Build date

[eastern refugee]

Its a LOT less automated than you might expect... Almost like they really don't care about making the sale. I had to BEG my local Dealer to look into my order status, and they didn't even know how to check on a mach-e. Took them days to confirm I even had an actual order, and a couple more days to confirm that it looked like the build would be 'sometime this coming week', but were unable to provide a link, or VIN, or any actual info.

;(

Ummm. That is your dealer. Mine had no issues. They gave me the vin when I asked.

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[dtbaker61]

Ummm. That is your dealer. Mine had no issues. They gave me the vin when I asked.

agreed, my Dealer seems 'uninformed' at best.

At what point was your VIN available? not until 'built'?

Was it Ford, or your Dealer, that confirmed your 'built date' and gave your VIN?

How about ship date? Have you been contacted by Ford, or is it up to your Dealer?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

agreed, my Dealer seems 'uninformed' at best.

At what point was your VIN available? not until 'built'?

Was it Ford, or your Dealer, that confirmed your 'built date' and gave your VIN?

How about ship date? Have you been contacted by Ford, or is it up to your Dealer?

Unfortunately your complaints are far too common. Many dealers are neglecting the MME customers and providing little, if any, support or information to them. Others are better. The Mach-e is a very small market for most dealers and it's getting lost in the shuffle imo. They're focused on the demand for the Bronco atm.

As for your VIN, that is available as soon as the car is scheduled for production. My build week isn't until 1/24/21 and I've had the VIN for several weeks now. The dealers can provide it.

 

[eastern refugee]

agreed, my Dealer seems 'uninformed' at best.

At what point was your VIN available? not until 'built'?

Was it Ford, or your Dealer, that confirmed your 'built date' and gave your VIN?

How about ship date? Have you been contacted by Ford, or is it up to your Dealer?

When I read on here that people were getting their vin numbers I contacted the inventory manager at Galpin I think it was late October. I had received an email from Ford stating that my build week was 11/27. I contacted the inventory manager and he gave me both
My VIN number and that the exact date of my build was 12/4

 

[macchiaz-o]

When I read on here that people were getting their vin numbers I contacted the inventory manager at Galpin I think it was late October. I had received an email from Ford stating that my build week was 11/27. I contacted the inventory manager and he gave me both
My VIN number and that the exact date of my build was 12/4

@dtbaker61 -- "Inventory manager" is the key to getting your VIN. Ask your contact at the dealer to query the inventory manager for your VIN and scheduled build date.

 

[dbsb3233]

Unfortunately your complaints are far too common. Many dealers are neglecting the MME customers and providing little, if any, support or information to them. Others are better. The Mach-e is a very small market for most dealers and it's getting lost in the shuffle imo. They're focused on the demand for the Bronco atm.

To be fair, I see that as about half on the dealers, and half on Ford. They've done a pretty weak job of communicating info to dealers on how the orders work, status, what they should be telling customers, etc. (Especially MachDrop, but everything else too.)

I know... COVID. But still.

 

[eastern refugee]

agreed, my Dealer seems 'uninformed' at best.

At what point was your VIN available? not until 'built'?

Was it Ford, or your Dealer, that confirmed your 'built date' and gave your VIN?

How about ship date? Have you been contacted by Ford, or is it up to your Dealer?

When I read on here that people were getting their vin numbers I contacted the inventory manager at Galpin I think it was late October. I had received an email from Ford stating that my build week was 11/27. I contacted the inventory manager and he gave me both
My VIN number and that the exact date of my build was 12/4

To be fair, I see that as about half on the dealers, and half on Ford. They've done a pretty weak job of communicating info to dealers on how the orders work, status, what they should be telling customers, etc. (Especially MachDrop, but everything else too.)

I know... COVID. But still.

I kind of disagree. I know in LA they have had several training sessions for dealers in the LA area at the Westin hotel near the airport. I think it is more on the dealerships not showing up. Also I am disappointed in that Galpin put in a ton of new chargers all over the dealerships for charging but they are all level 2 chargers. I was hoping for a level 3 so that cars would charge faster.

I am in the area for example and want to get a quick 5-10 minute charge. Level 3 would have been awesome. Level2 not so much.

 

[dbsb3233]

I kind of disagree. I know in LA they have had several training sessions for dealers in the LA area at the Westin hotel near the airport. I think it is more on the dealerships not showing up.

Might be the case in that location but I don't think it was in most. What I heard was Ford usually sends trainers out to each dealership when there's a new process like this, but COVID got in the way. But that whatever they did as backup was insufficient/ineffective. Again, some of that was probably the dealers themselves not adapting to what Ford was offering, but the fact that it seems so widespread makes me think it was as much Ford as the dealers. (And don't even get me started on how badly MachDrop was botched from the start.)

Also I am disappointed in that Galpin put in a ton of new chargers all over the dealerships for charging but they are all level 2 chargers. I was hoping for a level 3 so that cars would charge faster.

I am in the area for example and want to get a quick 5-10 minute charge. Level 3 would have been awesome. Level2 not so much.

I never really expected dealers to put in DCFC, although ya kinda a figure a few might just choose to do it anyway. From what I've heard about the size of Galpin, they might have been a little more likely. But really, I don't see why any dealer would spend more on it for nothing to really gain.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

To be fair, I see that as about half on the dealers, and half on Ford. They've done a pretty weak job of communicating info to dealers on how the orders work, status, what they should be telling customers, etc. (Especially MachDrop, but everything else too.)

I know... COVID. But still.

Unfortunately, nobody had a template for how to launch a car in a hybrid dealership sales system during a pandemic.

Most of the problems I see on these forums can be traced to lack of commitment to the product on the part of some dealers. They're looking at F150 and Bronco sales, not the BEV which has 4 orders through their dealership. Shortsighted imo. And yeah, FMC could have done better.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I kind of disagree. I know in LA they have had several training sessions for dealers in the LA area at the Westin hotel near the airport. I think it is more on the dealerships not showing up. Also I am disappointed in that Galpin put in a ton of new chargers all over the dealerships for charging but they are all level 2 chargers. I was hoping for a level 3 so that cars would charge faster.

Oddly, given the pandemic and the current status throughout California, the choice of the LAX Westin was actually a very good one.

As for the chargers, of course they did. DCFC is expensive to install, even the 50 kW chargers. Cost-benefit isn't there in their minds. I entirely agree with you though.

 

[RonTCat]

I never really expected dealers to put in DCFC, although ya kinda a figure a few might just choose to do it anyway. From what I've heard about the size of Galpin, they might have been a little more likely. But really, I don't see why any dealer would spend more on it for nothing to really gain.

What do you think a DC fast charger costs? Here's a really small one you can buy for your garage. But only 25kW. Get two and send me one for XMAS .

https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Wallbox-Networked-Commercial-Charging/dp/B06ZY6N3S6

 

[dbsb3233]

What do you think a DC fast charger costs? Here's a really small one you can buy for your garage. But only 25kW. Get two and send me one for XMAS .

https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Wallbox-Networked-Commercial-Charging/dp/B06ZY6N3S6

Holy crap. You can buy 35 Grizzl-E's for that!

Free shipping though. ?

 

[dbsb3233]

Funny thing is, the average charger in a BEV owner's garage probably gets way more use than a customer charger at a dealership. We naturally think a charger for customer use at a place like a dealership would need to be an expensive heavy-duty one designed for high volume use. But the ones in our homes will usually get way more usage (maybe every day).

My dealership's previous building (before they moved into a few building last year) just has a basic L2 charger hung on an outside wall. Basic home unit, probably cost ~$600. Plugshare check-ins averaged barely one charge per month.

 

[RonTCat]

Holy crap. You can buy 35 Grizzl-E's for that!

Free shipping though. ?

The DC fast charger you want the dealer to have is likely 6 figures once the installation is factored in.

 

[JamieGeek]

Funny thing is, the average charger in a BEV owner's garage probably gets way more use than a customer charger at a dealership. We naturally think a charger for customer use at a place like a dealership would need to be an expensive heavy-duty one designed for high volume use. But the ones in our homes will usually get way more usage (maybe every day).

My dealership's previous building (before they moved into a few building last year) just has a basic L2 charger hung on an outside wall. Basic home unit, probably cost ~$600. Plugshare check-ins averaged barely one charge per month.

But you really don't know the ratio of people who plug in and don't check in on plugshare vs those who do.

In the early EV days I'm sure there was more people checking in than not but as more EV's become available I'm sure the ratio has fallen and will continue to fall.

Especially at a dealer's charger as the dealer may plug into it all the time without ever checking in. (I know extreme example since the dealer may not sell many EV's and thus may not need to plug in much--unless a member of the staff has an EV.)

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