Getting A Ford Bronco Heritage Edition Is Going To Be Tough

Oct. 02, 2022 2:44 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Special Editions / 11 Comments

The markups on the Limited Edition will be insane.

In August, Ford unveiled the Bronco Heritage and Heritage Limited Edition models. Both look stunning, and the good news is that production of the Heritage Edition will not be capped. The Heritage Limited Edition will be limited to 3,932 units spread over the next two years, with the production split equally between two and four-door models.

We have both good and bad news, thanks to Bronco Nation. We now know how the distribution will work, and it's bad news if you don't have an existing Bronco order. The order books for the Heritage Edition are only open to people with a Bronco order. Ford is allowing them to change the existing order to a Heritage Edition.

It's unclear whether this system will last, considering the Heritage Edition's production is not capped.

The process of getting a Bronco Heritage Limited Edition is trickier. Since production is capped, Ford had to find a fair way to distribute the car. Instead of following the distribution model Nissan uses for the all-new Z, which seems to be the fairest way of doing things, Ford will send a unit to each of its dealers, and the dealer will get to decide who it's sold to.

Unlike the Heritage Edition, which is price protected, the Limited Edition is not. Ford has over 3,000 dealers in the USA, and with the production run set for two years, not all dealers will get a car simultaneously.

This sounds like the perfect storm for insane dealer markups.

The Bronco has been suffering from dealer markups since it was introduced, spurred on no doubt by the ongoing semiconductor shortage. Ford has sent out multiple threats to dealers and flippers and has implemented some basic systems to keep it from happening.

The Limited Edition models will likely be sold to the highest bidder. It depends on how desperate people are to buy a car, and if recent events are anything to go by, the desperation is real. These days customers are willing to pay double the value of a car just to get one as soon as possible.

It's an interesting phenomenon that has sparked an interesting debate. Who is to blame? The dealers for exploiting a free-market system, or the customers who are willing to pay the inflated prices?

The Heritage Edition is built on the Big Bend trim, with the Sasquatch Package as standard. You can choose between the 2.3-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost or the 2.7-liter V6 EcoBoost. As you can see in the images, the visual changes are pretty significant and about 90% of the reason why this car is so cool.

The Limited Edition is built on the Black Diamond trim. It has a white top, white striping, and badges made from real metal. This model is only available with the EcoBoost V6 and a 10-speed automatic transmission. The model-specific colors will be launched in phases, with Robin's Egg Blue first, Prairie Yellow following later in 2023, and Peak Blue in 2024.

The base price is $68,490, but you can expect most of these cars to go for at least double that amount without any price protection.