A prospective Ford Bronco Raptor buyer posted online about an unexpected kink in the deal when they showed up to take delivery of their new SUV. Somewhat surprisingly, it wasn’t just an allegedly big markup, but rather evidence that Ford is cracking down on dealers who sell to flippers. The dealer, Sewell Ford from Odessa, Texas, informed the buyer that if they were caught breaking the resale policy, Ford could reduce or suspend future special vehicle allocations.
There’s little question that the Bronco Raptor is a hot commodity. The normal Bronco sometimes sells for well over MSRP. So the much more off-road focused and more powerful Raptor commands even more attention. From what we can gather so far, the buyer of this Bronco Raptor was about to get it for MSRP, or close to it before a bit of bombshell was dropped at the last minute.
The buyer in question is Drew Martin who posted to the Bronco6x Facebook group somewhat bewildered. “Anyone ever seen anything like this? Went to pick up my bronco raptor and saw this crap. They gave me until Monday to decide. I don’t like the idea of them having leverage over me forever essentially.” A photo of the paper they allegedly tendered him is below.
More: Ford Dealer Wants A Ridiculous $75K For $46K Bronco Sport Heritage Edition!
According to Sewell, Ford’s policy says that “Selling vehicles to customers who purchase with the intent to resell, and make a profit on current market conditions… can negatively impact the value of Ford.” In fact, it says that if at any time the dealer determines that the customer doesn’t intend to use the vehicle, it can cancel the purchase order or incentives.
Here’s Ford’s policy in detail, according to the letter that Martin received:
“Selling vehicles to customers who purchase with the intent to resell, and make a profit on current market conditions, compromises the integrity of our distribution system, and can negatively impact the value of the Ford and Lincoln franchises. For vehicles that are produced in limited quantities or are special edition or specialty units (e.g., 2023MY Bronco and/or Bronco Sport Heritage Limited Edition vehicles, Raptor, Shelby GT350/500). the Dealer’s allocation may or will be reduced or suspended and/or the Dealer may or will be ineligible to receive allocation for future special edition or specialty units or limited quantity vehicles. In addition, Ford reserves the right to demand reimbursement for vehicles that are improperly sold in violation of the Policy.“
Dealer Allegedly Says Sign For MSRP Or Pay $20K Markup
Martin later updated the post saying that the dealer was upping the pressure to sign or walk away. “Christian Sewell just called saying they were giving me until 10 AM Monday morning and the only way (sic) I can get my Bronco Raptor is to may 20k over.” From what we can tell, the dealer seems to have offered him the car at MSRP but then required him to sign this document too.
Evidently, if he’s unwilling to sign it then they’re going to tack on a $20,000 markup fee. In another comment, Martin specifically says that “they said if I don’t sign it’s 20k over or they will sell it Monday.” For its part, the Facebook comment section is split over how it feels about this whole thing.
Some suggest that it’s great to see a dealership not only charging MSRP for such a desirable model but even better to see them trying to help eliminate the practice of flipping such vehicles for a quick profit. If true, we would applaud that action too as it puts enthusiast vehicles in the hands of ACTUAL enthusiasts at the price that the automaker says is fair.
Others say that the dealer is overreaching its position and shouldn’t have any power over what the buyer does with the vehicle. That certainly has some merit as well. We reached out to Martin to get a better idea of what was happening and he simply told Carscoops that he was still trying to work things out with the General manager.
We’ve also reached out to Ford to see if this is something that it had any knowledge of, instigated itself, or condones on the whole. We’ll update this post with more information as we have it.