davids2toys

Ford has a better idea, oooops! My car was ordered as Mineral Grey, arrived at the dealership today as a black car. I would suggest anybody waiting for a car that has been built, to have your dealer call and get verification on the correct color as ordered, here is the post I just put in the April 25th build week thread.
"Dave here, , this has been just unbelievable, just wait until tomorrow. all I know is, I thought if I ever heard those dreaded two letters( C/U) again I would scream, well as crazy as it may seem, it might just happen.
The owner of the dealership is writing a letter to Ford tonight and expects an answer on what we are going to do about this situation. I am pretty bent on one thing though, if they are to build me another car, then I want it built next week and shipped immediately and I think they should definately throw me some sort of a bone, how about a credit from Ford for 1000.00 off the price. I told the manager I would take the black car if FORD would pay for detailing for the life of the car...lol. I also told him that if it is reordered that I want the price locked at what I was to pay per our agreement on Dec 7 04 and that if it was going to be built again, give me spoiler delete as long as it wont effect the price in any way!!!
I wonder if they will even have an expaination on what happened, this was not the dealers fault( at least I dont think so), all the paperwork, DORA etc said mineral gray. What kind of quality control do they have there at ford, does anyone know how this could have possibly happened?
One of my options for tomorrow mess will be to build me a 06 GT, titanium silver, same options as my previous order, first in line priviledge,same price as agreed upon on Dec 07 04...........yeah right, like this might happen!
well if they do build another car for me, then the dealer makes out doesn't he, he will sell the black car for MSRP or better instead of x-plan to me, and then get my 2nd new car and sell it to me... , i should get a cut of his profit that he makes on the car, since my big rant to president of Ford cust relations got them the allocation in the first place........what BS!!!
No nanners for me...
So here is the best part, I never received any notice from my dealer about anything over the last three months, NOTHING, I totally found the car by accident. :notnice:
And for those who care, there was 3.5 miles on the speedo and this car was not prepped yet, and yes, my name was on the window sticker and this is what my face looked like, , big time!!
I would appreciate any suggestions or constuctive critisism of my situation, thanks, Dave.
For a chevy guy crossing over to Ford, not been a good ride so far, NOT AT ALL! I will be giving the zone rep a call first thing tomorrow and he will be getting an earful for sure, this is the same guy who got my dealer the allottment and told me to call him if i had any further problems. "

Sorry for the RANT.

tom_vilsack

1.why not just get your dealer to swap with another dealer that has a mineral grey

2.keep car anyways and resell on ebay for like 5 grand more then you payed

3.(personal option) black looks better then mineral grey

ponyboy66

Rant at will Dave.

I can't believe that Ford would screw this up so bad.
Is it possible that your car got mixed up with someone elses?
Did you match the VIN on the car to the sticker?
Maybe someone down the road is looking for their black one.

1) You need to demand immediate action from the dealer.
Even if they had nothing to do with the screw up. It is their problem now.

2) Write a letter, send an email and make a phone call to Ford customer service.
Expalain to them nicely what happened. Remember that the people you speak to had nothing to do with the mess.

3) Set some type of reasonable expectations for the dealer as you mention such as the lifetime detailing, oil changes, extended warranty, etc.
At the very least, Ford owes you this, yes, I said owes.


Sorry to hear about your situation. I know how I would feel.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Horseowner

I agree with Tom. Do NOT let the car get away from you. Buy! Buy! Buy!

Worst case scenario: Re-sell the car immediately and make $5-$7000 over your x-plan price and let the dealer re-order you an '06 Titanium at x-plan. Suddenly you own an '06 at something like $18-$19,000!!!

Or... drive the car until your '06 arrives, then sell it for MSRP and only make $2300 profit on the deal.

But in any event, do NOT let the car get away from you.

It really IS frustrating to not get what you had hoped for- but turn those lemons into lemonade, as they say!

FWIW,

Steve

Webba

Unfortunately you are not the only one this has happened to. I think you are the third person I have seen post on here where the factory screwed up, or in one case the dealer did. The vin's were right it was just made wrong. I would push the crapout of them for the right car and also tell him you want more $$ off since interest rates are going up. This shouldnt cost you more out of pocket. GL and keep us informed.

CelticNut

Hey David, sorry to hear about your situation. You are rightfully outraged. I read a very good explanation about the order process and it described how the dealer can reorder a car for you as a PRIORITY 1, which means it would be built immediately. This priority level is reserved for orders that did not come in as spec'd. I think your situation merits priority 1 status. Push for that. Your order would receive the highest possible priority and would probably be delivered in a couple of weeks!

On the other hand, the folks that say to keep the car have got an excellent point. I'd be hard pressed to let her go after seeing her! And you could stand to make an easy buck.

Best wishes on whatever you decide, man. We're pulling for you.

ISELLFORD

First off, the Dealer can NOT order at a Priority 1, that is reserved for the Ford District or corporate. They lowest priority a Dealer can assign is 10.

Second, bad idea to buy and resell immediately. The X-plan rules state that you must keep the car at least 6 months or you can be charged back the X-plan commission that the dealer received as well as losing all future X-plan privledges.

I have been ordering cars and trucks for almost 20 years now both for stock and custom orders. I have never seen one mispainted, missing an option maybe or wrong wheels but never mispainted. If it was, then the dealer can do a misbuilt unit claim and get the regional rep involved in obtaining a replacement vehicle. The region has that power to get a car scheduled immediately. However if it was the dealer who screwed up, he is on his own and your options are pretty much limited.

GOOD LUCK!

Nichole

Sorry to hear this happened to you, I thought I was out of control when my car was built without the upgraded wheels! All of my paperwork included the upgraded wheels and then it showed up with the standard wheels, I lost my mind. At least mine could be fixed...two months later!

tw0scoops123

Can't swap with another dealer. No dealer will trade a GT because they will be able to sell it easier than any other car. And that's what a dealer would normally do, trade a car for another car, but in this case the GT's are selling so much better. So the dealer isn't gunna trade for a car that might sit there for months when he can sell the GT in a week.

Nichole

They are both GTs, I don't see the problem with the trade. The only problem would be finding a MG currently on a lot.

davids2toys

Can't swap with another dealer. No dealer will trade a GT because they will be able to sell it easier than any other car. And that's what a dealer would normally do, trade a car for another car, but in this case the GT's are selling so much better. So the dealer isn't gunna trade for a car that might sit there for months when he can sell the GT in a week.
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Excuse me, but they are both GT's...maybe another dealer woulkd want a black GT instead of a Mineral grey GT for whatever reason.

wjones14

Man Dave, I really feel for you. I have been following your progress all along, and we've even exchanged PMs, emails, and phone calls, so I know how psyched you were. I can't believe it! How could the DORA have been correct, but the car arrives wrong? :angry:

I personally would NOT take the black car if it were me. I understand why others are saying to take it, with the GTs so difficult to find now, and the car is as you ordered it, except for the color. BUT, the color is a huge deal, to me at least. Black looks awesome, probably better than any other color, but only when clean. I just have too many friends who owned black cars, and regretted it later because of the work involved in keeping them sharp looking. If I was retired, then fine, I'd have plenty of time to wash my black beauty two or three times a week, but I'm not, and neither are you.

I also understand that it's easy for me to say I wouldn't take it, since I already have my car. But if that had happened to me, I can honestly say I wouldn't have taken the black car. I briefly considered black when going over the color choices, but then I saw one in a showroom that was just cleaned earlier that day, and it was already a mess, with a fine coat of very visible dust, and fingerprints and smudges covering it - stuff that didn't show up at all on the other showroom cars...

I hope somehow Ford and/or your dealer can rectify this situation. Sounds like your best hope is for a dealer swap - GT for GT, if a mineral gray in your configuration exists somewhere.

Sorry I can't offer any better advice. What a doo-doo situation.

CelticNut

Thanks for the clarification, Ed. You sure know your stuff! I was only going by what I've read. I don't recall exactly WHO is able to reorder the car using Priority 1, I just remember that it was possible to have an order put ahead of others.

As far as selling a car purchased on X-plan, what if the customer fell on hard times and couldn't pay for it? Would it have to be repossessed? I certainly understand why they don't want you to resell the car; you'd be making the profit the dealer forfeited. Nowadays, they all seem pretty anxious to ask more than MSRP.

wjones14

Worst case scenario is selling the car for $5000 to $7000 more than he paid?!

That sounds like best case scenario to me.

davids2toys

1. That is a possibility

2. As another said earlier, I think it would be breaking x plan rules, but I am not sure of this at all...does anyone know the facts on this?

3. ( presonal opinion and the only one that matters at the moment) black does not look better than mineral grey.

4.i will be driving this car as everyday transportation, I have had black cars and bikes before, and these were weekend toys. They were b#%#^h to maintain and show every imperfection. This car would look like crap in 1 year of driving it to work and I do not have the time to clean it twice week. So as far as black looking better than MG...yes, maybe it does, but only for an hour after you wash it, lol

Eleanor Dreaming

I'm not sure about the time limit on X-plan. But, I do know that A-plan has to be kept for 6 monthes. So it would stand to reason that all plan purchases would have the same rules as far as a time limit on resale.

I hate to hear this happened to you. Unfortunatly I'm afraid you are SOL. There is another member on hear that had his car arrive damaged after waiting several weeks and he is in the middle of his second several weeks wait.

If they were to expedite a re-order for you and they didn't for him. What a can of worms. Unfortunatly, I bet this happens more than we know because, there are alot of mustangs owners out there that are not members of TMS.

adrenalin

How could they mess up that badly. You have a DORA that shows the VIN# and colour right? I thought the colour code of the car was part of the VIN# so what do you think the chances are that the dealer either did not order the correct colour or the car in question isn't even yours.

Quote"So here is the best part, I never received any notice from my dealer about anything over the last three months, NOTHING, I totally found the car by accident."

I am not sure I understand this. Did you just walk up to a car on the lot and say "Hey, that's mine but the wrong colour?"

Double check that VIN#. It can't possibly have the mineral grey paint code # in it.

Eleanor Dreaming

What he said. If the VIN says MG, you might the only one of these that could, might, maybe be worth something later.

davids2toys

Just got off the phone with the regional manager and he said the order was physically changed on March 23rd and that would have been done by a dealer request or a misunderstanding, but it was not a mistake from the factory. He said said he will get me some answers and options buy the close of buisiness tomorrow. One of his options was that he would discount the black car to the dealer and the dealer would pass that onto me, i asked him how much of a discount and he said I would have to tell him what would make me happy...I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO AT THIS POINT
He also mention swapping it with another dealer, He also mentioned expediting a MG car to be built next week for me, I will probably take that route and ask for a small discount for all the inconveniance.
There is a 6 month rule with x plan, and besides sellling and buying another would be to much of a hassle and I would now also have to pay double sales tax, pay the increased sale price of an 06 compared to Dec 07 04 pricing, that would probaly be 800.00. So any profit I would make would be negated so I guess this wont be an option. :bang:

Hellcat6

Dave,

This stinks. Hold their feet to the fire for sure. As a minimum, I would make them hang on to the black one until you sort out how to proceed, even if it takes a few weeks.

If you can't get Ford to sign up for a quick turn-around priority 1, I agree you should consider taking the black and turning it over quickly. I don't doubt what Ed is saying but no one said anything to me about a clause against selling the car quickly after Xplan. I think what he is saying is that if they found out they could revoke your Xplan availability (or that of the person you got it from). But given the situation and the fact that they wouldn't even know you did it, this seems to be a stretch. Something to think about. Best of luck getting the car you really want!