Vehicle tracking help needed

[KCM1]

My parents recently purchased a 2011 Fusion SEL that was supposed to be at the dealership over two weeks ago. Asked the dealer when it will be in and the response we got was that it cannot be tracked as it is a sold order. I find it hard to believe that it cannot be tracked. Is there a place to find out if it has been built, and if so, what rail car number it is on? Found a tracking thread on the Ford Employee forum, but that looks to be only for current or former Ford employees. We are having doubts whether the dealer is on the up and up.

[ice-capades]

My parents recently purchased a 2011 Fusion SEL that was supposed to be at the dealership over two weeks ago. Asked the dealer when it will be in and the response we got was that it cannot be tracked as it is a sold order. I find it hard to believe that it cannot be tracked. Is there a place to find out if it has been built, and if so, what rail car number it is on? Found a tracking thread on the Ford Employee forum, but that looks to be only for current or former Ford employees. We are having doubts whether the dealer is on the up and up.

 

Dealers receive "Daily Status Reports" that show every ordered vehicle's status changes. Anytime a vehicle's status has changed it appears on the report for 3 days and then shows back up on the report when the status changes again. This process covers the entire history of a vehicle order from the time a vehicle order is submitted until the vehicle is delivered to the Dealer. In addition, Dealers have the online "Vehicle Visibility" tool that can be used to get the most up-to-date information. Unfortunately, the Vehicle Visibility application is not always accurate or updated frequently enough but it's the only resource available.

 

Unfortunately there have been substantial increases in vehicle transit times over the past 6 months which has meant that vehicles are getting delivered much later than usual. Ford is shipping vehicles to a lot of different/new ramps where the vehicles are offloaded from rail cars and then loaded onto traditional car carriers. The car carrier contracts have gone to a lot of independent haulers and there aren't always enough carriers available to handle the volume. For years, Ford's policy was that vehicles had to be delivered to Dealers within 72 hours after arrival at the ramps. Dealers could also contact their Ford Rep's who could contact the ramps to expedite delivery of retail/sold vehicles. Unfortunately this is no longer the case as we're all now pretty much at the mercy of the ramps and dispatchers. I couldn't begin to count the number of conversations I've had with my Ford Rep about transportation and delivery problems this year!

 

Dealers can call the ramp dispatchers directly for assistance in expediting a vehicle's delivery. It takes a bit of work initially to track down who the right person is to contact but that depends in part on the Dealer's approach, attitude, etc.

 

This is just a quick summary which I hope will be of some help. I fully understand the frustration in waiting weeks beyond an expected delivery date but the wait will be worth it.

[KCM1]

Thanks ice-capades. Your summary definitely does help. Now I know more about the process than I did before, and the tools the dealer has at their disposal. Do you have any idea on average how long a vehicle travels on a railcar from the factory to where it is offloaded? I know it depends on location, but since we're talking Fusions, let's say from the Mexico plant to the east coast.

 

In our case, I believe the dealer has been misleading us. Found out this morning through a customer service source at Ford that the car is sitting at the factory waiting to be loaded onto a railcar. The day of the purchase, the dealer's manager said the car was already in transit and would be at the dealer by the end of the week (3 days later). That has been 2-1/2 weeks ago. If it was that easy for me to find out, I find it very hard to believe they could not find that out even easier.

 

Here is one other question you might be able to answer. At the time of purchase, which was to be a cash purchase, the manager said that to get the current $1000 customer cash offer, the purchase had to be at least partially financed through Ford. They did say the balance could all be paid off with the first payment with no penalty. Now is this legit? Did they need to finance to get the $1000? If you go to the Ford website it says for "Cash Purchase Offers" and nothing about having to finance the car to get the cash back. Of course it also says see your dealer for details. Just wondering.

 

Thanks again for the response.

[ice-capades]

Thanks ice-capades. Your summary definitely does help. Now I know more about the process than I did before, and the tools the dealer has at their disposal. Do you have any idea on average how long a vehicle travels on a railcar from the factory to where it is offloaded? I know it depends on location, but since we're talking Fusions, let's say from the Mexico plant to the east coast.

 

In our case, I believe the dealer has been misleading us. Found out this morning through a customer service source at Ford that the car is sitting at the factory waiting to be loaded onto a railcar. The day of the purchase, the dealer's manager said the car was already in transit and would be at the dealer by the end of the week (3 days later). That has been 2-1/2 weeks ago. If it was that easy for me to find out, I find it very hard to believe they could not find that out even easier.

 

Here is one other question you might be able to answer. At the time of purchase, which was to be a cash purchase, the manager said that to get the current $1000 customer cash offer, the purchase had to be at least partially financed through Ford. They did say the balance could all be paid off with the first payment with no penalty. Now is this legit? Did they need to finance to get the $1000? If you go to the Ford website it says for "Cash Purchase Offers" and nothing about having to finance the car to get the cash back. Of course it also says see your dealer for details. Just wondering.

 

Thanks again for the response.

 

For years the rule of thumb was that the average transit time within the U.S., after a vehicle was gate released for shipping, was approxinmately 2 weeks depending on the distance from the plant to the Dealer's location. Unfortunately, there have been numerous shipping delays this year for a variety of reasons, with all being beyond the control by any Dealer. I wish I could tell you differently but it has not been uncommon this year for vehicles to sit at the plants for several weeks before actually being shipped. In some cases there have been additional shipping delays from Ford's plants in Mexico due to severe weather conditions in the past few months that damaged rail lines.

 

Although my job description is listed as Advertising Manager, for the past 24 years I've managed the new vehicle inventory for my Ford store. The two are related as it allows me to plan inventory for advertising purposes, etc. Our store has received about a dozen 2011 Fusion vehicles in the past 7-10 days but we have another 8 that have been confirmed to have arrived at the final rail ramp over a week ago. We're about to launch a new Fusion specific advertising campaign and need the remaining Fusions to support the advertising that started today.

 

Not all Dealers monitor their in-transit inventory as closely as I do or pay attention to the vehicle status information available. I'm not making excuses for your Dealer but can't say that they've been misleading you as they just might not be checking the current status information available, etc.

 

Regarding your question about the financing incentive, there are bonus incentives/rebates that require financing through Ford Credit. I won't go into details here about Ford Credit purchases rebates but they are available and applicable to many vehicle lines.

 

Again, I hope that this information helps answer your questions further. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.

[KCM1]

Thanks again ice-capades for the info. It does definitely help.

 

Not all Dealers monitor their in-transit inventory as closely as I do or pay attention to the vehicle status information available. I'm not making excuses for your Dealer but can't say that they've been misleading you as they just might not be checking the current status information available, etc.

 

The delivery time is really not an issue as no other dealer in the area had one exactly as they wanted it equipped and they would have ordered one anyway. The situation was that it was on order for dealer stock, we saw it on their website, and made a deal before it came in. What is fishy about the whole deal is the manager personally told us that particular car was in-transit and would arrive at the dealership in three days. Partly due to this, we made the deal that day and paid for the car that day (a mistake looking back at it). They had to finance part of the purchase to get the rebate. Three days later, no car. Now it has been three weeks and no car. The dealership then said they cannot track it and don't know where it is at. Now I find out on my own that it has yet to leave the factory. The payment will be due (at which time they will pay off the whole amount) before the car arrives, so the car will be completely paid for with no car to drive. The whole deal just sounds wrong, which we will be talking to the manager about.

 

On the plus side, looks like there is an additional $500 rebate, so they should get that since they have yet to take delivery. I'm sure it will eventually come in as the dealer is fairly reputable, and that it will be worth the wait.

[ice-capades]

Thanks again ice-capades for the info. It does definitely help.

 

 

 

The delivery time is really not an issue as no other dealer in the area had one exactly as they wanted it equipped and they would have ordered one anyway. The situation was that it was on order for dealer stock, we saw it on their website, and made a deal before it came in. What is fishy about the whole deal is the manager personally told us that particular car was in-transit and would arrive at the dealership in three days. Partly due to this, we made the deal that day and paid for the car that day (a mistake looking back at it). They had to finance part of the purchase to get the rebate. Three days later, no car. Now it has been three weeks and no car. The dealership then said they cannot track it and don't know where it is at. Now I find out on my own that it has yet to leave the factory. The payment will be due (at which time they will pay off the whole amount) before the car arrives, so the car will be completely paid for with no car to drive. The whole deal just sounds wrong, which we will be talking to the manager about.

 

On the plus side, looks like there is an additional $500 rebate, so they should get that since they have yet to take delivery. I'm sure it will eventually come in as the dealer is fairly reputable, and that it will be worth the wait.

 

I'm at a loss for how to appropriately respond to your experience with the Dealer that you purchased the vehicle from. No reputable Dealer posts inventory online before the vehicle is in stock. The fact that you've had so much difficulty getting vehicle status updates and had to get the information yourself is another concern. Most Dealerships are very concerned with customer satisfaction and will do everything possible to meet or exceed customer expectations. It sounds like your Dealership is doing everything possible to protect itself from the pressure many Ford dealerships are under to give up their franchises.

 

From what you've wriiten, I'd suggest contacting Ford directly and filing an official complaint and consider contacting your local Better Business Bureau office regarding the purchase experience.

[KCM1]

It sounds like your Dealership is doing everything possible to protect itself from the pressure many Ford dealerships are under to give up their franchises.

 

I doubt that is the case here. This dealer, whom I will not name at this time but will say is in the midwest, is huge. I have heard they are near the top in total yearly Ford sales in the US. They are near the top, if not the top, seller of Ford trucks in the US. Their claim to fame is they have sold vehicles to people in every state in the US. Maybe they are trying to become the top seller in the country, so don't want to risk loosing any sale. They also own many other franchises in this area of different brands.

 

From what you've wriiten, I'd suggest contacting Ford directly and filing an official complaint and consider contacting your local Better Business Bureau office regarding the purchase experience.

 

I will keep that in mind, but we will see how it plays out first. I'm sure the car will eventually arrive. We will definitely let them know what we think of this whole deal. I know many people who have been very satisfied with the dealer. This is the first time we have bought anything from them (and is looking like the last). Maybe they don't rate customer satisfaction and service high on their list.

[ice-capades]

I doubt that is the case here. This dealer, whom I will not name at this time but will say is in the midwest, is huge. I have heard they are near the top in total yearly Ford sales in the US. They are near the top, if not the top, seller of Ford trucks in the US. Their claim to fame is they have sold vehicles to people in every state in the US. Maybe they are trying to become the top seller in the country, so don't want to risk loosing any sale. They also own many other franchises in this area of different brands.

 

 

 

I will keep that in mind, but we will see how it plays out first. I'm sure the car will eventually arrive. We will definitely let them know what we think of this whole deal. I know many people who have been very satisfied with the dealer. This is the first time we have bought anything from them (and is looking like the last). Maybe they don't rate customer satisfaction and service high on their list.

 

 

I guess I'll have to give the Dealer the benefit of doubt. I get passionate about issues concerning customer satisfaction and how responsive Dealers are to customer inquiries about vehicle status, etc. I'll look forward to hearing that the vehicle arrived!

[KCM1]

Update.

 

It has been four weeks and still no car, but now more facts have come to light to explain most of the problem. After four weeks the sales manager finally made the inquiries necessary. Turns out the reason the car never arrived when expected is that it has been put on shipment hold twice by Ford. The first time had something to do with a rear view mirror (the car as the rear view camera and BLIS), which has been corrected. The second ongoing hold is due to wheel studs, which affects 3500 cars. They did not have any info on when this problem would be corrected and the car allowed to ship. So it sounds like the only crime here was that the dealer (sales manager and saleman) did not follow up or check on the car in a timely manner, and that we were lied to at one point by a manager saying that the car could not be tracked. This is something we made clear we were not happy about.

 

As far as the rebates and financing, they admitted that a mistake had been made and that financing is not required for cash purchase rebates. A different finance guy showed us a new to them form called a VIN??? which, when your zip code and VIN number are entered, prints out all the available incentives and financing the buyer may be eligible for. On the sheet he showed how the mistake was made, as the rebate and financing rate where shown right together, making it look like you needed financing to get the rebate, which is not the case. Since he said the finance papers cannot be filed until the car is delivered, he say the papers will be trashed and all other paperwork will be redone when the car is delivered.

 

So it looks like most issues have been resolved, but we are still playing the waiting game. The salesman has vowed to keep us up-to-date on a regular basis on the status. Isn't there a saying about information being power, but it can also bring peace of mind.

Edited September 15, 2010 by KCM1