[njvagabond]

It seems to me that "real" M-B's have not been built since the mid/later 90's when the W124 and W220 were discontinued and M-B made the changes needed to chase volume ("attainable luxury"). But yup, that Tri Star!!

 

[njvagabond]

90s Honda and Toyota reliability is legendary.

Boom! Also ease of service, more so on the Toyotas, so I have now learned by helping my kid with repairs on his '98 Camry. The true testament is how many of those XV20's are still on the road and how much $$ they command used (even prior to todays crazy market). One solid appliance, beige please.

 

[njvagabond]

mmmm, is the ease of serviceability because it's a Honda or Toyota, or because they're all transverse engines, and mostly inline-fours? I miss the ease of changing spark plugs or adjusting the valves on my '93 Civic Si, at least compared to my horizontally opposed 4-cylinder Subaru. OTOH, the plugs were spec'd for 3x the miles on the newer Subaru, so maybe I don't miss the old car that much.

I was comparing Toyota to Honda. Latest example - Camry heater core. Pop out plastic panel, 2 screws securing clamps where pipes connect, 2 c-clips holding pipes together. Fifteen minute job (aside for draining coolant). I think the Honda, like many cars requires dash removal.

 

[njvagabond]

My dealer is requiring me to sign a non-refundable deposit form in order to convert my 2022 order to a 2023 order. The language includes:
"understand that this a partial payment of $1,000 is to secure my interest in the vehicle listed below and that this deposit is refundable upon purchase only or applied to the transaction at time of delivery. In the event that I don't sign all ancillary documents, pay the full balance via certified funds or cashable contract, and accept delivery of the vehicle this deposit will not be refunded."
AND
"After the vehicle is submitted with a customer signed build sheet, there will be no allowable changes to the order. The only changes that can be made are if manufacture has commodity constraints that will not allow the unit to be scheduled for production."
AND
"MSRP pricing is subject to change due to competitive pricing actions by Ford Motor Company.
Customer has 7 business days to take delivery of the new purchase upon notification. On the 8th business day the vehicle will be placed into inventory for resale."

The Dealer claims that this a Ford Motor Company requirement but it is a Dealership form. Has anyone else experienced this deposit agreement form and terms?!

What is the reciprocal penalty if they can't/don't honor their end of the deal? No commitment from the dealer on actual price or price basis to you? Just as statement that MSRP can change. BTW when order is entered that does (should?/used to?) lock in your pricing. What if there is a material defect on the van?

The dealer is committing to nothing on there end for making the deposit non-refundable. Do you think they would agree to puting the sams $1K in escrow to cover a performance clause on their end? Plenty of dealers that will accept a refundable deposit as "normal" (for essentially no commitment on their end) I am almost positive a dealer that will create/ask this contract will not agree to change any terms you might ask them for and only bodes for games at a later date. I doubt that Ford can or would want to stipulate that a franchise have such terms.

Run, don't walk. What is the name of the dealer? If this is in fact now coming down from FOMCO, take your business to another brand.

 

[njvagabond]

I would get my deposit and check back later to be sure this dealer did not continue using your 2022 Transit order to get a replacement 2023 model. You can out him in a difficult position with Ford for using your information to acquire a vehicle not intended for your purchase.

Such a great dealer with a $50K markup on the 2022 Shelby GT500. Wonder what the Transit markup will be?

Holy sheet $150K, that's 911 money.
Of course the do have another GT500 without the carbon fiber do-das with only $25K ADM. It's a bargain!

 

[njvagabond]

I found yet another customer whose dealership price protected his '23 Transit order after his '22 Transit was cancelled. So by my count that is 3 different customers whose dealer provided price protection on their own for this situation and those are just the stories that I know about. Very curious how so many dealers claim to be in the dark about this yet some dealers are still honoring the '22 price for customers who had their order balanced out. Clearly it's possible for dealers to honor this price, though I do agree the burden should not be entirely on the dealers to eat the markup.

What exactly is going on here?

Have you provided the name of your dealer (and possibly the two other you found) ?
I seem to recall another member asking the question, but I might have missed your reply.

 

[njvagabond]

You can choose to believe me or not to believe me.

OK.

 

[njvagabond]

Well, If it's online then its got to be true....

" lot of people are saying ..." where have I heard that one before

 

[njvagabond]

I'm back in line for a 2023 purely for the PSD after being Balanced Out after 9mo of waiting. I was completely satisfied with my 2020 Passenger Van except for the door (ordered it thinking a manual door would be no big deal, and regretted it within a few months), so I'll keep waiting.

Why not look into a retrofit? There are 2 commercially available options that have been posted.