WayneA

Did Ford lose my car on the way to the dealer? Here’s the breakdown…

Ordered the car on 4/6/07
VIN on 4/19
Produced on 5/14
Gate Release on 5/14

That’s it. Ford has no other info. I called Customer Service and they had no idea where it is. They told me they would “work with the Dealer” and run a trace. The Dealer told me that the scheduled delivery date was 5/24. I don’t think this screw-up has anything to do with the Dealer.

Did any of you ever have this happen when you ordered a car? I’m seeing cars ordered in May that have a ship date.

The Ford Customer Service rep said it might be on hold waiting for 18” wheels. If that were true, why does it have a gate release date? I know, they put it up on blocks in front of the plant while there’re waiting for wheels. I’m losing my faith in Customer Service.

-Wayne

Chris728

Wow you have been waiting that long? I shouldent feel to bad then. I ordered 5/6/07, havent heard from my dealer since. I dont even have a VIN..

SixtySix

Yup, I did. Ordered on Sept 21, 2004. Arrived on Jan 12, 2005 after being built on Nov 24th, 2004.

So what happened? I was an unlucky sap who's car was one of the first into an empty holding lot. Here's how it goes: first in-last out.

They cherry pick cars out of the lot and it can be awhile before they get to the back of the lot where the first cars came in.

That and the holiday shutdown didn't help either. On the morning of Jan 2, my car finally started it's journey to me and got here to AZ on Jan 12.

Where did I get this info? My dealer was kind enough to have the regional rep look into it for me, and she called me at work one night to explain what the situation was and that my car should be on it's way out as soon as the holiday shutdown was over. True to her word, that's exactly what happened.

So, you could of fell victim to the same thing (minus the holiday part). Try not to read much into it, it'll get there

lodom

I disagree with the cust service rep. I'd have the dealer run a trace. You should be driving the car by now if the system is running properly.

OKCMustangGT

My car was stuck on a defective railcar at the Kansas City Junction for 2-weeks.

WayneA

Thanks SixtySix, I feel a little bit better knowing what could happen.

I’m assuming since it has a Gate Release Date the shipper has it and they are sitting on it. Ford said they would run a trace but it will take up to a week (Bob’s in the parking lot looking for it). Ford had no additional information on the car past the Gate Release Date. My girlfriend ordered a Volvo in 2004 and it was built, shipped and delivered to the Dealer in 8 weeks, those efficient Sweds.

Thanks,
Wayne

Webba

But you can bet your a*s if you dont make your payment to Ford credit on time they will find the car in less than a week Perhaps the Memorial Day holiday gave it a slight delay as well?

LurchII

I am not an expert but… I have been tracking my car since the order day. This is how I did it.

Once you have the VIN. log onto Blueovalnews form (just do a search) give them your vin. And someone will provide dates for you. Great service.

If you have the DORA you have the dealer code. You will need the dealer code, salesman name and the vin. Call the ERL (Evil Robot Lady) I think she was killed off, but listen to the options, when a real person gets on the line, give them information they request.

If the vehicle was shipped asked for the rail car number, 2-4 leters 6-8 numbers. Do a search for (railroad car tracking) with your search engine. This will show the location of the rail car every time it passes a check station. I have been doing this for six days now.

I can go into greater detail, but not sure what is allowed.

PM me if you have any questions.

Jeff

WayneA

Thanks LurchII,

I’ve also been tracking the progress of the order at the BOF since I placed the order with the Dealer. They even gave me a PDF of my sticker. The people checking for me are a great group and I wish everyone at Ford was as helpful. This is the latest update…

Receipt Date: 4/10/2007
Serialize Date: 4/19/2007
Segment Date: 4/19/2007
Sequence Date: 5/3/2007
Blend Date: 5/4/2007
Produced Date: 5/14/2007
Gate Release Date: 5/14/2007
Ship Date:
Arrival Date:
Sold Date:

My worry is why the shipper is sitting on the car for a month now. When I spoke to the Dealer on 5/29 they told me it had a scheduled arrival date of 5/24 which is in line with a 5/14 build date. After over a week and no call from the Dealer I called the VOPC last week and spoke to someone. They had no update. Then I called the “non-dealer” customer service line [(800) 392-3673, option 1, option 4, option 2] and asked them about the order and they told me they would need to do a trace and work with the Dealer. Why the need to “work with the Dealer” is a little confusing to me. I don’t think the Dealer has anything to do with it.

By the way if you have your VIN and you know the car has been shipped, you can call the above 800 number to get the “rail car number” and use the below link to track where the car is. If I was only so lucky.

http://c01.my.uprr.com/pet/motorVehicleTrace.jsp

-Wayne

DynamicmustangGT

Isn't that the truth. I don't think holidays have anything to do with deliveries. Mine showed up the day after thanksgiving without warning I was thinking Febuary. I beat the rush big time.

LurchII

Just a thought.

Ford randomly removes cars from various stages of production, to include the distribution center for complete inspections. I don’t know what percentage, but this I believe is a separate entity of Ford. This may be one hand not talking with the other.

The dealer told me a story, which a vehicle went missing after shipping, this was a high end car, and was equipped with a tracking device. It showed the location in a ford dealer by the distribution yard. It turns out Ford had sent a QC crew to totally inspect the car. The analyst new nothing about this, because QC was a totally different part of Ford.

I know this does not help….

Sorry

Jeff

WayneA

Update:

I herd back from the Ford Customer Service rep this morning. I originally called them last Thursday and they told me they would “run a trace” and get back to me early this week. I got a call Monday from another person and told me they were researching and would have something for me today.

I got the call today and to my surprise the only thing they know is, they know nothing. I asked why they couldn’t tell me anything after a week of “researching” and the answer I got was, “VOPC department is a different department within Ford and she is with the Customer Service department”, wow. So I did learn something. Ford does not communicate internally. The rep said she would call me next Friday and tell me nothing again.

I called the Dealer and spoke with the SM. His order sheet shows a delivery date of 5/24 and agreed it should have been here by now. He is checking and will get back to me by tomorrow.

How long do I have to wait before I cancel the order and get a 08? I can see it now when I get my 07 people will be getting their 08s.

-Wayne

blkstang06

Wayne, In the long run the 08 Idea you have may be best!..

rookie2332

Yeah personnally might as well go 08. Value on resale alone would be worth it at this point.

WayneA

The question is will the Dealer put my deposit for the 07 to a 08?