Twitter exchange ongoing with @mrlevine

[ekim]

So you expect Ford to build all reserved orders first for granger over stock orders for the other dealers. What did the other dealers do to not be able to order vehicles to sell. Granger bit off more then they can chew and many buyers bought into it. Blame granger not Ford.

Ha, strange opinion here. I specifically chose Grainger over my local dealer. Grainger didn't choose me. My local dealer didn't want my business at MSRP or lower.

Why do you feel that Ford should be able to choose what dealer I select? My local dealer is out, too bad too, their parts department "gets it", but their new vehicle sales dept doesn't.

If Ford truly wants to take on this role then they should broker my deal for me. I can send Ford my specs, a pricing ladder based on delivery time (Maybe I'll pay MSRP for 3 month delivery, invoice for 6-12 month delivery and invoice - $2,000 for 12-18 months delivery, etc). They can hook me up with a dealer that can deliver and guarantee timeframe and prices, in writing with penalties if they don't deliver what I ordered within the agreed upon timeframe.

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[Wanted33]

Perhaps I am completely missing the issue, but I don't really understand what the problem is other than maybe a misunderstanding by customers who never knew the allocation system existed.

The dealer allocation system has always been in place, there was no message from Ford that said they were going to suspend the dealer allocation system when they implemented this new reservation system. And they never said that Broncos were going to be built in-order based on your reservation. They have always said that the reservation timestamp plays a factor, but it isn't the only factor.

So I'm not sure why everyone was expected for it turn out differently.

Bryan, I see you're new to the forum. So, you may have missed out on the promises Ford made to their reservation holders. I'm not going to go into them as I just don't feel like catching anyone up. But, you can go back yourself, and read those post to help you understand the rancor Ford just caused with this new allocation formula.

 

[ColoradoGuy]

So you expect Ford to build all reserved orders first for granger over stock orders for the other dealers. What did the other dealers do to not be able to order vehicles to sell. Granger bit off more then they can chew and many buyers bought into it. Blame granger not Ford.

Blame Granger for what? For communicating, being transparent, and being knowledgeable about the Bronco?

What did the other dealers do? The question should be what they didn't do. See first answer above. What they didn't do is why well over hundred reservationists in Colorado switched to a dealer in Iowa.

Just to add, I switched to Granger because my Bronco was too important of a purchase to leave it up to a local dealer that either didn't respond to questions or when they did, responded with wishy-washy answers.

@Ford Motor Company and crappy big dealers that took this launch for granted are absolutely to blame for this.

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

That response... oooof. There was a better way to come to a happier median than pretty much saying go F yourself. Might as well raise the MSRP another $20k while we're at it and get the raping over from the beginning.

It's funny cause I swear Ford was in the public not long ago saying they wanted to move towards a build to order system to avoid keeping vehicles sitting in lots, that they eventually discount in order to move.

 

[Wanted33]

It's been raining a ton this weekend, so I've gone back and read a bunch of stuff about it in these forums. I'm a day two reservation holder, so I too have been impacted by all of this but people seemed PISSED and I just didn't understand why the temperatures were so high. Some people were straight up attacking Mike Levine on Twitter and I just felt like it was completely unwarranted.

The crux of it seems to be that Ford said that orders would be built approximately in the same order that they were reserved based on a slew of factors. But Ford never really fully explained what "the slew of factors" were.

Having been involved with the F-150 Raptor, Mach-E, and Focus ST launches/production runs I was already familiar with the dealer allocation system. So I just assumed it would also be a thing for the Bronco. In addition, when I ordered my Bronco, my dealer also specifically mentioned their 2021 allocation from Ford, so it was never an issue or a surprise for me.

But I can understand being angry if you had only read Ford's official communications. They really didn't communicate it to anyone other than the dealers, and I now know from reading this forum that some dealers are just really bad a communicating with customers. I also think it is really crummy of Ford to change the allocation system formula for 2022. That's basically like changing the rules at halftime, and dealers that had specifically setup their sales targets to maximize their Bronco allocations by grabbing the maximum number of reservations got screwed over (Granger being the most well-known on these forums).

I personally would be fine if Ford just reverted back to the 2021 formula for allocations. But I'm sure many--probably most--believe Ford should just build in reservation order and ditch the allocation system until all pre-March 19th reservations have been fulfilled.

And therein is where the rub is Bryan. Ford told us they would deliver every reserved Bronco before any dealer would recieve lot vehicles. Crazy me believed them, and now as a loyal Ford customer I feel the fool for that belief. Ford could easily set up an allocation formula to get all of the reserved Broncos to all the dealers very easily. But, they would rather use a convoluted formula that favors only the big guys. Good luck on your order my friend.

 

[Wanderlust]

I’ve seen a few people tag into my pressure in Mike on Instagram. I don’t have Twitter

what’s the lastest on Twitter? Have more people stepped forward / spoken up? Jim’s on Twitter tag him also.

I don't think FMC cares what we think, but they do care about what Jeep is doing. I don't tweet, but I would love to see what the reps at Jeep would offer current reservation holders in a message with Mike and Jim copied in. If we offer Jeep the opportunity to take advantage of Fords disgruntled reservation holders, that would produce the negative press and exposure we would need for some possible leverage. And some could possibly get a great deal on a Wrangler, Gladiator, or Cherokee while eating some popcorn.

 

[Bronc-O]

Ford now has fine print in their 22 order bank opening that owners will put down a deposit and agree on purchase price before dealer can hit submit on order. Not sure why the forums aren’t on fire about that statement. Only took a bunch of tricks from dealers and stories reaching headline news to have Ford make a request for dealers to follow before ordering.

Wouldn't this protect customers from surprise ADM later on?

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Yesterday’s email gave me hope. This post today returned me to the “ are they effing kidding?” Mode. I made a reservation. I was 60 years old then. I will be 62 at a minimum, before there is even a remote chance my particular Bronco may be thought about. I hopefully will reach a minimum of 80 . My main concern now has nothing to do with color, options or model. My main concern now is, will I receive a Bronco before I die. If I had a Twitter account I would pose that question to Mr. Levine.

Some may laugh at this but when we are older...it's a reality. I am 65 and just finished a health scare. It's no joke...life is short and it will be 2-maybe 3 years less to enjoy the Bronco. We have lost several members in this Group that never got the chance to own or drive one. Sad. BUILD THE DAMN THINGS BY RESERVATION TIME STAMP AND TO HELL WITH ALLOCATIONS! PERIOD!!!

 

[ekim]

Wouldn't this protect customers from surprise ADM later on?

There's been some evidence that the answer to this is no. At least one example was recently posted where Ford was involved and it seems, from the info provided, that Ford basically told the customer to pound sand. The dealer can do whatever they want....

I really want to believe that we just don't have the whole story, but based on everything that's transpired with other issues, including all this goal post moving that Ford is doing, I'm assuming it's true and quickly moving on "plan b".

 

[RagnarKon]

There's been some evidence that the answer to this is no. At least one example was recently posted where Ford was involved and it seems, from the info provided, that Ford basically told the customer to pound sand. The dealer can do whatever they want....

I really want to believe that we just don't have the whole story, but based on everything that's transpired with other issues, including all this goal post moving that Ford is doing, I'm assuming it's true and quickly moving on "plan b".

Yeah Ford can't really do anything other than put pressure on the dealer. I'm hoping they have the ability to selectively withhold allocation for poor customer practices, but I don't know the terms of the franchise agreements Ford has with dealers.

Regardless, ultimately the purchase agreement is between you and the dealer. If you have a signed purchase agreement, you could probably take legal action against the dealer if they break the terms of the purchase agreement. But many dealers won't agree to the purchase price until after the vehicle is physically on the lot, or they'll put extra clauses in their contracts to ensure they can sneak out of it (like "We cannot guarantee delivery of this vehicle").

I also wouldn't be surprised if some dealers just straight up break their own purchase agreements because they know the chance of any legal repercussions are relatively low. At most they have to refund you the purchase price of the vehicle and some legal fees... meanwhile they still sold your vehicle with 25% or more ADM.

 

[mmorgan]

So you expect Ford to build all reserved orders first for granger over stock orders for the other dealers. What did the other dealers do to not be able to order vehicles to sell. Granger bit off more then they can chew and many buyers bought into it. Blame granger not Ford.

Wrong, we took Fords word that orders would be built in reservation order, with obvious consideration for constraints and planning efficiency. @Ford Motor Company is not living up to this commitment. Punishing the Buyer!

 

[Compta38]

So you expect Ford to build all reserved orders first for granger over stock orders for the other dealers. What did the other dealers do to not be able to order vehicles to sell. Granger bit off more then they can chew and many buyers bought into it. Blame granger not Ford.

no, we expect them to follow the fucking reservation timestamps they said they would. It's not difficult...go down the line and if they have parts then build it. When the next build dates pop then start at the top of the list again.

You honestly expect dealers to be able to get stock before people that reserved on day 1? What dealership you work for?

 

[GoTigersGoBronco]

The problem isn’t about allocations or reservations. It’s about a dealer network that doesn’t serve customers well. People will gladly pay MSRP if the experience is worth it. I just don’t think any Ford dealers offer that, hence the cut throat price fights.

 

[Pattytester]

I sent tweets to Levine and Farley about the allocation hurting my dealer but no reply yet.

Stay pumped. Any minute now I’m sure.

 

[phocion]

The "reservation system" was basically just a marketing mailing list with a few financial and prioritization incentives for those who signed up. It's a phony reservation system. You don't have a Bronco reserved, not really.

The way the vehicles actually get ordered, allocated, built, delivered, etc. is still the old system.

Ford has known about this sleight of hand the whole time. But they weren't straight with the customers about it. Now with the fallout too difficult to hide any longer, some of the customers are waking up, and they have every right to be pissed about being misled.

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