Drop Ship / Courtesy Delivery -- does it cause further delay?

[Terroirnosaurus]

I ordered a F450 Limited in August 2021 and was scheduled for production 12/6/2021.  I got my shipping email on 12/13/2021 for delivery between 12/25 and 12/31.  

 

The wrinkle is that I bought the truck out of a local dealer in CA, but am dropping shipping to a dealer in IA near an air suspension upfitter for install.  

 

My selling dealer says it's "shipped" and there's no update beyond that.  The drop ship dealer says they don't have any visibility at all since it is a drop ship.  Ford marketing said the truck is "pending update."  

 

My selling dealer said that I had to complete all title paperwork before the drop ship could occur, so I did that (perhaps ignorantly giving up some leverage?), but also because I had a PCO set to expire on January 3rd, 2022 -- so I "own" the truck already, but really have no idea where it is or if has even shipped.

 

My VIN is 1FT8W4DT0NED14495.

 

I'm aware of the commodity/shipping constraints, have no problems waiting, and was pleasantly surprised to even get it built this year.  However, it is somewhat unsettling that I already bought a 100K truck and no one knows where it is...

 

Is this somewhat expected due to the additional complications of a drop ship / courtesy delivery or should I just chalk this up to the current environment, or both?  

 

Thank you all!

[ice-capades]

33 minutes ago, Terroirnosaurus said:

I ordered a F450 Limited in August 2021 and was scheduled for production 12/6/2021.  I got my shipping email on 12/13/2021 for delivery between 12/25 and 12/31.  

 

The wrinkle is that I bought the truck out of a local dealer in CA, but am dropping shipping to a dealer in IA near an air suspension upfitter for install.  

 

My selling dealer says it's "shipped" and there's no update beyond that.  The drop ship dealer says they don't have any visibility at all since it is a drop ship.  Ford marketing said the truck is "pending update."  

 

My selling dealer said that I had to complete all title paperwork before the drop ship could occur, so I did that (perhaps ignorantly giving up some leverage?), but also because I had a PCO set to expire on January 3rd, 2022 -- so I "own" the truck already, but really have no idea where it is or if has even shipped.

 

My VIN is 1FT8W4DT0NED14495.

 

I'm aware of the commodity/shipping constraints, have no problems waiting, and was pleasantly surprised to even get it built this year.  However, it is somewhat unsettling that I already bought a 100K truck and no one knows where it is...

 

Is this somewhat expected due to the additional complications of a drop ship / courtesy delivery or should I just chalk this up to the current environment, or both?  

 

Thank you all!

 

I've pulled your Window Sticker and looked at the Dealer Invoice. 

 

The Dealer Invoice was created on 11/30/2021. Vehicle was sold to Hoblit Motors (72V436) in Colusa, CA and being shipped to Kraig Ford in Oskaloosa, IA

 

I don't have tracking access for other dealership's vehicles but wanted to share this information with you.

 

A "Drop Ship" does not cause any additional delay. The vehicle is just shipped to a different location. Dealerships charge a "Courtesy Delivery" fee for vehicles drop shipped to them for delivery with the fee quoted from the delivering Dealer to the selling Dealer in advance when the request for authorization for the Drop Ship is granted and the delivery fee agreed. 

 

 

1FT8W4DT0NED14495_WS.pdf

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by ice-capades
Additional content

[Terroirnosaurus]

Thanks ice-capades.  All that information checks out -- good to have independent verification.

[Terroirnosaurus]

Would anyone know how to get in contact with a regional manager or someone at the corporate level?

 

I did the paperwork and purchased the vehicle on 12/30 -- primarily because my salesperson told me it was mandatory before the drop ship could occur but also because I had an expiring PCO on 1/3.

 

The inventory manager at my purchasing dealership told me that he no longer has any tracking visibility into the vehicle because it was sold and he does not know where the truck I paid 100K for is...

 

That seems very silly and backwards.  I tried calling Ford corporate but they have no visibility either at least at the initial customer service level.  Is there anything I can do to learn more?  

 

On 1/7/2022 at 9:15 AM, ice-capades said:

 

I've pulled your Window Sticker and looked at the Dealer Invoice. 

 

The Dealer Invoice was created on 11/30/2021. Vehicle was sold to Hoblit Motors (72V436) in Colusa, CA and being shipped to Kraig Ford in Oskaloosa, IA

 

I don't have tracking access for other dealership's vehicles but wanted to share this information with you.

 

A "Drop Ship" does not cause any additional delay. The vehicle is just shipped to a different location. Dealerships charge a "Courtesy Delivery" fee for vehicles drop shipped to them for delivery with the fee quoted from the delivering Dealer to the selling Dealer in advance when the request for authorization for the Drop Ship is granted and the delivery fee agreed. 

 

 

1FT8W4DT0NED14495_WS.pdf

 

 

[akirby]

23 minutes ago, Terroirnosaurus said:

Would anyone know how to get in contact with a regional manager or someone at the corporate level?

 

I did the paperwork and purchased the vehicle on 12/30 -- primarily because my salesperson told me it was mandatory before the drop ship could occur but also because I had an expiring PCO on 1/3.

 

The inventory manager at my purchasing dealership told me that he no longer has any tracking visibility into the vehicle because it was sold and he does not know where the truck I paid 100K for is...

 

That seems very silly and backwards.  I tried calling Ford corporate but they have no visibility either at least at the initial customer service level.  Is there anything I can do to learn more?  

 

 

Well, now you know why you should never purchase a vehicle that you can’t see and touch.  
 

Your purchasing dealer can get in trouble for doing that.  Tell them you paid them for a truck you don’t have and they need to get on the phone with the other dealership and figure out where it is or give you your money back.  You should not be caught in the middle here.

[Terroirnosaurus]

Right -- definitely lesson learned here.  I just figured in this current environment there would be lots of hiccups.  I'm okay with waiting and even buying before delivery but to not know where the vehicle is because I "bought" it seems crazy.

[tbone]

This isn’t an unusual scenario.  My cousin just did this and also had some issues locating the vehicle.  His truck was purchased at a dealer in Iowa and delivered to a dealer in Virginia. With Cyberdman’s help on tracking the vehicle, it showed it was delivered to the dealer in Virginia.  The receiving dealer still has to do the pre-delivery process, as a fee is paid for this.  Ford should be able to show if and when the truck was delivered to Kraig Ford.

 

In my cousin’s case, the receiving dealer wasn’t good at communicating, and the truck was stored at a remote lot. I don’t know if they made him a low priority because he didn’t buy the truck from him, but he won’t be able to get it for a week after it was delivered.  

[ice-capades]

1 hour ago, Terroirnosaurus said:

Would anyone know how to get in contact with a regional manager or someone at the corporate level?

 

I did the paperwork and purchased the vehicle on 12/30 -- primarily because my salesperson told me it was mandatory before the drop ship could occur but also because I had an expiring PCO on 1/3.

 

The inventory manager at my purchasing dealership told me that he no longer has any tracking visibility into the vehicle because it was sold and he does not know where the truck I paid 100K for is...

 

That seems very silly and backwards.  I tried calling Ford corporate but they have no visibility either at least at the initial customer service level.  Is there anything I can do to learn more?  

 

Contact information for the Regional Manager or executives at the corporate level is not available to customers. The sales paperwork has absolutely nothing to do with vehicles being drop shipped to another location. The vehicle is simply shipped to the drop ship location instead of the ordering dealership. Ford has no way of monitoring when customer paperwork is signed, etc. and it would be a logistics nightmare if there was a requirement for paperwork t be signed prior to a vehicle being shipped. In addition, the ordering Dealer still has full vehicle tracking access, all the way to delivery at the drop ship location, through the Vehicle Visibility system as the vehicle is part of the dealership's inventory.  

Edited January 19, 2022 by ice-capades
typo

[ice-capades]

32 minutes ago, tbone said:

This isn’t an unusual scenario.  My cousin just did this and also had some issues locating the vehicle.  His truck was purchased at a dealer in Iowa and delivered to a dealer in Virginia. With Cyberdman’s help on tracking the vehicle, it showed it was delivered to the dealer in Virginia.  The receiving dealer still has to do the pre-delivery process, as a fee is paid for this.  Ford should be able to show if and when the truck was delivered to Kraig Ford.

 

In my cousin’s case, the receiving dealer wasn’t good at communicating, and the truck was stored at a remote lot. I don’t know if they made him a low priority because he didn’t buy the truck from him, but he won’t be able to get it for a week after it was delivered.  

 

The Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) fee is paid automatically to the ordering Dealer by Ford. Dealers having vehicles drop shipped to another location or dealership usually pay a "Courtesy Delivery" fee to the dealership delivering the vehicle which includes reimbursing the other dealership for the PDI work.  

[tbone]

24 minutes ago, ice-capades said:

 

The Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) fee is paid automatically to the ordering Dealer by Ford. Dealers having vehicles drop shipped to another location or dealership usually pay a "Courtesy Delivery" fee to the dealership delivering the vehicle which includes reimbursing the other dealership for the PDI work.  

So it is fair to say there should be tracking information that shows it was delivered to Kraig Ford at minimum, which should be available to the purchasing dealer.  

[ice-capades]

13 minutes ago, tbone said:

So it is fair to say there should be tracking information that shows it was delivered to Kraig Ford at minimum, which should be available to the purchasing dealer.  

 

 Vehicle was sold to Hoblit Motors (72V436) in Colusa, CA and being shipped to Kraig Ford in Oskaloosa, IA. The selling/ordering Dealer (Hoblit) has full tracking access via Vehicle Visibility.   

[Terroirnosaurus]

I paid the courtesy delivery fee to the purchasing dealer and it's been relayed to the receiving dealer for the PDI.  I've talked to the GM at the receiving dealer (Kraig Ford) and they said "because it is a drop ship, I have even less visibility than your purchasing dealer. I know it's hard to wait, but I have no information about it."

 

I've talked to several people at my purchasing dealer (Hoblit) and they all say the same thing: "Because you purchased it, we can't track it anymore.  It's an issue with "Ford's systems".  They also said that they had an employee do the same thing and purchase a vehicle before delivery and they also can no longer track it.  The entire thing seems very silly (and hard to believe).  There has to be someone at my purchasing dealer that knows what's going on?

Edited January 19, 2022 by Terroirnosaurus

[ice-capades]

16 minutes ago, Terroirnosaurus said:

I paid the courtesy delivery fee to the purchasing dealer and it's been relayed to the receiving dealer for the PDI.  I've talked to the GM at the receiving dealer (Kraig Ford) and they said "because it is a drop ship, I have even less visibility than your purchasing dealer. I know it's hard to wait, but I have no information about it."

 

I've talked to several people at my purchasing dealer (Hoblit) and they all say the same thing: "Because you purchased it, we can't track it anymore.  It's an issue with "Ford's systems".  They also said that they had an employee do the same thing and purchase a vehicle before delivery and they also can no longer track it.  The entire thing seems very silly (and hard to believe).  There has to be someone at my purchasing dealer that knows what's going on?

 

Your Dealer is "full of it". The Dealer has full access to the tracking information until long after the vehicle is delivered and the sale reported to Ford. 

[Terroirnosaurus]

Thanks for the good info so far everyone.

 

I just called up Kraig Ford and spoke to the GM again.   I asked if it was true that once a vehicle is sold, it is no longer trackable? He said "100% accurate".  LOL.  He told me not to get panicked about it though and that it will show up sooner or later.  Obviously I made the error here by believing my salesperson in that the paperwork had to be done before the drop ship could occur.  Lesson learned.

 

I asked more about the specific situation at Kraig Ford and the GM did tell me that they get cars by rail (even though my sticker says convoy), so it's probably just sitting in the rail yard waiting to get transported.  Here's to hoping?

[ScottK1]

1 hour ago, Terroirnosaurus said:

Thanks for the good info so far everyone.

 

I just called up Kraig Ford and spoke to the GM again.   I asked if it was true that once a vehicle is sold, it is no longer trackable? He said "100% accurate".  LOL.  He told me not to get panicked about it though and that it will show up sooner or later.  Obviously I made the error here by believing my salesperson in that the paperwork had to be done before the drop ship could occur.  Lesson learned.

 

I asked more about the specific situation at Kraig Ford and the GM did tell me that they get cars by rail (even though my sticker says convoy), so it's probably just sitting in the rail yard waiting to get transported.  Here's to hoping?

Convoy means rail.

[Terroirnosaurus]

20 hours ago, Mbrooks44 said:

I assume you are having a Kelderman air ride put on it? If so, have you done it before? Curious of your thoughts.

 

Yep -- doing 4 corner air ride with auto leveling.  I have not done it before but will be mostly full-timing a slide-in camper so I figure I'd want the stability/auto leveling/onboard air.

[ice-capades]

23 hours ago, ScottK1 said:

Convoy means rail.

 

Convoy does not mean rail. Convoy refers to vehicles being transported by car carrier. Some Window Stickers show "Convoy" which is not accurate as the majority of vehicles are shipped by rail initially until transferred to a "Convoy" car carrier firm that does the final delivery to the dealership. 

[Terroirnosaurus]

This entire process has been laughably frustrating.  

 

My truck still hasn't been delivered yet.  It was built on 12/10 and was due to be delivered by 12/31.  I paid for it on 12/30 because it was supposed to be imminently delivered (via drop ship), but the moment I did that, it completely dropped from the Ford tracking system according to my dealer.  They told me the way they structured the drop ship was the PDI was charged like a warranty claim, so it had to be reported sold before the truck could be released.  They have repeatedly told me they have no visibility into where it is anymore because it has been reported as sold.  Their regional rep is new so he does not know anything and cannot help.  I've called customer service many times but all they can do is tell me it is in transit and the new date is +7 or +14 days from the last update.  All the while, the warranty, siriusxm trial, activating ford pass/getting my ford points is all ticking down from the 12/30 sold date and I can't do anything about it.

 

Does anyone have a contact at the Ford corporate side higher up than the customer service number?  At what point should I report the truck stolen/missing?

Edited February 8, 2022 by Terroirnosaurus

[road turtle]

23 hours ago, Terroirnosaurus said:

This entire process has been laughably frustrating. 

Stepping into not standard processing is always scary.
.
WRT the question on reporting it stolen, not sure I'd rush right out and do that, but asking CS agent when you should go down that path may get some movement and information.