sajohnson

I'm very glad to hear it worked out for you. I've read and been told different things, like: * A deposit locks in the agreed-upon price. Some say a NON-refundable deposit carries more weight, others say it can be refundable or not -- the effect is the same. * A signed buyer's order/order summary is legally binding. Others say it can be helpful but is not enforceable. I've heard that the sales manger must sign, and some say it must be signed by the GM. * Only the customer and salesperson need to sign. * The order summaries/buyer's orders I've seen say, "This is not an invoice". That implies that regardless of who signs it, the dealer can still attempt to extort their customers with last minute ADM. I'm not an attorney, and I hope I'm wrong, but it sure seems like -- even with a deposit and a signed buyer's order -- dealers are free to do whatever they want regarding last minute ADM. There is apparently nothing in the franchise agreements precluding it -- because all Ford has threatened to do is cut the number of vehicles a dealer will receive if they act unethically -- and it's unclear whether that has actually happened. That may be bad business for Ford -- especially in markets where there is only ONE Ford dealership to serve a large area. If that dealer has no/low inventory, some potential Ford customers will buy a different brand. It may come down to the dealership -- how they treat people; if they think long-term, and care about their reputation and repeat business -- or if they are stupid and short-sighted..

Very well said. Dealers just need to be straight with people. They are free to charge what the market will bear (assuming their franchise agreement does not say otherwise) -- but they must be upfront about it. Extortion (in the form of last minute ADM) should be illegal. At a minimum it is clearly unethical and severely damages a dealer's reputation when word gets around -- which it will quickly with review sites like: Dealer Rater; the BBB; Google; and Yelp, among others. Not to mention forums like this one. It's very short-sighted and ultimately self-defeating behavior. But hey, this quarter looks good on paper, am-I-rite?

It definitely looks bad. I'm not about to defend car dealers. I've had more than my share of bad experiences with them. As a buyer, of course I don't like to see ADM on the sticker. A couple considerations though: * MSRP is just a number. It has some basis in reality of course, but supply and demand ultimately control price -- which can be higher, but also lower. * Unless the franchise agreement says otherwise, dealers are free to charge what the market will bear. * If there were no "MSRP", or the MSRP as significantly higher than market price, a lot of the perceived problem would not exist. If Ford set stupid-high sticker prices, buyers would think they got a deal. * There are any number of other makes, models, and dealers. It's not like they are the only supplier of baby formula at a refugee camp. ADM might seem like price gouging, but it does not fit the legal definition. The question is, what (if anything) can be done about it? I'd say the mfrs need to be convinced to put pressure on the dealers. After all, the mfrs want to maximize their profit. If dealers are charging ADM that helps their bottom line but HURTS the mfrs due to lower overall sales numbers. Also, as you said, it looks bad. It's bad for their corporate image to have dealers squeezing every last dollar they can from customers. Of course, that could backfire. In some cases, the mfr might take a look at the market and instead of insisting on their original MSRP with no ADM, they might decide to take some of that "adjusted market value" for themselves by bumping up the invoice and MSRP.