Most likely due to the holidays. The plants do close for 2 weeks for Christmas and New Years.

 

2 weeks...? F***ing unions. We don't stop selling cars during the holidays.

 

Hey, manufacturers have been doing this for ages.

 

Our first Bullitt got pushed back to January 2nd. Customer is delighted, though, as I originally told him late January or February when we ordered it (under-promise and over-deliver).

 

Checked with my dealer today- he said it's still showing a build date of Dec.31. I have mixed emotions about this- I want the car as soon as possible, but does anyone want their car being built on the day of New Years Eve? You have to wonder how the job quality might be? Everyone is just thinking about getting out and partying!
So I'm hoping that Dec.31 is still a Holiday shutdown day.

 

Regardless of what day your car is made, always check it over real good when you receive it. I received a 2003 Cobra with an incorrect brake disc, caliper and pad from a Mustang GT instead of the correct Cobra piece.There was also paint overspray on the rear quarter, trunk lid and rear window. Keep a watchful eye!

 

In the 8 years I've worked at a Ford dealership, I've seen my share of "misbuilds," but they are getting less and less frequent all the time (Ford quality has risen dramatically in just the past few years). We used to get about a dozen new Fords a year with some sort of misbuild, but now we might only see 1 or 2 per year, so 99.9% show up just fine.

 

And just what does happen with a mis-build? Does the customer get a new one? Or does he have to settle for some attempt at correcting the problem?

 

The vast majority of misbuilds tend to be for dealer stock, so we can get the correct parts installed before ever making it available to sell.

We did recently have a special ordered SUV show up for a customer that had painted fender flares from the factory. One side those were painted body color, while the other side was painted platinum (dary gray) like a different trim level offered. The SUV looked fine from either side, but as soon as you realized what color was on the other side, you'd be thinking "what the **** was Ford doing!?" We explained what happened to the customer, and sent it directly to our body shop to be corrected to the customer's satisfaction.

Most common misbuilds that I've seen have involved an optional item being forgotten (i.e. step bars), but interior/exterior trim is another commom one. We even had a vehicle show up this year with a back seat that was a completely different color than the front seats! Maybe they were working in the dark to conserve electricity that day in the factory!

Again, misbuilds are very rare, and quality is getting ever-better within Ford so we're seeing less and less of this. I've never personally had any car I've ordered for myself show up wrong, thank goodness.

 

Dave, with that date, its not meant to be built on that day, but that week. On the sheets we get, its always listed as built the "week of". As far as I know, the plants are still closed for the beginning of that week. Will most likely re-open on the 2nd or 3rd of January. When it has been built, PM me your VIN and I can get you an exact build date.

 

Jeff is correct, Ford quotes a "week of..." when they first schedule a car. However, as we get closer to the that week, the individual order status screen for a vehicle will show the actual date it's due to be built.

For example, our first Bullitt originally showed it was scheduled for the week of December 10th, but about 1-2 weeks ago that was updated as due to be built on December 11th (which is tomorrow - a Tuesday).

Once the car is built, I can pull an OASIS report to confirm the actual build date.

 

While mistakes do happen, there is a lot of automation and quality checking at the AAI plant. Also, in the times I've toured the facility, most of the people looked focused at the task at hand. The team leaders there know the importance of the quality of the product and mention on tours how proud they are to be building such a legendary car.

 

Misbuild spotted today where I work! 2008 Shelby GT500 showed up from the factory today and it is missing the rocker stripe on one side of the car, but the rocker stripe under the other door is there and the top stripes are all in place. So now we have to order a stripe and wait for it to be installed by our body shop before we can offer up this car for sale. Thanks, Ford!

 

Don't they have people walk around the car when it's done to look for this? Especially on their SVT Vehicles.

We have had some pretty weird stuff show up at our dealership as well. We had an 06 Mustang GT that arrived with a V6 Bumper on it. They just shoved the left hand side muffler up into it like they didn't even care. You would think someone would notice that the muffler doesn't fit!!

Then there was the F-150 that showed up with Mark LT running boards on one side. Someone was sleeping on the job. Probably a union benefit.

 

I am still waiting for my VIN. The waiting is the hardest part.

 

Still waiting for a VIN as well. Dealer ordered on Nov 12th.

 

12.19.07
Bullitt ordered 12.6. Received my VIN today. Supposed to build in January and take delivery in Feb. Can't wait!!