My dream of owning an 06 Mustang GT and the GT500 has come to a unfortunate end. Around some time in May I went into my dealer and got on the waiting list for the GT500, I was number 5 on the list. I asked them (dealer will remain nameless) if they required a deposit and was told no. They advised me at the time that they would be selling the car at MSRP which I believed because I bought my 03 Cobra from them for $500 under MSRP at a time when the other dealers were charging a market adjustment price. About a month later I had some house deals turn a good profit so I went and placed an order for a 06 GT at the same dealer. I also sold them my 03 Cobra and then used that money for a deposit on the GT which I got a receipt for. With the money from the house deals and the sale of my 03 Cobra I could have the GT paid for by the time the GT500 hit the dealers show rooms but the delivery time of the 06 GT was a critical factor. If it arrived too late then it would hinder my chances of getting the GT500 which I wouldn't let happen. I made my salesman aware of this before I placed my order. At the time he said it was no problem because they would have no trouble selling the car if I didn't buy it.

So after waiting for about a month and a half for my dealer to even place my order, I decided that the delivery of the 06 GT would be too risky so I called them this past Monday to cancel it. I requested that they return my deposit on the GT but keep $1000.00 as a deposit towards the GT500. My salesman says he will have to talk to the manager and would get back to me. Two days go by and no return call so I called him back and left a message on his machine.

He calls me back a few hours later and says they can return my deposit but there is a problem. He said they had a sales meeting that day and the owner of the dealership is now requiring a $5000.00 deposit on the GT500 and it will now be $5000.00 over MSRP. I told him that this was BS and to cancel both orders and send my entire deposit back. Later that afternoon I went to them in person and picked up my check. I personally feel that the dealer just got an attitude because I canceled the order on the 06 GT and decided to play games because of it. I don't think they thought I would cancel both orders and request a refund because they offered me some lame excuse about the allocations of the GT500.

So now unless I can find another dealer who will sell the GT500 at MSRP I won't be getting one because I'm having a hard time even paying that let alone a market adjustment fee.


Thanks for listening to my rant!!!

 

There are other dealers and there are Ford salesmen on this forum. You want to ask some of them what they can do.

 

Jeez that stinks. I'm guessing that you didn't have the agreement that you could get the GT500 for the lower price in writing. But I mean you shouldn't have to, a person's word should be as good as fact! Hope you can find another dealer.

 

I didn't feel the need to get it in writing because of my past dealings with this dealer. Guess I was wrong!!! :bang:

 

I dont blame you one bit for what you did. I would have done the same

 

Actually what they probably were responding to was the letter that has been sent around to all the Ford dealerships telling them what the allocations are going to be for the Shelby. Ford is opening up Shelby sales to ALL dealers, so SVT dealers are getting much smaller allocations than they thought they would. Also, there are only going to be 7k made. It works out to between 1 and 4 units per participating dealership. When I read that news, the first thing that went through my head is all the dealers that promised MSRP are going to throw that out the window and charge as much as they can. I don't blame them, they've got to make up for the tragic Explorer (etc.) sales somehow! Keep in mind that there is not a single dealer out there that knows what their Shelby allocation is yet. They won't know until early 2006. People are going to get dropped off of waiting lists left and right come early '06, and the ones that remain will get hit hard on deposits and extra fees. I really don't think this dealer had anything personal against you, it was a coincidence that you cancelled your order at the same time this new memo came out and they were imposing the new "market adjustment".

 

If you really want to get a GT 500 you either need to have a good relationship with a dealer or patience and let the hoopla die down so that you can get a fair deal.

 

Here is the full text of the letter I mentioned. It was just send out 07-19:

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=29726

Make note of this sentence:

"We are already receiving customer inquiries about GT500 availability as well as reports of dealers holding deposits for this car. Dealer allocation will not be announced until the first quarter of 2006."

So dealerships are taking deposits on cars that they don't even have confirmed yet. As I mentioned before, I think there are going to be lots of disappointed people next year.

 

Sounds like you should have kept your O6 GT order. The Shelby is going to be a feeding frenzies for sure. Bought on by the lack of production and alocations to SVT dealers. If one does have the extra cash to blow, may just as well stay home. I know I am out of it, because no way will I pay the mark ups. I'd put money on $10,000 mark ups if one has no signed contract at this point.

 

What it all comes down to is the dealers are pigs. I'm sorry for saying that because I know that there are some honest ones out there but the majority of them don't give a dam that they are raping their customers. At $5000 - $10,000 over MSRP the GT500 is in Vette territory and personally I'd rather have the Vette at that price. No Mustang is worth 50 - 60 grand no matter who's name is on it!!! And as far as the allocation thing goes that even makes it worse because they are asking me to put a $5000.00 deposit down on a car that they can't even be 100% sure they can get!!! :bang: :bang: :bang: What's unfortunate is there are idiots out there that will pay the market adjustment fee and not think twice about it. :scratch: That's why the dealers do it, because they know that there is some fool out there that will buy it. If no one bought the cars and they just sat on their lots then they couldn't get away with doing crap like this. I'm just going to sit back, let the initial hype die down and then see if I can pick one up for MSRP but it will be from a different dealer that's for sure.

As far as the 06 GT goes well it's too late for that. My dealer took to long to order the car and I wouldn't have gotten it till late Nov - Dec (I orig placed my order in early May but they didn't enter it into the system until the middle of July because of the so called confusion with the wheel codes.). As a result I went and bought another car after canceling my order. I bought an 05 Honda S2000. I know what your thinking but I got a killer deal on the car. It was the last one they had and at the end of the month so I got it for $500.00 over dealer cost. At that price I just couldn't pass it up.

Ford needs to step up to the plate and not allow it's dealers to pull stunts like this. They forget that the dealers represent the company and any thing they do wrong makes Ford look bad as well.

 

I'd be willing to bet that nobody is going to drive a GT500 off the lot for much less than $50,000 during calendar year 2006.

The MSRP of "around $40,000" will end up being more like $43-45,000 and with a minimum of $5000 and more likely $10,000 mark-up you're going to see them going in the low to mid-50's.

7000 units is what... something like 4% of the Mustang production numbers this year and GT's are still selling at $3000 to $5000 over. Just imagine if there were only 1/25th as many units available!!

Maybe in calendar '07 or '08 the prices will get back down to MSRP (which will be closer to $50,000 than $40,000 by then anyway- but not in '06!!

That's my guess,

Steve

 

Uhhh... all I can say is, enjoy your Honda... :notnice:

 

Still have another Mustang if you read my sig and still plan on getting a GT500. I love Mustangs but I can also appreciate other makes too.

 

A dealer here in Canada told me that they were getting 12 Shelbys and that they had taken non-refundable deposits on all 12.

I called and promptly walked out.

 

I wouldn't be a bit suprised to see the Shelby go for 70-80k based on the production numbers.

 

Sorry to hear about that
I guess your past dealing with that dealership got blown out the window because of a salesman's bad attitude. Getting things in writing is always the best insurance, but then again, hind sight is always 20/20.

Best of luck to you --- don't give up!

 

Jim, I tend to agree with alot of people in that the Shelby is not going to be had anywhere near MSRP due to the 7,000 units produced. 'Ya should'a stayed with the '06.....or even an '05 (there's still new ones out there). I used to have an S2000, but it was too cramped for me......but then I'm 6'2" also.

 

I don't like waiting around and getting played by the dealer. Also I don't like unsure numbers. I like sure things so I went out and bought a Vette. I am happywith it and I don't have to wait around another year thinking will they or won't they? Whipple double screw blower?? Nah, we'll go with the Eaton,its not as good but its cheaper. etc. etc. I don't like playing those games and being manipulated by companies or dealers. My wait is over and I'm glad!!

 

A non-refundable deposit is B S on a vehicle they know will sell at a markup.

With an uncertain delivery time, life changes and there are times that best laid plans get screwed up big time for whatever may come up. That is no reason to keep that individuals money.

 

I haven't given up. I'm taking the wait and see approach at this time. I'll wait until the final production version is shown in Jan and then if I like it I'll look for an honest dealer who won't charge a market price adjustment fee. If I can't find one then I will just sit back and wait for all the initial hype to die down and then pick one up. What stinks is it seems greed is more important to the dealers than keeping a good relationship with their customers.