Ford's Buy Back Program

[user 64117]

I just recieved a letter from my Local Ford Dealer about their Buy back program, Is this just a gimmic to get you to buy another vehicle or are they worth the look?



thanks in advance,

DanG

 

[2]

A gimmic, they only do things to make money. With that said you can always go and see what they have to offer. If you like the deal take it, if not walk out.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Just to let you know, those letters usually do not originate from Ford. It is a seperate company doing it through the dealer making you think it is from Ford.





Tom

 

[Bill Ellis]

What they want is to screw you on the trade-in and then again on the new purchase. If you don't mind party with a couple of grand just to get something a little newer, go for it.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Those letters do not originate with Ford. They are buy a firm the dealer contracted with.





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

I get those too. I still get them for the past cars I have owned as well. Most dealers send those out to try and get you back in the door.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Caymen, I have to agree that those letters probably aren't originating from Ford Corporate (aka FordMoCo), but they are coming from Ford.



Please hear me out.



These letters have the Ford name on them, they have the dealer name on them, they come with Ford letterhead.



Dealers have to be certified. Dealers are affiliated with Ford. You or I can't just open up a used car dealership, put up a Ford oval sign on the street and start selling used Fords.



I only say this because many here give FordMoCo a "pass" when dealers drop the ball and do things poorly (bad service, sending out snake-oil salesman like buyback offers, etc), but the fact is, it's "ALL FORD"...to the customers, anyway. And that's as it should be.



If we excuse the bad things that dealers do and don't actually recognize that it is Ford's fault that it is happening, then Ford will continue to do poorly.



So, the fact that these buyback offers go out is due to FordMoCo, because clearly they are ultimately responsible. Same with the service level that the local dealers provide. It's all on FordMoCo.



TJR

 

[FlipTrac_511]

I just got a letter yesterday as well.

 

[Tom Schindler]

TJR,



I will give you an example. At a Ford dealer in Tallmadge, Ohio, there are a couple of guys that promote a "Factory Authorized Sale". They are nothing more then marketing guys that are on their own.



The go to a Ford dealer, get names and send out the letters. What do they get out of the deal? They get half the commission of all the vehicles sold.



The following week, the go to the Chevrolet Dealer and do the same thing. Then to a Dadge dealer, and so forth. Their letters have the Ford emblem and name on it. The same with the Dodge or Chevrolet name.



They get around this because they contract with the dealer and the dealer has the right to promote Fords name with the product they sell.



It is not through Ford Motor Company, but the dealer itself.



Ford has nothing to do with it.



I am absolutly against those sales tactics. Those guys that run that sales are scumbags. The are the closers to close the deal and they are good at what they do. They are like a "Buy here, Pay here" used car salesman, only worse. They say whatever they think will get you to buy the car. If the deal goes sour, they make it known they are not happy.



When people see the "factory Authorized Sale", "Ford Buy Back Program", etc. etc. etc. they assume it is coming from Ford. When those guys act like jackasses, it does not reflect on the dealer or those guys themselves, but Ford. (Of Chevrolet, Dodge, Kia, etc.)



Few people actually know about these types of sales. My wife worked at one of those dealers that did that. You have no idea what the car sales business is.





Tom

 

[M B]

I got a letter from the last dealership my ST went too. They had a free coupon for an oil change with them. But while they had me there, they wanted to appraise the ST and show the 2007 to me in hopes to get me to trade in. Ahh, no!

 

[Rick Kent]

Caymen,



I think what you are saying is technically correct. FoMoCo has no direct input in what these dealers are doing.



I think what TJR is saying is the reality of the situation. To the general public, there is no distinction between FoMoCo and the local dealer. They are both Ford.



If the local dealer, who has a franchise from FoMoCo, is doing something like this buy back letter, providing poor after sale service or has a body shop that performs poor collision repairs, the customer is rightly upset at "Ford".



And whether the customer knows the difference between FoMoCo and Joe Smiths Ford Dealership, in the end FoMoCo ultimately takes a hit also.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

True. The Ford "Blue Oval" award program states that a dealership has met or exceeded Ford's quality service standards. I've dealt with some of these "excellent" dealerships before, and either Ford has very low standards or the customers are not truthful in the answers to their surveys. I suspect the latter, since I have been enticed by dealerships to give all "excellents" before. In any case, when I walk into one of these dealerships, Ford Motor Company has given them their seal of approval and anything less than stellar service reflects directly on Ford.

 

[Tom Schindler]

To the general public, there is no distinction between FoMoCo and the local dealer. They are both Ford.

I completely agree. That is why I tell people that when they comment on something like "Ford's Buy Back Program". Before they think it is Ford making that program, I let them know differently.



You are right though. Get sick on food at McDonalds and you curse McDonalds, not the establishment you got sick at.

And whether the customer knows the difference between FoMoCo and Joe Smiths Ford Dealership, in the end FoMoCo ultimately takes a hit also.

I agree.



Nelson,



As for your comment, I agree with you. You also need to remember though, some people, you just can't make happy.



Here is an example. At the Dealer Theresa worked at had a deaf guy come in to buy a used vehicle. It was a $3,000.00 vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it. As-Is, no warranty. Three days later, he had the tranny go out. The deaf man and his daughter walk into the dealership to complain. The owner of the dealer offered to fix the tranny for free, minus parts, in good faith to keep a customer. The daughter tried playing the "You knowingly sold my dad a defective car because he was deaf". When they were not happy with the owners offer, the owner asked her what she thought was fair. Straight faced she looked at him and said a new car would be fair. The owner said he woulg go as far as giving the new car at cost, plus 1 grand more then they paid for the original used car. the customer said he was trying to rip them off and was going to get a lawyer.



The owner called the secretary, had the purchase price refunded and told them to get the hell out of his dealership.



Those people were trying to get something for nothing. The owner went out of his way to make it right, though they knowingly purchased that Camry with over 100,000 miles without a warranty. Offering to rebuild the tranny for the cost of parts only was above the "call of duty" for the owner. Offering a new car at cost plus an extra grand off, again was even better, but they felt they deserves a brand new car for something that was nothing the dealer was responsible for is flat out ignorant.



They did call Ford to complain, but it went nowhere.



Those people were out of line.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Right, Fkent, Nelson and now Caymen seem to get it. Bad dealers = Bad company!