Does Dealer Allocation Matter for Factory Order

[Schpark]

If I place a factory order does a dealer have to have allocation for the order to be processed timely? Or does it only matter when the order is placed. I do not want to place an order only to have later orders jump ahead of mine because the dealer does not have allocation. I plan on ordering a 2013 Flex tomorrow. hopefully this is a non-issue and I can just focus on price.

 

Thanks,

 

Mark

[Pioneer]

No allocation, no order. Your order would go through when they have it.

[Schpark]

No allocation, no order. Your order would go through when they have it.

 

Is this something a salesman may not know about? Who at the dealership will know this the best and be able to tell me when they have allocation, fleet manager? Sales manger?

[Pioneer]

I think the sales manager would know. Dean would have a better understanding of it and will more than likely be online soon to answer.

[Deanh]

Is this something a salesman may not know about? Who at the dealership will know this the best and be able to tell me when they have allocation, fleet manager? Sales manger?

Dealer principal, or the individual that orders the vehicles would know, Salesmanagers may avoid answering for fear of losing the order to another dealer that DOES have allocation.....let me know the response when you ask if they have allocation...although Idoubt a Flex will have issues, now if it was a Raptor....

[akirby]

Sales manager knows but probably won't tell you. The only difference between a stock order and a retail (sold) order is the priority. Retail orders get built before stock orders but he dealer still has to have allocation in the first place. Unless it's a very very small dealer allocation on a Flex shouldn't be an issue.

 

The exception is if the vehicle has Retail Order Verification - then your car is built without regard to the dealer's allocation. But that's only on certain vehicles and usually only for a specific amount of time.

[Schpark]

Here is the response I got from the salesperson

 

"This should not be a problem with allocation, I think there should not be any problems getting your vehicle here by May."

 

She also referred to her manager approval later on for a different item so I don't think she is acting indpendently.

 

Am I just worrying too much?

[akirby]

Am I just worrying too much?

 

For a Flex? Yes. They are neither high demand or short supply so I wouldn't worry.

 

(The allocation is on a per-vehicle basis so Flex allocation isn't impacted by allocation for other vehicles.)

Edited February 22, 2013 by akirby

[Schpark]

For a Flex? Yes. They are neither high demand or short supply so I wouldn't worry.

 

(The allocation is on a per-vehicle basis so Flex allocation isn't impacted by allocation for other vehicles.)

Below is another reponse I have received elsewhere. The 4 or 5 months comment has/had me a little worried.

 

 

"Even if the dealer has given you #1 priority on their list, they are still waiting for their slot to open up in the system.

 

Even though my dealer swore he had allocation, and gave me the highest priority he could offer, it still took longer than expected to get my build date (whatever is shown in my signature line). But my coworker, who ordered from a dealer without allocation and was quite a ways down the priority list, waited something like four or five months for his."

 

[akirby]

Below is another reponse I have received elsewhere. The 4 or 5 months comment has/had me a little worried.

 

 

"Even if the dealer has given you #1 priority on their list, they are still waiting for their slot to open up in the system.

 

Even though my dealer swore he had allocation, and gave me the highest priority he could offer, it still took longer than expected to get my build date (whatever is shown in my signature line). But my coworker, who ordered from a dealer without allocation and was quite a ways down the priority list, waited something like four or five months for his."

 

 

That seems way out of line for a Flex. Sometimes there are material holds on specific options or features due to supplier issues, etc. and that can delay a normal 6-8 week build. Ordering a new model year early will also cause a much longer than normal delay. All you can do is place the order and wait.

 

Did your dealer do a search for a similar vehicle in stock that they could trade for?

[Schpark]

That seems way out of line for a Flex. Sometimes there are material holds on specific options or features due to supplier issues, etc. and that can delay a normal 6-8 week build. Ordering a new model year early will also cause a much longer than normal delay. All you can do is place the order and wait.

 

Did your dealer do a search for a similar vehicle in stock that they could trade for?

 

Yep, kind of but he only searched locally. I used the Ford dealer inventory search and plugged in zip code across the country, not exhaustive but the only hit I could find was several states away and was in 3rd or 4th favorite color.

[silvrsvt]

I found this website in another thread here a few months ago, I'm not quite sure what it means or if it even is applicable to retail orders, but it looks like a typical Flex order takes 10-12 weeks to process

 

http://www.donlen.com/production-trucks-ford.aspx

 

I placed an order for an SHO at the start of the month and have someone on another website tracking it and it still hasn't been given a VIN yet, and Taurus orders are supposed to take 6-8 weeks to fill according to this website.

[CMXNRG]

Is dealer allocation a limit on the number of vehicles a dealer can order of a specific model line? or is it a monthly allotment of vehicles?

[akirby]

By model. Flex allocation shouldn't be affected by Mustang allocation. However, production capacity could be affected by other models at the same plant.

[svtenthusiast]

It's BS customers have to even worry about this. It's a SOLD vehicle and Ford playing games with dealers that in affect penalizes customers with longer wait times when dealing with smaller dealers is BS.