'Pricing Deadlines' on Ford cars?

don9999

I'm currently considering a new Ford S-Max (preferred) or Galaxy.
Dealdrivers gave me some good advice on: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=442538

But they quoted some information that I don't fully understand:
PRICING DEADLINES:
Galaxy prices with current Ford bonuses all end on 30th June (this is the date cars have to be registered) so unless you can find a bit of spare stock it is now too late to order one in time for that deadline. There's a risk the current bonuses included in available discounts will be changed by Ford for cars registered from 1st July. They won't announce any changes until right at the end of June so you need to be a little flexible, potentially.

On SMax there's no bonuses (only dealer's own discount) so you can order and be pretty risk free as they've only just released the pricelist and it won't change for a while.

What does this mean with regards to the prices quoted on their site?

From their web-site, I have been quoted £18,972 for a brand new 2.0 TDCi 140ps Ghia Galaxy, including metallic paint and 6m tax. (That's approx. £5,500 discount from list price.) BTW, my local Ford garage tells me that that is impossible and the very best they could do would be less than £3k.

But what is the significance of the 30th June? Does it mean that these prices may go up, or down? Even if I order now? For example, if I ordered tomorrow at the current price, would the quoted price be fixed. Or can it be changed?

Or should I wait until after 30th June?

I'm having a really difficult time deciding what to buy - the SMax or Galaxy. (Made more confusing since I also have the option to purchase via Motability.)

Cheers
Don

DealDrivers_company_representative

Hi there

We can help you by telephone too! ..and the prices are accurate for quarter 2 registrations. A dealer will tell you it is impossible if they don't want to give that much discount away but all dealers have the same margin to play with. Our prices are from normal main dealers too, just like your local one...no difference whatsoever.

If you pull Ford's Galaxy pricelist off their website you'll see it is valid to 30th June, the same goes for their behind-the-scenes bonus availability to dealers. Galaxy have to be registered by that date to ensure the bonuses and base prices remain in place for your transaction.

Like most manufacturers they run their pricing campaigns on a calender quarter basis, so the 'safest' time to buy if your choice needs to be factory-ordered is at the start of a quarter as that leaves plenty of time to get it built and take advantage of that quarter's bonuses. If the registration drifts into the next quarter there's a risk the manuf'r will have changed some element of the deals by the time your car is ready.

This encourages customers to take stock where possible, rather than bulk up the production lines with factory orders.

Due to the current large bonuses on Galaxy, they have been very attractive so there's barely any stock left of diesel engines, and there's now insufficient time to get one ordered before that 30th June deadline as leadtimes are creeping out to around 12weeks in some cases for new orders.

We may be able to find stock to suit you by Ford's deadline, but you are also perfectly able to order, but be prepared some element of the deal might change if Ford announce any changes on 1st July - when they are due to release their next pricelist and bonuses to their dealers which will apply to cars registered 1/7/06 to 30/9/07 (quarter 3).

This applies to all dealers....we just make it clear to customers what the risks are, if any, in case customers have not checked pricelist dates, whereas some brokers may not impart this information.

Some Ford's can get price protection if ordered now and get delivered next quarter (Ka, Focus and Fiesta Zetec Climates etc) but none of the Galaxies have this offer.

SMax orders are safer as they've only just released the new prices and there's no manuf'r bonus on them anyway so they'll stay safe at the moment.

Give us a buzz tomorrow and we can check likely stock for you on your chosen specification.

Hope that helps!

don9999

Thanks for your detailed reply. I will try to call tomorrow, or if not, definitely on Friday.

Have to admit that I am still a 'little' confused, but I hope to be able to resolve that when I call.

If I understand correctly, the price to be paid will be set when the car is 'registered'. So if I order one now, and it takes 12 weeks to be built, then registered, then it will fall into the next quarter, when new prices will be set.

If so the prices quoted now, are only 'indicative', and may change when the car is registered - by which time presumably it is too late because the order has been placed.

You say 'be prepared that some elements of the deal may change' which suggests that the price I would have to pay may well increase.....

That's quite a risk - placing an order without knowing the price I would be contracted to.....

Do you have any idea what the new prices on July 1st might be, and what bonuses may become available on the SMax in the near future? Is it worth holding on for a while until bonuses are made available on the SMax?

Else, if I can get a firm price on the Galaxy, I may get that for now, and change to an SMax sometime in the near future if good prices become available.

Cheers,
Don