Sorry To Hit The Brakes? Ordering mess...

[ChasingCoral]

I'll call Ford about switching Dealers after I hear back from the current Dealer (on whether they will order based on my refundable deposit).

It’ll be easier to cancel and start over. At this point it won’t impact your delivery date much.

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[Az MachE]

It’ll be easier to cancel and start over. At this point it won’t impact your delivery date much.

I agree with ChasingCoral. Cancel your order and get your $500 refunded. Go find a dealer that will give you what you want in writing. Then order again. If you stay with the current dealer and they accept the order, then you cannot back out of your purchase without losing your deposit.

 

[JellyBelly]

I'll call Ford about switching Dealers after I hear back from the current Dealer (on whether they will order based on my refundable deposit).

Switching dealers via Ford is the only option but it has been reported by many to both be easy and difficult. - a mixed bag of experience. Given your order is relatively recent, it may be easier to place another order online with the right dealer if your current dealer is not willing to get on board.

 

[1pt21Gigawatts]

I agree with ChasingCoral. Cancel your order and get your $500 refunded. Go find a dealer that will give you what you want in writing. Then order again. If you stay with the current dealer and they accept the order, then you cannot back out of your purchase without losing your deposit.

@SoriceConsulting woah all this conjecture, my dealer literally just thought they had already submitted it. The system is set up confusingly, just call them and explain they need to click on “order submission portal” or something like that to actually confirm your order.

It’s a new system they’ve never had to use before and my dealer had gotten an email auto generated when I confirmed my order (and I’m sure yours did as well) that is phrased poorly and makes it seem like the order submission is done automatically. It is not, they have to click into that new system and put it in there.

Don’t need to lose your place in line, just call them and tell them about the system. Mine were just confused not malicious. They can call their Ford corporate sales rep to ask for a walkthrough if they’re confused.

 

[RyZt]

If you stay with the current dealer and they accept the order, then you cannot back out of your purchase without losing your deposit.

Based on my understanding, this statement isn't true in general. I had my dealer commit in writing (text message) that the deposit is refundable.

However, given what we've learned about your dealer, it's probably in the best of your interest to assume the worst. Therefore, I agree with @Az MachE.

Since your didn't have a reservation, and your order timestamp is Oct 8. It doesn't make much difference at all. (I expect a very small number of people ordered between Oct 8 and now.)

 

[trutolife27]

Sales and Delivery Requirements

• The dealership may require the New Vehicle Purchase Program customer to make a deposit when placing a vehicle order. Some or all of this deposit may be retained by the dealership if the customer declines to accept delivery of the product ordered. An agreement in writing should be reached with the dealership concerning the amount of the deposit and the conditions under which it may be retained by the dealership if the transaction is not completed.
• Lease transactions may require a refundable security deposit. The security deposit is held until the end of the lease and is refunded, provided that the lease terms have been satisfied. The deposit is usually equal to one month's payment, rounded to the next $25.
• 
  
• Dealerships will notify the customer as soon as the vehicle has been prepared for delivery. New Vehicle Purchase Program customers must accept delivery and make final settlement within five working days of notification by the dealership that the vehicle is available for delivery. Unless otherwise agreed to between the dealership and the New Vehicle Purchase Program customer, vehicle disposition becomes the sole responsibility of the delivering dealership on the sixth day.

 

[RyZt]

Actually, can OP even switch dealer?

I'm pretty sure that one can change the dealer on reservations, but not on orders. Can yet-to-be-accepted orders be switched to a new dealer?

 

[JellyBelly]

Actually, can OP even switch dealer?

I'm pretty sure that one can change the dealer on reservations, but not on orders. Can yet-to-be-accepted orders be switched to a new dealer?

I believe so - it was the same issue the first few week when orders started. Technically not different other than skipping the reservation step

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Sales and Delivery Requirements

• The dealership may require the New Vehicle Purchase Program customer to make a deposit when placing a vehicle order. Some or all of this deposit may be retained by the dealership if the customer declines to accept delivery of the product ordered. An agreement in writing should be reached with the dealership concerning the amount of the deposit and the conditions under which it may be retained by the dealership if the transaction is not completed.
• Lease transactions may require a refundable security deposit. The security deposit is held until the end of the lease and is refunded, provided that the lease terms have been satisfied. The deposit is usually equal to one month's payment, rounded to the next $25.
• 
  
• Dealerships will notify the customer as soon as the vehicle has been prepared for delivery. New Vehicle Purchase Program customers must accept delivery and make final settlement within five working days of notification by the dealership that the vehicle is available for delivery. Unless otherwise agreed to between the dealership and the New Vehicle Purchase Program customer, vehicle disposition becomes the sole responsibility of the delivering dealership on the sixth day.

Nice boilerplate. Getting dealers to uphold their end is another matter.

 

[jlauro]

It’ll be easier to cancel and start over. At this point it won’t impact your delivery date much.

Right.... After waiting almost a year, the delay of another year isn't much.

 

[jlauro]

Personally I would just wait until they have a test drive unit. You should have until the end of the year to finish your order and they should have a test drive available by then. You certainly shouldn't cancel until you get a refundable order from someone else if you can find a dealer willing to do that without any ADM this late without a reservation in place. Worst case leaving the current order should be Ford cancels it at the end of the year returning your $500.

 

[mamejunkie]

Right.... After waiting almost a year, the delay of another year isn't much.

ChasingCoral is referring to the OP which ordered on 10/8/2020. The OP didn't wait a year and the difference in delivery date from 10/8 to 10/16 order won't be of any significance. So it is probably easy and less stressful to cancel and reorder than it is to fight with the dealer. And the main point is that this particular dealer wants a non-refundable deposit.

 

[SoriceConsulting]

I'm thinking at this point I'll just let things stand. I already have (in writing) that the $500 the dealer has at this point is fully refundable:

"The initial deposit you placed with Ford, which was forwarded to our dealership can be refunded, if you decide not to place an order. Once an order placed on a build to your specs, an additional, non-refundable deposit will be collected for that build to be started."

When I sent the dealer a screenshot of the 'Sorry To Hit The Brakes' message from Ford, the reply was:

"This is a note from Ford informing you the order request sent to our dealership.
This request is in holding pattern until you physically come to the dealership
to initiate an order for build.

-you sign off on a specifically equipped Mach E vehicle to your liking
- a buyers order is signed. This is an agreement on the sale price of the vehicle.
- a $1,000 deposit left to get the actual order placed to the factory for build.
- a credit application will be taken when you come in, along with a copy of your driver's license.

If you wait until an actual Mach E arrives at the dealership for you to see, I will call you when we have one here, otherwise you can schedule a time to come in prior to a Mach E at the dealership".

Guess there's no harm in just waiting it out. I'm actually going to see a real Mach-E this coming Monday (at Fullerton Ford in Union, NJ), so I'll get a good idea about the car - but without driving it I'll still need to wait a bit longer to make a final decision. I'll also see what their sales policy is - can't hurt to have a little dealer competition...

 

[jlauro]

ChasingCoral is referring to the OP which ordered on 10/8/2020. The OP didn't wait a year and the difference in delivery date from 10/8 to 10/16 order won't be of any significance. So it is probably easy and less stressful to cancel and reorder than it is to fight with the dealer. And the main point is that this particular dealer wants a non-refundable deposit.

Ah.... Some reason I was thinking it was reserved earlier and just converted to an order but given there was no reserve, that wouldn't make much difference in final delivery.

 

[SoriceConsulting]

That's part of the confusion (at least for me). When I went on the Ford site, there was no 'reserve' option, it was just an 'order' option. So it looks like my 'order' deposit went to the dealer, who has not 'accepted' the order yet, as they want me to come in and finalize it (and at that point commit to a non-refundable build deposit).

Seems like others have had their orders 'accepted' by the dealer based on the (refundable) deposit - I guess those dealers are willing to take delivery of the car (whether the customer follows through or not), thinking that it will be popular enough that they will be able to easily sell it to someone else.

Is my thinking correct?

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