When it comes to purchasing a new vehicle there are limited options on how to attain one. Due mainly to a multitude of laws in place, you’ll soon find that the dealership is your only real option. These dealerships serve as the ambassador for the manufacturer and are supposed to provide customer service and build brand loyalty. However, we’ve seen the tide shift as dealers are starting to have the upper hand, not only in availability, but in selling price as well. This has become a hot topic with the release of the widely anticipated F-150 Lightning.

Before the spike in vehicle prices, most manufacturers enacted a minimum advertised price with their dealership network. These MAP policies were meant to keep dealers from acting as a wholesaler and undercut other dealerships. After the units sat for a period of time and flooring interest would accumulate, the MAP policy would be removed and dealers could sell it at a price point to get the vehicles sold. Now Manufacturers are having the opposite problem.

In recent years with a reduction in units produced combined with a strong purchase desire, dealers have easily found ways to cash in on these predicaments. Line items like “Added Dealerships Markup” and “Market Value Adjustment” began to appear as part of the invoice. Unfortunately for the consumers, dealerships are protected by law from the manufacturer giving direct orders on what to price units at. This is why the “S” in MSRP stands for suggested.

While consumers grumble about mark ups, prep, and freight fees, a few select dealers decided to test the boundaries by exchanging a monetary amount for a cut in line on the new F-150 Lightning. These early delivery slots for those with enough funds and desire to be the first to own one is where Ford Motor Company drew the line with a well publicized letter.

In this letter, Ford Motor Company directly informed dealerships participating in this practice that they would be risking their entire 2022 allotment of F-150 Lightnings. In an effort to reduce price-gouging resellers, Ford also stated they would back dealers who choose to include a No-Sale clause in their purchase agreement.

It has come to our attention that a limited number of dealerships are interacting with customers in a manner that is negatively impacting customer satisfaction and damaging to the Ford Motor Company brand and Dealer Body reputation. Andrew Frick, Ford vice president of U.S. and Canada sales.

The only thing to cure dealership markups is consumer purchase desire, but with the amount of interest in the new F-150 Lightning this could take awhile. However, one way to cure dealerships taking advantage of F-150 Lightning purchasers in an unfair way seems to be a strongly worded letter with detailed intent.