Ford’s Communication

[generaltso]

If I don't get my car by June, will cancel and order a 2022.

What if the 2022 models don't come out until June of that year?

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[Ponypower50]

Lets hope Ford gets their production schedules in line with the other vehicles they sell.

 

[Illinibird]

I think a big part of the reason that you're getting less communication from Ford than some other people seem to be getting is because you placed your order through a dealer instead of directly through Ford online. I'm not saying that was wrong, but it seems that Ford is relying on their dealers to provide the communication for these types of orders.

You have a very good point. I never thought of that. My dealer is a great guy (I ordered from the GM who is the son-in-law of my next door neighbor) and he went out of his way to make the ordering process quick and he also accepted Ford's X-Plan readily (my current dealer wouldn't even though I was a customer for over 23 years and I bought 3 cars from them). My new dealer can't find much about my order and tells me if he hear's anything. He changed my order from a std. range battery to ext. with no hassle about a week ago (my car doesn't have a VIN number yet) even though I ordered it 10-12-2020..

 

[Illinibird]

Agreed. I was simply stating that complaining to us about the same thing, many times and in many different posts, is frustrating me. But that's just me. Feel free to continue discussing whatever, as long as we're civil and understanding that we're each different.

If communication seems insufficient and is frustrating, let the marketing department know. They have a phone line dedicated to Mustang Mach-E. It's the same phone number listed throughout the Mach-E ordering and FAQ pages: 800-392-3673. Give them your feedback if you think it might help affect change for you and others in the future.

I apologize. I think my initial response may have been taken more harshly than was intended.

Thank you for saying that and I'm glad you thought about it and you came to the conclusion that it was pretty harsh. Apology accepted. Like I said, I'll try to keep my anger with Ford's communication (lack of) with it's loyal customers bottled up. It just bubbles up occasionally.

 

[Illinibird]

What if the 2022 models don't come out until June of that year?

Good point but you'll probably start the waiting clock over.

 

[Ponypower50]

Funny thing, I did place my order on-line 7-9-20, but shows retail on tracking website.

 

[ARK]

It would be nice if Ford gave more info, but they probably don’t have much info to give. I don’t think this is anything like tracking an Amazon delivery that is to come from a warehouse to your home where they can say order processed, order shipped, out for delivery through scanning a label, I think they often don’t know when production will actually happen, when it will ship once built, how long will it will take to clear customs and cross the border, etc.

I think they probably could refine it on future launches just to check in with customers, but I think people would be going crazy if Ford sent an email with more specific information saying ‘Your MME was built today, and will ship within five business days!’ and the the shipping target was missed.

At the end of the day, Ford is also the wholesaler here and our business is with the dealer. Sadly many dealers have shown just how useless they are. I reserved in November 2019 but they reached out to me for the first time in June 2020 with a message along the lines of ‘who are you?’, thinking I’d submitted an info request that day on their website, followed by a demand to do a credit check - had to clarify I already had an MME order in, no I wasn’t interested in a Mustang coupe on their lot, and no I wouldn’t do a credit check months before even seeing the vehicle. Since then zero updates on estimated delivery, claiming that they have no VIN for me (my MME was built 11/28), no offer of handholding with tax credits or getting the home ready for charging (I can figure all this out on my own, but plenty of people who aren’t the sort of people who join auto forums could benefit from this type of service), and so forth.

Anyway, I think Ford has done an OK job with room for future improvement on the communication front, but dealers have shown just how useless they can be and why they need state law to protect the existence of their businesses because they are otherwise just adding bureaucracy and cost to the transaction to take their guaranteed cut on the sale while providing very little in value in return.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

The last time I special ordered a car, I received exactly zero communications. Including when the car arrived on the lot. No VIN, no "your car is in production/on the way/etc." Literally nothing. The only communication I had was when I decided it'd been long enough to manufacture and deliver and called them. The answer? "Oh, we were wondering who that car belonged to." It had been there for almost 3 weeks. And this was in California. Ford is doing far better imo.

 

[Sweetwater]

When I ordered my Jeep Wrangler we tracked with this code :

Unscheduled:
BX = good order available for scheduling
BB = fleet order only ñ review by bid department
BD = special equipment processing
BE = edit error - coding error which must be corrected before order can be scheduled
BG = order has passes edit but cannot be scheduled regardless of sold status

Reason Codes:
F = finance hold - automatic cancellation after 15 days
B = model or option build out
L = material restriction
M = material hold (fleet)
ZA = canceled order

Scheduled:
C = tentative schedule
D = firm schedule: serial number assigned
D1 = gateline: unit sequenced for production, est ship date assigned

Build:
E = framing
F = paint
G = trim

Built:
I = unit built, pending final inspection
J = vehicle passed final inspection but not released to carrier
JB = shipped to body vendor
JE = shipped to emissions
JJ = consigned to body vendor
JS = shipped to storage
KZ = released by plant and invoiced

Traffic Codes:
KZ L = released but not shipped
KZ M = first rail departure
KZ N = first rail arrival
KZ O = delayed/received
KZ OA = plant hold, quality audit
KZ OB = zone, dealer, sales, vehicle prep, tax, diversion or derailment hold, dealer refusal, vehicle diverted
KZ OC = carrier delay, strike-bound, emission or safety hold, rail car shortage, bad or insufficient load, inclement weather, need shipping order, manifest error
KZ OD = mechanical failure, glass damage, vehicle in repair, lacking parts or storage hold
KZ OE = misdropped or misshipped vehicle
KZ OF = shipped air freight, stolen vehicle recovered, show vehicle, test info code, vessel sailed
KZ OG = damaged vehicle, stolen vehicle, abandon to carrier, vehicle scrapped, donate vehicle, repair and auction
KZ OH = all other type carrier codes
kZ R = vehicle within a few days of dealer
KZ T = second rail departure
KZ U = second rail arrival
KZ X = delivered to dealer
KZ Y1 = major damage ñ must not be sold as new
KZ Y2 = major damage ñ vehicle sold at auction

 

[Newbie]

Lets hope Ford gets their production schedules in line with the other vehicles they sell.

Since the boutique pure EV's are now producing 500k EV's a year, I sure hope Ford can produce 300-500k MME in 2021. Otherwise they will become the boutique EV based on volume. Not being built in USA should help with less regulation for sure.

 

[Orangefirefish]

Thank you for saying that and I'm glad you thought about it and you came to the conclusion that it was pretty harsh. Apology accepted. Like I said, I'll try to keep my anger with Ford's communication (lack of) with it's loyal customers bottled up. It just bubbles up occasionally.

Speaking of apologies, I found the note I received from Ford related to the production delay quite cold. It was devoid of any apology or mention of any inconvenience caused to the customer, or mention of who to contact with any further questions. It wouldn’t have been very difficult to communicate that but found that notification quite insensitive overall.

 

[EV Lab]

If I don't get my car by June, will cancel and order a 2022.

Depending on how many 2021 MMEs are sold, the federal tax incentive might be reduced.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Since the boutique pure EV's are now producing 500k EV's a year, I sure hope Ford can produce 300-500k MME in 2021. Otherwise they will become the boutique EV based on volume. Not being built in USA should help with less regulation for sure.

The 2021 MY Mach-e was originally slated for a worldwide total of 50,000 production units. The limiting factor was and is battery availability. There is some evidence they've been able to obtain additional batteries but how many is a mystery. There will be nowhere near 300,000 MME's built in 2021, even if you add in 2022 MY produced in later 2021.

 

[trutolife27]

The 2021 MY Mach-e was originally slated for a worldwide total of 50,000 production units. The limiting factor was and is battery availability. There is some evidence they've been able to obtain additional batteries but how many is a mystery. There will be nowhere near 300,000 MME's built in 2021, even if you add in 2022 MY produced in later 2021.

300,000 nope. agree on demands in Europe and China will cause ford to open another plant overseas. 100,000 a year is about the max that plant speed is able to make. Also, have to make sure they have enough batteries.

 

[First Edition]

When I ordered my Jeep Wrangler we tracked with this code :

Unscheduled:
BX = good order available for scheduling
BB = fleet order only ñ review by bid department
BD = special equipment processing
BE = edit error - coding error which must be corrected before order can be scheduled
BG = order has passes edit but cannot be scheduled regardless of sold status

Reason Codes:
F = finance hold - automatic cancellation after 15 days
B = model or option build out
L = material restriction
M = material hold (fleet)
ZA = canceled order

Scheduled:
C = tentative schedule
D = firm schedule: serial number assigned
D1 = gateline: unit sequenced for production, est ship date assigned

Build:
E = framing
F = paint
G = trim

Built:
I = unit built, pending final inspection
J = vehicle passed final inspection but not released to carrier
JB = shipped to body vendor
JE = shipped to emissions
JJ = consigned to body vendor
JS = shipped to storage
KZ = released by plant and invoiced

Traffic Codes:
KZ L = released but not shipped
KZ M = first rail departure
KZ N = first rail arrival
KZ O = delayed/received
KZ OA = plant hold, quality audit
KZ OB = zone, dealer, sales, vehicle prep, tax, diversion or derailment hold, dealer refusal, vehicle diverted
KZ OC = carrier delay, strike-bound, emission or safety hold, rail car shortage, bad or insufficient load, inclement weather, need shipping order, manifest error
KZ OD = mechanical failure, glass damage, vehicle in repair, lacking parts or storage hold
KZ OE = misdropped or misshipped vehicle
KZ OF = shipped air freight, stolen vehicle recovered, show vehicle, test info code, vessel sailed
KZ OG = damaged vehicle, stolen vehicle, abandon to carrier, vehicle scrapped, donate vehicle, repair and auction
KZ OH = all other type carrier codes
kZ R = vehicle within a few days of dealer
KZ T = second rail departure
KZ U = second rail arrival
KZ X = delivered to dealer
KZ Y1 = major damage ñ must not be sold as new
KZ Y2 = major damage ñ vehicle sold at auction

BMW likewise gives buyers very detailed and granular visibility into the entire order/build/shipping process.

You don't need to call the dealer to get a VIN or ask them for detailed information, it's all readily available to the owner online.

You can also easily track every truck, train or ship your car is on. If you car is coming from Europe to the west coast, you can watch the ship pass through the Panama Canal via webcam if you want. Alternatively, you can pick up your car at the South Carolina plant even if it's built in Europe.

If you do have any questions during the process, BMW has a toll free number to talk to a rep who won't just tell you to call your dealer.

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