Written commitment to buy required before dealer will place order

[NayNay]

Nothing fishy about it. When you factory order a vehicle, you and the dealer are entering into a contract to buy and they are doing the same to sell at a specific price once the product is available to perfect the contract. You can put your own limitations on the contract at the time of the order, such as delivery date deadline etc.
Given what has been put out there in this forum, if you do not convert a reservation to an order, not a big deal to the dealer. Not converting an order to a sale is. If a dealer does their due diligence, I would expect them to run a credit check at the time of order to see if you can get financed. The risk is not totally on them once you commit with an actual order, they also have something to lose if you don't follow through. Order time is when you nut up and give your final answer. I fully expect to put up $500-$1000 earnest money when I order. @Granger Ford, and @NayNay should be able to provide further insight...

Being social media challenged i again can't find the comment that needs clarification. So I'm not clear on what may or may not seem fishy. Copy me or tag me and of course I'll give my 2 cents.

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[FTBronco9]

First post

 

[NayNay]

So you are aware every dealership now has a tentative allocation. Those allocations will not cover the entire 2021 model year. So now begins the mad scramble. The FE models have a separate allocation and do not effect the other Broncos. Ford has an issue in hand. 190k reservations and can only produce 70k for the 21 year. So, that places it back to the dealership. And the big box dealerships are probably hitting panic mode right about now. This in part maybe why some dealerships had a clear cut off a while back. None of us want to make that call or send that email and tell anyone sorry you thought you'd get yours but now you're a 22 model. Ford is making it clear they will take converted orders by that time stamp. They will also punish a dealer by removing allocation for orders that do not take delivery (there will be exceptions which I'm not going to detail now). A dealership may ask for added money or pretty much whatever they want to, Ford has no control over that. I know for my state a customer can sign whatever they want to but if they do not take delivery it voids everything. Ford has also made it clear that the dealership needs to convey in a timely manner how this will roll out and why. Be careful of deposits as a dealership may keep that if you walk away. As I said before a dealership can change the order of who gets what when. If a dealer does this a lot Ford has backlash for that too. If you did not trust your dealership that unfortunately falls on you as an individual. My advice at this juncture is to relax and allow the dust to settle a day or so. The ultimate power is in your hands to convert within the 60 day window or not. I am truly sorry that some dealerships aren't being as honest as they should be. Most dealerships are probably in a panic mode right now. Panic gets chaotic fast. Try not to feed into that, you all have options.

 

[FTBronco9]

As I said before a dealership can change the order of who gets what when.

What does this mean?

 

[NayNay]

What does this mean?

It means a dealer can change the order of reservations. Let's say they contact you and you don't answer they can decide to give that allotment to someone else. It's absolutely not the right way but they can. The way it should be used is let's say I have a military member going on deployment and I need to delay that build a few months I can. That's how it should properly be used. Please don't take my honesty and think that every dealer is going to do this. I'm trying to be transparent and helpful. Not create panic and drama.

 

[BennyBronco69]

I said you were brave. Why so upset?


Can you point me to where I said I can test drive it before I order?

Mind you English is my second language but see below....


1. You'd be foolish to agree to BUY something you haven't seen in person and test driven. If you're offended by foolish let me rephrase... you'd be brave to.


100% my plan is as follows and I have told my salesperson so. I order my Broncos. Me and my dad go in. We inspect and drive them.

If I am satisfied I purchase mine. If my dad is satisfied I purchase his. If either or both of us are not I walk off and my dealer sells them for a mark up.

"Also, you make the ASSumption that this dealer is asking for a deposit.".

What? I did not ASSume anything. We all put $100 down.

 

[Pablo]

I received the same email, presumably from the same dealer. As others have stated, this is a stand-up guy. He’s been transparent, knowledgeable, and generous with his time to answer questions.

Shortly after receiving the email, I emailed him about deposit requirements. He replied within an hour, saying:

Still no official word from Ford on this. I have a 3pm call scheduled that will likely cover it. At the very least I will include that in my next email to everybody. Feel free to reach out tomorrow and ask if I have an update though.​

I get the impression that the dealer would like a good faith commitment, which seems like a sound business decision to me. After all, most of us have little skin in the game.

 

[EricAtKearnyMesaFord]

***************************************************
IT IS I, THE ONE WHO WROTE THE EMAIL IN THIS POST!!!
***************************************************​

I'll be honest I only read through a few of the posts on the first page before I decided to skip the rest. Some of you seriously need a hobby.

First, let's talk about your legal obligations when ordering a vehicle in California: THERE ARE NO LEGAL OBLIGATIONS. You are not signing a contract. Even your deposit (however much that ends up being) is fully refundable. You can order a vehicle, decide that it is 1 centimeter too low for your picky standards, and walk away scot-free.

Understand this, we as a dealership will be juuuust fine if someone doesn't fulfil their commitment to purchase the Bronco. In fact, given our commitments on Xplan for the reservation holder only, we'd end up making a better profit when someone walks away.

So why ask for your written commitment then? It's because I aim to help as many SERIOUS buyers as possible. After talking to you maniacs for the last 6 months I understand just how important and personal this vehicle is going to be for you. For every person who orders a 2021 and backs out, there is someone else further down the pipeline who needs to wait a another year before they get theirs. That's not fair.

Here's something else you might not have read through the forums. Ford is watching us VERY closely to ensure no dealerships are cooking the books. If a dealership sells Broncos to customers other than the reservation holder at a rate of less than 80%, THEY CAN LOSE A FULL MONTH OF ALLOCATION. There are steps that we can take to appeal that process, but that's a lot of work that frankly I don't want to do.

You might find this surprising also: So far, only about 25% of my Bronco Sport special orders have actually sold to the original person who ordered it. Everyone else has: Bought a different vehicle since then, changed their mind, or in one case they just aren't responding anymore (hope you're okay dude!).

So yes, I need to know that you are serious before I put your order into the system. I need to know that you aren't also ordering a Jeep to compare the two. I need to know that you aren't going to offer me 10k off when your order comes in.


If you are a serious buyer, then I am in your corner and I am going to continue fighting to get you the best experience possible.

If you aren't a serious buyer, do the right thing and step aside for someone who is.

**EDIT** @Pleco to OP, Hey I hope you didn't take this as me going off on you. That was a fair and reasonable question. In the last 24 hours I have been bombarded with calls and emails from frustrated and upset reservation holders and I'm just exhausted. My apologies if you took any of this personal.


With so much love,

Eric

 

[Neps]

"After talking to you maniacs"

Oh that hurts

 

[Vigor]

***************************************************
IT IS I, THE ONE WHO WROTE THE EMAIL IN THIS POST!!!
***************************************************​

I'll be honest I only read through a few of the posts on the first page before I decided to skip the rest. Some of you seriously need a hobby.

First, let's talk about your legal obligations when ordering a vehicle in California: THERE ARE NO LEGAL OBLIGATIONS. You are not signing a contract. Even your deposit (however much that ends up being) is fully refundable. You can order a vehicle, decide that it is 1 centimeter too low for your picky standards, and walk away scot-free.

Understand this, we as a dealership will be juuuust fine if someone doesn't fulfil their commitment to purchase the Bronco. In fact, given our commitments on Xplan for the reservation holder only, we'd end up making a better profit when someone walks away.

So why ask for your written commitment then? It's because I aim to help as many SERIOUS buyers as possible. After talking to you maniacs for the last 6 months I understand just how important and personal this vehicle is going to be for you. For every person who orders a 2021 and backs out, there is someone else further down the pipeline who needs to wait a another year before they get theirs. That's not fair.

Here's something else you might not have read through the forums. Ford is watching us VERY closely to ensure no dealerships are cooking the books. If a dealership sells Broncos to customers other than the reservation holder at a rate of less than 80%, THEY CAN LOSE A FULL MONTH OF ALLOCATION. There are steps that we can take to appeal that process, but that's a lot of work that frankly I don't want to do.

You might find this surprising also: So far, only about 25% of my Bronco Sport special orders have actually sold to the original person who ordered it. Everyone else has: Bought a different vehicle since then, changed their mind, or in one case they just aren't responding anymore (hope you're okay dude!).

So yes, I need to know that you are serious before I put your order into the system. I need to know that you aren't also ordering a Jeep to compare the two. I need to know that you aren't going to offer me 10k off when your order comes in.


If you are a serious buyer, then I am in your corner and I am going to continue fighting to get you the best experience possible.

If you aren't a serious buyer, do the right thing and step aside for someone who is.


With so much love,

Eric

Condescending buuuut....
I understand. Especially after that Bronco Sport zinger at the end. Crazy. Must be tough times for not only us customers, but you dealers as well

Godspeed!

 

[evomind]

***************************************************
IT IS I, THE ONE WHO WROTE THE EMAIL IN THIS POST!!!
***************************************************​

I'll be honest I only read through a few of the posts on the first page before I decided to skip the rest. Some of you seriously need a hobby.

First, let's talk about your legal obligations when ordering a vehicle in California: THERE ARE NO LEGAL OBLIGATIONS. You are not signing a contract. Even your deposit (however much that ends up being) is fully refundable. You can order a vehicle, decide that it is 1 centimeter too low for your picky standards, and walk away scot-free.

Understand this, we as a dealership will be juuuust fine if someone doesn't fulfil their commitment to purchase the Bronco. In fact, given our commitments on Xplan for the reservation holder only, we'd end up making a better profit when someone walks away.

So why ask for your written commitment then? It's because I aim to help as many SERIOUS buyers as possible. After talking to you maniacs for the last 6 months I understand just how important and personal this vehicle is going to be for you. For every person who orders a 2021 and backs out, there is someone else further down the pipeline who needs to wait a another year before they get theirs. That's not fair.

Here's something else you might not have read through the forums. Ford is watching us VERY closely to ensure no dealerships are cooking the books. If a dealership sells Broncos to customers other than the reservation holder at a rate of less than 80%, THEY CAN LOSE A FULL MONTH OF ALLOCATION. There are steps that we can take to appeal that process, but that's a lot of work that frankly I don't want to do.

You might find this surprising also: So far, only about 25% of my Bronco Sport special orders have actually sold to the original person who ordered it. Everyone else has: Bought a different vehicle since then, changed their mind, or in one case they just aren't responding anymore (hope you're okay dude!).

So yes, I need to know that you are serious before I put your order into the system. I need to know that you aren't also ordering a Jeep to compare the two. I need to know that you aren't going to offer me 10k off when your order comes in.


If you are a serious buyer, then I am in your corner and I am going to continue fighting to get you the best experience possible.

If you aren't a serious buyer, do the right thing and step aside for someone who is.


With so much love,

Eric

A serious buyer is someone who actually buys a product you can actually sell.
We cant do that. We have to wait at least 6 months and realistically for most at least 9 months maybe more.
That is a lot of time. Don't bother running credit checks as someone suggested, they are useless for determining financial viability 6 months or more out. Worthless credit check.
Its a long time frame. People get sick, people lose their jobs, people divorce, and yes, sometimes people change their mind and buy something else or nothing at all.
You dont have the product, any financial commitment is simply a deposit which thankfully in most states that I am aware of, is fully refundable.
You know this. Thats business. Its just the way it works.
My "serious commitment" is my refundable deposit.

 

[JesseS]

Two things, this is a dupe of your other thread, and glad I live in California in this case, non-refundable deposits are illegal here.

 

[bloominguez]

I'm stunned at the negativity in this thread. And kudos to Eric for his post. I didn't see any firm legal contract in the text posted by the OP, you're really not going out on a limb here.

I guess I'd turn it around and ask: Why should the dealer place *your* order (your exact build) if you're not a serious buyer? Why should Ford build it precisely that way? As opposed to a boring color or fewer options so that it would appeal to people buying off the lot.

A "commitment" like this sounds to me like the dealer is happy to get a Bronco allocated to them, whether YOU buy it or not. They can likely easily sell it. But they need to show Ford that they're not playing games by just submitting dummy orders to get stock for their lot. Some evidence that there is a real buyer on the other end.

I didn't see anything in there that committed you, the customer, to buying something that had some defects or even something you just plain didn't like after you finally got a chance to see and touch it in person.

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