New Ford Focus - dealer charging far above list

FGR

Hi all.

I was wondering is it policy with new model vehicles for dealers to charge well in excess of the list price of the car?

Take for example the new Ford Focus - which I'm a fan of - the list price of a 1.0T EcoBoost 125 Manual Hatch is €22,513 excluding delivery and related charges. I went to one very well known Ford dealership and they started the negotiating at 24,590. The dealer outlined this included €750 delivery.

Is this normal for a new release model to include a pretty nice mark up on top of the listed price from Ford?

I've owned three brand new cars from other brands - but always were always max ~€800 above the list price including delivery. And this was before haggling!

This was the same spec, a basic zetec with non metallic paint or any extras.

MarkN

FGR wrote: »

Hi all.

I was wondering is it policy with new model vehicles for dealers to charge well in excess of the list price of the car?

Take for example the new Ford Focus - which I'm a fan of - the list price of a 1.0T EcoBoost 125 Manual Hatch is €22,513 excluding delivery and related charges. I went to one very well known Ford dealership and they started the negotiating at 24,590. The dealer outlined this included €750 delivery.

Is this normal for a new release model to include a pretty nice mark up on top of the listed price from Ford?

I've owned three brand new cars from other brands - but always were always max ~€800 above the list price including delivery. And this was before haggling!

This was the same spec, a basic zetec with non metallic paint or any extras.

Doesn’t sound right. There’s no trade in against it to muddy the water is there?

bazz26

I have found that the price of metallic paint and delivery charges has crept up in the last few years and delivery charges can vary depending on who you buy from. I'd say try another dealer or two for comparison.

FGR

Thanks for the replies !

I walked in wanting to buy with cash or finance whichever provided the better offer. The salesman basically tried to tell me that this is very normal. I wasn't entertaining it as any discount would have been above what Ford advertise.

I'm definitely going to other dealers - for now I don't think I'll be going back to the first as that was very disappointing. I wonder if others have paid such prices? I hope not.

R.O.R

All stock focus models have a pack fitted which is a few extras. Have the details on my desk so will post in the morning.

bazz26

Are you ordering from the factory? Does it have to be a January delivery? If buying a stock car and not in a hurry then maybe call back in mid March when it's approaching the end of Q1 when meeting sales targets are on the mind of sales staff when they might be more receptive to dealing. At the moment the Focus is a new model with plenty of interest for new year registrations so dealers don't need to try selling them as hard.

R.O.R

R.O.R wrote: »

All stock focus models have a pack fitted which is a few extras. Have the details on my desk so will post in the morning.

Actually - there's nothing listed against the Zetec model. Titanium & ST-Line models will have the rear view camera fitted but the bulletin doesn't mention the Focus Zetec.

bazz26 wrote: »

Are you ordering from the factory? Does it have to be a January delivery? If buying a stock car and not in a hurry then maybe call back in mid March when it's approaching the end of Q1 when meeting sales targets are on the mind of sales staff when they might be more receptive to dealing. At the moment the Focus is a new model with plenty of interest for new year registrations so dealers don't need to try selling them as hard.

There's a production issue with Zetec spec Focus's :rolleyes: Only customer tagged orders already in the system will be built, or you can choose from what's in the country already. For the foreseeable future, no Zetec orders can be placed.

Stallingrad

This is really a question for the dealer, why not ask him to explain the discrepancy?

Sales people like informed customers, saves a lot of messing around. Tell him what you want and what you want to pay and go from there.

R.O.R

€24,950 was the retail price of the previous Focus Zetec 1.0T model. First info I have on the new Focus was the Zetec retail price was €50 less than the outgoing model, so €24,900 is on the initial price list - these prices are all excluding delivery, metallic and any other extra's.

Ford recently re-adjusted all their pricing, bringing the retail price of the Focus Zetec down to €22,495 (available discount has also reduced) - looks like whichever dealer the OP has been in with, isn't working off the updated pricing, which is pretty worrying...

California Dreamer

€25k for a f**king Focus????

You could buy a hell of a lot of car for the same money if you went down a couple of years!

Brian Scan

FGR wrote: »

Hi all.

I was wondering is it policy with new model vehicles for dealers to charge well in excess of the list price of the car?

Take for example the new Ford Focus - which I'm a fan of - the list price of a 1.0T EcoBoost 125 Manual Hatch is €22,513 excluding delivery and related charges. I went to one very well known Ford dealership and they started the negotiating at 24,590. The dealer outlined this included €750 delivery.

Is this normal for a new release model to include a pretty nice mark up on top of the listed price from Ford?

I've owned three brand new cars from other brands - but always were always max ~€800 above the list price including delivery. And this was before haggling!

This was the same spec, a basic zetec with non metallic paint or any extras.

California Dreamer wrote: »

€25k for a f**king Focus????

You could buy a hell of a lot of car for the same money if you went down a couple of years!

Helpful.

asteroids over berlin

deliver charge is farcical, negotiate it down to half that

FGR

This is the thing. I was willing to buy stock as Zetec covered what was required - but the discussion didn't even reach the point of checking - I queried the higher price than the RRP that was listed on Ford's own site and was told that you never get quoted what the manufacturer recommends. I mentioned my three previous vehicles brought brand new from different manufacturers and the RRP was always what the manufacturer suggested plus delivery - not an extra €1,687 in addition to delivery.

Thanks for the feedback. It's my first interaction with Ford dealerships for a new car - so didn't know if this was standard policy. For a while I thought I was losing my mind but at least there's some consensus. I'll have to check back in the new year to see what happens. Also to check a couple of other dealers in the meantime.

bazz26

I'd say some of the problem is that it's a recently launched new model so interest is strong and Ford are not too pushed with discounts on a new model. I'd say this time next year when it's no longer "all new" Ford might be offering better deals on them. I'd say you would get a better discount on a Mondeo right now.

Henry Ford III

FGR wrote: »

This is the thing. I was willing to buy stock as Zetec covered what was required - but the discussion didn't even reach the point of checking - I queried the higher price than the RRP that was listed on Ford's own site and was told that you never get quoted what the manufacturer recommends. I mentioned my three previous vehicles brought brand new from different manufacturers and the RRP was always what the manufacturer suggested plus delivery - not an extra €1,687 in addition to delivery.

Thanks for the feedback. It's my first interaction with Ford dealerships for a new car - so didn't know if this was standard policy. For a while I thought I was losing my mind but at least there's some consensus. I'll have to check back in the new year to see what happens. Also to check a couple of other dealers in the meantime.

Ask them what exactly is the €1687 covering.