Mercury dealers reluctant to sign settlement with FoMoCo

Mercury
We heard last month that shutting down the Mercury brand will cost FoMoCo around $500 million. The Dearborn automaker’s CFO said that it has already spent $247 million in the first half of 2010 to cover the cost of ongoing dealer reductions and other costs related to killing Mercury.

According to latest reports, FoMoCo might just have to pay out a little more because many dealers are reluctant to sign their settlement and are looking for larger payouts. Lawsuits are very possible and negotiations between many dealers and FoMoCo are certain.

Many dealers say they don’t like the offers they’ve received from Ford. Dealer lawyers say they have seen offers ranging from $100,000 to $800,000 – however, Ford has declined to comment on the amounts.

Of the 1,712 Mercury dealerships, about 700 have signed Ford’s compensation agreement, the company says.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)