So long, it's been fun.

JSW

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The e-Tron and I-Pace are awesome and not materially more than my FE or the GT.

Timing matters when it comes to a car purchase. I’d rather have the MMe GT, but I’m not that patient. I understand why the OP moved on. I would have too.

That said, I definitely don’t blame Ford for delaying. After experiencing issues (including having to jump the frunk, rip out the trim panels, charge the 12v battery, drive to the dealership twice for repairs, etc), I definitely think Ford should slow down and focus on getting things right for people. I still don’t completely trust my MMe and decided to take our 2020 Blazer RS to Pittsburgh this past weekend (from Ann Arbor).

Ford will sell every MMe it makes, regardless of any decision any one of us makes due to delay. Again, I’d prefer Ford to make sure it’s right, and not risk stranding purchasers.

Finally, it’s easy to communicate when the issue and solution are clear. When either the issue or the solution are somewhat unknown, there might not be anything more specific to say than, the delay is required to ensure quality.....
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theblueone

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Wow, that’s a helluva deal! I’m currently sitting on a quote on a e-tron premium in the same color with the convenience package, looking at about $12k off MSRP and 0% financing. My MME order is scheduled to be built at the end of April, but I went to test drive the MME and e-tron back to back yesterday when the dealer mentioned that they have an unclaimed grabber blue FE coming in this week. I’m literally paralyzed with the decision. I like both cars a lot, probably not a wrong choice here, but I can’t decide between the grabber blue FE, waiting a few more months for my premium E4x, or going with the e-tron.
We got from about where you are to our final number by being willing to cut a check on the spot. 0% APR was never an option for the MME, so we had saved and prepared for this kind of one-time expense. If that level of purchase is a possibility for you, ask them what kind of incentives they can tack on for cash in hand.
 

Zathras

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It seems to me that US domestic car manufacturers and dealers, for the most part, are just not interested in, or even equipped for, selling, tracking, or delivering customer-ordered cars. The whole system is designed to sell inventory off the dealer lot. This article is a few years old, but it says that <5% of US cars are sold as customer orders, where in Europe its much, much more common.
https://www.autonews.com/article/20160606/RETAIL/306069951/why-americans-reject-build-to-order-cars

The frustration on this board about poor communication, delays in shipping, and last-minute dealer shenanigans is exactly like the complaints I see on the Corvette forum or any enthusiast forum for US domestic brands, where customer orders are concerned. I don't know what it will take to shake up the system. You'd think the "Big 3" would be forced into a better customer experience to keep up with foreign-based competition, and Tesla, but maybe the culture and old processes are so entrenched that they can't change.
 

Giddyup

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I have been following the E-Tron blogs for at least 15 months - test drove one about a year ago. I am a VW/Audi aficionado, but was very concerned about the problems - particularly early on. Some were very problematic. They had startup supply issues as well. I assume they have worked through most of the software / quality bugs. And now there's plenty on the lots. The E-Tron was a very nice vehicle, but I still am hesitant about their range. So I am sticking with the Mach-E. Mine (FE Grabber Blue) should arrive soon, and I would rather that any serious bugs get worked out before I take delivery. So despite several delays, I will continue to patiently wait. Enjoy the ride!
 

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We got from about where you are to our final number by being willing to cut a check on the spot. 0% APR was never an option for the MME, so we had saved and prepared for this kind of one-time expense. If that level of purchase is a possibility for you, ask them what kind of incentives they can tack on for cash in hand.
Yeah, I think there’d be another $1500 knocked off if I could cut them a fat check, but that just isn’t something I want to do right now. I made a spreadsheet last night, and accounting for all the perks the Audi comes with (1000kWh charging, 7 day silvercar rental, $750 electricity bill credits) and slightly lower insurance premiums, the Audi and a FE MME I could get this week are almost the exact same price, and only a couple thousand more than waiting for my E4X. That makes this decision clear as mud.

How’re you liking your e-tron so far? I’m slightly concerned about the shorter range and that it’s a bigger vehicle and I live in a dense city and have to park in a pretty tight spot. But I do love that it has a factory-installed hitch (that I would just use for a bike rack probably), the opening glass roof, and a heat pump, and that interior is beautiful. The Mach-E for me was more fun to drive IMO, and a little more tech-y, but the e-tron was just so damn comfortable.
 
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dtbaker61

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...
That tells me that the culture at the top is great, and customer-focused. But that does not extend outside of the Glass House top floors down to the working level in the field, and it ABSOLUTELY does not extend to the dealers.

Nobody should have to tweet/email/send smoke signals to Jim Farley to get an answer on where their car is, or get him to apologize for a dealer scamming them.
I really do think the MME is a great vehicle, and I am enjoying driving it... but I am frustrated and saddened by the the hurdles one has to go thru to give constructive feedback... especially for a new model vehicle that is BOUND to have some kinks and oversights that can and should be corrected next model year. There really is NO easy to find area at Ford.com to send feedback and suggestions on your shiny new car. I would HOPE that would be front and center for all new Owners once they create and account online and add their new MME to the 'garage'.

I for one am deeply disappointed that I can't even get a free second Fob for a spare considering the FUBAR PAAK functionality can't even be configured on my phone. The hell of it is that after a couple conversations with my Dealer, the disconnect between Ford and Dealerships is painfully obvious.

It is equally obvious that Ford Corporate Culture is really not prepared to have a customer-facing Portal.... disclosing known issue list, priorities, progress... Leaving us at the mercy of Dealers to find out if our vehicles have had ServiceBullitens applied, or not.

I'd really like to know for instance if SB01, SB02 have been applied to my vehicle....
 

nja

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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.
Congrats. My FE (Ordered 6 secs after they took the covers off) is still sitting at the dealer because I can drive a Tesla Y and an Audi Etron for less per month than the Ford. It's insane Ford put no support behind this Mach E. My dad works for Audi and he's given me a few days with an eTron...it is a phenomenal car. Good luck with yours.
 

mburtsvt

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I've been waiting for a build date since January. I have no idea how all of you have been able to handle this. We test drove a Tesla Y and the sales experience was night and day different from having to deal with the Ford dealerships. In the past, we've had a dealership literally wreck our car in their own damn parking lot. The concept of buying a vehicle for a 'better network' is lost on us. No one at the dealerships know anything about the Mach-E and the ones that do, hate it. They even talk poorly about Ford for selling it online.

The dealerships aren't being the middlemen customers require. We get no communication from anyone, Ford or the dealership. In fact, they try and sabotage the process.

My wife continually tells me that she tries not to think about how much she loved driving the Model Y. We have two cars currently. We can wait 6 months, but with no communication, and watching everyone else wait endlessly? I don't blame people from jumping ship.

I have a lot of reservations about the company Tesla. But all of this is having me look at my reservations about dealing with a crappy ford dealership sales process and service center instead of a company that has a great sales process, and service techs that likely understand and respect electric vehicles as a whole.
It’s funny you would say that, (The dealerships aren't being the middlemen customers require. We get no communication from anyone, Ford or the dealership. In fact, they try and sabotage the process.).

I got the same feeling. When I went to my first choice dealer the sales manager said to me, when I asked about their participation in rebate programs, his response was - in no way are we participating in any rebate programs - why would we? We are only making $1500 on every order sale.

Now if that’s true or not - I don’t care. Not my problem. I did switch dealers to one who was supporting the rebate programs.
 

Juan-Marco

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The e-Tron and I-Pace are awesome and not materially more than my FE or the GT.

Timing matters when it comes to a car purchase. I’d rather have the MMe GT, but I’m not that patient. I understand why the OP moved on. I would have too.

That said, I definitely don’t blame Ford for delaying. After experiencing issues (including having to jump the frunk, rip out the trim panels, charge the 12v battery, drive to the dealership twice for repairs, etc), I definitely think Ford should slow down and focus on getting things right for people. I still don’t completely trust my MMe and decided to take our 2020 Blazer RS to Pittsburgh this past weekend (from Ann Arbor).

Ford will sell every MMe it makes, regardless of any decision any one of us makes due to delay. Again, I’d prefer Ford to make sure it’s right, and not risk stranding purchasers.

Finally, it’s easy to communicate when the issue and solution are clear. When either the issue or the solution are somewhat unknown, there might not be anything more specific to say than, the delay is required to ensure quality.....
There is clearly a huge difference between the US and Canadian Audi markets.
I spent some time looking at local e-tron options, comparing the prices on trim levels equal to my FE AWD ER Mach E order.
The absolute best I could find was an demo e-tron with 5500km, similar trim, for $40000 (forty) more the the Mach E.
Spoke with the dealer (my last car was an Audi) and with the best they can do, still more than $35000 more expensive.
I can't do this.
The cheapest e-tron available to me locally retails for $20000 more but with significant less options compared to the FE Mach E.
Wish
it was just a case of switching to the e-tron for almost the same, but not an option for me
 
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lweisenthal

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Yeah, I think there’d be another $1500 knocked off if I could cut them a fat check, but that just isn’t something I want to do right now. I made a spreadsheet last night, and accounting for all the perks the Audi comes with (1000kWh charging, 7 day silvercar rental, $750 electricity bill credits) and slightly lower insurance premiums, the Audi and a FE MME I could get this week are almost the exact same price, and only a couple thousand more than waiting for my E4X. That makes this decision clear as mud.

How’re you liking your e-tron so far? I’m slightly concerned about the shorter range and that it’s a bigger vehicle and I live in a dense city and have to park in a pretty tight spot. But I do love that it has a factory-installed hitch (that I would just use for a bike rack probably), the opening glass roof, and a heat pump, and that interior is beautiful. The Mach-E for me was more fun to drive IMO, and a little more tech-y, but the e-tron was just so damn comfortable.
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.
 
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theblueone

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Yeah, I think there’d be another $1500 knocked off if I could cut them a fat check, but that just isn’t something I want to do right now. I made a spreadsheet last night, and accounting for all the perks the Audi comes with (1000kWh charging, 7 day silvercar rental, $750 electricity bill credits) and slightly lower insurance premiums, the Audi and a FE MME I could get this week are almost the exact same price, and only a couple thousand more than waiting for my E4X. That makes this decision clear as mud.

How’re you liking your e-tron so far? I’m slightly concerned about the shorter range and that it’s a bigger vehicle and I live in a dense city and have to park in a pretty tight spot. But I do love that it has a factory-installed hitch (that I would just use for a bike rack probably), the opening glass roof, and a heat pump, and that interior is beautiful. The Mach-E for me was more fun to drive IMO, and a little more tech-y, but the e-tron was just so damn comfortable.
I love it, but we're definitely still kicking the tires. Here are a few thoughts:

- It's a lot bigger than our other car for sure, but the 360 view and projected vehicle paths in parking mode make it pretty hard to hit anything, even in our tight apartment parking slots.

- The opening sunroof is great, the B&O sound package is definitely better than the one in the base ("premium") e-tron, and the little perks like ventilated seats are totally unnecessary and totally wonderful. The premium plus and above also have a second j1772 (but not CCS) port on the passenger side for ease of at-home charging.

- I never had a chance to drive the MME, but the e-tron is plenty snappy for my needs. It's a chonker for sure (5700 lbs curb), but the low CG and all-wheel electric torque mean it handles like it weighs half that. It can still push you back in the seat when you hit the gas, even when you're going uphill and starting at 30 mph.

- If you brake all the way to a complete stop, it will hold the car until you actively press the gas. This is a bit of a transition from our other car, which will start to roll forward as soon as you ease off the brake. However, if you roll to a stop (e.g. on a slope) it won't engage the hold, and would let you roll back. I don't think either approach is inherently right or wrong, but it's very different.

- It's REALLY quiet inside. It's definitely going to be hard to avoid speeding because the sound and ride at 30 mph and 80 mph are pretty much identical.

- The driver's display behind the steering wheel is really nice. You can switch between a LOT of information, or keep it really simple. There's a map option that I really like that keeps the info much closer to your line of sight than the main display cluster. For all that content, the on-wheel interface is surprisingly intuitive.

- Ours didn't come with a hitch, but the fact that we *could* put an official one on is a nice feeling. Same for the roof bars, but as you mentioned I'd expect to haul stuff on a hitch mount to keep the drag down.

- It did come with two key fobs and the emergency keys inside are cut with a key pattern, but so far the only keyhole I've located is on the glovebox.

- We're looking forward to a long road trip (~1500 miles) at the end of the month, and when we put the route into ABetterRoutePlanner (shameless plug for this, it's a great service no matter what EV you have) we found that the charging stops would be more frequent but shorter, and the total time at the plug was almost identical. Audi can hit the battery with way more juice all the way to 100% charge, although hopefully Ford will be able to replicate this once they have more data.

- One downside is that you probably couldn't lend it to a family member, especially an older one, without standing at the car together and showing them a couple things. Bits like the gear selector are very easy to use, but look different enough that they would be hard for a non-techy person to spot at first glance.

Overall, I'm very happy so far. We will be taking our first big trip (~110% of max range) this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have more thoughts after that.
 
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theblueone

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There is clearly a huge difference between the US and Canadian Audi markets.
I spent some time looking at local e-tron options, comparing the prices on trim levels equal to my FE AWD ER Mach E order.
The absolute best I could find was an demo e-tron with 5500km, similar trim, for $400000 (forty) more the the Mach E.
Spoke with the dealer (my last car was an Audi) and with the best they can do, still more than $35000 more expensive.
I can't do this.
The cheapest e-tron available to me locally retails for $20000 more but with significant less options compared to the FE Mach E.
Which it was just a case of switching to the e-tron for almost the same, but not an option for me
Oof, that's brutal. Some of the incentives we used are definitely USA- and California-specific, so I can't help there. If you happen to be a Costco member, definitely mention that to Audi. I don't know why that partnership is worth so much to them, but it saved us close to $10,000 CAD.

I'm loving the e-tron, but I don't know that I could recommend it at that kind of markup.

(p.s. you wrote "forty", but the number you typed is four hundred.)
 

Kandiru

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Veteran Tesla owner here, I feel you pain. My car never left me on the road but a lot of hiccups for sure.

Thank you all here for joining the EV revolution, once you drive an EV you will not want an ICE again and you help keep our planet cleaner. Solar and wind are catching up big time also. Try educating Appalachia about this though:(
 

malba2366

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I love it, but we're definitely still kicking the tires. Here are a few thoughts:


- If you brake all the way to a complete stop, it will hold the car until you actively press the gas. This is a bit of a transition from our other car, which will start to roll forward as soon as you ease off the brake. However, if you roll to a stop (e.g. on a slope) it won't engage the hold, and would let you roll back. I don't think either approach is inherently right or wrong, but it's very different.
You can turn the auto hold off if you want. There may be a button with an "A" in a circle somewhere, or it may be somewhere in the MMI menus. This is a common feature on Audis and BMWs.
 

Scarpia

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- It did come with two key fobs and the emergency keys inside are cut with a key pattern, but so far the only keyhole I've located is on the glovebox.
On my wife's Mercedes, you pull out (remove) the button that is pushed to start the car, and the key slot is underneath. I suspect Audi may be the same...
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