Will delays will hurt Ford?

[richdave]

The BA is kicking serious arse out there in the market, I can see yet another "Series I/Series II/Series III" pattern developing again, can't you guys?

Long live the King "Ford".

And they will, they just needed a wake up call.

Ford better get on top of the delivery problems soon. Price increase, delays, production probs. GMH just have to discount the VY a little and they'll have many folks running back.

[Mondie]

l agree Richdave, Ford have no hope of ever pegging the Late model camira with their current inability to build and deliver cars reliably.

When we were doing the Ford/Expensive Daewoo comparo the local (country) dealership knocked off nearly 4 grand on a VY SS. Given discounts like that and the fact you may have to wait upto 6 months to get an XR6T, in which time your trade in may have lost another 2K or more, you would have to be pretty keen on the Ford to wait.

[richdave]

lWhen we were doing the Ford/Expensive Daewoo comparo the local (country) dealership knocked off nearly 4 grand on a VY SS. Given discounts like that and the fact you may have to wait upto 6 months to get an XR6T, in which time your trade in may have lost another 2K or more, you would have to be pretty keen on the Ford to wait.

Yeah, lucky for me I'm in a company car at the moment. I expect to do another 15 - 20 THOUSAND km's by the time my Turbo arrives. imagine the effect on resale if it was my car and had to sell/trade it. :(

[Mondie]

Especially if you're in an AU. Every dealer l seen reckoned the AU was gonna be bad news for resale (as if it wasnt already)

The local Ford dealer here already has a yard of AU's. The salesman we bought our XR6T from told me that he had people trading their AU's now, handing them over, and then waiting until March next year for their Turbo. The difference in trade in price between now and March must have been massive for someone to do that. lmagine how p!ssed those buyers will be if there car is delayed even further.

[richdave]

Thankfully I'm in a VT ser II acclaim and I intend purchasing it for the wife so any price reduction works in my favour in this case.... But I'd GLADLY pay an extra grand or so for the Comode if I could get the Turbo sooner.

[Guest DZ.]

The majority of Ford's car sales will be derived from base model cars - XT and probably the Futura as well. I would suspect Ford is prioritising the delivery of these vehicles of the "hero" cars. The XRs and FPVs are excellent for image - attracting people into showrooms, but once they're there, most of the cars that are driven out will be the "normal" models of which there seem to be enough of at the moment.

It's unfortunate for those of us that actually want the turbos and V8s, but unfortunately that's life.

[Raptor]

Sad but true - Fleet sales (bread & butter models) will take production priority.

Besides what's more important to Ford right now - making a profit or catching Expensive Daewoo in the sales race? That'll come in time.

Interesting article in the latest Motor Mag from the guy that used to run redbook or something. Claims the AU sales failure has as much or more to do with EL discounting (when EL was sold alongside VT for ~18mnths) than it did on the AU looks. This destroyed resale value and fleet managers and anyone else on a salary package who chose Ford got burnt at changeover time. So they swapped camps.

The trick for Ford now is to convince these people that resale values will recover with BA and hope that all has been forgiven.

This guy states that whoever discounts first to win sales now will ultimately be the loser. So who's discounting and who has buyers waiting months for deliveries?

Interesting!

[Guest DZ.]

Interesting article in the latest Motor Mag from the guy that used to run redbook or something. Claims the AU sales failure has as much or more to do with EL discounting (when EL was sold alongside VT for ~18mnths) than it did on the AU looks. This destroyed resale value and fleet managers and anyone else on a salary package who chose Ford got burnt at changeover time. So they swapped camps.

The trick for Ford now is to convince these people that resale values will recover with BA and hope that all has been forgiven.

There's a lot of truth there. Did you know government agencies are actually able to make a profit from purchasing new cars? With the fleet discount and the fact that they don't pay tax when they dispose of their cars through auctions it's actually possible to sell cars for more than they pay for them after a year's use. Of course, discount your stock, and that goes completely out the window.

I'm sure Ford have learnt from their mistakes - just look at the car :D

[Mondie]

For sure, the XT is the car that will make or break Ford. that's why they admit the most effort went into getting it right. XR's/FPV are hero/image building cars and only a fixed percent of production is allocated to them.

However l understand the thing that is hurting Ford is Fleet sales. Many fleets went to Expensive Daewoo bcause of poor resale on the Fords. It will take a few years for this to turn around provided Ford play the game right. Bringing out an XT that is significantly heavier than the base Late model camira even if it is obviously superior could hold them back, as running costs are a big consideration for fleets.

l think the next 12 months will be very interesting. Commodore/Falcon have never been such good value and it amazing how quickly these cars are evolving into quieter/safer better built vehicles.

[HellionXR6T]

Especially if you're in an AU. Every dealer l seen reckoned the AU was gonna be bad news for resale (as if it wasnt already)

Tell me about it!!!!!!

I'm one of the poor ba**&^ds!

The AU III VCT.

At least I'm getting $33,000 for it. it's done over 20,000kms.

:(