Ford's Entire System is FUBAR

[mtd14]

Were you a member of RAV4 forums throughout this time?

If you weren't a member of this forum, and simply placed your order for a Mav, and received an e-mail from Ford every 6 weeks with an update.....it sounds no different than your experience with RAV4. Sounds more like you're dealing with an incompetent Ford dealer, which is unfortunate, but I can assure you there are incompetent Toyota dealers, as I worked at one for a year.

If I wasn’t a member of a forum, I would have never gotten an order in since I never saw an email from the 5-6 dealers I contacted or Ford saying it’s open for the 1 week it was. If someone else wasn’t a member of a forum, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t have known to roll over their order (see the many example posts).

Ford’s process either requires a very competent dealer, or a lot of work for the buyer. Toyota’s requires a dealer that can keep a waitlist. Ford I’m in a lottery for if my car will be built, based on a variety of factors I have limited insight into. Toyota I knew at any given time where I was on the dealer’s waitlist.

Ford takes orders, which could be a positive. But there’s also nothing stopping me from telling my Toyota dealer I want exactly ABC and I’ll wait similarly. If Ford produced their vehicles in order and buyers could see where they are, and if they auto rolled over between years, then I would say it’s similar and no extra work required.

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[NJBob]

Quick rant: Placed my Maverick order and gave a $500 deposit on Jan. 25, 2022. You can see additional details in my signature.

Basically zero communication from dealer after than unless I initiated, but I kept track of the order scheduling process through @fordvideoguy. Thank God for Tim!

As a result of Tim's videos, I asked my dealer to move me from Priority 19 to Priority 10 last summer, which he did. Miraculously, I received a VIN for my truck in late August just before scheduling was cut off for the 2022 model year. Like most people, I went through the "build week shuffle" with multiple re-schedulings until mid-November when my truck was finally built -- I think with about a week of model year 2022 production remaining -- and shipped out.

It took about 2.5 weeks to get from the factory in Mexico to the final rail depot in Wilmington, DE, where it has now been sitting for the past week. My dealer initially told me he would request a "hot tag" for my truck to expedite delivery. However, it continues to sit in Wilmington without even a scheduled ETA for arrival. Today, I checked with the dealer again and he basically told me, there is a shortage of truck drivers and it will get there when it gets there.

So, with my wait at 323 days and counting, I now have a fully built 2022 Maverick sitting in a lot in Delaware and apparently there isn't a darn thing I or anyone else can do about it. It could show up tomorrow. It could show up in mid-January, likely after thousands of others folks have taken delivery of their 2023 Mavericks.

So, bottom line, Ford's entire process -- from placing your Maverick order to finally taking delivery -- is FUBAR. If Ford hired a team of "experts" to complicate and prolong this process, I am not sure they could make the process of obtaining one of these unicorns any more cumbersome or drawn out than it already is.

Don't get me wrong; I am REALLY excited about the truck, and I sure as heck will not be walking away at this point. However, I swear I will NEVER sign up for another vehicle buying process like this again. Hands down, the worst shopping experience of my life.

I ordered a month before you. Two weeks to get to Newark NJ. Another two weeks to get to the dealer. And the truck was filthy. It did clean up pretty good. And mine was built and shipped the same day. I tried to sign up with united trucking but got an email saying the tracking was only for their customers. Today they sent me a delivery receipt a month after I got the truck.

 

[NJBob]

That's good perspective. Thank you. In the grand scheme of things, if I have to wait another month for my truck, it's not the end of the world. It is a bit galling though, considering I'll be taking delivery of a "new" 2022 vehicle in January of 2023.

You can track the railcar. But once it gets to the yard you loose visibility. Knowing your truck is 50 miles away and anticipating the delivery was tge hardest part.

 

[onetequilatwo]

You are right. But trust me, if/when yours is built and it finally gets THAT CLOSE, you will experience and understand a whole new level of eagerness and frustration. As I told my dealer, I feel I have been relatively patient through this entire process. But now that the truck is sitting there two hours away, it is suddenly very real, and that also makes it quite maddening.

Yes that final leg for the trucker to haul it to the dealer is the hardest and longest part of the delivery process. The rail depot or end of the line was very close to my house, perhaps 25 minutes un non highway roads. Yet it took 11 days to make it to the dealer on a Friday and was ready for delivery on the following Monday, So 2 weeks from be unloaded from the railcar.

 

[CZaugg]

I'm not blaming Ford directly for the shipping issue. I realize that the trucking company is a Ford contractor, and certainly me dealer has no direct control over that.

However, if you take this entire "shopping" experience as a whole, I am not sure Ford could make it more complicated, drawn out or annoying if they hired a whole team of "experts" to do it.

And yes, I realize I'm in a grumpy mood right now because I've been waiting a long time and I just want my truck. Honestly folks, I'm looking for some support here from my MTC family. Talk me off the ledge here until my baby comes home...

Well my friend, we are kind of sorta a family here. We understand your frustration. I'm actually envious of you getting your vehicle built. I ordered my Maverick Oct 9, 2021 and now have a production date of January 6, 23. I don't understand how Ford comes up with their build dates. There are folks who have ordered before me and haven't received a build date and numerous others who like you have ordered after me and have their Mavericks or is in the building/shipping process at this time. As mentioned above, try to be somewhat understanding of the whole process here and don't be too critical of Ford. Other companies are in the same boat as Ford. Case in point: My Toyota Venza's windshield got smacked just over two months ago and I tried to get it replaced. No windshields in stock and had to order. Finally arrived but now because of lack of employees, I have to wait another two weeks to get my car in to have the windshield replaced. So the issue here is lack of employees and transportation. Not enough drivers to ship and not enough employees to produce. Oh ya, I forgot, raw material shortages need to be factored into the solution also. The whole process is screwed up royally! Days of pre pandemic service and availability have NOT returned. Yes, very upsetting. Toyota for awhile, at least in the area where I live, had a hard time getting parts for regular maintenance. It's a shame when you want to schedule a regular maintenance job for your car and the dealer has to put you off because they don't have windshield wiper blades and or oil filters. This all stinks, believe me. Even though I don't like this, I have accepted the facts and have become a little more patient. I'm hoping my scheduled build date in January doesn't get put off again, but if it does, I'm accustomed to the routine now. Get this, even in the medical field you have to play the waiting game. Took me eight months to be able to get in to see my primary doctor for a wellness check. I miss the days of pre pandemic. My friend, we all in Maverick land understand how you feel, for we too are feeling the same. Good to blow off some steam. We hear you. Hope venting helps you feel a tad better. Hang in there my friend.

 

[pa-outdoorsman]

Well my friend, we are kind of sorta a family here. We understand your frustration. I'm actually envious of you getting your vehicle built. I ordered my Maverick Oct 9, 2021 and now have a production date of January 6, 23. I don't understand how Ford comes up with their build dates. There are folks who have ordered before me and haven't received a build date and numerous others who like you have ordered after me and have their Mavericks or is in the building/shipping process at this time. As mentioned above, try to be somewhat understanding of the whole process here and don't be too critical of Ford. Other companies are in the same boat as Ford. Case in point: My Toyota Venza's windshield got smacked just over two months ago and I tried to get it replaced. No windshields in stock and had to order. Finally arrived but now because of lack of employees, I have to wait another two weeks to get my car in to have the windshield replaced. So the issue here is lack of employees and transportation. Not enough drivers to ship and not enough employees to produce. Oh ya, I forgot, raw material shortages need to be factored into the solution also. The whole process is screwed up royally! Days of pre pandemic service and availability have NOT returned. Yes, very upsetting. Toyota for awhile, at least in the area where I live, had a hard time getting parts for regular maintenance. It's a shame when you want to schedule a regular maintenance job for your car and the dealer has to put you off because they don't have windshield wiper blades and or oil filters. This all stinks, believe me. Even though I don't like this, I have accepted the facts and have become a little more patient. I'm hoping my scheduled build date in January doesn't get put off again, but if it does, I'm accustomed to the routine now. Get this, even in the medical field you have to play the waiting game. Took me eight months to be able to get in to see my primary doctor for a wellness check. I miss the days of pre pandemic. My friend, we all in Maverick land understand how you feel, for we too are feeling the same. Good to blow off some steam. We hear you. Hope venting helps you feel a tad better. Hang in there my friend.

Thanks buddy! Misery really does love company, and I do feel better. Gotta take a deep breath and just remind myself that my truck DOES exist, and I WILL get it one day.

Hope yours gets built and delivered to you soon!

 

[projectvortex]

Quick rant: Placed my Maverick order and gave a $500 deposit on Jan. 25, 2022. You can see additional details in my signature.

Basically zero communication from dealer after than unless I initiated, but I kept track of the order scheduling process through @fordvideoguy. Thank God for Tim!

As a result of Tim's videos, I asked my dealer to move me from Priority 19 to Priority 10 last summer, which he did. Miraculously, I received a VIN for my truck in late August just before scheduling was cut off for the 2022 model year. Like most people, I went through the "build week shuffle" with multiple re-schedulings until mid-November when my truck was finally built -- I think with about a week of model year 2022 production remaining -- and shipped out.

It took about 2.5 weeks to get from the factory in Mexico to the final rail depot in Wilmington, DE, where it has now been sitting for the past week. My dealer initially told me he would request a "hot tag" for my truck to expedite delivery. However, it continues to sit in Wilmington without even a scheduled ETA for arrival. Today, I checked with the dealer again and he basically told me, there is a shortage of truck drivers and it will get there when it gets there.

So, with my wait at 323 days and counting, I now have a fully built 2022 Maverick sitting in a lot in Delaware and apparently there isn't a darn thing I or anyone else can do about it. It could show up tomorrow. It could show up in mid-January, likely after thousands of others folks have taken delivery of their 2023 Mavericks.

So, bottom line, Ford's entire process -- from placing your Maverick order to finally taking delivery -- is FUBAR. If Ford hired a team of "experts" to complicate and prolong this process, I am not sure they could make the process of obtaining one of these unicorns any more cumbersome or drawn out than it already is.

Don't get me wrong; I am REALLY excited about the truck, and I sure as heck will not be walking away at this point. However, I swear I will NEVER sign up for another vehicle buying process like this again. Hands down, the worst shopping experience of my life.

Definitely FUBAR. Been waiting since October '21 and now have a build date in sight for a '23 that had been a '22 and got cancelled. There are MANY out here who will never use Ford again for a variety of reasons. I cannot agree more that this has been the single worst customer experience I have ever seen, and I've seen some doozies. At least you have a vehicle coming sooner than many thousands that have been left twisting in the hot air breeze that Ford has been blowing.

 

[Old Ranchero]

That's good perspective. Thank you. In the grand scheme of things, if I have to wait another month for my truck, it's not the end of the world. It is a bit galling though, considering I'll be taking delivery of a "new" 2022 vehicle in January of 2023.

Silver lining: your auto insurance should be cheaper buying it for a 1-year old low mileage car!

 

[Edge Haley]

While I agree there is are plenty of things with Ford's process that could use some improvement, I would think they would have the least control over the shipping process. Unless you are suggesting they create their own rail company and car carrier company.

My truck was last reported on a railcar in Hermosilla and is now 'in transit' so I sympathize. But I don't see how Ford, or any other car company could improve the shipping without bringing that in house. Shipping in general is a nightmare and has been for several years, not just cars but all manner of goods.

Tesla has in the past paid factory employees to help drive cars to customers to make their delivery schedule. But I don't see Ford doing that.

Ten yrs ago I ordered a Mini-Cooper from an Atlanta dealer. Mini-cooper provided a link as to exactly where the Cooper was in the assembly line and when it was loaded on a ship to cross the Atlantic, I could see every hour where the car was located on the Atlantic...then hour by hour updates when it was shipped by truck...provided a blinking icon on a map was to what the status of delivery was. Literally knew the minute it was unloaded at the dealership. UPS, Amazon, etc do it with a package Ford could do it was a truck.

Mini-Cooper is about 5% of the size of Ford Motor Company, if they can do it ..others can.

 

[NJBob]

Yeah I remember buying leftovers at a nice discount. Afraid those days are gone.

 

[Jatrax]

UPS, Amazon, etc do it with a package Ford could do it was a truck.

Agree, they could. Question is what is the motivation for them to do so? Except for rare situations (Maverick, Mach-E, Lightening) the vast majority of 'orders' are from dealers that are for stock for the sales lot. The dealer does have access to rail car tracking so they can tell where the car is and when to expect it.

Setting that all up like UPS / Amazon would be an expensive undertaking. Very cool, but expensive and at least right now, not of much value to the vast majority of buyers. Going forward if Ford really does want to move to a system where you order direct at Ford and receive at your chosen dealer then yes, they will definitely need a more customer centric system.

But in order for that to be important to Ford they need to start considering the end user as their customer, not the dealers. Not sure that will ever happen.

 

[fullsend123]

Same exact build as you @pa-outdoorsman same built and shipped date too. Heck, probably on the same railcar. Stuck in Wilmington, as well. Hang in there. Soon enough.

 

[Red Ryder]

Blame it on whomever you want, the bottom line is that the OP's experience in buying a Ford is real.
If this new model of "build to order" is the industry norm across the board, then it is a level playing field. However, getting product to consumer is competitive in itself.

One key component to business success is producing a desirable product and making it available to the customer. In a fiercely competitive market, whomever does that wins.

The Maverick is unique at the moment. However, if there were worthy competitors available, many would have jumped. Automobile purchases are not a year lead time item. Traditionally, most are impulsive.

 

[pa-outdoorsman]

Same exact build as you @pa-outdoorsman same built and shipped date too. Heck, probably on the same railcar. Stuck in Wilmington, as well. Hang in there. Soon enough.

We're in this together!

 

[AHarris67]

Welcome to the club. My truck has been sitting in KC for months. Build date of 8/30.

Under those circumstances and after a month of waiting, I think I would be taking my F150 and a trailer to KC to get the damn thing myself if Ford allowed me.

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