I sent out an email to a bunch of dealers asking for a price quote on a 2006 GT. I provided exact specs, order codes etc, and a specific MSRP that those specs should add up to. ($27820)

So far I've gotten one response...

Thank you for your inquiry about the mustang gt. unfortunately the mustang is not covered under the ford family plan buying program. ( I knew that, I didn't ask) i can order this vehicle for you for $29820.00 plus tax and tags. we would require a non refundable deposit of $1000 and we are estimating arrival around mid october. because we have to depend upon factory situations we cannot determine when the vehicle would arrive, but it could be a little sooner or a little later than mid october. also the longer you wait to order, the more behind it will get as orders are coming in at a pretty fast pace. please let me know if you want to place an order for this car.

$2000 markup? $1000 non-refundable deposit? I think not!

What is it with dealers? It's obvious I'm ready to order now if someone is willing to work with me. I'm not even going to respond to this guy. Anyone know any good dealers in the Maryland/DC area?

 

As discussed previously, a combination of a non-refundable deposit and a markup makes absolutely no sense.

A dealer should only require a non-refundable deposit if someone orders an automatic.



(i'm kidding)

 

Well I changed my mind and I did respond to him, saying just that.
(well not the part about the automatic)

 

hey I ordered a Automatic and paid 1000 dollar deposit...

 

Try kevinb120, he's in the Ford Salesman forum.

I think he's at Tedd Britt Ford in Chantilly, VA. That's not too far from the Peoples Republic of Montgomery County.

 

good... hopefully the dealer will respond a little better this time. A non-refundable deposit would typically only make sense if someone orders rare, or some type of combination that wouldn't be easy to sell if you backed out (for example, a 4x4 vehicle in California).

A markup over MSRP implies that the vehicle is in high demand (and therefore would be easy for the dealer to sell to another buyer if you backed out), therefore a non-refundable deposit is just plain greed by the dealer.

They may be hoping that you put the deposit down, and at some point in the future either find another Mustang on another dealer's lot, or get sick of waiting and cancel the order. Then the dealer could keep the deposit, and resell.

They're already bending you over once on the markup... doing it twice on the deposit is just plain rude.

Also, if you haven't already, you should try contacting the other dealers in your area, and see if any will accept the X plan. You may be able to find someone on this board who could give you a PIN.

 

Agreed, I responded to him in a polite manner but I found his offer pretty rude. So Ryan, you offering to help me out with x-plan?

 

If I had one to offer, I would. Unfortunately I don't though.

It will probably be easier to find an X plan PIN than it will be to find a dealer that will accept it though (they aren't required to).

If you ask around in your area though, I would hope that there's at least one dealer that will stick with MSRP. Some have had success going to forddirect.com and emailing the local (and maybe some "not-so-local" dealers). Someone has got to beat $2000 over MSRP.

Ordering from further away, and traveling to pick it up, isn't too bad of an option either. The dealer I got mine from was 3 hours away... the drive there was TOUGH, but the drive back home sure was fun.

Good luck on the search though... definitely don't agree to a non-refundable deposit though, it's a big-time red flag.