Allocation..means what?

[c_steve]

Dealer has vin for a color and options I don't want and too far along to change...Says they have "allocation" on another (not ordered yet) that they will "spec" as I want....Dealer says Ford won't/doesn't write a letter to customer so what canI/should I get to insure I will get the car??? Dealer is OK to take a reasonable deposit /let me spec and write agreement that would let me out of deal if vin and subsequent delivery isn't produced( in a time yet to be specified).....What can I expect re proof of areement and if they in fact can provide that proof what is reasonable for time to vin and time to delivery??? They are telling me that wheras they have "allocation" a vin will be provided in a few wks (3) and build per there allocation for April/delivery in May.......sound reasonable???? I fgure if they have allocation as they say should be some proof available (sales mgr says he will come up w/ something but, I would appreciate a "heads-up" from knowledgable forum members....THANKS Steve

 

[c_steve]

Mmmmmm...I'm after a tungsten w/ stripes or a yellow w no stripe and decal delete (almost made up my mind)also w/o Mac and w/ std wheels....Dealer has told me that Zone reps assured them of "allocation"......and as I have posted they will take deposit w return privelages if not satisfied but, as you might expect I want the car not $ back.....What I'm trying to figure out is.........have lond waits for vns been due to an order to a dealer that doesn't have an allocation o t dealers that have an allocation.....and in my case does the dealer stating he has a "April build" hold any water???? Steve

 

[barondw]

Allocation is a relatively simple concept. It is how many vehicle(s) a dealership will be allowed to have for a certain time period, normally the model year. This is based ons ales volume, attending certain meetings, and many other nebulous factors.

The dealer in most cases decides on color, options, etc. when they are told they can have a vehicle.

First problem is when will the car be available. If there are delays at the factory it pushes back the expected delivery date. Second, the factory keeps changing schedules for various reasons and this also impacts when a car will be available or built. Third the dealers play games between each other trading an allocation slot when they don't think they can sell the car.
So they take orders betting on the cum that they can find the vehicle some one is looking for. Since they can't in many instances the fun and games get worse.

So if you are looking for an iron-clad contract that says X dealer will have Y GT with a,b,c,d,e,f, options or delete options it will never happen. Look for a car at a dealership and buy that car.

Dave

 

[c_steve]

Dave....I understand generic content of your post but, what I was hoping to hear was...... If in fact the dealer has an allocation as he says he has confirmed again just this week from Zone rep what is best mechanism to "proove"it....The dealer has been up-front so far...(showed me vin for Feb build that I could have but,too late to change color). He has been fair in the deal and deposit ect but, says there is no mechanism to provide buyer proof from Ford untill a vin is assigned....(I don't believe they are taking a "blind order" and hoping to get another dealers allocation ?).....I'm.just trying to inquire if anyone has ordered from a dealer who has told the buyer he had allocation what evidence was provided and if the evidence that was provided did hold water in the final analysis???? Steve

 

[B O N Y]

Part of my contract was the copy of the allocation letter from the Ford zone
advising the dealer he has one GT coming. Anybody was a copy of this letter, I will be glad to fax it to them.

As stated on another post, the folks at BLUEOVAL.COM advised me production data after the dealer gave me the vin number.

best of luck

 

[AMB]

bony

Could FAX me a copy. 858-569-7438

AMB

 

[B O N Y]

check your fax, could not find the original, just a poor photocopy, but should be clear enough for your purposes. Note this goes back two years to Feb. 11, 2004
and clearly provided proof that my dealer was indeed getting one GT.

 

[barondw]

Dave....I understand generic content of your post but, what I was hoping to hear was...... If in fact the dealer has an allocation as he says he has confirmed again just this week from Zone rep what is best mechanism to "proove"it....The dealer has been up-front so far...(showed me vin for Feb build that I could have but,too late to change color). He has been fair in the deal and deposit ect but, says there is no mechanism to provide buyer proof from Ford untill a vin is assigned....(I don't believe they are taking a "blind order" and hoping to get another dealers allocation ?).....I'm.just trying to inquire if anyone has ordered from a dealer who has told the buyer he had allocation what evidence was provided and if the evidence that was provided did hold water in the final analysis???? Steve

You are looking for a guarantee and that is impossible.

Dave

 

[K-P Garage]

allocation letter

I got a copy of the allocation letter from my Ford man. I then sent it to the ford gt prices website. Centerpunch put it up there for all to see. It lays out the details of the program. The ford GT prices website is a powerful information tool to help cut through the normal car dealer games. At least it helped me a great deal.
There does seem to be a strong preference for the highly optioned cars. It seems very few dealers including those who got early preferential treatment ordered cars without the wheel and stereo "upgrade". One dealer here in Florida had six cars on the property at once and had to keep one in the back because his showroom would only hold five at a time. The only thing I have learned for sure is that the President's award dealerships got the nod for early orders. It also seems that the dealer's muskrat sales (mustang) numbers affected their status. The Saleen dealers also seemed to get better allocation than the Roush and regular dealers. Rumble on!!

 

[PILOTJPW1]

There was a letter of allocation with 2005's but it was mostly a promo thing to excite the dealer. We did not recieve anything like that with our 2006 allocation.

 

[B O N Y]

There was a letter of allocation with 2005's but it was mostly a promo thing to excite the dealer. We did not recieve anything like that with our 2006 allocation.

Have no idea about 2006, but I received a fax'd copy of the letter addressed to my dealer indicating indeed he had a GT coming as a result of being a president award store. I faxed a copy as requested.

 

[B O N Y]

As I stated earlier, the dealer should have a written document from Ford stating their allocation for the year. This means if Ford builds as many units as they planned, the dealer will get their number of allocated units. However, the GT will cease production on a certain date. If something happens to slow down or suspend production, then Ford will not build as many units as planned, and some dealers will NOT get their full allocation. There is no guarantee a unit will be built until the order gets beyond clean/unscheduled. Even then, something bad could happen, but highly unlikely. For a relatively detailed description of the stages of ordering, go here:

http://www.f150online.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=127481

I doubt any proof your dealer gives you will holdup in a court of law, but the document showing his total year's allocation and his word on how many he has already received, is the best you'll get from him.

I trusted my dealer implicitly. However, he was only getting one unit meaning it could be anytime during the entire production run for the year. I was worried that something may happen to slow down production, and if Ford didn't produce all the units originally planned, and my dealer's allocation was originally planned at the end of the production year, I may end up without a car! Luckily, my order will be serialized in Feb, and built in Apr. Get your dealer to try and get more than just passing info from their zone rep.

great post and interesting link that is spot on.

 

[K-P Garage]

allocation lette

The letter I was talking about is for MY2006 as per its date. I don't recall seeing anything like this on the MY2005. Also when I first saw the prototype at Ford Carlisle in I think 2003, J.Mays was there and someone specifically asked him about how dealers were going to be assigned cars. His answer was precisely vague but he did mention the President's award status. He also indicated that he expected that dealers would be very fortunate to get just one GT.
Sometime later, my Ford man told me that there was a dealers meeting out west in which allocations were drawn and handed out. As expected there was a great deal of horse trading going on which accounts for how some dealers have ended up with multiple GTs.
I put my order in way back just after they announced that the car would be built. I then got shoved off the wait list by higher bidders. We all know that story line.
I really believe the situation has changed now and you should be able to order the car you want pretty much at or a little below sticker. That seems to be the way it is here in Florida.