Can a customer contact VOPC or corporate rep?

[minjaep]

I ended up getting here hoping someone in Ford can help me out. TLDR; can I call VOPC (vehicle order processing center) to confirm if my dealer is correct? And if not make them teach my dealer?

 

I ordered Mach-E and the car has been at my dealership for a few days. I stopped by to sign the contract but found the price has increased since I ordered, so made them correct it.

After studying so many data points regarding this, I'm quite confident they must price protect it, as they will automatically get the price difference from Ford later after selling.

They first said some nonsense like the price has not changed at all... after arguing for an hour with my screenshots, the finance manager ended up agreeing it happened after calling his friend.

But they could not pull up the invoice produced at the time of order, and it seems like they honestly don't know how to do it. They tried to figure it out by calling the friend again.

Unfortunately that friend was out of work, and the dealership closes soon, so they promised to send the corrected invoice that I can sign electronically.

The next day, the salesman told me the friend actually couldn't help them, and they called everyone in Ford and no one could solve the issue.

As I read many posts that dealers had to call VOCP or Ford Marketing Rep to sort these out, I wondered if they already called them.

When I asked who they did contact and if it was VOCP, the answer was very unclear, and the manager just said they were confirmed by 'their local Ford rep'.

And they said there is nothing they can do at this point as Ford says the price protection is not possible.

My impression is that they didn't try hard to solve the issue, and I think I have to figure out it myself. To be honest, I regret not choosing a larger and more experienced dealership.

Any help or advice is appreciated!

Edited April 6, 2022 by minjaep

[akirby]

First never agree to buy or order a vehicle without the price in writing unless you’re prepared to walk away.

 

The dealer is probably trying to get the new invoice changed to the old pricing and that’s not possible.  They have to apply to Ford for price protection and Ford pays them the difference.

[Nor Cal Zilla]

5 hours ago, akirby said:

First never agree to buy or order a vehicle without the price in writing unless you’re prepared to walk away.

 

The dealer is probably trying to get the new invoice changed to the old pricing and that’s not possible.  They have to apply to Ford for price protection and Ford pays them the difference.

Is it routine for a new invoice to be generated?  Why wouldn't the invoice remain the same as when the vehicle was originally ordered?  

[akirby]

38 minutes ago, Nor Cal Zilla said:

Is it routine for a new invoice to be generated?  Why wouldn't the invoice remain the same as when the vehicle was originally ordered?  

Because the system was created for stock orders and the invoice is created when it’s built.  Price protection was added for retail orders so those get processed outside the actual invoice because they didn’t want to change the existing invoice system.  In normal times it’s almost never an issue because very very few vehicles were on order long enough to encounter a price increase.

[Nor Cal Zilla]

2 hours ago, akirby said:

Because the system was created for stock orders and the invoice is created when it’s built.  Price protection was added for retail orders so those get processed outside the actual invoice because they didn’t want to change the existing invoice system.  In normal times it’s almost never an issue because very very few vehicles were on order long enough to encounter a price increase.

Thank you for that explanation.  I thought my price was going to be honored at the MSRP when I ordered at PL250, but I realize the wording of the agreement that I signed does not exactly say that.  So they may try to charge me MSRP at the time my truck is delivered which will be higher (since I think there is already PL 255).  But Ford will invoice them at the original invoice amount, and so then the dealer would be pocketing the difference between the original MSRP and the new MSRP if they charge me the higher price?  Is that correct?    

[akirby]

55 minutes ago, Nor Cal Zilla said:

Thank you for that explanation.  I thought my price was going to be honored at the MSRP when I ordered at PL250, but I realize the wording of the agreement that I signed does not exactly say that.  So they may try to charge me MSRP at the time my truck is delivered which will be higher (since I think there is already PL 255).  But Ford will invoice them at the original invoice amount, and so then the dealer would be pocketing the difference between the original MSRP and the new MSRP if they charge me the higher price?  Is that correct?    

Yes,   You should explain that their price did not change therefore you should pay the MSRP at the time you ordered, but technically they can charge you the higher amount if you only agreed to pay MSRP and not the specific dollar amount.

 

This is a lesson to buyers to get a price in writing even if it’s MSRP or invoice or x plan because that price can change.

[Gstan]

22 hours ago, akirby said:

First never agree to buy or order a vehicle without the price in writing unless you’re prepared to walk away.

 

The dealer is probably trying to get the new invoice changed to the old pricing and that’s not possible.  They have to apply to Ford for price protection and Ford pays them the difference.

Dealer did that to me in February (wouldn't give me an order price).  I walked out and ordered from another area dealer the next day.

[akirby]

44 minutes ago, Gstan said:

Dealer did that to me in February (wouldn't give me an order price).  I walked out and ordered from another area dealer the next day.

Exactly what people should be doing!

[thekingprawn]

3 hours ago, akirby said:

Exactly what people should be doing!

Right to the back of the months long line isn't an option for everyone. Ford needs to put boot to ass of dealers who are tarnishing the brand reputation. In this environment customers don't have enough leverage to meaningfully affect dealer behavior. 

[ice-capades]

27 minutes ago, thekingprawn said:

Right to the back of the months long line isn't an option for everyone. Ford needs to put boot to ass of dealers who are tarnishing the brand reputation. In this environment customers don't have enough leverage to meaningfully affect dealer behavior. 

 

There are franchise agreements and laws that protect Dealers that damage the brand and Ford is limited to what disciplinary action it can take other than cutting a Dealer's allocation. And unfortunately, there are few executives in Dearborn that have experience at the dealership level to know what day-to-day operations require, including compliance with all the processes, etc. that Ford mandates. The customers that don't receive the sales, service and satisfaction to be expected have the most power by taking their business elsewhere.  

Edited April 7, 2022 by ice-capades
Additional Content

[akirby]

1 hour ago, thekingprawn said:

Right to the back of the months long line isn't an option for everyone.

You do this up front when you place the order, not months later.

[thekingprawn]

3 hours ago, akirby said:

You do this up front when you place the order, not months later.

Sadly a lot of people don't know this. The upsurge of retail orders is providing unethical dealers with an opportunity to prey on the unprepared. Even if it's only a few it's not great for the brand or the customers. It would be nice if human nature didn't rear its ugly head in this, but here we are as with everything else. The process should not have a giant "Buyer Beware" sign flashing over it. 

[thekingprawn]

4 hours ago, ice-capades said:

The customers that don't receive the sales, service and satisfaction to be expected have the most power by taking their business elsewhere. 

Doing that $40k into the process is crap. It's not my experience so far, but it's a fear I can't shake. 

[akirby]

59 minutes ago, thekingprawn said:

Doing that $40k into the process is crap. It's not my experience so far, but it's a fear I can't shake. 

Well it’s a good practice any time you order something.

 

The only thing I’ll say in defense of buyers is that most either had a printout online or from the dealer showing MSRP so that’s what they thought they were paying.  And I put that 100% back on the dealer to tell them up front whether that’s the price they’re expected to pay.

[Gstan]

4 hours ago, akirby said:

You do this up front when you place the order, not months later.

That is what I did. Not sure they care because they haven't even attempted to contact me since.  Never told them I wasn't coming back just wasn't into playing games. They also wouldn't take off $500 dealer installed paint protection.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Gstan

[akirby]

2 hours ago, Gstan said:

That is what I did. Not sure they care because they haven't even attempted to contact me since.  Never told them I wasn't coming back just wasn't into playing games. They also wouldn't take off $500 dealer installed paint protection.

Red flag after red flag…. good that you walked away,