ford4v429
Join Date: Feb 2005
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mustang ordering bull$hit...
Posting a thread from another forum in here- if anyone out there is thinking about ordering a mustang, theres a few things you need to know...
heres a email I got from a huge florida dealer(sorry about the length here- but if youre thinking about it, and dont live in florida or texas, it will affect your order.)
<<<Re: allocation...
To be honest with you I dont pay attention to what priority I get for my customers because regardles of the priority I guarantee that your vehicle will be in your drive way in 8 to 10 weeks and most of the people that order from me get their Mustangs in about 6 weeks. You could have a priority of 3 in that dealership and have a 15 with me and still my Mustang will be there first because all is based on allocations. If your dealership doesnt have the allocations then it doesnt matter how low the priority they give to your order. They are not going to get that Mustang. To what I see happening out there is if they get a Mustang GT they prefer to sell it for 5 to 10 thousend over MSRP because they are so hard to get somebody will pay the premium to get that poney. Every dealership operates different and I dont have the answer for you to compare. All I know is you order from me and you will have a Mustang GT. As an example the forum member AMG ordered a Mustang on August 11. He got serialised on August 13. Now he have a estimaded time of arrival of September 11, 2005. You can go back to page 98 till the present time on the forum and you see the difference. I know you want to be loyal to that dealership but the question is Can they deliver? Is not their fault is just there was not a demand previous years for Mustangs in that dealership.
Let me know if you need anything else.>>>
Will complaining to ford help? not much maybe, and a lot of peoples first thought will be 'it wont help at all'...I disagree as it cant hurt, and at least its something to do, rather than sit back and wait to get cancelled like a lot of 05 orders did:
heres the address for Ford customer service
Ford Motor Company
PO Box 6248
16800 Executive Plaza Drive
Dearborn Michigan 48121
I'm suggesting/asking/begging EVERYONE in here wether or not you got your car to write and tell ford they need to start taking SOLD ORDERS by the date recieved- FIRST COME-FIRST SERVED its only fair.
My Dealer rep just explained the mess up north- our 'Zone' has at least 100 dealerships, and Ford picks 8 GT's per week to ship to them- currently and for some time, all are 05 makeup orders (as they should be). 8 cars to a hundred dealerships- most with 05 reorders on 06's- dont bother doing the math- from Pittsburgh to Akron ohio its 8 gts a week- just slightly better than the freaking lottery.
problem is down in Florida, guys can order a 06 GT and see it in a few weeks- if he cant pick from one on the lot. while thats nice for him, it sure aint fair to the guy thats waited 5+ months and still not recieved a vin number up north. Ford needs to stop the bull$hit allocation based priority on sold orders- now. if enough of us bitch about the frustration of their current system, perhaps it can change and the dealerships up north will be allowed to get 'sold' orders too- right now the yearround sunshine areas naturally sell more cars, and this ups their allocation status, which lets them bounce smaller dealerships orders to the back of the line. Sold orders are not 'stock for the lot'- they are cars that were sold before the buyer ever left home- why cant I order it locally? Why to get one do I need to go 1000 miles away to a guy that cant even spell 'pony' in order to bump some unfortunate 05 backordered guy up north out of line again. Sold orders need taken by date, first come first served, whats fair is fair. theres thousands of guys that got screwed over by Fords allocation based 'sold' order crap. If we all complain to ford, maybe the situation can be rectified. strength in numbers guys!
ps- please post copy of your letter in here- maybe if theres a good writer among us we can cut and paste a bit - for those of us like me that dont type.
I want my car, but I'm not gonna go south to cut in line. at current distribution, northern 06's are probably gonna be a rarity- lets do something about it- if you write, they WILL read it, and will acknowledge- lets get them backed up as far as the northern gt deliveries maybe they'll get tired of hearing us complain about a stupid sales philosophy, and realize somethings amiss,and its really upsetting a lot of diehard ford fans.
We are the buyers- We will be paying out a lot of our cash for 3-6 years to buy this car. the dealer is not the true customer- we are, and should not be penalized for not living in Florida.
even if you dont have one on order- someday your dreamcar might be in a similar state- please do us all a favor and put 33 cents and five minutes towards putting an end to this mess. Thanks
Bama GT Yesterday, 02:59 PM Post #2
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Save your paper. They're getting them out as quickly as they can. There are hundreds in the parking lot waiting to be shipped, but rail cars are at a premium.
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Kzinti Yesterday, 08:29 PM Post #3
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I am working with the Scheduling people to get information on Allocations out to the customers, to help them understand. We'll see what they come back with.
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I work at Ford, so I drive a Ford...
When you're out of quality, you are out of business.
ford4v429 Yesterday, 10:16 PM Post #4
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QUOTE(Kzinti @ Aug 30 2005, 08:29 PM)I am working with the Scheduling people to get information on Allocations out to the customers, to help them understand. We'll see what they come back with.
That would be very cool- I kinda think a lot of us might not be thrilled about the pecking order, but as long as we know where we stand, thats one big ugly secret out of the way
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTH ANKYOU
This post has been edited by ford4v429: Yesterday, 10:17 PM
ford4v429 Yesterday, 10:44 PM Post #5
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QUOTE(Bama GT @ Aug 30 2005, 02:59 PM)Save your paper. They're getting them out as quickly as they can. There are hundreds in the parking lot waiting to be shipped, but rail cars are at a premium.
Its not about the build I'm worried about- its the fact northern guys sit for God knows how many months without a VIN, meanwhile day 2 day old florida orders are already scheduled.
I'd wait a year for 'the car' - but am having a REAL problem waiting for the vin. How many got VINs last year that didnt get built? zero.(some still havent shipped yet, but they WILL). how many waited months for a vin and got cancelled- far too many, mostly up north. I dont EVEN want to think about that. If southern orders with high allocation dont slow down, theres still a chance the northern cars can get cancelled again- not a likely thing, but still...the vin is the positive Early Pregnancy Test for the mustang ordering family- better get the nursery ready.
the components arent even looked at until after vin is assigned- could still be a backlog awaiting parts(mines pretty plain for this reason). Still- if its got a vin, you WILL get a car...
if not vin'd, well you should/might/whatever get it eventually (but it could still get cancelled next year).
Southern dealers sell more cars- people dont buy cars up here when the roads are salty...thus the southern dealer gets higher allocation for cars. I still argue allocation prioritized sequencing of ORDERED cars is wrong:
1] it hurts the small dealers(no chance to grow no matter how good they are/how hard they work).
2] it rewards the only the biggest southern dealers (they grow allocation wise whether they are good or bad- people just want cars fast...).
3] it is VERY upsetting to at least one ford customer near Akron Ohio to see more recent orders 'cut in line'. (Ive seen a couple other guys wondering why they aint VIN'd yet too- dont think they are thrilled to be here either.)
If ford would just make ordering fair, the whole Mustang situation would be a 100% enjoyable thing with help from the Kzin...a couple giant dealers might cry foul, but look- its a small percentage of their business, and its only fair to the other 90% of the dealers.
Rewarding volume by withholding volume from others is a very unfair to dealers, but moreso to the paying customer. Fair is fair. I can order thru florida, but I wouldnt feel right cutting in front of others I know have waited longer- I dont want to add to the problem. Only ford can fix this, they sure wont though if no one complains.
ren06vistablue Today, 07:46 AM Post #6
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QUOTE(Kzinti @ Aug 30 2005, 09:29 PM)I am working with the Scheduling people to get information on Allocations out to the customers, to help them understand. We'll see what they come back with.
Hey thanks. I ordered back in May, but still no VIN. I see that down south they order this month and get scheduled. I guess upstate New York does not rate. I ordered from a large dealer here where I have purchased other new Fords from, but I guess this is truck country here.
ren06vistablue Today, 07:48 AM Post #7
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QUOTE(ren06vistablue @ Aug 31 2005, 08:46 AM)Hey thanks. I ordered back in May, but still no VIN. I see that down south they order this month and get scheduled. I guess upstate New York does not rate. I ordered from a large dealer here where I have purchased other new Fords from, but I guess this is truck country here.
I see that these southern dealers are now selling them on E-Bay. Sad to see that we can't get any, while they have enough to put on e-bay.
ford4v429 Today, 04:49 PM Post #8
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QUOTE(ren06vistablue @ Aug 31 2005, 07:48 AM)I see that these southern dealers are now selling them on E-Bay. Sad to see that we can't get any, while they have enough to put on e-bay.
Just think- that ebay car was likely ordered after yours...c'mon guys- WE are the customers, its OUR 25-32 grand thats gonna pay for these GTs.
If we dont let them know, they might assume everything is just great. It is not good at all for the customer. Allocation based priority of 'sold orders' has GOT to end. I hadnt written a letter in so long I didnt realize stamps were nor .37 cents...(the wife handles the bills). venting AT FORD was the best 37cents Ive ever spent.
one letter probably wont do squat- ten would raise some eyebrows, a hundred would get something done.
I sent another letter today praising Kzinti, begging Ford to get behind him and make this great idea an 'official' service- but keep corporate hands out of it. With Fords backing and better info access, he could be the biggest single change for the better in car buying EVER. If they leave him alone and give him better acces to info it will be good for Ford- look at all the comments in here- it IS ALREADY good for ford, its only right they get behind the idea 100%. I also rehashed the allocation based sold order stuff again, but in a nicer tone than yesterdays letter- I actually felt kinda bad sending that first one afterwards- I was getting a wee bit too upset, not a good way to communicate...
Write them. Let them KNOW exactly how many thousands of your families income you are investing in their product. let them know Kzinti is the 'freind on the inside' that a buyer always dreamed of having access too. let them know surely gm/chrysler dudes are looking at the possibilities here too. Let them know it aint nice to knock you to the back of the line so they can kiss up to the biggest dealers(friggin ebay...that really really bites.) I got an idea- any ebay 06's run the vins- any ordered after you are STOCK orders and if theyre on ebay, ford needs to be aware that it is a slap in the face to all of us with older 'sold orders' that cant even get vin'd.
from another thread in here:
QUOTE(Kzinti @ Aug 31 2005, 12:26 AM)I'll see if I can find an address to post (that won't get me fired), that you can all send letters to, and hopefully get some action.
I'm hoping a more direct address can get to both the allocations brainchild and the powers that be that need to be aware how much the kzinti are appreciated- fords current system sucks, but 'unofficially' its the best on earth.
please get writing- it is the one thing we can do to help the Kzin now, and other buyers down the road.
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First new car I've ever ordered- only new car ever wanted as much as needed.
"thank you" Ford Motor Company for bringing back the fastback!
Vista Blue 2006 Mustang GT deluxe
5 speed standard
dark charcoal cloth
interior appearance pkg only option
ordered 7/26/05-was priority (40)
ERL: clean/unscheduled-not serialized 7/28/05
asked dealer- bumped to priority (10) 8/4/05
ALLOCATED/PRIORITY 10/FIRST 06 GT ORDER FOR MY DEALER
36 DAYS AND COUNTING- NO VIN
Receipt Date: 7/26/05
Serialize Date: ???
Segment Date:
Sequence Date:
Blend Date:
Produced Date:
Gate Release Date:
Ship Date:
Arrival Date:
Sold Date: Same as arrival date [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
michianataxshop Today, 08:48 PM Post #9
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You know, the complaint is valid. I've has a DORA since the first of June. No serial number, C/U H**l ever since. Ben trying to get my GT since 05's were out & no luck. Maybe complaints will & should work, but we are dealing with an old staunch blue chip, which usually means a disconnect from customer service. Where is the fairness?
Depression has set in!
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