Warning, this is long

The problem is with the dealers. Ford takes a lot of the blame as well but I primarily blame the dealers. The order banks for the RS opened on the 12th of October. I was there at 8:30 in the morning with a deposit in hand because the Saturday prior the salesman I had been dealing with emailed me to say that he, unlike other dealers, was accepting orders at MSRP. Here is his initial email to me:

Hugh,

Information was just released to us yesterday, scanned and copied the 2016 ORDER GUIDE information so that you could see what they are offering on the 2016 Focus RS & Focus RS 2 as far as colors and wheels and other options.

We are accepting orders for these vehicles as I understand from General Manager we already have 2 orders in place this morning. The actual Ford Motor Company Order Bank will not accept orders till Monday the 12th.

We are accepting orders at MSRP PRICING and not charging the MARKET ADJUSTMENT PRICE as we have heard other dealers are doing.

In the event you decide to follow through on an order call me and let me know how you want it built and I can price it for you, and better yet if you decide to order it come in sit down and we can go from there.

Please call me at 555-555-5555 any other questions.

Signed Salesman's Name

So based on this email I went in and we filled out an online form with the configuration of my car. The salesman didn't have an official order form for me to fill out since the order banks weren't opened yet so he had me sign the configuration form. He told me that the orders would be submitted at 10:30AM when the bank officially opened. So I left a deposit (check) and left the dealer. I was told that I was the third person in line and my order was good to go.

The rest of the week the salesman was out of the office but he was responding to email. I didn't take into consideration the whole Allocation/Retail order aspect at the time of my visit on the 12th but I was told via email that my order was part of their allocation. I waited two weeks and this past Monday I decided that I needed to head into the dealer. Everything I have been reading online since placing my order has stated that dealers received their allocations at the beginning of October and if they don't know their allocations now they aren't getting any. Plus another individual in my area has an order @ MSRP confirmed at a different dealer which was already submitted to the order bank.

Armed with all of this information I went in to find out what was going on this past Monday. The saleman brought me to the sales manager and he could care less about what I had found out or that another dealer already knows their allocations. He told me there was no sense in submitting any of the orders now since they will just sit there until their allocations are known. The salesman tried to apologize and proceeded to tell me that they technically didn't have my money since they didn't cash my check. That should have been my sign to ask for my deposit back right then and there but I foolishly held out hope that I would get a car. He even said to me that maybe I should place a concurrent order with another dealer just to ensure that I got a car. Desire definitely is a blinding force!

I have been reflecting on my experience quite a bit since placing my order and just last night I came to a conclusion: I shouldn't have to be fighting this hard to give a company this much money. I'm headed into the dealer today to ask for my check. I'm done. I am trying to think of the correct format to send this to Ford in because I think they need to fully understand how they are sabotaging themselves. Other companies have performed pre-orders with cars, Volkswagen (with the Golf R) and Mazda (With the Miata) so it is completely possible to process a pre-order successfully. It's very safe to say that I won't be buying a Ford anytime in the future.

Regarding this point, you can't trust a car dealer. Their guarantees of MSRP are not dependable. The 2016's are going to be gone, if you order now you will be getting a 2017 model.

They did the same with the Ford GT, dealers were able to charge $100k more or something crazy like that.

I think it's better to make enough cars for demand and not let the chosen dealers to rape the customers but what do I know?

Dodge has been honorable about it. They aren't allowing the gouging and are punishing the dealers that did it with less vehicles.

They will probably find an easy way around this by titling the vehicles then selling them as used with zero miles... Scumbags will be scumbags.

I can't tell you how many times I've told someone at a business "I'm just trying to give you money, why are you making it so hard."

Sorry you got jerked around, seems all too commonplace these days.

Back when, I could've almost afford a Ford GT, not really but it was a thought, or something possible but not likely because iirc they were listing at $150k. So I was considering it, but when you can almost afford something that's one thing, but then you hear the dealers want an additional $50k on top it's just not possible.

Too bad, the Ford GT has kept its price better than expected.

Nissan was doing the same when the GT-R was released, so it's nice that the Hellcat is not getting those markups.

Sunce the Viper is not selling well, I'd like to see Dodge put the HC engine in the Viper.

You really need to have a good relationship with the dealer and by that I mean spend a lot of money with the dealer.

I purchased a GT Heritage and now a 350R at MSRP because I have purchased countless Expeditions and Explorers from the same guy. Nobody off the street is going to purchase a one of the hot models at MSRP.

That definitely works but realistically not everyone buys lots of cars. Mine typically last between 3-6 years depending on whether or not I am happy

I went to the Ford dealer yesterday and picked up my deposit check. I had to wait 30 minutes! Five hours later I got a call from my local VW dealer, they have a Golf R arriving in November. I originally wanted a R when I started shopping this past March. I am trying to decide today if I want to put a deposit on it tomorrow, the dealer is closed today. Or do I wait to see what next year brings? All I know if my wife wants me to complete this purchase sometime really soon, she is tired of hearing me complain about the process LOL

Thanks . Trying to be zen about it.

I bought an autobahn GTI in 09 and now that it's paid for it's probably time for an upgrade. That new R is awesome. That AWD would be great for Chicago winters, I get stuck in my alley all the time. But finding an R is probably a whole bunch of BS, let alone trying to get 0% financing on it. I will probably just toss a stage 1 on my GTI to hold me over.

For anybody who thinks the Hellcat rollout has been anything but a clustered and there is no dealer markup should google first.

Some dealers have marked them up a lot, but at least you can find ones that have not.

Chris

until it has 36001 miles on it and you have to resort to pushing it around.

I hate dealers. I would never buy a car $1 over MSRP. Buy used,low mileage Hellcat and you will get a better deal. I got the scat pack 392 with shaker $500 under invoice. This is the normally asperated engine. You will have less trouble in the end and the car is super fast.

This is where it was great working for Chrysler. I wish I still did.

Back in 2005 we bought a new Sebring Convertible Touring that was one of only 50 like it (with the options it had and all). MSRP was $34,700 and with my employee discounts and other incentives was $26,200. Just walk into the dealer, hand him the control # and the deal is done. Was the easiest car buying experience I have ever had. And you could use your discount on any vehicle they made, including Viper. Not sure if that's still the case.

And don't fool yourself. Even when you pay "under invoice" the dealer makes money. They get incentives, deals and hold backs from the manufacturers too. At least it used to work that way.

Chris

Factory Supercharged/Turbo cars usually have an extremely safe tune on them and are generally pretty reliable.

Looks like I found my next purchase

http://blog.caranddriver.com/jeep-ceo-hellcat-powered-jeep-grand-cherokee-coming-in-2017/

Should be pretty sweet and a blast to launch. I wonder if it will have the full 707 HP though. Not sure the AWD system can handle it?

Very, very nearly pulled the trigger on a plum crazy purple Hellcat yesterday. I've got a plum crazy SRT challenger right now, and I absolutely adore the color and I get compliments every time I drive it. As cool as the hellcat is, I couldn't quite justify it to myself, plus it really would be pretty darn similar to my current ride (although the new interior is a tremendous upgrade, how often would I really get to appreciate the 707hp vs my current 450 or whatever). My next car will probably be a Tesla at this point.

Im thinking exactly like you. I have a 2011 SRT Challenger, Toxic Orange and its just a bad ass car. I would love a HC, but like you said, when could ya use the 707 HP when I could get in plently of trouble with the current 470. The interior is a major upgrade though. The extra $40,000 would buy a decent boat and truck here in AZ. Ill have to see what happens color wise in 2017...

I wouldn't get it but I do like that color.

Pretty ironic, saw your posr and just got a PCP A8 HC this weekend myself. Sold my Gen 1 Viper that I had for 17 years a few weeks ago and had severe Mopar withdrawl...and let me say the HC makes the Viper feel quite timid. Similar tastes in pinball I also see. Step up and get that HC, the new interior is a huge upgrade over my current 2009 SE daily driver and the new SRT tech is absolutely crazy insane for the $$$. These cars quite possibly will never happen again. The supercharger whine itself simply puts a smile on my face, foregoing feeling the constant need to push the SC. I expect the Teslas to be around for quite some time in new iterations, plenty of time to go in that direction...

Good argument.

The Tesla's need more range before I could safely get one.....at least double the current model 3 range. No charging stations along my routes and likely won't be any for many many years.

for me, charging stations would be a non-issue. honestly i can't think of a situation where i'd ever need one. it's fundamentally different from a gas engine because a gas tank doesn't automatically fill up with gas overnight in your garage, like the Tesla does. i'd have a full 250+ mile charge each morning, and i'm extremely unlikely to exhaust that in one day.

for long trips we'd probably either take the minivan, or make sure there were charging stations en route to where we were going, which is usually just up and down the east coast, where there are plenty of stations anyway.

Any idea how long it takes to "fill up" at a super charging station after the estimated 250 mile range has been drained? Tesla makes sense for a local driver but road trips seem like they'd be a major pain in the ass.

20 minutes for a half charge, about an hour for a full charge. They suggest planning it at a meal time. Charging at a supercharger station is free, by the way.

All depends on where you live too...there's more than a few charging stations around here...and they like putting them in parking structures.

I'd exhaust it on any given weekday. I'm averaging 30,000 a year and as much as 500 (that's the extreme) in one day for work.

Switched from a DB9 to a Tesla P85D. Miss the Aston lineage, but from a performance standpoint the Tesla roasts any ICE performance vehicle I have owned ( Italian exotics included ). For what you would pay for a Hellcat ( and the immediate domestic accelerated depreciation ), purchase a Tesla, blow away your friends rides and enjoy the cool tech and continuous updates for free.

Blender on wheels. Boring. I want to drive, not play with even more electronics.

Are your feet still frostbit from walking 20 miles up hill in the snow each way to school as a kid? I personally prefer horseback.

Cool, I prefer 707 Horses, why stop at 1!!!

P90D (and p85) for that matter are significantly faster than your 707 horses and do so being able to go around corners and not rattle your fillings loose. Ohh and it's not cheapy plastic interior bits too.

I'll take tech over talk any day

Just traded my 2015 392 challenger in on a hellcat! I have been debating selling my motorcycle and since mikes passing I decided it was time. So traded my bike and car in on the hellcat and couldn't be happier.

I have been tossing the idea of getting a 2016 mustang gt350. What do you guys and girls think?

If you get one I'll be in line to come over and drool on the paint. That thing sounds like Satan screaming his lungs out, too bad my Golf diesel doesn't sound like that

My new baby!
IMG_2113_(resized).JPG

Beauty!!

My buddy just picked up a brand new Audi RS7. Beautiful car, and fast as f**k!!!!

guy in an Audi S6 with a V10 tried to race me yesterday. I don't normally engage when people rev their engine at me (which happens a lot!) but for some reason i was feeling dumb. maybe it would have been different from a stop, but we were both going 40mph when we started, and it wasn't remotely a contest. i had him by multiple car lengths before we both slowed down.

my plum crazy challenger is the 6.1 SRT version, but it's much faster than most 6.1's. i put a real computer tune on it. unlike the 6.4 and later SRT engines, the ROM is unencrypted, and (with the right tool) you can change any parameter, including timing, shift points, red line, transmission aggressiveness, air/fuel mixture, and other stuff like that -- it makes an enormous difference. it's crazy how much horsepower Chrysler leaves on the table with the default tune. once you get rid of the knock using the logs (and a catch can, 180 degree thermostat, and CAI), you can raise the shift points and easily squeeze another 30 RWHP out of the thing and it drives WAY more aggressively than the stock version.

(now if only there was a computer tune to reduce the weight by about 300 pounds, maybe i could get a decent launch...)

That its for girls.

(one last brag -- my 6.1 will actually chirp the tires when i floor it at 40 now, which wasn't even close to happening with the stock tune)

Yeah my A7 (with the 3.0 Supercharged V6) is faster than an S6. The S6 sounds better but it's really not that fast. Now that RS7 mentioned above is NUTS.

It is one serious girls car. What are you driving these days?

Don't listen to him, fiberdude. I have a '16 GT350 Track Pack on order. If you can pick one up for MSRP, I say go for it: it is the best Mustang ever built IMHO and is fun to drive... and that exhaust note!

We are experiencing what may be the last run of American muscle/sports cars before the CAFE laws basically force the manufacturers to stop mass-producing these beauties. I think the competition right now between Ford, Chevy, and Dodge is awesome and we as consumers should be happy and not hatin'.

I went with the Subaru STi.

Got the limited edition hyper blue, which looks WAY better in person than in pictures. In fact, I was *really* struggling with what color to go with. 2 weeks later I drove by the dealer and they had the Hyper Blue sitting out front, and it made it crystal clear to me that that was the color I had to have.

I've had the car since October '15 and I love it. Zero regrets so far!

Good job....that's a nice engine. I mean...it's old as shit, but good
--->2016 WRX Owner

Dirty old Robbie T is back in the fold.

Just one question Robbie ... When you got the Subie, did they give you a hat to wear backwards when you're driving it?

rd