[Casalino]

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ealers-attack/

Interesting article about how these dealer mark ups on the Focus RS and GT350 is killing the cars and also hurting Ford. I agree, these dealer mark ups to make a few extra bucks on hot cars is disgusting. It can be done in the exotic car world, but when people are nickle and diming cars in the 30-40k range. Or 50-60k range, these mark ups are killing the sales. Ford spent all this money developing and producing these cars, only to have sales plumit from these mark ups.

This is forcing people, like me to go elsewhere. I would have loved to get a GT350. The salesman saw some kid come in and tell him i want the Shelby, his answer to me was "this isn't a car for you" Go **** yourself. You don't think i'm serious about buying it? You want to mark it up 15-20k? See ya! Went to Chevy and couldn't be any happier that i got the 1LE. Ok enjoy the article lol

[Bhobbs]

The manufacturers really need to start cracking down on dealerships that do markups. They should pull allotments or reduce bonuses to dealerships that add markups on the cars.

[glamcem]

Focus RS is an awful car, you did good by going with 1LE

[7stringtheory]

just to chime in I was going to buy a focus rs until i found out i wasnt going to be able to likely navigate the 5k markup. To be honest I wasn't even considering a camaro because I wanted a track car with a warranty and I knew nothing about the 6th gens and the changes chevy made to them. I thought camaros were just drag cars, but the markup from ford dealerships made me widen my search a little, I discovered the 2017 1LE and never looked back.

[Mjae]

same here! i was considering a gt350 until i saw a 60k mark up on it making the car 120k!!

[MR 45TH]

Originally Posted by Mjae

a 60k mark up on it making the car 120k!!

That's absolutely ridiculous!

[ParisTNDude]

Ford is well known for it's markups, especially on anything with the Shelby name on it. They could sell thousands more if they put a reasonable price on it and allow a little customer negotiation. I could have bought a GT Premium with everything you could ask for on it for 4-5 thousand less than my Camaro. I wasn't serious about buying, just getting an idea of what the completion was. One drive and I headed directly to the Chevy dealerships.

[SoCalThug]

Originally Posted by glamcem

Focus RS is an awful car, you did good by going with 1LE

focus rs is def not an awful car. congrats on the camaro though ur goina love it

[USAFS197]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

Ford is well known for it's markups, especially on anything with the Shelby name on it. They could sell thousands more if they put a reasonable price on it and allow a little customer negotiation. I could have bought a GT Premium with everything you could ask for on it for 4-5 thousand less than my Camaro. I wasn't serious about buying, just getting an idea of what the completion was. One drive and I headed directly to the Chevy dealerships.

To be perfectly fair, it really isn't Ford that is pushing these markups. I, too, wanted a GT350. I had a 5th gen Camaro and was done with the over all platform. However, in spite of my best efforts, all of the dealerships in my area (500ish-mile radius), had no less than a $20k markup on it. Each dealership having their own rationale about the amount and why they're doing it.

I eventually found a Ford dealer that was essentially a volume seller. They don't normally get niche vehicles like that on their floor for too long because they sell so quickly. They simply do not care about dealer markups and will utilize all rebates possible to get a sale. Unfortunately, they were not slated to receive another shipment of GT350's within the window of opportunity that I had but, did tell me that they would sell the car for no more than MSRP--worst case scenario.

But I digress. This type of salesmanship that gouges away at the potential consumer base is only hurting their reputation and their bottom dollar. Being told that I need to "pay to play" on a $60k car that is now sitting at near $100k, is pretty damn pretentious of you ask me.

[FoCoCamaro]

Great article and I agree with almost everything the author wrote?

I have the money to buy a GT350. Started shopping last summer for a dealer within driving distance. I absolutely refuse to pay over MSRP for any vehicle and eventually gave up on it when ADM was between $10k-$20k. Considered the 1LE but there wasn't much real word feedback yet so I began looking for another option.

Decided that the RS fit an excellent nitch. All wheeel drive turbo hatch that can be fun and practical. Actually found a dealer (only 1 dealer in 10 in my area) that was willing to order me one at MSRP so I gave them a deposit to place an order in the December. After 4 months they "never got an allocation" and I decided that the odds of me getting one in time to enjoy it for the summer were probably not going to happen and told them to refund my deposit.

I then decided to go back to the 1LE and called almost every dealer in a 300 radius. Found a dealer willing to make a deal I was happy with and had them order it a couple days later. I placed the order 3 weeks ago and I expect in to be in hand but the end of the month or shortly thereafter.

What's really sad is I see an HD pickup in my not so distant future and a Ford dealer will not see a dollar of my money for how they have acted. It's sad that dealerships are willing to alienate dozen (if not many more) potential customers to milk a few extra bucks on a couple performance cars. Dealership think that the people that are willing to spend the assinine ADM on 350's and RS are already loyal customers. They fail to realize, or even worse dont care, that they are losing customers that would inturn buy those other vehicle they need to actually turn a profit as a company.

I am not brand loyal but Ford has made me brand disloyal... at least for their brand. Nice work. Looks like a GMC 2500HD Duramax is where I'm headed.

[MrNoMercy]

Wish I would have seen this before I posted my post this evening. We've got here in Saint Louis a dealer selling the RS for 50k and the GT350R for 110k..

[shaffe]

That is an interesting article, I do wish they could find a way to crack down on the dealers.

Side note, local Ford Dealer has 5 RS on the lot and they are discounting them.

http://www.willowbrookford.net/new/F...earchDepth=3:5

[triggerjerk]

Does ford really care? Does it really add up to lost sales?
I bet every Shelby built is sold. The GTO failed because it had no LS6, was pricey, and looked bland.
Ford makes money regardless of what the dealer does. They have their
money by the time the car gets on the lot.

[FoCoCamaro]

Originally Posted by triggerjerk

Does ford really care? Does it really add up to lost sales?
I bet every Shelby built is sold. The GTO failed because it had no LS6, was pricey, and looked bland.
Ford makes money regardless of what the dealer does. They have their
money by the time the car gets on the lot.

The problems is that Ford (corporate) should care and they don't seem to. Every Shelby is not sold. There are a lot of unsold GT350's (not GT350R's) and RS's collecting dust on showroom floors. It's sad that there are numerous 2016's sitting when 2018's are right around the corner.

Does this add up to lost sales? Absolutely. Not only the lost sale of the unit they are trying to overcharge, but also the sales they aren't getting from customers would would otherwise purchase additional vehicles had they not had the dealer leave a bad taste in there mouths. I'm a perfect example of that. I will need an HD pickup in the next year or two and after my experiences with Ford dealers, they will never see a dime of my money.