2002 Thunderbird - limited production run ?

[Wild Bill Kelso]

I stopped by our local Ford dealership this past weekend to inquire about a new Thunderbird, when to my dismay I was told that there was only going to be a total production run of 35,000 units.

I was also told that Thunderbirds were selling for $5-10K over sticker price and that I should check E-bay if I really wanted one.

Is this correct ?

 

[Gobird]

Well, Wild Bill I'ed say your dealer is full of it!! They are only building 25,000 a year. WE are not sure if this is going to be a 4 or 5 yr. run. But it is supposed to be 25,000 a year no matter what. As for price, that's a differant story. I got mine for MSRP but a lot of the people here did pay over that. My advice is to look for a better dealer charging MSRP and maybe ordering a 2003 model.

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02 T-Bird 9293
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond

 

[INSANE.DIEGO]

It's still amazes me that the dealers still can't get the numbers right. The plan is 25,000/year and I'm sure by now all have been spoken for. Unfortunatly some have been purchased to make a quick buck as you can see by going to Traderpub.com. You would have had to find a dealer willing to sell at MSRP. Unfortunatly there wasn't very many of them out there as we have all found out reading this forum. Good luck in your search. I'm sure it'll be worth it as many new owners say. I'm still waiting.

 

[RedBirdDlx]

If you can live with a new Thunderbird without a hardtop, you can likely find a large dealer that has to order 15% mix of convertable only units. They might be glad to get you one at MSRP.

The early adopters have by-and-large got theirs. Dealers holding out for over MSRP will begin seeing inventories stacking up and will reconsider gouging the public.

The economy (read stock portfoilos) doesn't look as good as it did last Feb./Aug. so some are backing out of their orders.

Units without hardtops are being pulled ahead in the scheduling system to meet the commodity availability.

Bottom line - call a lot of dealers and ask what they can do. Might fall into one that someone cancelled out on. My son looked at one last Sat. that had come in for a customer. The customer backed out Monday at 5:00pm and my son owned it by 8:00 that night (at MSRP). His mom waits 14 months+ and he waits 2 days. Ain't it always the way?

 

[02thunderbird]

I walked in on the LAST DAY of the month
( Jan.31'02), two hours before closing time and it was raining, and I drove home that night, paying MSRP. I have another on order since Jan 01, and that one, blue full accent won't be in until June. I will be canceling that order soon since this was a little over MSRP.

 

[jodrod]

Wild Bill,

You might also try DealerConnection. You can start your search in your area (by zipcode) and expand outward. This way you will be able to see what is available and then contact the dealer to find out what they are charging. I have not seen any markups listed on their sites but I'm sure some (if not most) were markedup.

 

[jawill2000]

For what it's worth, my original dealer (where I was #4 of 4) will be told Friday after he services my Lincoln (heh heh) that he can offer my red/red/blk premium to someone else as I beat his Aug 02 ETA by 6 months. Picked up my red/red/black premium from another dealer 02/04/02. The dealer is Johnson Ford Lincoln Mercury in Pittsfield Ma. 413-443-6431. Please don't call him till my Linc is safely serviced.

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Jim Williams
red/red/std blk premium #2 of 2 VIN 1FAHP60A62Y111592
Mass. tag JWBIRD

 

[CANEH]

Did a search in my zip code and found 11 T birds not sold as a retail unit. These units are starting to marinate, some with msrp's from last year. How long can these dealers hold out for over msrp. This was done in a 15 mile radius.

 

[Howlee]

greed is a wonderous thing!

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Blue/Blue Prem. w/full accent
In my Garage as of 1/25 #6333 LIC: BLU TB

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by 02thunderbird:
I walked in on the LAST DAY of the month
( Jan.31'02), two hours before closing time and it was raining

Deals only count that are signed and delivered, so I doubt the last day of the month had anything to do with your deal.

*IF* the managers are close to a bonus on units, sometimes they will give you a deal on the last day of the month, but I suggest going in early in the day, rather than right before closing, because if it is two hours before closing and they still need 10 units to make bonus, you can forget it. It is highly unlikely that they will just need one or two sales.