggressive pricing. If this was Tesla, there would be no discounts. There would be no Granger Ford.

To recap 2021, we received allocation of 203 units. This was on roughly 600 reservations we received before the allocation cutoff. It was reasonable to assume that moving from 6 to 12 months of production would safely bump our allocation to around 400. It was also a reasonable assumption that including all reservations as a factor, instead of just the September cutoff (1300+ reservations), would double our allocation count again to around 800 units. Adjusted down slightly, we were anticipating 700-ish Broncos for 2022. That isn’t how it is going to work out. Moving the “bronco” factor down from 50% to 25% and moving the factor from reservations to 2021 allocations was the worst possible scenario for our customers. We are left with 1075 orders converted from reservations currently. I would anticipate being able to fill 10-20% of our reservation count for 2022. That amounts to 120-220 Units depending on how production plays out. We received 11 for 2022 Model Year production start up.

So where do we go from here? Like I said before, our obligation lies with you the customer. So, whether you end up purchasing your Bronco from me or not, I want you to have a great experience and I want you to get your Bronco. So, there are a few things we can do as a store to help increase that allocation number.

What is Granger Ford going to do?

1. Bronco Facility – There is a Bronco facility upgrade that dealerships can opt into. This can increase our 2022 Allocation by 18 total units. We are absolutely going to spend the money and sign up for this.

2. Bronco Sport Sales – 25% of the allocation formula is Bronco Sport sales. We are going to become better at selling Bronco Sports than Broncos. We are now offering 6% under invoice on a Bronco Sport order. We are going to get as creative as possible to shoot this sales number up ASAP. We are going to be relentless in this pursuit. In my mind, this is our biggest opportunity.

3. Share of Nation Sales – This is over a 36-month period, so it’s going to be the hardest number to move. But because of our loyal online following and progressive business model. We have quickly moved up 20+ spots in our region YTD and I anticipate being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, Ford dealer in the state of Iowa for 2022.

4. We are committed to only selling to our reservation holders - 100% of our Broncos delivered have been to our reservation holders. Ford lowered the dealer’s name match standard to 60% because other dealers seem to have trouble making that work. We have it down to a science and will continue to value long-term commitments rather than short term profit.

5. Discount lock-in – We absolutely are going to honor our pricing agreements with our customers. $1000 under invoice or $2000 under invoice October special. This will not change.

6. Honest Conversations – Over the next 30+ days we are going to have open and honest conversations regarding your reservation and where you stand among our total reservation count. We will do our best to advise you of your best options and talk you through what makes the most sense for you. We are going to have your best interest in mind, regardless of whether you end up purchasing from us.

What can our reservation holders do?

1. Hang in there – No, we’re not going to send you a hammock. But I know there are a collection of our reservation holders that are loyal to us and how we do business. Their patience will be put to the test, but we are going to do our best to give monthly updates on our allocation and progress that we’re making on Bronco deliveries as well as our other goals to increase allocation.

2. Buy a Wrangler/Gladiator at 4% Under Invoice – if you are tired of the Bronco ride, we can offer you a Wrangler/Gladiator purchase at 4% under invoice and have it delivered to our store in 60-90 days. 2022 Wrangler and Gladiator ordering opened yesterday. Email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to send you a quote.

3. Find Another Bronco Dealer – I have confirmed that Ford will allow transferring of reservations/orders. We have heard of ADM horror stories, but there are other dealerships who are treating customers right. While they may not match our discounted pricing, you can make some calls/send some emails to other dealers and see where they stand. If you choose to transfer, you’ll need to call Ford’s customer service line at 1(800)392-3673 and request a transfer.

The next 12 months are going to be a grind and we’re committed to working harder than we have the past 16 months. We are starting to reap the rewards of our labor and by the end of the year, we will have the pleasure of delivering 150+ Broncos to our reservation holders. I don’t want your sympathy. We signed up for this. If anyone deserves your sympathy it is our reservations holders, who in my opinion, only deserve the best. We will keep grinding and we’re not going anywhere. Hey! If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Zach

WOW....a Dealer that is up front, honest and communicates!!! I also hope that you as a Dealership send a professional complaint letter direct to Farley at Ford.

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