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Can I get a copy of the window sticker as well?

Requesting info on 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid: VIN: 1FMCU49H8KB24946 Thank you so much!

I live in a major metro area... one of the top five largest cities in the country.

First in their line. Order is still clean and unscheduled.

Maybe this thread will get things going... maybe someone from Ford will weigh in. Is anybody in Dearborn (i.e. the ivory towers) paying attention to the impact and lack of concern for their customers? What have you heard about lead times on customer orders for a 2008 FEH? What has your experience been? I'll start... I ordered in June. I was told then that I'd have the vehicle in 10 - 12 weeks. My order has been first in line since then and this is what I've heard since... from my dealer... what is fact, what is fiction 1) The NYC announcement that their cabs had to convert to FEHs has pushed back all of the customer orders 2) It's taking up to 6 months to fulfill an order 3) The delay in the orders has to do with the shutdown of the plant 4) Ford ran out of moonroofs so that is the delay 5) There isn't a single FEH within 1,000 miles of here What have I heard from other dealers? 1) We are getting FEHs in every few weeks 2) We can get you an order in about 6 - 8 weeks 3) We can definitely locate one for you

Last update I got was that the reason it hasn't been scheduled is that the dealer I placed the order through is "one of the smaller dealers" in the region and as a result, it may take a long time for them to get allocation. Meanwhile, there is a dealer in the same city who is getting a regular stock of vehicles, not attached to customer names, that you can buy off the lot. I had the dealer do a search, but they can't find one, and I have no way of doing it myself. I have a deposit down so I can't just walk over to the next guy to get it done either. I understand your system but at the end of the day, you have a customer is getting screwed. I was talking to guy who works for a well known industry publication and he told me that Ford is constantly holding dealers over a barrel with product lines that are dogs if they want fulfillment on the orders that they have in hand with end consumers. Where's the leadership from Ford who "monitors this board" to help explain how that makes sense? Ever hear of lifetime customer value? Ever hear of the basic management tenet that explains how it is exponentially more expensive to find a new customer than it is to keep a customer you have? Jeeze, I'm not even a real customer yet - since I don't have the car - and this is already a terribly disappointing experience.

10 weeks and counting... order still isn't scheduled. IS THERE ANYONE THAT CAN HELP?!

I place the ordder in June but didn't get a DORA until July. They told me they didn't have allocation to place an order.

Thanks for the clarification!

Thanks for your help Dean, I'll continue to wait and see. I hope the car is worth it.

I've ordered 3 different foreign vehicles and have averaged between 8 and 10 weeks. I gave the dealer the deposit on this car at the end of May (it's been 8 weeks) and it hasn't even been scheduled for production yet. If you are trying to suggest that I'm being unreasonable with my questions, please come out and say it. Perhaps if there was a bit more transparency with the way things have been handled thus far I wouldn't be so cynical.

ViperPilot: You are clearly very familiar with how things work so I'm wondering if you can provide me with some insight so I can better understand where things stand with an order I placed at the end of May. To date, the status of my order, according to Ford, my DORA shows the order as a priority 10 and that it is waiting for selection by the computer ordering system - there is no VIN number assigned at this point. According to my dealer, the order will be scheduled when the "regional rep" decides to pull it. I feel like I'm pretty clear on what the process is once the order get's scheduled/sent to the factory - its getting to that point that I'm confused by. Also, is there any place that I can go to see current backlogs and/or commodity issues for a particular vehicle? Thanks for any insight you can share! Cheers!

No updates at all. I called Ford today... order is still sitting there waiting for "computer selection". I've tried the dealer but the response I get from them is less than helpful. They seem more aggrivated with the fact that I'm asking questions than with the situation itself. It's like they'd rather me sit and shut up. After all, these are the same people who sat on the order for 6 weeks before even putting it in the system. I have a copy of the DORA and I am priority 10 - at this point, I'm at a total loss. This is my first American car, first Ford and it's far from a good experience. If this is the system that they have in place, it's no wonder that they are having the bigger problems that they are.

What does 5 jph mean?

That was a tremendous help! I'm getting closer to understanding the process. I have the DORA and I am priority 10 so if you don't mind, I'd like to ask a couple of follow-up questions. 1) What role does this "regional rep" play on deciding when my vehicle gets scheduled for production. Is the regional rep really some automated computer system? 2) Since I am, and have been for weeks, #1 in line, how long can it take for a dealer to get allocation? Could I theoretically sit for months waiting for the dealer to get allocated the single vehicle it takes to get to the next hurdle? 3) Is there a way to find out if there are specific commodity limitations? If it came down to it, I'd probably be willing to go without certain options if it means getting the car. 4) Am I wasting my time calling FORD and asking if it has been scheduled/VIN assigned on any other day than Friday? It sounds like if I call on Friday and it hasn't been, nothing will happen with it until the following Friday. I guess at the end of the day, my perspective is that once it hits the assembly line, it takes however long it takes. I've heard 8 weeks so that's what I'm assuming. It's just trying to understand (i.e. how long) it will take to get it to the point that a VIN has been assigned and it's out of the ether that is the computer.

** UPDATE ** STILL LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP ** So here is the latest update. Anyone care to help shed some light and/or help with navigating this situation? After making a bit of a stink about the fact that they took my deposit but hadn't done anything with the order, the dealer finally put it into the system and I now have a copy of a DORA. It shows that we are "priority 10" which, from my understanding, means we are next in line for that dealer's orders. Now, close to 8 weeks after I gave them a deposit and an order, it is still, according to Ford, sitting in their system unscheduled for production. I understand that these are in high demand, but I gave FORD an order and a deposit quite a long time ago and 8 weeks seems like an awful long time to be waiting with nothing going on. There isn't even a VIN assigned to the car yet. Now I'm being told that some district or region rep sits with it until they decide its time to release it to the factory for production. Seems to me that the order, and deposit, have been sitting with paper pushers long enough and the folks at the factory, the people BUILDING the car, should be deciding when they are able to get to the order. Anybody know how I can track down the name and number of this district/regional rep to bend their ear and find out when they plan to release it for scheduling? Is this really the process or am I getting fed stories? Is there a way to address this or am I just supposed to keep waiting?

Anyone care to help shed some light and/or help with navigating this situation? We ordered a 2008 FEH hybrid in early June. We started calling the dealer about 3 weeks later to get an update and just got the run around. Called Ford customer service and they said there was no order in the system. When we went back to the dealer, they gave us a song and dance about how we were next in line but that they didn't have allocation to place the order so they were just holding on to it. After making a bit of a stink about the fact that they took my deposit but hadn't done anything with the order, the dealer finally put it into the system and I now have a copy of a DORA. It shows that we are "priority 10" which, from my understanding, means we are next in line for that dealer's orders. Now, close to 8 weeks after I gave them a deposit and an order, it is still, according to Ford, sitting in their system unscheduled for production. I understand that these are in high demand, but I gave FORD an order and a deposit quite a long time ago and 8 weeks seems like an awful long time to be waiting with nothing going on. There isn't even a VIN assigned to the car yet. Now I'm being told that some district or region rep sits with it until they decide its time to release it to the factory for production. Seems to me that the order, and deposit, have been sitting with paper pushers long enough and the folks at the factory, the people BUILDING the car, should be deciding when they are able to get to the order. Anybody know how I can track down the name and number of this district/regional rep to bend their ear and find out when they plan to release it for scheduling? Is this really the process or am I getting fed stories? Is there a way to address this or am I just supposed to keep waiting?

Actually, from the get go, I was asking for assistance with understanding the situation. I don't think I have my head in the sand and I think I've been awful patient - in fact, if I knew the order was sitting at the factory, scheduled for production, and couldn't be produced because they were short on components, I'd be very understanding (to a point) because I know these things are in demand. I've been waiting for close to 8 weeks and my order is still, I called Ford today to ask for an update, sitting in their system unscheduled for production. I understand that these are in high demand, but I gave FORD an order and a deposit quite a long time ago and 8 weeks seems like an awful long time to be waiting with nothing going on. There isn't even a VIN assigned to the car yet. Now I'm being told that some district or region rep sits with it until they decide its time to release it to the factory for production. Seems to me that the order, and deposit, have been sitting with paper pushers long enough and the folks at the factory, the people BUILDING the car, be deciding when they are able to get to the order. Anybody know how I can track down the name and number of this district/regional rep to bend their ear and find out when they plan to release it for scheduling?

So I guess I just have to wait and hope that they get allocation. That seems like crap. If I want to buy a Ford, I can't just go to the closest dealer? I now get penalized for that? Doesn't seem particularly fair to me. Is there a way to evaluate dealers on their allocation? Also, I know you said to ask for a VIN number, but now I'm being told that a VIN number isn't assigned until the order gets scheduled and that only the regional rep can schedule an order. I suppose, that once again, I'm screwed. Ford management is supposed to be watching this board... if so.... HELP! You have a first-time customer here that is getting screwed. Please don't let this relationship start off on the wrong foot!

So if I am first in line (which I was told I was), should I expect that my order should get scheduled in 30 days or less?

I don't think the questions I'm asking are unreasonable and, in fact, I probably shouldn't have to ask them in the first place. I guess I would expect proactive updates as part of good service. All I'm asking for is some information on a product that I have ordered. I'm sure you would agree that when you walk in some place to order a good, and slap down a deposit, your expectation is that the business you are working with will process and fulfill the order. I understand there may be delays along the way, but to not even start the process seems strange to me. I'm sure that if Ford called up one of their suppliers looking for a particular part and found out that they had been sitting on the order, there might be a cause for concern as well. After 6+ weeks of waiting and hearing that it hasn't been scheduled for production (the order has not been received but is just sitting there), I'm just trying to understand what is next. I'm hearing everything from 8 - 16 weeks from the time the order gets scheduled and I'd love be able to plan some things. Not too much to ask from my perspective.

Hi. We ordered a 2008 FEH hybrid in early June. We started calling the dealer about 3 weeks later to get an update and just got the run around. Called Ford customer service and they said there was no order in the system. When we went back to the dealer, they gave us a song and dance about their allocations and how they didn't have allocation to even place the order. So they had been holding on to the order! Does that make sense? I thought allocation just determines how quickly they get the orders they have placed (i.e. if you have 30 on order, and your allocation is 3 a month, it will take you 10 months to work through those orders) and can't understand how it would/should impact when my order gets placed in the system. Long story short, after raising hell, the dealer finally put it into the system and now we have a valid order number - problem is, I'm feeling like we lost 4 - 6 weeks. When we call Ford, they tell us the order has been received but hasn't been selected by the computer for production. How long can we expect to wait from this point? In addition to my order number, I have an order code of 300A - no idea what that means. I don't have any other information other than the order number - no VIN, DORA, etc. Is there any way that we can accelerate things given that it sounds like we lost 4 or 5 weeks while the order was sitting on their desk rather than in the system. We are really steamed! Thanks for any advice!

Hi. We ordered a 2008 FEH hybrid in early June. We started calling the dealer about 3 weeks later to get an update and just got the run around. Called Ford customer service and they said there was no order in the system. When we went back to the dealer, they gave us a song and dance about their allocations and how they didn't have allocation to even place the order. So they had been holding on to the order! Does that make sense? I thought allocation just determines how quickly they get the orders they have placed (i.e. if you have 30 on order, and your allocation is 3 a month, it will take you 10 months to work through those orders) and can't understand how it would/should impact when my order gets placed in the system. Long story short, after raising hell, the dealer finally put it into the system and now we have a valid order number - problem is, I'm feeling like we lost 4 - 6 weeks. When we call Ford, they tell us the order has been received but hasn't been selected by the computer for production. How long can we expect to wait from this point? In addition to my order number, I have an order code of 300A - no idea what that means. I've been given no other information and nobody is helping (I don't have a VIN, DORA, or anything else) Is there any way that we can accelerate things given that it sounds like we lost 4 or 5 weeks while the order was sitting on their desk rather than in the system. We are really steamed! Thanks for any advice!