Update on Ford GT Allocations/Pricing?

definitely check out http://www.gt40s.com/

the quick answer is "nobody knows" on the pricing. i'm sure some dealers will sell them to their best customers at MSRP. some dealers are clearly just going to sell for as much money as they can get.

i'm on my dealer's list, but he's not taking any deposits ostensibly because he doesn't know how many he's getting, but i think he just doesn't want any potential arguments about "commitments" and the like.

the official Ford GT site for the car makes it CRYSTAL clear that you shouldn't be surprised if you're asked to pay over MSRP (i'll "just say no", thank you very much).

i've attached the preliminary ordering guide. no pricing on options, but the car will base-MSRP at 139,995, if i'm not mistaken (not sure i'tll upload - might be too big).

doody.

 

I put a deposit down with a Ford Dealer from which I had previously purchased a Mustang Cobra. This was about 15 months ago. I agreed to pay $10K over list and the dealer quickly took my money. About a month ago the General Manager calls me and informs me that I am getting the "first customer car". I said, "What the hell does that mean?". He replied, "It means we are keeping the first car for ourselves but you get the first car we sell to the general public." I was none too pleased and pointed him to the contract I had which is, in my opinion, quite clear. He didn't flinch and stands by their new found position. The greed and lack of integrity factor is spreading rampently with these cars . . . like Ferrari dealers.

 

http://www.2005fordgt.com/aboutus.htm

Is another webiste - has some cool videos for download.
Three of the videos showed up on the TIVO one day- they are pretty cool.

I can't see spending over sticker for a Ford. Next year Ford will make as many as they can sell to cash in on the hype.

 

interesting story.

the problem is that ford dealers absolutely have NO reason to care about GT customers. sure, they'll service the cars and behave pleasantly, but this is a one-shot deal, and most dealers will never see three GTs. so there's zero incentive to not **** us all (in theory).

i personally have not found ferrari dealers to be that way. they can and want to sell you a lot of cars, and behave more rationally as a result (ime).

and here's the kicker. i maintain that ford cannot limit production on this car. if it's profitable and there's demand, it would be a violation of their fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to not keep building them. but of course, they will have already burned a couple thousand or more bridges to buyers of such things. prices will tank. i don't see a long-term happy ending to this for ford. the dealers will rake it in and ford will get a whack in the head when it's all over. if they want "halo" they can just build 100 cars and call it a day. or just build a car for the race track and call it a day. they're trying to have their cake and eat it to - and it might end up causing some nasty indigestion.

we'll see. hopefully it won't be that bad, but......

doody.

 

wow - that is stupid. they have NO incentive to treat you right. if you've bought 12 cars from them and they made $1K each in profit, that's $12K. it just won't compare to the $50K to $75K above MSRP they can clear on early GTs. and if you walk and go buy chevys instead, they're still ahead of the game.

they're really "out of their league" from a sales and marketing standpoint.

plenty of downside.....

doody.

 

The best comment was from my brother when I told him what happened. He said, "No big deal, it's just a Ford. No one's in a wheelchair because of this, no one's got cancer, this is not a tragedy. They (the dealer) simply lose some very loyal customers. Move on and forget about it." I'll stop my venting and move on.

 

Interesting thread.

Doody....you would have loved a local Chrysler dealership here in Calgary that sold the first Viper to a guy for $150K over a decade ago. Talk about depreciation..........

I really agree with your sentiment about Ford's dealers in this scenario and fully expect it to happen as well. The Ford factory should have established a special Detriot office for selling this car directly to the public. It would have made more sense in a lot of ways..............except for "marketing" of course.

 

i too love the gt, and have made moves to buy one. however, i will not pay more than a few grand over list. if they want more they can go to the next guy. then i'll wait 2 years while they ramp up the production figures (like doody said) and watch the prices come off. i'll pick one up that 2-3 yrs old with a few thousand miles and pay 1/3 less and laugh all the way.

unless you have insane amounts of money and need a lot of attention as the first guy in town to have one, just pass on this scam.