The short story is that my dealer had two special order raptors and they were supposed to change the color on one and mistakingly changed the other. So they've got two customers who have refused their orders, me being one of them.

That's not too big of a deal for me - mistakes get made - but it did disappoint me that my dealer refused to get on the phone with their regional rep to see if they could expedite a replacement. Especially on a high end truck like a raptor. As a result, when I reorder I'll probably go through another dealer, but that's a different story.

My question is whether at this point I should just wait for an '18. It's a six week wait for order banks to open, plus I guess a week of downtime added to the usual schedule, so I'm looking at 16-17 weeks. And since it's a Raptor, I don't know if there will end up being an additional delay on top of that. I assume not, since there's nothing too dramatic about the changes this year.

I'm guessing that if I placed an order today for a '17 that it would be 8-10 weeks. Maybe this late in the model year it would be faster?

And I don't know if I should go ago a different dealer now and ask them if they'll put me in touch with Ford to see if they can't expedite a replacement. That would make it a harder decision though, since the time difference between getting an expedited '17 vs an '18 would be greater. Unless of course Ford would be willing to put me a the top of the list on '18 production, but I suspect that would be wishful thinking.

Anyway, any advice on where I should go from here?

 

The dealer can request an expedited order, but probably not on a Raptor. They will sell both of those trucks for $8-10k or more over sticker, so it's kind of a win/win for them to have both refused.

Just take a deep breath, go over the order form carefully. Have it printed out and wait. See if you get get them to sell you the newly ordered one for sticker price with no mark up since they caused the problem (for you) that's actually a stroke of luck for them.

 

Actually, the dealers around here sell at MSRP - we're not a big market for raptors so its enough for them to get sticker. But yes, I'm sure that's at least one of the reasons why they aren't going out of their way. They sold the first truck within a week, and I'm sure mine will sell just as quickly. Still, it doesn't say a lot for their character. If I had to guess, I'd bet they don't want to make a request from Ford because they don't want Ford to know about the mistake.

 

Ford doesn`t care about their mistake so you can forget about that.

Take a deep breath and see if you can get money off because of the mistake but on a Raptor, that might no be possible. Hey, we`re all human so mistakes can happen.

Did you put money down before it was ordered and did you sign any paperwork?

If you order an 18, don`t be surprised if you don`t receive it until next year and not at the end of this year.

Remember, the F150 is getting a mid cycle upgrade so the regular F150`s will get priority over the Raptors

 

Ford does no authorize a discount on Raptors, for anyone, not even employees. The best the dealer could do is give you their hold back, but that's rarely done on any truck, much less a Raptor.

A dealer may only get X amount of Raptors allotted. So you may need to check on that.

And GABAR is right, Ford doesn't care. The trucks are delivered and are sold to the dealer already. They are in high demand and the dealer will sell them before you know it.

 

I know my local dealer is only allotted 2 Raptors.

 

Are you sure about that? Holdback is against invoice, not MSRP. I believe no rebates, but I've never heard of any restrictions on what they can sell a truck for.

 

No, I'm not obligated in any way, nor out any money. Just time, and of course any price difference between this year's trucks and next.

I doubt it would take until next year to get the truck. Even this year people started getting their trucks in early December, and that was with production starting two months later and with all the delays on the 10 speed. But I'm assuming mid-August would be the very earliest I could expect an '18, with a more likely scenario being mid- to late-September.

It's true that Ford doesn't offer any factory discounts on the raptor, but the dealer is allowed to sell for whatever they want. The original raptors could be had for a bit over invoice later on in their production. But I don't expect dealers to start discounting the new version for a while yet. I do think that outside of a few states, the $5k premiums have about run their course.

 

No, that's why I worded it the way I did. My dad said they can't discount them. Not even an A plan. Hold back is dealer money, so I would imagine that would be allowable, or any money the dealer is willing to give up for that matter as long as it isn't coming from Ford.

 

I'd wait a little longer and get an '18, Frantz posted in another thread when they would be starting the 2018 builds.....

 

It's correct the dealer can sell for any price they want. There is no rebate or plan price offered. So a dealer can't sell the truck under X plan program, but a dealer could sell it at X plan price if they wanted.

The one I ordered for a customer I sold at MSRP, and I had other customers trying to out bid him. So a dealer giving a discount is just not realistic.

They are a true limited commodity. We only got 3 for the whole year. I thought I heard the '17s were all produced already, but I can't remember where I read that. If they aren't all produced, I'll be all the orders have been made, it's not exactly the sort of product you want as a "leftover" when the new ones start hitting. I think you're probably stuck waiting for '18 regardless of what you'd want to do, and hey, next years model is always better right?

 

Awesome to hear that you didn`t put any money down and you`re not obligated.

With that being said and if I were you, i`d just take a step back and order the 2018 version.

Yes, it`s frustrating and you`ll have to play the waiting game again plus it`ll be a little more expensive because of the body changes but hey, it`s a Raptor so the waiting time to get one plus the higher price is to be expected.

If it`s any consolation to you just look at it this way.

You`ll have time to save up the money to off set the price increase of the new model and you will have your Raptor in the color/configuration that you ordered.

Have a great day.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much the way I'm looking at it. With the '18, I'll get the B&O stereo (or al least a stereo with a B&O sticker on it, lol), the upgraded radar system and I'm sure a few other things, plus the truck will be worth more. And of course the right color.

Franz - thanks for the info. Do you think a mid to late September delivery on an '18 is reasonable, or should I set my expectations lower?

 

I'm honestly not sure. Raptor doesn't really fall in line with the general F150 dates so anything I said would be a guess.

 

I doubt there will be any styling changes to the Raptor after just one year. Guess we'll see though.