GOOD DEALERS

[Gobird]

Although my dealer does not always know what is happening. They are charging MSRP so I don't have any major problems with them. I just called yesterday and ordered the benzel for the hood scoop and the extra hood or trunk emblem whitch I will put on the top of the inside of the trunk. I am working on them to give me the metal bound folder that they had to pay $100.00 for and they only have one.
To make my point, there ARE some GOOD dealers out there.

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Blue on Blue Prem. STILL WAITING Ordered in Jan. 7of12 NOW 4of12
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond
Got Vin. 109293 Build Date 01/14

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[flybrd]

Hey Gobird...nice to hear there are some "caring" dealers out there...question; did you get a cost from your dealer on how much the extra t-bird emblem costs?

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White/White premium; full red accent interior; no VIN yet

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by Gobird:
They are charging MSRP so I don't have any major problems with them. To make my point, there ARE some GOOD dealers out there.

Sounds stupid, not good. Supply and demand.

Tbird

 

[brdman2]

Do you think it is stupid for a dealer to charge only MSRP and not gouge their good customers? Or do I misunderstand your comment? I think more people would think more of (and buy more from) dealers who price their vehicles reasonably. Yes, supply and demand will work itself out, but the gouging dealers will gouge themselves out of much good will and future sales & service income in the long run, IMHO.

 

[2K2BIRD]

GoBird - I had my dealer throw in that metal bound folder when I bought the car as part of the deal. Of course, I got the only bird he was going to get so he didn't really need the advertising laying around. I too was told that the thing cost $100+ so I guess they really did.

Paul

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#3739 Premium
Torch Red w/matching top
Standard Interior

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by brdman2:
Do you think it is stupid for a dealer to charge only MSRP and not gouge their good customers? Or do I misunderstand your comment? I think more people would think more of (and buy more from) dealers who price their vehicles reasonably. Yes, supply and demand will work itself out, but the gouging dealers will gouge themselves out of much good will and future sales & service income in the long run, IMHO.

I think they could sell every single one of them for 3,000-10,000 over MSRP which means that a dealer is stupid for selling if for less than the fair market value. The suggested retail of something has nothing to do with it's value, now or in the future.

If you run a business, and you sell something for less than someone else would have paid, yes I think you are stupid.

Tbird

 

[chryslertcnut]

tbird,
It sounds like you are in the minority on this one. I think it is only smart dealers that are selling the cars at MSRP. Shortly after we ordered our T-Bird, I had a need for a replacement vehicle to travel to work in. I checked other used car lots on the way to the dealer I ordered the T-Bird from and went away as a satisfied customer in an exellent used Ranger, at what I considered a good deal. Any time I can buy something and walk away without buyers remorse I FEEL GOOD!!! I wasn't even going to try to order a 2002 T-Bird because I hadn't found a dealer that was not charging over MSRP. When I found my current dealership, I pounced at the chance to buy a T-Bird at MSRP. The new T-Bird will make 8 cars that we own for two drivers. Five of these are convertibles, one Ranger, 1 '56 Continental, and one '57 Country Sedan that has been in my wifes family since new. It's not like I really have to have it this year, but I did it only because of the MSRP deal. I let everyone at work and all my friends (both of them) know how pleased I am with the dealership. If I were paying over MSRP, I'd probably tell everyone to stay away from them, and have on the first dealer I tried to order a car from.
George..
too many toys to list.....

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[Gobird]

flybrd I didn't get a price on that but on Dots site it says it should be about $17.00. Not too bad.

------------------
Blue on Blue Prem. STILL WAITING Ordered in Jan. 7of12 NOW 4of12
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond
Got Vin. 109293 Build Date 01/14

 

[Gobird]

tbird, if I couldn't have gotten it at MSRP I wouldn't have bought one.

------------------
Blue on Blue Prem. STILL WAITING Ordered in Jan. 7of12 NOW 4of12
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
a dog a cat and a couple hundred fish in my pond
Got Vin. 109293 Build Date 01/14

 

[whvt01]

Was thinking on our latest episode with our
dealer. The ripple effect. My mother
volunteers at 2 organizations in town,
guessing maybe 30 people, when she goes in
that's the topic, what have they done to
you now. One ladies son is a sales
manager at another dealer so she really
ask questions. I'm in real estate and
the vette club. Just in the Vette club 50
people know the problem, When come in its
have a bird yet. Can't wait till next meet.

Even if just a few peoples minds were changed
that's a good chunk of $$ to a dealership.
That's from 2 people. Our insurance agent
is on them for what they did to one of his
elderly clients on repairs. He wants mother
to go to a neighboring town, has dealt
there for years, so has his family and
numerous clients, with no complaints to
date. Maybe just maybe.

 

[Tip]

I own my own business and certainly believe in the supply and demand concept, however I would never charge more for something just because I felt like I could make a few extra bucks. It's the long term that's important. How will your clients feel about you and your company? Will they come back to buy and tell their friends to buy from you? That's how you grow your business, not by gouging to make the short term income. These gouging dealers are taking advantage of a special type of consumer, one that loves this car and would pay nearly anything to get. While I would never refer to anyone that paid more than list as foolish (it's what YOU think it's worth that's important), I wouldn't pay more than list for mine. My dealer is charging list and in fact just called me the other day to see if I wanted a copy of a Dealers T-Bird Launch Binder. What a nice offer! While there to pick it up, he also gave me a copy of a brochure for the Focus and Mustang that had the World Trade Center on the cover. He told me that after 9/11, Ford instructed all their dealers to discard this piece because new ones were being printed. Maybe this will be worth something some day. Now for the good news. He told me that their car #3 has just received its VIN and I'm #4. I am trying to get all the details on #3 and will report to the group when I have it.

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Blue/Blue Premium '02 (Waiting sort of patiently)
Yellow '76

 

[Birdforwife]

Just call me stupid, I sold 17 t-birds at MSRP. And all but one went to a valued customer. I think of the the t-bird as a reward to longstanding customers. It was my intent to sell these cars to the people that buy their other vehicles from us. John

 

[NuttyGambler]

I told my sales guy that if this car was made I wanted it, when the first Motortrend mag came out. We never talked price, but as told we would not pull any of the "games" that dealers were playing as it got closer to being built. The dealership was getting faxes all the time offering $s over MRSP from other dealers.

The day mine was coming in the owner asked me if I would take $2000 to not take the car. I politely said thanks but no thanks. He laughed and said, "Not too often a dealer pays you not to buy a car."

I also know the 03 was sold to a guy who lives in the area, but has bought all his cars from other dealers. He is paying over MRSP.

Don't fault the dealer at all. Loyal customers are worth taking care of, but the customers that only come around for their benifit don't need any breaks either.

JMHO

 

[joelja]

Birdforwife, what is the name of your dealership? I will have to start doing business with you. Thanks.

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blue/blue/full blue/premium on order: 10 of 18

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[niteflight]

I've weighed in on this topic before, but I'll do it again - on the side of those who believe that not gouging is better for everybody in the long run;

Economic rationalists (like Tbird), in their blind faith, act as though "the free market" is some kind of sentient entity, with a will and a conscience. It isn't. It's an amalgam of historical accident and competing interests. An imperfect system subject to abuse, if not governed by some kind of moral compass.
Economic rationalists assume that whatever is legal is, ipso facto, moral. It isn't. Don't worship "the market". The current Enron fiasco and last Summer's funneling off of billions of California taxpayers' dollars to shareholders who cut and run, leaving pensioners out to dry, shows just how sick "the market" can be. We'll be hearing about it for years. Ok, off my soapbox.

 

[Tommy Tbird Blue]

All,

I was "gouged", if you will; however, I did shop around and did get the deal that I could live with. I was charged less than what other dealers in my area that had cars available were charging. Not that I am happy to pay more than MSRP, but I am happy that I have this car. I was not in the market to purchase a car, but I felt I HAD to have this one and am extremely happy about the choice to purchase it.

As it turns out, the dealer that I am working with has been extremely nice, very helpful, fairly internet savvy and always has the answer that I am looking for.

So, what's my point? It's my dealer's choice to charge me X amount above or below MSRP. It's my choice to pay that price or walk away from the deal. In this case, IMO, neither one of us are stupid, nor are we market analysts, economists, etc. Simply, this dealer had the car I wanted for the price I was willing to pay. Would I have preferred to pay less? Sure...but I felt at the time of purchase and still feel now that it would have been extremely difficult to get the car I wanted without paying the additional MSRP.

BUT...in a free market...I am free to choose to pay that and psychologically, BECAUSE of the "gouging" I feel that I am free to go somewhere else for my next vehicle. Would I have felt this way had he cut the price to just MSRP? Probably not...he probably would have been my first choice of dealer, even though this is my first Ford...and I probably would have felt obligated NOT to go elsewhere. So, in the long run and generally that's what economists to is look at the long term...the next every day use car I get, I will do what I have always done -- research, search for the best deal, play the dealers off each other, and somehow get a vehicle just a few hundred bucks over invoice. In the long run, the dealer may (or may not) have lost a long term customer. He may feel that as a return customer he should give me a better deal than the time before. I hadn't yet shown him loyalty, so I didn't expect a great deal, especially given the demand.

In the meantime...when I get my car in the next couple of weeks...I AM GOING TO ENJOY THE HELL OUT IT!!! "With the radio blasting, cruising just as fast as I can", I don't think I'll be thinking at all about how much the dealer "gouged" me.

Just my humble opinnion...

Tommy TBird Blue
110074 - blue/full blue/white -- ETA 4 Feb

 

[niteflight]

Tommy TBird Blue,

I share your humble opinion 100%, and should clarify that I also chose to take a deal at about 4K over MSRP for the same reason. It's about the car, man.

Likewise, I have a higher regard for dealers who are in it because they love the cars than for those who are in it because they love the money. I've met both kinds.

 

[02birdman]

Well guys thought I would weight in on this also. I paid 5k over and am still thrilled about it. I looked into ordering one in september 2001 and found out I may have to wait 9 months. I did a little fuzzy math by figuring if I could rent or lease one for that long I might have 5k into it. I told my salesperson to keep a eye out for the one we discussed and in early November 2001 my car was setting on the lot exactly like I wanted. I figure the cost was for buying time, never tought about being gouged anymore than catching a flight on the concorde and feeling gouged, its about time. I was suprised by the quick delivery, but might explain why some guys have them and some don't. I would certainly feel different if I waited a year and my dealer tried to upcharge me 5k or more.