So long, it's been fun.

[Crilly]

My dealer was excellent. Van horn, Oconomowoc, Wi.
Wi is a dealer state. I have not figured how to order a Tesla.

Sponsored

 

[timbop]

My dealer was excellent. Van horn, Oconomowoc, Wi.
Wi is a dealer state. I have not figured how to order a Tesla.

See, there's a silver lining in everything!

 

[Bdunn]

Well, I was going to pull the pug (not literally) and move on to the Audi e-Tron but before I did, as a 40+ year loyal Ford customer, I decided to drop a note to the Customer Experience folks as well as Bill Ford, the Executive Chairman.

I outlined my experience in the entire Mach-E process, lack of communications from Ford corporate and a stalled car in Delaware where it's been sitting from Feb 9th with multiple changes to the delivery date window to the dealer.

I was shocked this morning when my cell phone showed an incoming call from area code 313. I don't normally answer when the number isn't recognized but I did. I was surprised when a pleasant female voice on the phone stated she was calling from the Executive Offices at Ford. they had received my email and she was responding. She had researched my Mach-E and it would be at the dealers before the end of this week. She also told me that she'd call back on Friday to ensure that my car had been delivered. She spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me much of it just small talk.

Now that's what I'm talking about. That's customer service. I was surprised and very pleased. I'll be taking delivery of my Infinite Blue metallic after all.

 

[wareagle1440]

Well, I was going to pull the pug (not literally) and move on to the Audi e-Tron but before I did, as a 40+ year loyal Ford customer, I decided to drop a note to the Customer Experience folks as well as Bill Ford, the Executive Chairman.

I outlined my experience in the entire Mach-E process, lack of communications from Ford corporate and a stalled car in Delaware where it's been sitting from Feb 9th with multiple changes to the delivery date window to the dealer.

I was shocked this morning when my cell phone showed an incoming call from area code 313. I don't normally answer when the number isn't recognized but I did. I was surprised when a pleasant female voice on the phone stated she was calling from the Executive Offices at Ford. they had received my email and she was responding. She had researched my Mach-E and it would be at the dealers before the end of this week. She also told me that she'd call back on Friday to ensure that my car had been delivered. She spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me much of it just small talk.

Now that's what I'm talking about. That's customer service. I was surprised and very pleased. I'll be taking delivery of my Infinite Blue metallic after all.

I just had that myself. Was her name Tarita Johnson (sp?)? She told me it would be there by the end of my ETA date. I'm almost scared to have hope.

 

[AllenXS]

Enjoy when you get it. It is worth the wait.

 

[mburtsvt]

It’s my understanding that dealers these days make a lot more money through financing than they make actually selling cars; so they actually prefer customers who finance than customers who pay cash and are generally more inclined to give a good deal to buyers who finance than to those who pay cash.

You bring up a good point. I always finance my purchase because I know the dealer gets a "finders fee" from lending institutions. If the customer pays the first three payment - they go to the dealer as the finders fee. Thats the reason I always finance and pay it off or refinance with another lender, (credit Union), on month 2 - the dealer gets no rebate. It makes it awkward the next time I go in to buy another car.

 

[wareagle1440]

Well I got confirmation that my MME is actually on its way to Denver. I’m test driving a Polestar 2 tomorrow but I’ll hold off another week and see where I’m at. If all is good then the MME it is. I wouldn’t be shocked if it gets delayed for weather but that I can deal with as it’s no ones fault and there is a storm barreling towards Denver with a range of snow from 6 to 40 inches. So that kind of delay seems reasonable. But hopefully this is actually happening.

 

[RedStallion]

My car seems to be enjoying traveling on its own. It's been twice in Kansas, all deadlines have passed already, and still nobody knows where it is.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

My car seems to be enjoying traveling on its own. It's been twice in Kansas, all deadlines have passed already, and still nobody knows where it is.

It was delivered to the Argentine Ramp in Kansas. It’ll probably go via Union Pacific or BNSF to points west. If UP it’ll end up at Richmond, Ca in all likelihood before being trucked to your dealer. If it goes BNSF it’ll end up in SoCal and get trucked up.

Once a car hits Argentine ramp it’s in an information and update black hole. While there are way to track a rail. Although none of those are available to you or I.

All in all, a westbound MME gets an update at KC after leaving the factory and that’s it. Sucks.

 

[Maric]

My car seems to be enjoying traveling on its own. It's been twice in Kansas, all deadlines have passed already, and still nobody knows where it is.

Do what I did and the guys up above did. Ping Ford on Twitter or email a Ford executive. My car went from hopeless to in garage within a few days.

 

[Bdunn]

I just had that myself. Was her name Tarita Johnson (sp?)? She told me it would be there by the end of my ETA date. I'm almost scared to have hope.

Yes, I believe it was. We'll see what happens this week. 3 days to go till "end of the week." but, she did say she'd call back Friday to make sure the car was delivered.

 

[Juan-Marco]

Interesting thread; I am sympathetic to how all the delays have played out for everyone. In a perfect world, we would all get daily updates about our individual cars, reasons for the delays, etc.

As is obvious by now, though, this is a new model with a lot of new tech, introduced during a pandemic, and things have not gone smoothly. As big and experienced as Ford is, they have been scrambling to put out fire after fire on many different fronts. Decisions are having to be made quickly - daily - in a very dynamic situation. There are many thousands of cars involved. This forum probably represents a fraction of the people who have ordered cars. We see posts from a relatively small number of people and may be lulled into thinking we are in a small club, when from Ford's standpoint, it's a much larger playing field.

It's compounded by the new sales model, how dealers are integrated into the sale, with little info (and sometimes interest) compared to the traditional process. Also, as much as we would like transparency and explanations, that could work against Ford by affecting stock price and public perception. From a general business standpoint, sometimes the less said, the better.

It almost seems like people are taking things personally. Now we have people griping because they emailed or tweeted the CEO of a billion dollar company and he didn't get right back to them. Seriously? Step back and look at that. I think it's pretty obvious this has not played out like Ford wanted or expected, and they are doing their best. The wait has me looking more seriously at other options such as the AWD ID.4 and the Ioniq 5 - they may be viable options now, due to the timing.

I don't think it's realistic to expect that we all get personalized attention about our orders. S*%& happens, I think Ford is doing their best, and we all have to make our choices based on our personal situations and perspective. As big as Ford is, I doubt they have the staff to manage that. I'm on a month-to-month lease and frankly, I can wait as long as I want for my car. But lots of people don't have that luxury, or are just impatient. It will lead some to other brands, like Audi, and that is absolutely a valid and understandable choice.

Hi Mike,
Thanks for your comment and I'll admit that it is easy to take all these things personally.
I don't think it reasonable or even logical that we should all receive personal attention from top level executives.
Actually my biggest disappointment and source of unhappiness springs from public statements made by said executives.
VP of sales for USA and CANADA, communicated to some buyers who Ford identified to be suffering a delay, graciously promising compensation for this.
I totally understand that this gesture is very generous and also not something they were obligated to do, my thanks to Ford.
Obviously no-one can expect this process, on this scale, to go smoothly and especially not in this global pandemic, so I salute ford for the gesture.
Now the issue is that this public announcement from a top level executive, is actually a half truth, as Ford Canada actually has no intention of honoring this.
Canadian dealerships have made it clear that this does not apply here.
I was fine to wait-albeit grumpy because of delay- but understanding that it is not personal, stuff happens , and it is done so ultimately I as the consumer receive the quality product.
But now I feel that it is no longer about me personally, but about my entire country being excluded.
I expected nothing from Ford , understanding that it is not realistic to receive any personal care for my single vehicle out of global millions, and they are the best they can with what they have; until this public empty promise was made.

 

[Rich_Maine]

I reserved my First Edition on launch day, November 18th 2019. After some production delays, it was built on December 5, 2020. Since then it has been in transit, recalled, in transit again, missing in transit, held without explanation, and now possibly recalled again, as expected delivery dates have come and gone. During this period I have heard next to nothing from Ford Corporate, and next to nothing from my dealer (who I have felt pretty bitter towards, but they have probably been equally in the dark).

Earlier this week, while my car sat in an unspecified hold 30 miles away as the most recent delivery window disappeared in the rearview mirror and a major road trip loomed ahead, my fiancée and I scheduled an e-tron test drive. We had a frank discussion about the differences and features that might make up for the $15,000 price gap, and determined that our purchase was still Ford's to lose.

Today we drove the e-tron (premium plus trim), and were impressed by the quality, features, and comfort. The dealer was able to offer us fantastic pre-tax incentives for a car that was on the lot and available to drive home on the spot. (One of seven premium plus trims on the lot, with more of other variants.)

Tomorrow, I will be driving home my new 2021 e-tron premium plus for a lower out-of-pocket cost than the MME GT. The only reason I'm waiting that long is because this was a fact-finding mission and I didn't bring a checkbook.

If anyone in the SF Bay Area is looking for a Grabber Blue First Edition, Towne Ford in Redwood City should have one available soon... or if the unexplained week-and-counting delay is any indication, it may be part of the latest recall. If anyone is looking for a fantastic, straightforward, and surprisingly cost-competitive experience exploring the Audi e-tron, definitely talk to Drew Michaels at Audi Palo Alto.

As I said, our purchase was Ford's to lose, and given the ongoing delays, recalls, and general opacity, they lost it. I hope everyone who is sticking with this has a better experience than we did.

Just curious which model did you choose? I saw premium plus but which was most comparable to Mache

 

[louibluey]

Yes, I believe it was. We'll see what happens this week. 3 days to go till "end of the week." but, she did say she'd call back Friday to make sure the car was delivered.

Mach-E is more of a pilot's car, I'm guessing that you will like it more than the Audi. Your member pic brings back memories of the NAVY T-44 I flew in training way too many years ago.

Sponsored