Moehawk

I would like Ford to work with their dealers to update the customer. How hard would it be to offer me the option of being updated on my order once a week, every two weeks, or as the order status changes? The dealer took my email address when I placed the order. I applaud Ford for having customer service reps monitor the mustang web sites. If it wasn't for Deysha I would have had even less information as I went through the process. Maybe I got a clueless dealer but they've won all kinds of Ford customer service awards so someone thinks they are doing something correctly. When I ordered the car on Feb 1 the dealer said I should receive it in 6-8 weeks. I did not expect this to happen but I did think by 10 weeks I would at least have a VIN assigned. The fact the dealer said they had abosolutely no idea of when the car would be built at that point did not help. Now is that a Ford issue because they are not providing the dealer any estimates or did the dealer not have allocation like they said they did in February? I learned more about the status of my car's build and shipping process by posting questions on mustang forums than I did from the dealer. I called Ford customer service two times. The first time they said they did not have any new information to share other than when the car was built. The second time I called they said my call would be escalated and I would receive a call back from Ford in two days. I never received the call and ended up calling FCS again myself. Finally at the end the sales manager contacted their Ford zone rep to have my car escalated for shipment. This would not have happened if I had not been all over the dealer. Learning about the different ETAs did not make me more or less upset. I understood they are just that, estimates. What did make me upset was not finding out what was going on. Having my salesman tell me they (the dealer) had no way to track the order once it shipped only to find out the sales manager could update me each day on where it was on the train and when the car was loaded on a transport did not help. This only solidified my feeling of either a) the dealer is lying to me, or B) they are poorly trained and really do not know what is going on. If the dealer had been upfront with me in February and said they would not have allocation until April I would have found another dealer that did have allocation in February. If the dealer had said it would take 16 weeks for delivery I would have said wow that is a long time but accepted it and waited. Much of the frustration I experienced would have been avoided. Up until this experience I had been a big fan of Ford's turn around. The fact that they did not take a government bailout was part of the reason why I wanted to buy a Ford. The fact that Ford brought back the 5.0 sealed the deal. My other two cars are Toyota products. I've never had issues with the cars or the dealer. I had thought that a Fusion would make a nice replacement for my Camry. That is all on hold now.

I took delivery on Friday, May 27th. First off, the car is amazing. It is everything I thought it would be and more. It just pulls no matter what gear you are in. I have given so many rides I have lost count. My goal on each ride is to make the passengers scream and grin from ear to ear. Mission accomplished so far. When I picked the car up I found out it had a faulty traction control module. Not a good way to start but the part is on order. One of the sales managers at the dealership had told me last week that he did not want to lose me as a customer and would think about what the dealership could do to make things right. Nothing more was said about this when I picked up the car. The sales person did make a point of going through a customer satisfaction survey example that I would receive. He said they wanted to be rated as excellent in every category. That's not going to happen. At this point I am happy to have the car I have wanted for years. Do I think Ford cares about the long delivery time and lack of communication? No. Do I think the dealer cares about communication and telling me the truth? No. Will my next purchase be a Ford. No.

I am so sick and tired of Ford and the Ford dealer I am working with. I have waited 17 1/2 weeks for my dream car, a Mustang GT. It has been built for a month and is now somewhere in Minnesota waiting for a transport to Iowa. Two ETAs have come and gone and all the dealer can or will say is hopefully they receive it in a few days. Based upon past experience I can guarantee this car will not show up within three days. This is the worst major purchase experience I have been through. I think what really makes me mad is Ford could care less. I have asked FCS for a way to escalate my frustration up the chain of command within Ford and received no response. I have called FCS twice. The second time I was told I would receive a call in two days. Did I receive the call? NO I have wanted a Mustang for twenty years. Like most people I have researched them to death, dreamed about what my first mods would be, and was excited beyond belief the day I placed the order. Since then it has been one big disappointment. The Mustang dream has turned into a nightmare. The excitement was gone long ago. I told my dealer I was very disatisfied with their lack of communication to me even when I asked for weekly updates. I also told them I was very unhappy with Ford. I was told Ford would not do anything to make me happy. It appears the dealer will not either. All in all I do no think anyone from Ford or the dealer really cares. I am honestly on the fence now about buying this car when it comes in. Part of me wants to tell the dealer where to stick it based upon principal. The other part of me says to grin and bear it. Honestly though I do not feel like parting with $40,000 hard earned dollars on a product built by a manufacturer that does not care no matter how long I have wanted it. I bet Dodge or Chevy would like my $40,000. Ford you had a chance to earn a new customer but instead you have made me a new customer for your competition. But do I think you will care? NO

I'm going through a similar scenario with a Mustang.

Thanks for the insight M.E.! Much appreciated.

You are not alone my friend. I ordered Feb 1. My ETA was 5-12 but the car has not shipped yet and there is now no ETA.

Dear Ford, I have been a long time lurker on this site but finally felt the urge to sign up so that I could add my two cents to this discussion. I hope someone from Ford reads this and feels compelled to PM me or email me because after waiting 16 weeks for a Mustang to show up I still do not have it and no one can tell me when I will. This is a summary of the communication I received. Feb 1 - Ordered the mustang. I was told retail orders take priority over stock orders and that I should receive the car in 6-8 weeks. At 8 weeks - No car and no eta from the dealer. I contacted Ford customer service and they have no idea of a build date. At 10 weeks - No build date from dealer or Ford customer service. At 11 weeks - VIN issued, build date April 26th. Contacted Ford customer service and found out an eta of 5-12. 5-12 - Stop by the dealer at 4pm. No car and no idea when it will arrive. 5-12 is just an eta and not an exact date of delivery which I am fine with. No update in Ford's system other than the car was built on 4-26. By the way remember retail orders take precedence over stock orders? I guess not, the dealer has four 2012 Mustangs on the lot including three 5.0s. 5-13 - Call from dealer in response to call I made to Ford customer service on 5-12 regarding where is my car? Now all of a sudden the dealer has information. My car is built and is still in Flat Rock, MI with no eta of delivery. My issue with Ford during this who process is the lack of communication. In my business I deal with customers every day and learned a long time ago they want to be communicated with...even if it is to say there is nothing new to share. I asked the dealer to update me once a week on the status of the order, even if there was no change. This happened the first two weeks and then stopped. I was told when something changes we'll let you know. I asked to be update weekly regardless of changes but was not. I found out that a Ford Customer Service rep frequents several mustang web sites. I began communicating with the reps. This is how I found out what my order number was, VIN, and delivery eta. My dealer should have done a better job of communicating with me but I have already figured out they are in the dark just about as much as I am. Seriously Ford, how can you build a car on 4-26 and then not update the system with any information? Tell the dealer the car is on delivery hold for two weeks waiting for an inspection or there is a problem securing rail cars for shipping but no update is not acceptable! Ford there is one additional frustration that is escalating my dissatisfaction. I am forced to post a message on a web site not knowing whether or not anyone from Ford will read this or respond. I would rather directly communicate higher up in the corporation than to air my complaints on a web site but I have not been provided with this option even though I have asked. The Ford Mustang will be my first Ford product. I thought maybe the first of many but now I doubt it. You see, I like it that you did not take a government bailout and I like what I am seeing in the Fusion and Edge but I never had these issues when buying my Camry or LX330. I love working with the Toyota dealer and Toyota communication has always been fine for me. I cannot say the same about Ford or the dealer...and I really wanted to. Thanks for allowing me to vent. PM me or email me at jmoeller@imonmail.com if you want to talk.