Ginger Ale paint Discontinued

[elle]

That's really unfortunate that they didn't even contact you :(

[acdii]

Thats a poor dealership for certain.

[neod192]

I would walk away from that dealership... Or at least re-order in a color you want with a steep discount.

[jeff_h]

As of this writing, they've yet to contact me (~6 mos after ordering). I looked up their inventory last night and see it's been sitting on their lot since April, sure enough, and instead of Ginger Ale, it's black. I know this because the window sticker indicates "Special Order" and the order # matches mine. It was built and/or shipped from Hermosillo on "03 25 13" and the code on the top line of the sticker indicates "4 - REBILL" whereas other stickers state "9 - Normal". I can't believe they switched the color w/out consulting me, and have yet to contact me. I see that Bordeaux is also not available anymore or in 2014.

 

What you see could be the case.... but, maybe not.

 

1 - I have two PDF window stickers for my car saved on my PC, one was generated on Nov 30th when I had a build week of Dec 4th, and note at the top was 'NORMAL'... but then my build was kicked into the following week for whatever reason, and the window sticker was generated again with date of Dec 5th and the note at the top was 'REBILL' -- which was only a date slip with no change to the attributes of the order.

 

2 - From viewing many cyberdman threads, I've seen him note on more than one occasion that "a dealer may have a lot of cars on the same order number", so that black car you saw on the lot could have been part of the same batch that was initially submitted to Ford.

 

My guess? Since there was a constraint on Ginger Ale since way back to sometime in December, where they first said that none would be scheduled until February and then they just plain discontinued them... I believe they had this info in the weekly commodities and constraints notice (as ice capades has referenced and posted here a few times), however your dealer was either too ignorant to notice that hey we have a retail order(s) that are affected, or saw it and didn't care and figure you'd just choose a different color from dealer stock? Either way it's very bad customer service to leave someone hanging like that.

[bcrisp]

Jeff: Very enlightening post. I didn't know about the commodities and constraints notice but knew that Ford somehow communicated with dealerships. I did a search and found one from Ford from last year. Also didn't realize that batches recorded the same order # but it makes sense. Again, thanks for that info. I should note that the FFH on the lot has been the only one this dealership has had since October. According to the window sticker, it's configured precisely the way I ordered mine (also indicates SPECIAL ORDER), except for the color. Options, interior color, all else is perfect. The additional info you provided is cause for pause but the build date matches and it's the only one they've had. I know it's hard to believe they'd not realized this is mine but if it's not, mine is again almost two months overdue and they haven't said a word.

 

I'm pretty miffed that I can't get the ginger ale like I wanted, given that I ordered it when it was available, but I know the black is nice, too. However, I'm more miffed that they haven't communicated with me at all and didn't ask for a second option when the ginger ale became unavailable. One would think this dealership would remember me: On the same day I ordered the FFH, I ordered and have since taken delivery of a '13 Explorer Ltd (ruby red) for my wife. How many people come in an order two cars at a time. Lucy [this dealership] has some 'splainin' to do.

 

Thanks again to all who responded. Misery loves company and it was a good chance to vent a little :)

[bcrisp]

Update: I paid my dealership an unannounced visit on 28 May and, sure enough, that black FFH on the lot was mine. They had no idea it was mine and had been using it for test drives (47 miles on odometer) since the 1st week of April. They offered to do a DX (dealer exchange) but I advised them that a Ginger Ale model was not available anywhere within several hundred miles, and certainly not one configured the same as my order. I also had to advise them that 2013s were no longer available for orders.

 

Long story short, they didn't originally offer any additional incentives but through my insistence and reminders that I should at least get a "kiss" for enduring this ...treatment, I did get an extra $500 on their best trade-in offer and several hundred off on the PremiumCare extended service plan. Apparently, the MSRP had risen by $400 since the time of my order but I didn't bear that extra cost, of course. They were essentially dumfounded on how this happened, and even the key tag was originally written with Ginger Ale, crossed out, and corrected to black.

 

This issue is purportedly being raised to district management, given the extraordinary confusion and lack of customer service caused by this order. I ultimately accepted the vehicle and I'm happy with it. I hadn't noticed before because I was fairly set on Ginger Ale since it was rather unique but the tuxedo black metallic has quite generous metal flake content. So I guess I'm finally in the club!

[jeff_h]

Update: I paid my dealership an unannounced visit on 28 May and, sure enough, that black FFH on the lot was mine. They had no idea it was mine and had been using it for test drives (47 miles on odometer) since the 1st week of April. They offered to do a DX (dealer exchange) but I advised them that a Ginger Ale model was not available anywhere within several hundred miles, and certainly not one configured the same as my order. I also had to advise them that 2013s were no longer available for orders.

Are you sure that there was not another Ginger Ale available somewhere? When I was at my dealership, the salesman showed me his app/site that he uses to search for a car with desired attributes, he can search every dealer lot (including any inbound, though that's NA in this case) with a several hundred mile radius. Have you already had a dealer do this for you? Unless you have checked, I'd hate to think that there's a lonely Ginger Ale VIN sitting there on the Eastern Shore (or similar) just waiting for you.

[aaronj1159]

Are you sure that there was not another Ginger Ale available somewhere? When I was at my dealership, the salesman showed me his app/site that he uses to search for a car with desired attributes, he can search every dealer lot (including any inbound, though that's NA in this case) with a several hundred mile radius. Have you already had a dealer do this for you? Unless you have checked, I'd hate to think that there's a lonely Ginger Ale VIN sitting there on the Eastern Shore (or similar) just waiting for you.

Same. I didn't think there were any cars within a few hundred miles of here that met my relatively generous constraints. But the dealer found a ton of them using his site. Ended up being on that matched my needs/wants perfectly only 180 miles away across the state. Probably up near you guys actually.

[hybridbear]

Speaking of Ginger Ale it seems that all the Fusions we've seen recently have been this color...the hybrid we saw last weekend and another couple we've seen since on the road. There's a Ginger Ale SE 1.6 Ecoboost with IL plates that we see quite often parked in the parking lot of our apartment building

[smr2112]

There is a good reason that color is gone - it was ugly! If you see that color in the dimming light or setting sun, it has

a strange greenish tint to it. I was considering it, but glad it didn't happen. Ford must have figured that out too.

 

Not too bad looking from a distance, but up close, not a good color - IMHO.

 

 

[acdii]

There is a good reason that color is gone - it was ugly! If you see that color in the dimming light or setting sun, it has

a strange greenish tint to it. I was considering it, but glad it didn't happen. Ford must have figured that out too.

 

Not too bad looking from a distance, but up close, not a good color - IMHO.

 

 

Agreed! Saw one last week, and yep did not like it up close at all. Kind of reminds me of a diaper I once changed....ONCE!

[acdii]

Update: I paid my dealership an unannounced visit on 28 May and, sure enough, that black FFH on the lot was mine. They had no idea it was mine and had been using it for test drives (47 miles on odometer) since the 1st week of April. They offered to do a DX (dealer exchange) but I advised them that a Ginger Ale model was not available anywhere within several hundred miles, and certainly not one configured the same as my order. I also had to advise them that 2013s were no longer available for orders.

 

Long story short, they didn't originally offer any additional incentives but through my insistence and reminders that I should at least get a "kiss" for enduring this ...treatment, I did get an extra $500 on their best trade-in offer and several hundred off on the PremiumCare extended service plan. Apparently, the MSRP had risen by $400 since the time of my order but I didn't bear that extra cost, of course. They were essentially dumfounded on how this happened, and even the key tag was originally written with Ginger Ale, crossed out, and corrected to black.

 

This issue is purportedly being raised to district management, given the extraordinary confusion and lack of customer service caused by this order. I ultimately accepted the vehicle and I'm happy with it. I hadn't noticed before because I was fairly set on Ginger Ale since it was rather unique but the tuxedo black metallic has quite generous metal flake content. So I guess I'm finally in the club!

I agree, the Tuxedo Black was not a color I was too interested in, that is until I got my Flex. That paint is AWESOME! So much so that I decided to get the HyTi that I had ordered but the dealer changed the color to Black from the Blue I ordered it in. Still waiting for it to be delivered, any day from now until next Tuesday.

[bcrisp]

Are you sure that there was not another Ginger Ale available somewhere? When I was at my dealership, the salesman showed me his app/site that he uses to search for a car with desired attributes, he can search every dealer lot (including any inbound, though that's NA in this case) with a several hundred mile radius. Have you already had a dealer do this for you? Unless you have checked, I'd hate to think that there's a lonely Ginger Ale VIN sitting there on the Eastern Shore (or similar) just waiting for you.

 

Yes, besides my manual lookup via Ford.com and Edmund's prior to arrival, they also tried to find one while I was waiting to hear their proposed solution. In fact, it's hard to find any Fusion model in Ginger Ale. I did find one Fusion S FWD in my area. It's funny because the listing on Ford.com has a blank entry for Exterior but the image clearly shows Ginger Ale paint, as does the window sticker. I had an expanded search area, given that I work in Northern VA and live in SW VA. NoVA has scores of FFHs in inventory but that color isn't there. The other drag to a dealer exchange is that even if one were to be found from far away, truck transport is cost-prohibitive for them so they informed me someone from the dealership would drive it in. Thus, I'd have several hundred miles racked up on it without even taking possession. All in all, I'm good with the turnout. The black metal offers a surprise presentation up close so it's growing big on me. Once the dealership finishes their interior detailing and exterior recoating prep task from the PremiumCARE protection package (5-yrs/100k miles), I'll post some pics. They actually perform the clay bar procedure on it to remove all contaminants and refinish so it'll look showroom glossy with a simple wash. That wet look should be impressive. Hopefully, this treatment will mitigate the inherent downside to black: any spec of road dirt is pronounced. Conversely, there's not many colors that look better than pure wet black when it's pristine clean.

 

Financially, I did get a better deal for my inconvenience and hassle to "make it right", albeit having to wait an extra two months unnecessarily. I've also seen descriptions of Ginger Ale in this forum as being likened to snot and ... *gulp* ... diaper contents? Unsavory attributes for sure and I agree it's not for everyone. Its variation of color at different angles/distances is part of it's weirdness so, for me, that uniqueness was part of the attraction. I would speculate that those current owners who received one will either: a) have one helluva time trying to sell it when that day comes or b) they'll get a premium price from a prospective buyer looking for something different. They're indeed a rarity.

[aaronj1159]

 

Yes, besides my manual lookup via Ford.com and Edmund's prior to arrival, they also tried to find one while I was waiting to hear their proposed solution. In fact, it's hard to find any Fusion model in Ginger Ale. I did find one Fusion S FWD in my area. It's funny because the listing on Ford.com has a blank entry for Exterior but the image clearly shows Ginger Ale paint, as does the window sticker. I had an expanded search area, given that I work in Northern VA and live in SW VA.

So are you buying from a dealer in SW VA? Where at, might I ask?

[bcrisp]

So are you buying from a dealer in SW VA? Where at, might I ask?

Aaron, it's in Christiansburg

[aaronj1159]

Aaron, it's in Christiansburg

I believe we bought from the same place then. So far my experience has been good with them. I'm taking it back to them next week for some little fixes, hopefully my experience continues to be pleasant. I was skeptical about the size of the dealer (tried talking to a smaller local dealer first but they weren't really interested in selling me a car) but so far so good.

[acdii]

You have to wonder about a dealer who doesn't want to sell a car. Seems like they don't understand that Volume is king! My dealer may appear to be small, but they have a huge turn around, especially in trucks. They would rather sell a bunch of new cars at a small profit, because, 1, they get orders for new ones processed quicker(owner worked for Ford), and 2, they make their money on used cars and service. Both cars I had ordered through them were built in the 8 week time frame, and so far the only thing slowing down my last order is transport from the rail yard.

[aaronj1159]

I think the main issue might have been the fact that I was 22, and in this area not many people in that age bracket have jobs that would have allowed them to afford a new FFH. But still once they were aware that I had x-plan pricing and I had told them where I worked, I would have expected more interest. But oh well.

[acdii]

Yeah, I hear that a lot. It still is a poor excuse. I had that problem when I was in my 30's because I still had hair and looked like I was in my early 20's(OMG WTH happened!).

[mrswoodchuck]

What I find interesting is that the ginger ale color fell completely flat on the Fusions. You don't see many at all, and in fact two of the ones I have seen were dealer trades.

 

Yet, everywhere you look you find an Escape in the Ginger Ale color.

 

Why is it OK on the escape and not OK on the fusion?