That's right folk, I ordered my 05 GT on January 9th on X-Plan at Greenway Ford in Orlando. They are absolutely huge and I had two friends also order on x-plan last year from Greenway and got their mustangs already. So today the saleman calls me and says they were called by Ford, their allocations are short from all the ordering and they cannot deliver my car on the X-Plan. He gave me 3 choices to either wait for a 2006, get a refund or pay MSRP. I elected to get a refund because if they can get me an 05 at MSRP than they sure is heck can honor what I ordered on X-plan.

So with all the issues I've also read on the 05's so far I have decided to wait or maybe not buy one at all. Great job Ford for doing everything that I expected you would!!

Also, I read a couple of days ago on this same forum where another guy had his deposit refunded to him as well for the same reason, I don't know if he ordered on X-Plan though.

 

As bad as things are from me I can still at least say - At least I didn't order from that dealer....

You don't want to do business with them....hate liars.

 

It's not that they can't get the car, they just feel due to their shortage of allocations (if they aren't BS'ing you) that they would rather use them on someone paying MSRP. Too bad to hear, but it’s all supply and demand.

 

Everyone is so quick to blame Ford when 9 out of 10 times it sounds like the problems are with the individual dealers. It really sounds like the dealership you ordered from is trying to weasel out of the original agreement. I honestly feel bad for all those who are still waiting for their Mustangs but I count myself lucky that I didn't run into any major problems with the dealership I went thru here in San Antonio to get my 05 GT.

 

Somehow the dealer is under the impression he can monkey around with you.

I would remove all doubt!

Ford didn't tell him squat. He told himself that he wants full boat for this car.

 

Absolutely. I just spent some time in Florida, and at the biggest Ford Dealer in Ft. Lauderdale, they had at least 5 V-6s for sale (at slightly less than $2K markup, which NO ONE seemed interested in), and NO GTs.
Claimed they sold them as soon as they got them. Test drove a Saleen they had on site, it was definitely a nice car, but I had trouble (on public roads) seeing the extra $20K they wanted over stock price.

Market driven prices. Makes me wonder whether coupe production will tail off to nothing if demand for verts is high?

 

When dealers take X plan orders they get a commision from Ford to compensate them for selling at a lower price. The commision plus selling at MSRP is a real bonus. I would definately write Ford and let them know what they dealer is up to. If you go to the partners site they are pretty specific about this.

Dealers do not have to take X plan orders. This should be decided up front. Once they take your order they have an obligation to fullfill. I would not take this sitting down. Given all of that, even if you did try to take legal action, by the time it got anywhere the '06's would be in deep supply.

Good Luck!

 

There is no legal action to be taken. The dealer OWNS the vehicle until they SELL it to an individual. ORDERING a car does not mean BUYING the car. If a dealer agrees to order on the X-Plan and decides not to take it, that is their decision, not Ford's or anyone else's. X-Plan is a Privelage, not a RIGHT, and those that were lucky enough to purchase on the X-Plan . I agree it is a shame that the dealer rescinded their agreement to honor the X-Plan, but them's the apples. Go to another dealer, and if no one will honor the X-Plan, wait or pay MSRP. I don't understand why people that want a car so bad aren't willing to pay for it. THIS CAR IS WORTH IT. X-Plan only saves you about $2000, and by the time the 06's roll around at 3-5% more than the 05's, you aren't really saving that much anyways.

 

And there is little doubt in my mind that this dealer will NOT cancel the order they put in for you. They will let the car come in and sell it to someone at full MSRP, maximizing their profits. What a shame.

 

Its definitely disappointing that the dealer doesn't want to honor a deal they made.

What ever happened to a handshake deal? Nowadays a deal is worthless unless it is in writing with Johnny Cochrane present.

 

I would be extremely upset if that happened to me but would be hesitant to pull out. If they are getting the car you wanted and you had been in the waiting process for an extended period of time and the car was scheduled, I would go for the MSRP. It would be hard to try to find someone else to to take the x-plan (if anyone) especially if everyone is marking them up over MSRP. If you wait for 06 you probably wouldn't save that much from current MSRP because you know the price is going to go up quite a bit.

As long as they are not going over MSRP I would buy it but never do any more business with them and file every complaint you can think of about them

 

What's disgusting is that a dealer can go back on their word and etc... with no recourse for the customer. However, if a customer changes their mind then dealer will throw it in our face and make holy heck over it and they will be right and again there is nothing the customer can do about it.

Car dealerships are the only places were you walk in, expect to get screwed over thoroughly, and can do nothing about it.

 

There is no legal action to be taken. The dealer OWNS the vehicle until they SELL it to an individual. ORDERING a car does not mean BUYING the car. If a dealer agrees to order on the X-Plan and decides not to take it, that is their decision, not Ford's or anyone else's. X-Plan is a Privelage, not a RIGHT, and those that were lucky enough to purchase on the X-Plan . I agree it is a shame that the dealer rescinded their agreement to honor the X-Plan, but them's the apples. Go to another dealer, and if no one will honor the X-Plan, wait or pay MSRP. I don't understand why people that want a car so bad aren't willing to pay for it. THIS CAR IS WORTH IT. X-Plan only saves you about $2000, and by the time the 06's roll around at 3-5% more than the 05's, you aren't really saving that much anyways.
[/b][/quote]

You are wrong. There could be a legal cause of action. Just because it has not been sold to you does not mean it is not still a valid bilateral contract. There does not have to be an actual sale, only the trade of a promise to pay for a promise to deliver. Having said that, unless there was written down and signed someplace it would be difficult to win. Also, damages might be a problem.

** This is not legal advice **

 

[QUOTE]Sounds like you sell cars for a living, you certainly do not practice law.

From the dealer viewpoint an order is not a "sale". It is very difficult for the dealer to force the sale to a close. There are simply too many ways for the buyer to say that the goods are not conforming to his desire or understanding. The law protects the consumer from unscrupulous sellers. By your estimation retailers would be free to advertise items for a price, accept partial payment, and then demand a higher price upon delivery, all without any repercussions. Lowes couldn't get away with that kind of bait and switch selling toasters. The only distinction here is the deposit. Where the dealer acts in good faith and places the order, and the customer then fails to perform, the dealr may have reasonable grounds to keep the deposit. The dealer has partially completed the transaction.

We have covered this territory before. X plan is irrelevent to the issue once there has been offer and acceptance. Delivery of the vehicle and payment according to the agreement are all part of the same transaction. The remedy under the law is called specific performance, or damages. It is very unlikely that any of this would go to court unless the buyer decided that he had been discriminated against (easy six figures) , or a pattern existed (class action) where the possibility of a large settlement was possible. To try and persue a legal remedy is not practical. That was my point. Nobody is going to bring one of these to court.

If the dealer choses to accept the X plan commission from Ford and then sell the car at a price different than agreed, without notifying Ford of the particulars, then they have created an issue that Ford would be interested in hearing about. Ford has a lot of influence over their dealers. If you would like more information about how dealers are obligated when they accept X Plan orders I will try to post it here.

Unethical behavior, even behavior that could result in civil liability, happens because they can get away with it. I am not offering legal advice here, only opinion, I would suggest that we keep it on that level. If you think that this kind of behavior is a good thing, that is certainly your right.

 

Tell your salesman they are going to put so many hoses in him they will have to call Jeb Bush to keep the live support on!

Then call a lawyer, call the newspapers, call the TV and Radio news.

 

[quote=xr7g428,March 9, 2005, 7:10 PM]
I ABSOLUTELY sell cars for a living, and have spent all seven plus years of it for the same Ford dealership. I am fully aware of the rules and regulations regarding Plan purchases. Bottom line; neither the buyer nor the seller can force the transaction. If the dealer backs out, tough. Same goes for Joe Customer. I deal with this every day. Also, if you will read my complete post, I stated that it was a shame theat the dealer backed up on their agreement. I happen to be a very upstanding salesperson at a very upstanding dealership (President's Award 2 years in a row). YOU obviously do not sell cars for a living, and if you practice law, I will respecfully accept your take on the TECHNICAL legal side of things. I however, having been in this particular business for a while now, have a pretty firm grasp on the PRACTICAL side of things...
Again, I think it very unfortunate for the individual who is not getting their car now, because these things are AWESOME! That is why I advised tjones2 to buy a car, even at MSRP.

tjones2...If you want the car and want to get back at the dealer, buy the car from them and then return the Ford survey "Completely Dissatisfied"...

 

Well... there is one way you could try to get back at them.

I doubt it would work, but would be worth a shot. Get in contact with Ford, tell them wha the dealer did (you could frame it to them as a dealer trying to double-dip them by accepting the X-plan commission, then rescinding it)... and try to get them to cancel your order, and reallocate your car to another dealer.

As far as I'm concerned, if a dealer doesn't have to honor and order they accepted, with deposit, then they shouldn't receive the ordered car. They should have to go to the back of the line, just like you do.

 

Technical or practical doesn't matter. I'm not going into specifics, because it would be WAY too much typing, but I am a CPA, and one of the things very pertinent to what I do is business law and contracts. Once you put down a deposit and get that sheet specifying what you've ordered that both you and the salesperson have signed, you have a binding agreement. If you break it, the dealer has the right to keep your deposit and, if they can't sell the the car (which would NEVER happen in this case), go to court for "specific performance," which means you have to buy the car (of course with your deposit towards it). If the dealer backs out, there's the legal recourse you could take, with the dealer having broken a valid contract. It becomes a contract when both agree (orally or written) and that deposit is placed. You could force them into "specific performance," ie they have to sell you the car because it's unique (YOU ordered it to your specifications) and having to go find another, which probably won't conform 100%, would be a hardship and cost more $$.

With that said, I have my 2005 Premium GT Convertible on order. The dealer wrote on an order sheet specifically what I want, and it has my name and all my info on it. Under price it says "X-Plan." Under deposit, there's the $500 I payed (and have the credit card receipt for). I signed it and he signed it. If he tried to back out and do that to me, darn right I'm taking action. It's a valid, enforceable contract, no ifs ands or butts. On my order it states, "The front and back of this order compromise the entire agreement affecting this purchase and no other agreement or understanding of any nature concerning same has been made or entered into, or will be recognized." The most important word there: AGREEMENT. Agreement = contract...

 

what i would do is pay MSRP but tell they hey adjust my payments alittle since u screwed me....its fair im sure they'd do it