Dealership prioritizing dealer allocation over customer orders

https://www.brandonford.com/new-ford-bronco-tampa-fl?

Here’s the link for proof in the unlikely event someone doesn’t believe it

I know that at my dealership every Bronco they have gotten in has gone to existing customers orders. With the exception of their demo unit. And that on every one they have gotten in has always been listed as for sale on their website. And I know it is very common to do this. That being said, many dealerships do get in some stripped down stock units and others end up having some “customers” cancel their orders, thus freeing up the vehicle for a hefty ADM. I know that there is a magic formula that Ford uses to punish dealerships that have to many orders that don’t go to the person who reserved. Unfortunately there are always dealerships that skirt and finagle ways around the rules.

Dealers can order stock units. If they have 10 allocations and 8 customer orders, they could potentially get 2 dealer stock orders built. Or if they have 10 allocations and no buildable customer orders they could fill dealer stock orders.

Hook’EmHorns91

https://www.brandonford.com/new-ford-bronco-tampa-fl?

Here’s the link for proof in the unlikely event someone doesn’t believe it

It’s definitely marked up because my Big Bend with the mid package is only 42K and these are 56k

It's impossible for a dealer to prioritize stock units over customer orders. Ford's ordering system doesn't let them do that.

What's happening is they are submitting stock orders they know Ford has the components to build... notice how the vast majority of Broncos are all soft-top Big Bend & Outer Banks with 3.73 open diffs. They submitted their dealer stock orders specifically to avoid the constrained items. Because Ford doesn't have the components to build customer orders, they are moving down the priority list picking up and building stock orders that don't have constrained items. And obviously this dealer placed a lot of stock orders for Broncos without constrained items. The one Badlands they have in stock looks to have been a demo unit that they weren't allowed to sell until recently.

Anyway, nothing nefarious going on here. Ford has publicly released the constraints list, both we and the dealers know which Bronco configurations Ford can build. It's just most of us want a Bronco with one of those constrained items, so we get to wait.

RagnarKon

It's impossible for a dealer to prioritize stock units over customer orders. Ford's ordering system doesn't let them do that.

What's happening is they are submitting stock orders they know Ford has the components to build... notice how the vast majority of Broncos are all soft-top Big Bend & Outer Banks with 3.73 open diffs. They submitted their dealer stock orders specifically to avoid the constrained items. Because Ford doesn't have the components to build customer orders, they are moving down the priority list picking up and building stock orders that don't have constrained items. And obviously this dealer placed a lot of stock orders for Broncos without constrained items. The one Badlands they have in stock looks to have been a demo unit that they weren't allowed to sell until recently.

Anyway, nothing nefarious going on here. Ford has publicly released the constraints list, both we and the dealers know which Bronco configurations Ford can build. It's just most of us want a Bronco with one of those constrained items, so we get to wait.

Ford is doing exactly what they said they would do

RagnarKon

It's impossible for a dealer to prioritize stock units over customer orders. Ford's ordering system doesn't let them do that.

I believe this is false. A dealer could change the status code of some portion of their customer orders to “99” which tells Ford not to build those orders while leaving their stock orders at status “10” or “19”.

Tilzbow

I believe this is false. A dealer could change the status code of some portion of their customer orders to “99” which tells Ford not to build those orders while leaving their stock orders at status “10” or “19”.

It's impossible to give a stock order a priority code of 10-19. Priority codes 10-19 are reserved for retail orders and need to have customer names attached to them. The lowest priority code they can give a stock order is 20. (20-80 is stock orders.)

They could potentially be setting customer orders to "99"... that would be extremely slimy dealer behavior. But honestly they don't even need to do that, it's just a waste of their time. They know what components are constrained, so all they got to do is place stock orders without those constrained items and Ford picks them up for build. Not rocket science. I didn't check every Broncos on their website, but the the first 4-5 Broncos I clicked at all specifically avoided the constrained items. All were 4-door, soft top, 3.73 open diff axle. No hard top, no locking axles, no tow package, no Sasquatch package, not a single constrained item were on those builds.

RagnarKon

It's impossible to give a stock order a priority code of 10-19. Priority codes 10-19 are reserved for retail orders and need to have customer names attached to them. The lowest priority code they can give a stock order is 20. (20-80 is stock orders.)

They could potentially be setting customer orders to "99"... that would be extremely slimy dealer behavior. But honestly they don't even need to do that, it's just a waste of their time. They know what components are constrained, so all they got to do is place stock orders without those constrained items and Ford picks them up for build. Not rocket science. I didn't check every Broncos on their website, but the the first 4-5 Broncos I clicked at all specifically avoided the constrained items. All were 4-door, soft top, 3.73 open diff axle. No hard top, no locking axles, no tow package, no Sasquatch package, not a single constrained item were on those builds.

This is totally accurate (except the replace slimy with stupid).
Also, retail orders do propagate on websites depending on how the inventory is pushed. They generally disappear pretty quickly as most customers take delivery within a few hours of arrival!
We've seen this before with limited production vehicles like the 2001 T-Bird -and those dealers screwed themselves out of allocation. Generally speaking you have the first intenders that will spend whatever they can afford, and the rest that will wait you out. This is not a vehicle for everybody -It resides at the bottom of the practicality list with Jeeps. You my think there is an inexhaustible source of idiots willing to pay $20 k over -but they will disappear quickly -and us enthusiasts will be the last buyers standing. Bad acting dealerships cannot overcome the allocation system -because it's based on history and actions -which favors the good actors.

Hook’EmHorns91

I’ve noticed over these past 6 months, if not longer, that my dealership has prioritized allocations for their own bronco orders to mark them up and have completely left customer orders in the dark. They have a total of 31 broncos for sale(1 2021 model and 30 ‘22 year models) all with vins right now. They fluctuate between big bends and outer banks with soft tops. I’ve had my order in since March ‘21 and constantly hit my dealer up for updates and always get the “it hasn’t been scheduled yet”. Well I’m sure that’s probably because they’re scheduling their own first for more profit. Is anyone else seeing this trend at their dealerships? I thought Ford put out a notice to dealerships to prevent this, otherwise their allocations would be slashed.

Doesn't surprise me. As alot of folks say here they are in business to make money and their interests get top priority. It's the new way of business. Me first, you second.