Advice Needed

[mizzouPT2009]

Sorry for the long post but help is appriciated! :shift:

 

Okay so I am having some issues with my order and was looking for advice. Background is that I have been wanting to get a FFH since March but I was still in college and needed to wait till I got a job to order. So I got a job in July and ordered 2 weeks after staring my new job. Here is a little timeline

 

August 1:Went to talk with dealer about pricing (we actually talked to 5 dealers and we chose the one that gave us the best price and offers)

August 3:Called dealer back and said I was ready to order at noon and would come by the dealer that night to sign the paperwork. Three hours later he called and said that his grandmother died and he was leaving to go home but that his manager would go through the paperwork with us. So that night I went and signed the order sheet and asked what I needed to make the check out in (amount) and the manager said that he didnt need a check from me, so I said okay and left

Middle/Late August: I got on this message board and starting reading that you all were getting VIN and build dates so I decided to call my dealer since I wanted to get financing in order so when the car came it would be ready but i needed a vin number to lock in an APR.

August 27th-called dealer and asked for VIN/build date

August 28th-he called back and said "Im so glad you called because I couldnt find your folder or contact information". I was steemed because I could believe that he lost that info???? I went by there as soon as I got off work. I was there 10 mintues and all of a sudden the new car manager walks in and says that he just found my folder. So i asked for a VIN/build date so he went and looked and gave me a vin and build date of Sept 14th. Then he said "maybe i should go ahead and get a check from you" so I wrote him a check

September 16th-I looked up the vin number he gave me (out of curiousity) and discovered that it was to a Taurus and not a Fusion so I realized they must have given me the wrong VIN

September 17th and 18th-Called dealer and got no response

Today-i had my stepdad call dealer again (i was having a hard time calling because I work 7 to 6 and people are getting in trouble for making personal calls so i cant be calling them all the time at work) and front desk person told him that my dealer was not in today. So he demanded to talk to the new car manager and that guy then gave him another VIN number and a build week of Sept 28th.

 

But now if and a big IF my car gets built next week it may not get built till Friday and the dealer said it takes about 10 days to get from the plant to the dealership in st louis. So if that is correct my car wont be in until October 10th ish. which is 11 weeks from order (and everyone on here seems to be getting their car in 8 to 9 weeks-why will mine be 11 weeks or more????). I am thinking that my car did not get ordered when it should have and that is why it is taking so long. So I am taking off work early tomorrow to go up to the dealer and try and get some info but I need advice on what I should do when i am there. I know a lot of people talk about the DORA but should i do anything else?

 

Oh and the manager also told my stepdad that Ford has extended the tax rebate because of cash for clunkers. He told him that the 1500 dollars is good now till the end of year. Anyone else heard that?

[rfruth]

If you can get it in 11 weeks count your blessings ! - Hadn't heard of the federal tax credit being extended or is it a dealer thing ?

[fsb99]

Sorry for the long post but help is appriciated! :shift:

 

Okay so I am having some issues with my order and was looking for advice. Background is that I have been wanting to get a FFH since March but I was still in college and needed to wait till I got a job to order. So I got a job in July and ordered 2 weeks after staring my new job. Here is a little timeline

 

August 1:Went to talk with dealer about pricing (we actually talked to 5 dealers and we chose the one that gave us the best price and offers)

August 3:Called dealer back and said I was ready to order at noon and would come by the dealer that night to sign the paperwork. Three hours later he called and said that his grandmother died and he was leaving to go home but that his manager would go through the paperwork with us. So that night I went and signed the order sheet and asked what I needed to make the check out in (amount) and the manager said that he didnt need a check from me, so I said okay and left

Middle/Late August: I got on this message board and starting reading that you all were getting VIN and build dates so I decided to call my dealer since I wanted to get financing in order so when the car came it would be ready but i needed a vin number to lock in an APR.

August 27th-called dealer and asked for VIN/build date

August 28th-he called back and said "Im so glad you called because I couldnt find your folder or contact information". I was steemed because I could believe that he lost that info???? I went by there as soon as I got off work. I was there 10 mintues and all of a sudden the new car manager walks in and says that he just found my folder. So i asked for a VIN/build date so he went and looked and gave me a vin and build date of Sept 14th. Then he said "maybe i should go ahead and get a check from you" so I wrote him a check

September 16th-I looked up the vin number he gave me (out of curiousity) and discovered that it was to a Taurus and not a Fusion so I realized they must have given me the wrong VIN

September 17th and 18th-Called dealer and got no response

Today-i had my stepdad call dealer again (i was having a hard time calling because I work 7 to 6 and people are getting in trouble for making personal calls so i cant be calling them all the time at work) and front desk person told him that my dealer was not in today. So he demanded to talk to the new car manager and that guy then gave him another VIN number and a build week of Sept 28th.

 

But now if and a big IF my car gets built next week it may not get built till Friday and the dealer said it takes about 10 days to get from the plant to the dealership in st louis. So if that is correct my car wont be in until October 10th ish. which is 11 weeks from order (and everyone on here seems to be getting their car in 8 to 9 weeks-why will mine be 11 weeks or more????). I am thinking that my car did not get ordered when it should have and that is why it is taking so long. So I am taking off work early tomorrow to go up to the dealer and try and get some info but I need advice on what I should do when i am there. I know a lot of people talk about the DORA but should i do anything else?

 

Oh and the manager also told my stepdad that Ford has extended the tax rebate because of cash for clunkers. He told him that the 1500 dollars is good now till the end of year. Anyone else heard that?

 

The dealer probably screwed up and gave you random VIN to appease you. My guess is that they ordered your FFH when you returned and gave him a deposit. This puts it at about 7-8 weeks of estimated delivery which is about what most are experiencing. Seems like you're very eager to take delivery of this vehicle and it's justified, but nothing you can do now to speed this up.

 

The tax credit is currently $1700. The deadline of Sept 30 is set by IRS, not Ford. Get your DORA so you can claim your $1700 instead of $850 after 9/30. Looks like your contact is telling you many things wrong.

[Stang8URMPRT]

It took almost 20 weeks for mine to come in after ordering it. I was told the FFH were on a "lottery" and there were so many orders that they couldn't keep up with the demand... so cars were built on a "lottery". I believe(d) this because every dealer locally told me the same thing... "Most cars take 8-9 weeks to build, but the FFH could take up to 6 months". But I'm happy with the car and it was worth the wait.

 

Nick

[silver FFH]

I have a question about these orders everyone is placing. Is the FFH that hard to get, or do all of you want very specific options and colors? We bought ours off of the dealer lot over the weekend and took delivery on Monday. Was this just luck?

[akirby]

I have a question about these orders everyone is placing. Is the FFH that hard to get, or do all of you want very specific options and colors? We bought ours off of the dealer lot over the weekend and took delivery on Monday. Was this just luck?

 

Early on there weren't many stock FFHs to be found. There might be more now but there won't be a huge selection so I would assume most ordered to get exactly the color and options they wanted.

[silver FFH]

Early on there weren't many stock FFHs to be found. There might be more now but there won't be a huge selection so I would assume most ordered to get exactly the color and options they wanted.

 

 

Gotcha, there was only one at the dealer where we wanted to purchase. Luckily it was a color we wanted and had all of the options we would probably have chosen. I didn't realize they were so hard to find.

[apm]

I bought my FFH about 10 days ago from the dealer's lot. Actually they traded with another local dealer to get the color combination I wanted. The dealer that had the color I wanted did not want to come down on the price and wanted $800 for dealer fees.

 

I live in South Florida and purchased my FFH from Sawgrass Ford in Sunrise, FL. They had a least 5 hybrids went I bought mine. They probably still have 3 or 4...

 

APM

[Scott A320]

I have a question about these orders everyone is placing. Is the FFH that hard to get, or do all of you want very specific options and colors? We bought ours off of the dealer lot over the weekend and took delivery on Monday. Was this just luck?

 

I shopped several dealers and eventually settled on one that would give me the best trade for my old vehicle.**

They had several base FFH's in stock but only one with the 502 upgrade package. Unfortunately it wasn't a desired color but they grudgingly traded from another vendor. Ironically most of the FFH's in SoCal during my search were fully equipped, though white or blue vehicles were in high demand.

 

 

 

**Slightly off topic, but perhaps of benefit to some: most dealers quote a trade value that expires almost immediately. Mine issued a promise to purchase for a few hundred $$ greater than the competition that expired 10 days after the deal was signed and new vehicle delivered. I was able to shop the old vehicle to several specialty venues and ultimately scored significantly more $$.

Perhaps this is common to some, but never previously offered to me.

[mirak]

As of July, I couldn't find any dealer willing to accept x-plan price for a FFH off the lot, but they would if I ordered. That's why I and many other people on these forums ordered. Now that C4C is over, that might have changed.

 

I can understand the OP's frustration. Getting order information from my dealer was like pulling teeth.

 

I would make sure you get some proof from your dealer as to when they ordered the car - then get confirmation from Ford, in writing, that you will qualify for the $1,700 tax credit based on order date.

 

Once you have a correct VIN, you can pretty much cut your dealer out and just call Ford for updates. Their customer service is excellent.

 

Finally, I'm curious why you needed a VIN to lock in your financing? I used the Capital One "blank check" program, got a 3.7% APR for a 36-month loan, and never had to supply a VIN in completing my application. It was a really easy process.

 

Good luck.

[akirby]

As of July, I couldn't find any dealer willing to accept x-plan price for a FFH off the lot, but they would if I ordered. That's why I and many other people on these forums ordered. Now that C4C is over, that might have changed.

 

That was due to Ford's initial policy that a pre-sold order would not count against the dealer's stock allocation. In the past if the dealer was allocated 20 FFHs and they had 20 presold orders, they didn't get any more. It also meant that if you were buyer 21 trying to order a vehicle from the same dealer you would not get the vehicle. This upset a lot of FEH buyers last year. So Ford decided that they would basically honor and give priority to all customer orders regardless of the dealer, ensuring that customers weren't trapped by the dealer's allocation issues.

 

Since this didn't hurt the dealer's stock allocation they were much more likely to accept x plan on an order.

 

This plan coincided with the tax rebate.

[mizzouPT2009]

So after asking for the DORA the dealer finally admitted to not putting the order in when they should have. I wasnt trying to cause problems I just wanted to get my car since the one I am currently driving is on its last life. But I heard from the dealer a week ago last saturday and he said the car would be in between the 9th and the 13th. Well I didnt hear from him by noon today (the 13th) so i gave him a call and didnt get a response. So after work i decided to just go up there. I asked for my dealer but they said today was his day off so i went to talk to the new car manager and i told him i was waiting on a 2010 fusion hybrid and he said "is it blue?" and I said yes and he said "well i just drove it on the lot about 45 minutes ago the truck came in about an hour ago and I got to be the one to drive it onto the lot" I was beaming! :headspin: I have been waiting 11 weeks now! :banghead:

 

He even made the comment that he liked my color choices (ice blue/black interior) because he said when he started it up and the lights came on it looked really cool. He said that he had just placed the keys on my dealers chair in his office and that the dealer would check the car out tomorrow morning with the service manager to make sure everything was in working order. So anyway I will get to pick up my car after work tomorrow! :shift:

 

I am going to have a hard time sleeping tonight and work is going to be unbarable. It is already crazy at work because i work in a nursing home and we have 2 confirmed cases of swine flue-going to end up with an outbreak I am sure. but i just cant wait till tomorrow night!!!!! :happy feet:

[junehhan]

So after asking for the DORA the dealer finally admitted to not putting the order in when they should have. I wasnt trying to cause problems I just wanted to get my car since the one I am currently driving is on its last life. But I heard from the dealer a week ago last saturday and he said the car would be in between the 9th and the 13th. Well I didnt hear from him by noon today (the 13th) so i gave him a call and didnt get a response. So after work i decided to just go up there. I asked for my dealer but they said today was his day off so i went to talk to the new car manager and i told him i was waiting on a 2010 fusion hybrid and he said "is it blue?" and I said yes and he said "well i just drove it on the lot about 45 minutes ago the truck came in about an hour ago and I got to be the one to drive it onto the lot" I was beaming! :headspin: I have been waiting 11 weeks now! :banghead:

 

He even made the comment that he liked my color choices (ice blue/black interior) because he said when he started it up and the lights came on it looked really cool. He said that he had just placed the keys on my dealers chair in his office and that the dealer would check the car out tomorrow morning with the service manager to make sure everything was in working order. So anyway I will get to pick up my car after work tomorrow! :shift:

 

I am going to have a hard time sleeping tonight and work is going to be unbarable. It is already crazy at work because i work in a nursing home and we have 2 confirmed cases of swine flue-going to end up with an outbreak I am sure. but i just cant wait till tomorrow night!!!!! :happy feet:

 

 

At least you get to pick up your car :P

 

I still have another 2 weeks before mine is estimated to arrive!

 

BTW, how are the fogies that caught the swine flu doing? Is it true that the older people arn't as negatively affected by this virus?

[DaveM]

Supposedly us old fogies have come in contact many, many moons ago with a flu simular to swine flu. They must be right as I'm subbing for a young teacher who is out with it and 7 students on the average in our room have been out these past couple weeks. By the beginning of next week I'm guessing all of them will have had it and the regular teacher should be back and hopefully I'm just as well as I am now.

[junehhan]

Supposedly us old fogies have come in contact many, many moons ago with a flu simular to swine flu. They must be right as I'm subbing for a young teacher who is out with it and 7 students on the average in our room have been out these past couple weeks. By the beginning of next week I'm guessing all of them will have had it and the regular teacher should be back and hopefully I'm just as well as I am now.

 

 

Right now, i'm trying to figure out whether I am old enough to not be hit as hard by the swine flu as I do not plan on taking the vaccine. In the past, my body has not responded very well to various Flu vaccines as they have both times made me extremely sick. Even worse, I am concerned about the quality control measures taken since it was rushed out the door, and there hasn't been much testing done yet like with traditional vaccines.