It is a good thing.... just don't lose sight of the fact that in the transition, where it appears there is no price increase, there is still a price increase. It's inflation, it happens, quality improves, tech improves, et cetera. All good things that carry prices.

If it happens, it'll be great for Ford, they haven't had direct control over the pricing of their products for decades. But it'll make life more interesting for dealerships like the one Brian works for.

 

Does Mark Rikess (TRG) ring a bell?

 

Sure does. They used to come to traverse city all the time

 

Correct. We do one-price for everyone, but honor A/D/X/Z-plan pricing for those who are eligible. We often make more money on "plan" deals since Ford pays the dealer a commission to make up for the upfront loss on the deal, so we're always happy to do "plan" deals. Heck, we even do "plan" deals on the specialty vehicles (assuming Ford allows it since some vehicles aren't eligible). Worth noting, we usually have a fair number of loss-leaders here that are priced even lower than "plan" pricing, so some people who would have used up a PIN to buy on plan can save it and take our better public deal. Plan prices are great, but not always the best price possible.

 

I was at one of their 20 group mtgs in Pheonix last year. Very interesting to talk to other "one-price" dealers to see how it works around the country. All different brands in that group (Toyota, GM, Honda, Ford, etc.) and a couple of those dealers are just plain huge dealers selling 1000+ vehicles per month. Likely because the communities they operate in are tired of old-school, strong arm negotiating at the non-one-price dealers near them. Customers tend to enjoy one-price buying a lot.

 

That's for sure. Before I left there, I was averaging between 75-80% repeat or referral! Previous customers would come in and I assumed they were there to buy, they usually said yes and picked it up the next day. At a one price store, the be-back bus shows up every day.

 

Hmmm. I worked for a Volvo dealership for some time years ago, and while we didn't make much on the front end either (yeah, our mark-ups were a lot better per car, but you have to take the relatively small Volvo sales volume in to consideration) we made all of our noteworthy profits in service. IIRC the last year I worked there we profited a couple hundred grand up front, but took down four million back in parts and service.

I always figured that is how the mainstream car dealers managed as well.

 

Me thinks that the 2010 Mustang will be the forgotten horse once the 2011 5.0 is released......but it will hold me over until the redesigned 2014 comes out.
But I'm sure in 2011 the Mustang will reclaim the top pony car title..........by a land slide.

 

Where I worked, they ran the svc dept, parts, body shop, quick lube and the sales dept.s like they were seperate entities altogether. Hmmm... one price didn't extend to parts though.

 

Interesting contrast. The dealership I worked for essentially viewed the front end as a way to get people into a Volvo so that we could make meaningful amounts of money in the service department. I appreciated that philosophy a great deal since, on it's face, it made a great deal of sense.

 

 

Especially considering Volvo's past reliability issues

 

Know of any 'one-price' dealers in the Metro Detroit area where I can buy the 2011 without getting hassled for it being a 'new' car?

 

No kiddin'

 

Sounds great on paper, in the real world most of our money, like a lot of premium/semi-premium car lines, was made on basic maintenance, not repairs. The vast majority of cars that actually came in broken were still under warranty, and as such we got paid very little relatively speaking for that work.

Ever price an oil change or a brake service at a Lexus or Volvo dealership?

Back to the 5.0L V8, it's the torque curve that really has me interested here. As I've mentioned elsewhere Ford has really been emphasizing usable power, and a broad, flat torque band is arguably the best way to accomplish that. We've seen excellent power bands with both the 3.5L EB and the rwd variant of the 3.7L Cyclone, I'm predicting that we'll all be pleasantly surprised by the torque curve on the 5.0L as well. And if that costs me a few peak hp, I'll take it.

 

After having an F-150 V6, massive torque down low is great to have! That was the only vehicle that I have ever had that was able to break the rear tires loose on a wet road under 2,200 RPMs. I am not saying that I want a F150 engine in a mustang, but I want some low end torque. If it only has 350 HP, but 425 torque, I will still be VERY happy... After all, torque wins races.

 

PM sent. Sorry everyone about the hijacking. Salesman and ex-salesman huddling to talk.
Hey! At least we aren't trying to instigate fighting like earlier in this thread!

 

 

What? You got something to say?........bring it on!

JK

 

,No dealer pays invoice, ever! Repeatedly I see dealers claim they only make $150 on a car they barely sold for over invoice. This of course is a fallacy. Dealers pay cost, end of story. Invoice is typically halfway in between cost and MSRP. You make some money, I save some money. Example 2008 California Special has over $4,000 markup. 2008 GT500 $5,500 over dealer cost. Even at invoice makng $5,500 on one vehicle isn't bad. Even if sold at invoice a dealer would easily make $2,000 on a new Mustang.