Whats stopping people from buying the Falcon?

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Boza

They bought there last euro when the current one was coming it was a run out model for 31k and honestly craps all over anything ford offers currently build quality wise and fuel economy wise aswell.

you sure about that? ecoLPi would be cheaper than any comparable sized competition!!

as for build quality. these comments start to get to me after a while. people normally comment based on their experience, which is no more than a handful of examples at best. hardly a big cross section of the brand.

[vbvbvb088]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Yeah its crap, but Commodore and Camry are they same.


EL Futura came with it standard in 1996

I remember the VL Commodore had a non (vb-vh) black painted boot... and the calais boot interior finish was very sub par.

[Torment47]

Originally Posted by prydey

depreciation is a fact of life, esp with cars. personally i think resale on FG is pretty good. 3yr old FG xr6's are still fetching over $20k.

whats a tv worth in 3 yrs? whats a computer worth in 3 yrs?

I've been keeping my eye on the price of a new/near new car recently and suprisingly they've dropped significantly, i "MAY" consider getting a new/near new FG, i think the cheapest i've seen on ebay/gum tree is a 2010/2011 model with 7/10 thou k's on it for around 18 grand ( keeping in mind u may be able to bargain the price down more)

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by jpd80

So BMR, the best thing Ford could do is limit the number of cars sold and make them a bit more expensive,
that would have a big knock on effect of better resale value too, more desirable versions would help.

Perhaps EcoLPi allows Ford to pursue fleet sales without hurting the retail market's mostly petrol sales...
Finance is another area Ford should look at, full retail with ultra low interest rate on leases...

Making them more expensive might work, but only if the build quality, features, after sales service and marketing match the price. They don't score well on any of those now, so putting the price up will just reduce the sales. For Ford to move successfully more to the premium brand end of the market, they would have to drastically overhaul the dealer network and change quite a few of their own attitudes to customer service. Ford don't show any indications that they want to tackle that, so you are left with price as the main incentive.

[falconnut]

Dans right, Fords Dealers attitudes arnt helping sales, on the north coast they are renowned for being unreliable, overcharging and just plain annoying to deal with.

I didnt have this problem with my 30 year old Toyota.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

Making them more expensive might work, but only if the build quality, features, after sales service and marketing match the price. They don't score well on any of those now, so putting the price up will just reduce the sales. For Ford to move successfully more to the premium brand end of the market, they would have to drastically overhaul the dealer network and change quite a few of their own attitudes to customer service. Ford don't show any indications that they want to tackle that, so you are left with price as the main incentive.

i keep forgetting you did a poll of the 2 dealers you've visited and come up with this overwhelmingly accurate cross section of all dealers nationwide. well done.

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by prydey

depreciation is a fact of life, esp with cars. personally i think resale on FG is pretty good. 3yr old FG xr6's are still fetching over $20k.

whats a tv worth in 3 yrs? whats a computer worth in 3 yrs?

Been to the auctions lately ?

[Boza]

Originally Posted by prydey

you sure about that? ecoLPi would be cheaper than any comparable sized competition!!

as for build quality. these comments start to get to me after a while. people normally comment based on their experience, which is no more than a handful of examples at best. hardly a big cross section of the brand.

Mate I have owned a lot of fords and no offence the honda wins hands down for build quality over my ba my uncle has a bf mk3 wagon and lets just say that there were plenty of warranty issues in regards to trims falling of and plastics failing and things like that

I know a guy with 3 bf mk3 wagons as cabs and he says they are a complete heap of crap and unfortunatley he's not the only one complaning

He said if there was another dedicated gas model the size of a falcon wagon on the market he would buy it when he has to change over his fleet

[gtxb67]

while australian manufactuers should not just throw out any old crap, i assume it is much more feasible for the manufacturers in other countries to build genuine quality
without looking at figures, it would seem to me that all of the cars that are built for international markets would have much more money per vehicle put into research and development because of the larger amount of potential sales
ford and the other brand cannot spend too much on genuine quality because the small market share would drive the cost of the car up and make it even more uncompetitive

[Polyal]

You cant develop your thoughts on an entire brand based on a taxi fleet....

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

Making them more expensive might work, but only if the build quality, features, after sales service and marketing match the price. They don't score well on any of those now, so putting the price up will just reduce the sales. For Ford to move successfully more to the premium brand end of the market, they would have to drastically overhaul the dealer network and change quite a few of their own attitudes to customer service. Ford don't show any indications that they want to tackle that, so you are left with price as the main incentive.

Sorry for taking so long to reply,

Look at what Ford did with SZ Territory, they made it more desirable with options that
buyers have wanted and as a result the average transaction price went through the roof,
the last of SY Territory were mostly $36,990 drive away RWDs but since SZ Territory's release,
over 80% sold are diesels with a +$45,000 price tag on the road...

Fast forward to December and FGII Falcon, the new models are more desirable and
no longer carry discounts, it's now $42K or more for XR6 so let's watch sales figures
not forgetting that December and January are notoriously low due to plant closure
and less fleet purchases this time of year....

Plant has been going hell for leather replacing hail damaged stock for customers,
should be some nice bargains available from dealers, maybe Pre Delivery repaired too....

So even if FG II still sells at around 1800/mth, the average transaction price has increased
from a lowly $36K to over $42K, that 6,000/car multiplies quickly to added revenue..
Across the whole factory, that could amount to around $24 million per month improvement...

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Boza

Mate I have owned a lot of fords and no offence the honda wins hands down for build quality over my ba my uncle has a bf mk3 wagon and lets just say that there were plenty of warranty issues in regards to trims falling of and plastics failing and things like that

I know a guy with 3 bf mk3 wagons as cabs and he says they are a complete heap of crap and unfortunatley he's not the only one complaning

He said if there was another dedicated gas model the size of a falcon wagon on the market he would buy it when he has to change over his fleet

Don't compare the quality of B series to FG, as the FG is miles ahead in quality.

[Boza]

Yeah haven't had much to do with the fg models I was basing my comments on the bf mk3 wagons I have heard nothing but complaints about them for some reason

[In Focus]

http://www.johnhughes.com.au/view.ph...Sedan/5381543/

Looks like the discounts on the XR6 have already begun...

[Rico 110s]

I would like to know the kilometers for the wagons in question that are used as taxis because here in Darwin the majority are Prius's with 450000 plus ks on them and every singles one of them are only fit for the tip. To say that Falcon make a car that tends to fall apart seems to be common with anything that is getting close to a million Ks, which think is not bad in the scheme of things.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by In Focus

http://www.johnhughes.com.au/view.ph...Sedan/5381543/

Looks like the discounts on the XR6 have already begun...

They will be back down to $36990 soon.

[bad moon rising]

Originally Posted by Rico 110s

I would like to know the kilometers for the wagons in question that are used as taxis because here in Darwin the majority are Prius's with 450000 plus ks on them and every singles one of them are only fit for the tip. To say that Falcon make a car that tends to fall apart seems to be common with anything that is getting close to a million Ks, which think is not bad in the scheme of things.

the only thing is that it takes (generally) 150000+ km for the korean and jap cars to start rattling,squeaking and clunking, falcons are doin it by the 1st service, diff bushes gone, rear top shock bushes gone, rattles around the clusters, rattles from the b-pillars and the most dissapointing bit it these issues have been going on for with the previous models as well.
i have no doubt that a low reving 4L 6cylinder will do a million car before a high reving 4cylinder thats just because the falcon 6 is a torquey unit it doesnt have to be driven hard to perform well.
but if ford want to sell more cars than there build quality is the key item that needs to be most improved.
people buy toyotas and mazdas because they know theres a 99% chance when they jump in it, it will start, the a/c will work and the suspension wont fall out which is something that isnt always garenteed in a fg

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by In Focus

http://www.johnhughes.com.au/view.ph...Sedan/5381543/

Looks like the discounts on the XR6 have already begun...

??? 38K drive away is the right for a XR6!!! Anyone paying more than this is truelly getting ripped!!

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Fast forward to December and FGII Falcon, the new models are more desirable and
no longer carry discounts, it's now $42K or more for XR6 so let's watch sales figures
not forgetting that December and January are notoriously low due to plant closure
and less fleet purchases this time of year....

I'm sorry, I like your posts, but this one I totally do not agree with.. NO-ONE is paying 42K for a std XR6... It is just not happening!!

[Windsor220]

XR6 is normally listed at $39,990 anyway so its not much of a drop.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by Boza

He said if there was another dedicated gas model the size of a falcon wagon on the market he would buy it when he has to change over his fleet

Moot point ........ he has no choice as they are not made anymore. Solves that problem for him doesn't it, only for another to arise. What the hell to replace it with that would last as long as the B series did? Could always get a Honda and see if he can hit 500,000 in them????

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by Auslandau

Moot point ........ he has no choice as they are not made anymore. Solves that problem for him doesn't it, only for another to arise. What the hell to replace it with that would last as long as the B series did? Could always get a Honda and see if he can hit 500,000 in them????

dedicated LPG Commodore Sportwagon is coming out soon. Cargo room isnt as good though obviously.

[Brazen]

I'm curious to see the new ads for FG2 when they arrive.

[babyf6]

the falcons problem is marketing. I can't remember the last time i saw a falcon ad on tv. All I seem to remember is a mondeo ad. I have seen it too many times.

[bad moon rising]

Originally Posted by babyf6

the falcons problem is marketing. I can't remember the last time i saw a falcon ad on tv. All I seem to remember is a mondeo ad. I have seen it too many times.

i agree with this, ford has this great supercharged v8 and turbo 6 and im yet to see an add for it. yet every 2nd add on the tv is a german shepard in a mondeo changing the radio station, a woman by herself in a territory seeing her facebook friends (if shes alone why doesnt she get a fiesta econetic it would be cheaper to rego and run!) and ss utes. ford falcon and fpv advertising is rubbish!

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

I'm sorry, I like your posts, but this one I totally do not agree with.. NO-ONE is paying 42K for a std XR6... It is just not happening!!

The people who purchased FG II XR6s in December did....

Buyers awaiting delivery were informed of a hailstorm that hit Broadmeadows a while back damaging cars,
Ford is working feverishly to refill customer orders so there will be quite a few vehicles (approx 1500)
that will most likely be Pre Delivery repaired, registered by dealers and offered at discount...

Not saying this is definitely them but I urge buyers to ask questions as dealers are required to disclose...
Why would Ford be discounting their product five seconds after releasing the new model?
Two possibilities, either hail damaged stock or to push up registrations with 0 km demos...

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Brazen

dedicated LPG Commodore Sportwagon is coming out soon. Cargo room isnt as good though obviously.

I saw an add for that car the other night, it made me so angry that Ford have finally beaten them to the punch and freaking NOTHING on FTA TV

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by jpd80

The people who purchased FG II XR6s in December did....

There must be alot of dumb people out there to pay that coin!!


Is there anyone on here that has paid 42K for a FG XR6 (I or II) ???

[Rico 110s]

Originally Posted by bad moon rising

the only thing is that it takes (generally) 150000+ km for the korean and jap cars to start rattling,squeaking and clunking, falcons are doin it by the 1st service, diff bushes gone, rear top shock bushes gone, rattles around the clusters, rattles from the b-pillars and the most dissapointing bit it these issues have been going on for with the previous models as well.
i have no doubt that a low reving 4L 6cylinder will do a million car before a high reving 4cylinder thats just because the falcon 6 is a torquey unit it doesnt have to be driven hard to perform well.
but if ford want to sell more cars than there build quality is the key item that needs to be most improved.
people buy toyotas and mazdas because they know theres a 99% chance when they jump in it, it will start, the a/c will work and the suspension wont fall out which is something that isnt always garenteed in a fg

No offence Buddy but that is a load of Crock!
I own a BA series II and it is tight as a drum it is a RTV with alot of off road work and it has had no services done on it before I bought it at 130000 from the schedule that had come with the vehicle when I purchased it. It would be a good idea to check on other cars stories first before picking on this particular model.
No one on here said that the Falcons are perfect but they are certainly not the worst product on the market, I think any body in Australia can certainly do a lot worse.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by Boza

Mate I have owned a lot of fords and no offence the honda wins hands down for build quality over my ba my uncle has a bf mk3 wagon and lets just say that there were plenty of warranty issues in regards to trims falling of and plastics failing and things like that

I know a guy with 3 bf mk3 wagons as cabs and he says they are a complete heap of crap and unfortunatley he's not the only one complaning

He said if there was another dedicated gas model the size of a falcon wagon on the market he would buy it when he has to change over his fleet

My wife's Honda Civic hybrid shopping trolley is a POS in every way compared to my GT-P including interior and exterior build quality. Why she's happy with it God only knows, it was cheap to buy and its cheap to run, that's the only two redeeming features that spring to mind. People arn't buying the Falcon because small cars are more popular and lots of people are stupid enough to be obsessed with carbon emissions.