Caveat Ford Emptor

is Latin for Let The Buyer Beware of Ford. Readers of the Bankruptcy Law Network may remember my blog last year about the special offer Ford sent me. It turned out that my car loan had two years of payments left and Ford wanted to hook me up with a new vehicle loan for another 5 years, because I was a special customer. The post is titled Avoiding Bankruptcy, Why Should I Pay Attention To Details.

Hogwash, I said. Pay attention, I said. Ford spends good money on a marketing strategy designed to get into your pocket, I said. A new 5 year loan was more expensive than paying off the last two years of my existing loan, I said.

Last week Ford disclosed that sales for its previously most popular vehicle, the F-150 truck, slide down 40%. The market analysts said that was a huge decline and Ford’s stock dropped to the $4 plus level.

So what did Ford do? Ford did what is does best. Ford ramped up the marketing and my July statement offered me another special deal. This time, Ford offered to sell me a brand spanking new F-150 at the special employee discount rate. Yes, the car that no one is buying is now on sale because, again, I am special.

Ford has at least 3 price levels. Sticker, Employee and Friend. The employee and friend rates are no-dicker prices that Ford will sell a particular model without the need to haggle over price. You give the dealer your code and you get the special price at a sizable discount off of the sticker price.

As a matter of fact, I bought my last car as a friend of Ford by using a code supplied by my buddy Bob, who worked for Ford at the time. Now, Ford was offering me a special deal previously reserved only for employees if I bought the flagship model.

The lesson to learn is that no matter how good the deal sounds, it is usually not about you, it is about the seller. Ford wants to make me think I am special by offering a special price on a vehicle that has fallen out of favor with the general public. Send me your tired, your poor is a great slogan for our country, but it is not as effective in marketing when the buyer knows to beware.