Problems with an '08 Escape Hybrid order - need help!

[mbagsb]

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!

[ernestb48104]

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!

 

 

Simply a bad dealer, no reason why the order was not entered into the system! Anyone can walk in and order whatever hell they want.. Did you put money down?? I bet you did.. SO if I was you, I would cancel the order and take ur money elsewhere... Or demand free oil changes or some cash from the dealer for the hassle.

 

Perhaps they need to go back to customer service school!

 

This has my blood boiling! If you will PM me the details.. I would like to persue this further!

[thegeneral]

Thats crap they didn't do anything for three weeks!

[mbagsb]

Thats crap they didn't do anything for three weeks!

 

 

** 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?

[carguy]

I wrote this a couple of years ago but I think it is appropriate to post again.

 

After you agree on a deal the dealership will translate your order into a series of three digit codes and input those codes into a computer. The next day they will receive a dealer order receipt acknowledgement (DORA), which I recommend you review with your salesperson. Mistakes do occasionally happen and this is the first step to avoiding one. While placing the order the dealer will assign it a priority code. For sold units the code will be a number from 10 to 40 with 10 being the highest (best) priority. I personally assign the codes based on when the customer ordered the vehicle i.e. the oldest order gets the highest priority.

 

Now comes the hard part. Dealers are assigned a certain number of vehicles (allocation) for four or five week order periods. In one order period depending on the size of the dealership he could get 0 to 100 rangers. Production weeks start on Thursday for Ford. If on Thursday night the dealership has allocation for a ranger you have reached the next hurdle.

 

Within each vehicle line certain options aka commodities are controlled (limited). For example this week if I have 3 ranger allocations I can only order 47% of them with a flare side box. So if I only have 2 sold orders for rangers and both have a flare side box only one of them will be scheduled for production. Since I must buy 3 they will schedule 2 without the flare side box for stock while the other sold unit sits in the order bank. On Thursday night the computer will look at each dealers order bank individually to schedule the necessary units. On Friday morning the dealer will get a print out showing the serial number (VIN) that the scheduled units will be produced with. On Saturday or the following Monday the print out will show the week the unit will be built.

 

All schedule dates are Mondays. That means the unit could start down the line any day that week. How long after the vehicle is produced until it arrives at the dealership depends on the distance from the manufacturing plant to the dealership. For example in Michigan a Mustang produced in Dearborn or a Focus produced in Wayne will arrive within a day or two of the vehicle coming off the assembly line. A pick up coming from Kansas City may take a week or a Windstar from Canada may take 2 weeks. Once the vehicle is in the hands of the transport company the dealer has no way to track it.

 

Sorry for the length of this post but I could not think of a way to condense it.

 

If something is unclear or you have any other questions just ask.

 

Carguy

 

This question seems to appear in one form or another quite frequently. This is a cut and paste of an explanation I did for a similar question. I hope it helps you understand the process.

[mbagsb]

I wrote this a couple of years ago but I think it is appropriate to post again.

 

After you agree on a deal the dealership will translate your order into a series of three digit codes and input those codes into a computer. The next day they will receive a dealer order receipt acknowledgement (DORA), which I recommend you review with your salesperson. Mistakes do occasionally happen and this is the first step to avoiding one. While placing the order the dealer will assign it a priority code. For sold units the code will be a number from 10 to 40 with 10 being the highest (best) priority. I personally assign the codes based on when the customer ordered the vehicle i.e. the oldest order gets the highest priority.

 

Now comes the hard part. Dealers are assigned a certain number of vehicles (allocation) for four or five week order periods. In one order period depending on the size of the dealership he could get 0 to 100 rangers. Production weeks start on Thursday for Ford. If on Thursday night the dealership has allocation for a ranger you have reached the next hurdle.

 

Within each vehicle line certain options aka commodities are controlled (limited). For example this week if I have 3 ranger allocations I can only order 47% of them with a flare side box. So if I only have 2 sold orders for rangers and both have a flare side box only one of them will be scheduled for production. Since I must buy 3 they will schedule 2 without the flare side box for stock while the other sold unit sits in the order bank. On Thursday night the computer will look at each dealers order bank individually to schedule the necessary units. On Friday morning the dealer will get a print out showing the serial number (VIN) that the scheduled units will be produced with. On Saturday or the following Monday the print out will show the week the unit will be built.

 

All schedule dates are Mondays. That means the unit could start down the line any day that week. How long after the vehicle is produced until it arrives at the dealership depends on the distance from the manufacturing plant to the dealership. For example in Michigan a Mustang produced in Dearborn or a Focus produced in Wayne will arrive within a day or two of the vehicle coming off the assembly line. A pick up coming from Kansas City may take a week or a Windstar from Canada may take 2 weeks. Once the vehicle is in the hands of the transport company the dealer has no way to track it.

 

Sorry for the length of this post but I could not think of a way to condense it.

 

If something is unclear or you have any other questions just ask.

 

Carguy

 

This question seems to appear in one form or another quite frequently. This is a cut and paste of an explanation I did for a similar question. I hope it helps you understand the process.

 

 

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.

[Ckr01]

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.

 

 

If it is any help, production on the hybrid is 5 jph.... :shrug:

[mbagsb]

If it is any help, production on the hybrid is 5 jph.... :shrug:

 

What does 5 jph mean?

[mbagsb]

5 Jobs Per Hour.

 

They only build 5 Hybrids an hour, so since they are on 2 10 hour shifts (IIRC), then they only build 100 Hybrids per day.

 

 

Thanks for the clarification!

[dfs]

** UPDATE ** STILL LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP **

 

 

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 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.

 

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?

 

Each Friday evening, Ford issues a bulletin to dealerships that tells them what weeks the plants will be operating, what weeks they are scheduling production for, what vehicles are controlled, which oprions are in short supply (low, medium or high risk of not being scheduled), etc. Some share this information with sales personnel and some don't.

 

The field rep is a Ford interface with the dealership and works with them on all types of dealership issues, "encourgages" wholesale orders, presents new programs, etc. They do not schedule production, sit on orders, establish allocation, etc.

 

As I said in your other thread, your salesperson chose not to tell you that you would be wiating because they did not have allocation for the next several weeks, or he/she did not know what the allocation was. I contend that your sales person should represent you in the buying process and ask the questions you would not know to ask - like:

 

Do you have current allocation?

Do you have a wholesale order in the system that can be changed to retail?

Are the plants scheduled for down time/changeover, etc.

What priority will you put on my order?

Are any of my options at risk (in short supply)?

Can you dealer locate a vehicle for me?

Based on when you can input the order, when would you expect the order to be scheduled and ultimately received at the dealership?

 

The order and allocation system has been worked out with dealers over the years and is the fairest system they can come up with. Talking with the Ford rep does not influence the process. Sorry you didn't get good info when you ordered, but the dealership had the resources and information to guide you, even if the salesperson chose not to. Some would sasy that is not their job, but I don't see it that way.

[carguy]

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.

 

1. The regional rep is the person who assigns the allocation.

 

2. I cannot answer the how long but yes I could be six months. If the dealer and the regional rep have a good working relationship it should help.

 

3. You can ask the dealer but the commodity issues change from week to week.

 

4. Yes and true.

 

Sorry it took so long to reply!

 

Carguy

Edited July 20, 2007 by carguy

[dfs]

The Ford field manager does not set the allocation. He/she tells the dealer vehicle order manager what their allocation is, but it is computer based on prior vehicle line volume and any other factors Ford and the dealer councils put in the equation.

[carguy]

The Ford field manager does not set the allocation. He/she tells the dealer vehicle order manager what their allocation is, but it is computer based on prior vehicle line volume and any other factors Ford and the dealer councils put in the equation.

The Ford Rep also has some latitude in assigning some discretionary product. That is how a good dealer is able to negotiate their allocation.

[CHUCKK]

I ordered a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid on 6-20-07 and was told by the people at the dealership that delivery could take until October. I have the DORA and it shows Priority 20, Order Type X, Order Receipt Date 6-20-07, and a partial VIN #2CU29H 8. I was told that the complete VIN would not be assigned until manufacturing is scheduled. Am aware that only 100 cars are produced per day, that orders have increased dramatically in recent months, and that deliveries have slowed due to the demand. Also have read that nothing can be tracked without a VIN #. Am I correct in assuming that I can find out nothing until manufacturing is scheduled and I receive a VIN number?

[65fairlane]

Take a look at the posting in the Escape/Mariner forum about the crash test ratings. It may be a good thing your order was delayed as vehicles produced after June 6 now have a 4-star driver crash test rating instead of three stars. I don't work for Ford, but it seems likely that production was delayed while they worked out the problem and put in a fix for it.

 

I've been waiting for a vehicle for over a month myself, but now I'm going to make sure the dealer gets one built after June 6.