Not finding car to my specs

[mwr]

I sold my car over the weekend and am now actively looking to buy an FFH. I sent a few nearby dealers my specs (below) and one answered back that there are none matching my specs in the entire region and only a few with the paint and interior colors I want and those have a lot more options than I want. Is this a common situation?

 

Here are my specs:

 

2015 FUSION SE HYBRID
Equipment Group Code 502A (Includes Luxury Package)
Moonroof 13B
Dune Leather Seats, Dune Interior (BQ)
Ruby Red Tinted Clearcoat

2015 FUSION TITANIUM HYBRID
Moonroof 13B
Medium Soft Ceramic Leather Seats, Ceramic Interior
Ruby Red Tinted Clearcoat

[murphy]

The dealers order combinations that they think will be easy to sell. It appears that the combination that you want may only be available via a custom order. Expand your search area. There have been several instances of people finding the car that they want at a considerable distance from their home and flyiing to where it is to buy it and then driving it home.

[Waldo]

It seems about 80-90% of the Fusions have black interiors. I wanted a 502A with a dune interior and my dealer found 2 in all of the province of Ontario (population over 10 million). I got to choose the white one or the ice blue one.

[mwr]

How long does it take to get delivery of a custom-ordered FFH? Can you trust what the dealer tells you about that? Is the price likely to be higher or lower than a car in stock?

[hybridbear]

How long does it take to get delivery of a custom-ordered FFH? Can you trust what the dealer tells you about that? Is the price likely to be higher or lower than a car in stock?

Typically 8 weeks or so. Depends on many factors though including how much allocation the dealer has and which options you pick. Certain options can be in short supply and result in a delay in building your order. The dealer receives a periodic report (I think weekly) with all this information.

 

As far as price, check out this thread: http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/7072-invoice-pricing-explained/

[GrySql]

How long does it take to get delivery of a custom-ordered FFH? Can you trust what the dealer tells you about that? Is the price likely to be higher or lower than a car in stock?

Overall, from order date to delivery my car was about 6 weeks which was pretty fast. As mentioned, others here have waited much longer.

Can you trust a Dealer? What kind of question is that- LOL? Of course you can.... ;)

Price? In my case it was lower because they were so new that the Dealers were not making deals on in-stock FFH's. That's not the case now.

 

I bought mine thru AutoLand and my Credit Union, never left the house.

Autoland used a high volume Ford Fleet Dealer to order the car and I was kept up to date in a timely manner by the Autoland Rep.

My car was detailed and delivered to my CU, I signed the papers there and drove it home - I never talked to a Dealer salesperson. Just a easy and painless experience overall.

[mwr]

I went to the AutoLand site for the FFH and found that it didn't offer 2015 models. What's with that?

[Easy Rider]

Is this a common situation?

 

Yes. VERY common, I think.

Many of the big names don't even take orders anymore.

They build a standard set of cars and you can take it or leave it.......except for dealer installed options.

[hybridbear]

Yes. VERY common, I think.

Many of the big names don't even take orders anymore.

They build a standard set of cars and you can take it or leave it.......except for dealer installed options.

This is true. When we were considering the FFH and the Camry Hybrid back in 2012 we asked the Toyota dealer about ordered a Camry Hybrid with only the features we wanted in the color we wanted with no dealer add-ons. We were told that Toyota doesn't allow customer orders. Just about every Camry that I looked at had stupid add-ons like premium floor mats, window etching, rustproofing, etc. It seems that Ford's policy of allowing customer orders is unusual, but certainly appreciated by us.

[hybridbear]

Another comment about price. If you can find a leftover 2014 or 2013 with the options you want on the lot you may be able to get a better deal than on a special order 2015. Don't accept anything higher than invoice price before incentives on a special order vehicle. It's possible to get one off the lot for less if the dealer is desperate to get rid of it. You may be able to get one off the lot with more features for the same price depending on what you find.

[GrySql]

I went to the AutoLand site for the FFH and found that it didn't offer 2015 models. What's with that?

I think you need to actually talk to a Autoland Rep to make sure about that, websites are not always up to date.

[Easy Rider]

It seems that Ford's policy of allowing customer orders is unusual, but certainly appreciated by us.

I bet they have limitations though.

My dealer told me that I could not even order a Titanium with cloth seats, for instance.

He did say that they would be happy to get me a set of cloth seats and install them though.......at a cost of a couple of grand, IIRC.

[GrySql]

We were told that Toyota doesn't allow customer orders.

Yet, for the American made Camry, their website has a 'Build' tab that takes you to the models, packages and Dealer add-on's so you can tailor a car to your spec's.

It's similar to Ford's Build It function on their website.

Edited October 29, 2014 by GrySql

[gkinla]

Overall, from order date to delivery my car was about 6 weeks which was pretty fast. As mentioned, others here have waited much longer.

Can you trust a Dealer? What kind of question is that- LOL? Of course you can.... ;)

Price? In my case it was lower because they were so new that the Dealers were not making deals on in-stock FFH's. That's not the case now.

 

I bought mine thru AutoLand and my Credit Union, never left the house.

Autoland used a high volume Ford Fleet Dealer to order the car and I was kept up to date in a timely manner by the Autoland Rep.

My car was detailed and delivered to my CU, I signed the papers there and drove it home - I never talked to a Dealer salesperson. Just a easy and painless experience overall.

 

I've been using Autoland since 1995, for new car purchases and leases. The latest was my 2013 FFH. I found the car I wanted on the showroom floor, took a picture of the window sticker, emailed it to my Autoland rep, told her what dealer, and was the proud owner in three days. No dealer, no sales people, no pain. You need to belong to a credit union, and if you don't, for a small deposit you can become a member that day. The other great thing about Autoland, tell Autoland what car, what features, what color, and they will put out the word. If what you want is not available then Autoland will find something close, then you can make a decision. I have no pony in this race, it's just 19 years of great service.

[hybridbear]

I bet they have limitations though.

My dealer told me that I could not even order a Titanium with cloth seats, for instance.

He did say that they would be happy to get me a set of cloth seats and install them though.......at a cost of a couple of grand, IIRC.

Duh! You have to stick to the option packages that are available. But you can special request a car with the features you want and get it without anyone else driving it. Toyota doesn't allow that.

[mwr]

Another dealer contacted me and said com in and we'll show you the cars you're interested in so you can compare them, just not in the colors you want but but we can get that from other dealers. So I made an appointment and went there and they did just that. They were organized, friendly, and matched the truecar price. They'll deliver the car this afternoon if possible, and if not then tomorrow.

 

The car is an FFH SE, Ruby Red with Dune leather interior, Equipment Group 502A (includes luxury package), sunroof. It also has MyFordSync (is that the name?) which I didn'tr want but that car was the cclosest to waht I wanted they could find. So except for that one add-on item, I got exactly what I wanted.

 

The dealer is Marin Ford in Novato, California. The two-month-new owners took over another Ford dealership with a horrible reputation and then replaced everyone. I'd say they're dong a very good job getting their reputation established.

[Easy Rider]

But you can special request a car with the features you want and get it without anyone else driving it. Toyota doesn't allow that.

What ??

I don't understand that part about nobody else driving it.

 

Used to be you could order a car built EXACTLY the way you wanted it; that is, you were not locked into "packages".

Not anymore I guess.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Easy Rider

[djminfll]

I special ordered my 2013 SE in December 2012 because my dealer checked up to 500 miles away, and there was not a single FFH SE with the equipment I wanted in a color I liked. It was estimated as an 8 week delivery. About 3 weeks in, the dealer said there was a delay, and it would be 8 more weeks, but in the end, I got the car just about when originally estimated. I ended up paying a few hundred over invoice, but at that time, the Fusion was brand new and there were no incentives or deals going on at all, so I think it was a decent deal.

But I definitely think you should order the car exactly the way you want it. I was frustrated at having to wait, but I would be more frustrated if I was driving a car today that wasn't really what I wanted.

Edited October 31, 2014 by djminfll

[Texasota]

But I definitely think you should order the car exactly the way you want it. I was frustrated at having to wait, but I would be more frustrated if I was driving a car today that wasn't really what I wanted.

This is how I look at it also. A car is too expensive to settle for something that is not exactly what you want. I'm an old guy and have bought numerous cars over the years and only one time did I buy a car off the lot. I have always special ordered them and equipped them exactly the way I wanted.

[acdii]

The car I have now is exactly what I wanted except the color, I ordered this car, but in Blue. After getting the Flex to replace the BD, the dealer didn't think I was going to buy this car, kept it ordered but changed it to black. I actually prefer the black now over the blue. The Blue is spectacular, but the experience of that first one soured me to blue cars, same as Toyota did for Silver cars to me.