mmarshall

I always did like the Fitz Way...it's not perfect, but considerably more customer-friendly than at some other local dealerships here. Several of my friends and colleagues have bought new Hyundais and Subarus there, and have been quite pleased.

I've met the old man (Jack Fitzgerald) a couple of times in the past, shopping with friends and colleagues.....he's 86 or 87 now, and still working. Both Jack and his dealership-chain have won many awards....including awards for good ethics.

Toys4RJill

Sure. Lots of hybrids availability in America.

but lots of EVs on lots right now too

SW17LS

I'm not a fan of the Fitz way, and I've done business with Jack Fitzgerald. Lets just say the "Fitz Way" is not his way lol.

And BTW, Fitzgerald IS charging over MSRP.

swajames

You can’t tell what’s actually available inventory from looking at dealer websites. A lot of dealers websites will show all incoming vehicles, whether destined for inventory or customer orders, as the websites auto populate from the manufacturer feed. As an example, both my bronco and my Lightning auto populated on my dealers website when they were built and shipped. Neither could have or would have been sold to anyone other than me unless I backed out, but to a customer browsing the website it would have looked like both vehicles were available.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

great post. the last sentence shows an additional level of dealer deception.

JeffKeryk

Dealerships are toast. Every product has a lifecycle. They have outlived their value add. And abused their position. Ford is beholden to its shareholders, not to their dealership network.
Time to go direct; time to go lean. The past 2 year episode and the successful direct sales model are the drivers.

mmarshall

^^^^ WAY easier said than done. Dealerships are an entrenched American institution. They will be almost as hard to get rid of as the Constitution itself LOL.

JeffKeryk

Really? Look at the most valuable car company (by far) in the world.

swajames

Right, but Tesla can only do it because they never started with a dealership model and they basically skirt the rules as is, the legacy OEMs can’t do what Tesla does because they already had the dealership network. Ford reorganizing in divisions does, however, make a future state more like Tesla possible, they would have to spin off the Model e division and legally separate it from the other two Ford divisions. The maneuvering with the dealerships this past week or two and the ultimatum was broadly Ford saying they would not do that IF the dealerships adapt to the operating model and parameters that Ford wants for electric vehicle sales.

JeffKeryk

The dealership model is toast. Yes, it will take time, but there is only upside to direct sales. Build cars that people want, where they want them. There is serious margin to be gained. CEO Farley's responsibility is to the shareholders.

mmarshall

Not applicable.....apples and oranges. Tesla never had conventional franchise-dealerships....they operate from all-company-owned retailers, at least in the states that permit it.

LeX2K

We've come full circle from Tesla will never be able to compete with the established brands to the established brands can't possibly compete with Tesla's direct sales model. But this thread is not about Tesla it is about Ford which IMO must shed their dealership baggage at all cost. Realistically I don't think they can they will have to do it via a completely separate company.

Fizzboy7

The market will always dictate pricing. So if a dealer is selling over sticker, it is because people are willing and wanting to pay those amounts. You can't blame the dealer for this. If Ford eliminates the dealer, they will raise their own prices to mesh with the demand. I think we just saw that happen with the Lightning. Tesla also raised their prices drastically, as have many other brands. Again, when the demand exceeds supply, the last hand to give the product out will charge the higher price. If Ford's plan goes through, nothing will change with high pricing. Instead of a dealer tacking on prices, Ford will simply do it themselves. Ford is no hero here. In the end, they will profit like the dealer has been profiting.

SW17LS

There is a lot that goes into this as others have told you, its not that simple. We have franchise laws here that keep automakers from competing with their franchisees, and those franchise agreements don't allow the manufacturer to unilaterally terminate them. A legacy automaker like Ford can't just start selling directly.

I personally doubt that direct sales with a manufacturer like Ford will happen in my lifetime. Major, major changes on a legislative level have to happen before that could ever have a chance of happening.

The issue is that dealers have a monopoly and consumers have no choice but to pay those inflated prices. There are controls on price fixing in every market, so it is absolutely possible for colluding competitors to drive up cost outside of normal supply and demand.

For us consumers, we are also better off paying a higher MSRP than a dealer markup. That dealer markup is not protected by insurance, it is higher than MSRP which means that loans we take are in much higher danger of being upside down, which endangers lenders.

Personally, I think the best thing lenders could do to curtail this is to no longer allow financing above MSRP. So if there is a $20k ADM, you cannot roll that into the financing or lease, so the customer has to pay that in cash. That would protect lenders, and it would stop ADMs real quick as most consumers physically don't have that money.

Toys4RJill

Full MSRP and ADMs will all correct itself. We will have the old days back once again. Amazing how this turned into another Tesla thread