Gunfighter

I ran into the same thing buying a new Corvette several years ago. I ended up ordering it from Jerry's Chevrolet in Beresford, SD and for $250 processing fee had it delivered to the dealer that wouldn't sell to me. Jerry's didn't make much on the car, but it earned them one more allocation the next year.

You can check vehicle specific forums for the model you are interested in to see what dealers are marking up.

sailingfun

He attempted to order the vehicle using the Costco plan at two different locations. Both refused. In general purchase plans are nice for vehicles not in high demand but useless for cars that are harder to get. If the vehicle is not in demand you can usually do better on your own but it's a hassle.

CX500T

Can't speak to Costco, but I know with Ford, they have two options accept X plan or not. But here is where you have a bit more juice. In my case, my desired vehicle (F-450 Super Duty, Pickup version, 4x4, crew cab) was basically unobtanium in anything but a vinyl seat XL work truck OR the opposite end of the spectrum, King Ranch/Platinum or Lariats with every damn option. If you order a truck and use Xplan, they get credit towards their volume (which helps various manufacutrer programs, dealer stuff) but it doesn't count towards their allocation.

I'll break this down in very generic math. (I worked in auto industry for a while pre-Navy, went to GM's Engineering school for undergrad)
Total vehicles sold drive their volume. Volume drives their allocations, or how many vehicles they can order and of what type, so Ford isn't giving them 1000 cars when they only selll 230, also, in years of demand outstripping production, the dealer that sells 1000 cars a year isn't going to get the same as one that sells 10,000.

You order on Xplan, you help their overall numbers for the next year but you don't go against their allocation. Lets just say a dealer does 1000 units a year, 800 dealer stock, 200 special order. The next year, assuming production/demand stays level, they can order 800 stock vehicles (from their allocation) and 200 orders which need a customer tied to them. If 50 guys order Xplan trucks from them, they move 1050 vehicles, but still had 800 stock and 200 custom orders. BUT the next year, they have the volume of 1050, which then lets them get 825 stock orders, and 225 customs. This is oversimplified a bit but it is the reason you can find dealers who will take Xplan and not make a ton off of it.

Dealer has a few ways vehicles get there. Orders, Allocations and Priorities.. In my case, the dealer was taking Xplan orders, as long as you were OK with priority 12 (10-19 is special orders, 10 is generally high margin, high value customer stuff, and 11 is repeat buyer, friends/family, etc) which is still pretty good. I ordered my truck end of August 2021 and got it in February 2022, and that was when they were having massive supply chain issues with some things for the 10 speed auto transmission for the higher output engines.

I ordered the Expedition in October 2022 and got it last week of January 23.

Cut and paste below from a discussion on this before:

Dealers assign priority codes to each order based on the Order Type. Stock orders are assigned priority codes 20-80, retail orders are assigned priority codes 10-19. Fleet orders are assigned special alpha numeric codes that represent a requested production week. The priority codes determine the order for which vehicle orders are to be selected and/or considered for scheduling. This overview doesn’t consider commodity issues (model, powertrain or option scheduling restrictions) that may be in place for a scheduling week. Commodity issues and/or restrictions can apply at either or both the regional and national levels.

The highest priority that a Dealer can use for a retail order is 10. An order with a “10” priority code will schedule ahead of an order with an “11” priority code, etc. This allows Dealers to prioritize the order in which vehicles are scheduled, especially when a Dealer may have multiple retail orders in the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank). With the WBDO ordering system, retail orders default to priority code “19” so it’s important that a Dealer change the priority code to a lower number if they want the order to be considered for scheduling earlier compared to other orders.

Ford provides Dealers with a schedule for vehicle allocation each week on Monday mornings which shows how many vehicles of each model line that the Dealer has allocation for scheduling that week. That same weekly allocation report also includes information on any regional commodity issues or restrictions. On Monday afternoons, the Scheduling Toolbox Report is released which provides more detailed information on commodity issues and scheduling availability on a national basis. On Tuesday mornings, the AM Scheduling Preview Report is available to show Dealers which vehicle orders have been selected or previewed, on an initial basis, to be selected for scheduling that week. The same report is updated and available on Wednesday morning to show any changes based on commodity issues that may have changed.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Regional Scheduler issues a notice informing Dealers of the vehicle specifications available for scheduling for orders not already showing on the AM Preview Report. This provides Dealers with information on what vehicle specifications are available for scheduling should they have orders showing on the AM Preview Report that are not what the Dealer wants.

Ford generates what are called “SIMS Orders” each week which are Ford’s suggested orders based on commodity information available at the time. If a Dealer has vehicle allocation for scheduling that week and has no Dealer orders in the USOB or orders that don’t meet the commodity restrictions in place for that week, the scheduling system will default to trying to schedule SIMS (Smart Inventory Management System) orders if they meet any commodity restrictions in place. The SIMS orders are available to Dealers online Monday mornings and in print form on Tuesday mornings. Dealers can enter their own vehicle orders or change the Ford generated SIMS orders.

Ford Dealers earn vehicle scheduling allocation each month based on reported vehicle sales, current inventory, projected sales, etc. Each month, Dealers usually meet with their Ford Zone Manager to review the allocation offered for scheduling the following month. A Dealer can accept the suggested allocation per vehicle line or change their commitment. Should a Dealer want more allocation than offered for a vehicle line, they can submit a request for supplemental allocation which will be considered based on total allocation available and commitments from other Dealers in their Zone. There are times when Dealers accept less allocation than offered for a vehicle line which makes that allocation available to other Dealers that may be looking for additional inventory. At other times, a Dealer may want more allocation for a vehicle line than Ford has offered. A supplemental allocation request is how Dealers can get allocation for extra inventory.

A Dealer needs allocation each week for scheduling for each vehicle line. Even without allocation for a vehicle line, Ford is pretty good at trying to schedule retail orders even when a Dealer doesn’t have allocation that week. When a Dealer knows that they don’t have scheduling allocation, it’s always a good idea for them to provide the retail order information (Body Code & Order Number) to their Ford Zone Manager and the Regional Scheduler. The Regional Scheduler can reprioritize the retail order to priority code “01” which basically forces the Ford scheduling system to schedule the unit ASAP unless extreme commodity restrictions prevent the scheduling. When a Dealer doesn’t have allocation, the Ford Zone Manager may try to get the allocation from another Dealer that is willing to give up their allocation.

Ford scheduling is done on Thursday’s but at times scheduling may be carried over to Friday’s due to scheduling, commodity or other issues. Vehicle scheduling confirmations are available on Friday mornings for allocation scheduled on Thursday.

With only a few exceptions (Focus RS, EcoSport, Transit Connect) VIN numbers are generated at the time that an order is “Submitted to Plant” for scheduling. The initial scheduling information will show an order scheduled for a production week. Afterwards, the information will be updated to show production for a particular date. Along the process, the vehicle order status information will be updated along with the ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) at the dealership.

Years ago, the ordering process was much easier, with few or limited commodity issues to deal with. Ford’s vehicle scheduling was mostly driven by scheduling and building vehicles based on Dealer orders to meet Market demands. For a number of years now, the ordering process has become more complex and time consuming based on the constantly changing commodity issues and restrictions. It is now not uncommon for allocation to roll over to the following week because manufacturing can’t accurately forecast how many vehicles can be scheduled for production. In many cases, it seems that either because of vendor supply issues or other factors that Ford skews vehicle scheduling to higher content models in order to maximize corporate profits rather than scheduling vehicle production to meet Dealers orders or Market demand.

The overall vehicle order process, scheduling and status updates is listed below for reference.

· Dealer places order into the USOB (Unscheduled Order Bank)
· When Dealer has vehicle allocation for scheduling, orders are scheduled based on Order Type, Priority Code and commodity restrictions.
o Scheduled vehicle orders display as “Submitted to Plant” on the Dealer’s daily schedule status report.
o Vehicle orders are assigned a VIN number when scheduled except for certain vehicle lines (EcoSport, Focus RS, Transit Connect)
o The initial vehicle scheduling notice will include information for the scheduled week of production. The initial ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is usually provided within a few days of the scheduling notice.
o Dealers can change vehicle specifications for a scheduled vehicle up until the vehicle is “locked in” for production or about two weeks prior to the scheduled build date. Specifications for certain vehicle lines (EcoSport, Focus RS, etc.) cannot be changed once scheduled.
§ Dealers are limited to making 6 changes to scheduled orders.
§ Dealers cannot change Order Type, Body Code, Order Code (Package/Trim Level)

· Vehicle order is next updated with a scheduled production date.
· Vehicle goes into production and shows as “Sent to Plant” on the Dealer’s daily status report.
o Vehicle invoices and window stickers are generated and available to Dealers at about this time.
· Dealer’s daily status report shows updates on production status.
· Vehicle status updated to “Produced”
· Vehicle status updated to “Released” meaning that the vehicle has been released for shipment.
· Vehicle is loaded on rail car. Dealer is provided with carrier information (Canadian National, Norfolk Sothern, etc.) along with the actual rail car number.
· Vehicle status is updated to show arrival at the final rail destination (Ramp 41/Newark, NJ)
· Vehicle is received by the car carrier (Fleet Car, Diversified Automotive, etc.) for delivery to the dealership.
· Vehicle is delivered to the dealership.

Dealers have access to the “Vehicle Visibility” application which provides status updates on a 24/7 basis for any vehicle order.

20Fathoms

Interesting info (not sarcasm), but all the more reason to buy a Tesla and skip all that dealer stuff.

Gunfighter

For most vehicles, you can order from any dealer and pay a small fee for pickup at a local dealer. It worked for me on a "high demand" vehicle using the GM Military Appreciation Program.No local dealers would participate, but an out of state dealer I had a previous relationship with did assist. YMMV

CX500T

Show me a Tesla that will haul a 22,000 pound trailer with 4500 pounds of pin weight.

Or fit 2 adults, 4 kids (2 in car seats) and two large dogs.

Teslas are cool, but the no dealer thing is basically like dealing with the power or natural gas company.. This is our price, FUPU (F you, Pay Us)

v1rotatay

No thanks.

Give me a TRX with 702 HP...

20Fathoms

First point makes sense. If that’s your mission, Tesla (any EV really) isn’t for you yet. Disagree on the second. Unlike a power or gas company, if you don’t like the price of a Tesla you can just buy elsewhere. Dealers are just middlemen. I don’t want to deal with a middleman to buy power, gas, or anything really. Nor do I want to haggle, just show me the data and price and I’ll make a call.

YMMV

Gunfighter

This should get you double the 22,000 trailer.



Not sure about the child seats.

The no dealer model is a refreshing change from calling multiple dealers and haggling like a flea market shopper.

Not sure about the F450, but this one will set you back over 6 figures.

CX500T

450 was $68k (73k otd with sales tax, registration, personal property tax)