Hi Jeff,

Quick question: Why is it not possible to order a truck from Van Bortel and just have the paperwork signed (FedEx'd back and forth) and the truck delivered for out of state folks that live 1200+ miles from you?

The reason I ask, is that the cost benefit saved on the truck would be off-set by the cost of travel to NY for a person like myself that lives in the dusty Southwest...

I've always been a guy that believes that a truck is a truck (make, model, etc.) and am not into the test drive feel. If I test a truck here in ABQ...and like the feel of it, then if ordering one from you...the truck should be the same. If something was wrong with it, that is what manuf. warranty is for...right?

Thanks,
biz

 

You could do the same purchase near Portland Or. Read the top sticky if you haven't seen it yet.

 

Still doesn't really answer my question...about the shipping. Thanks.

 

Ok...I am amending my original message to this post from just Van Bortel and would also like to include West Coast FTE Purchase Program Terms.

So Polarbear, please feel free to chime in.

Thanks!

 

I'm in the process of putting a FAQ together, and that's one of the questions. Theoretically, a courtesy delivery to another dealer should work smoothly. In practice, it can be anything but, and when you're thousands of miles away, the selling dealer has zero control over the process. The big issues are 1) Will the dealer do an adaquate job of prepping the new truck for delivery? 2) Will he do a stellar job of dealing with any potential warranty issues before the customer takes delivery? This is really a key question- a lot of the headaches we read about on these boards could have...and should have been addressed before the customer ever got the keys. 3) Will the dealer's sales department (who handles the deliveries) harbor any resentment because the vehicle was purchased out of state and delivered to a "local?" The service manager won't care- he gets paid by the job, no matter where it was sold.

Sooo...a simple thing can be not so simple. Worst case scenerio, from a dealership standpoint, is you wind up owning a vehicle hundreds (or thousands) of miles away, and have a ticked off customer as an added bonus. This is all relevant- as Jeff can attest to. I'm quite aware this buyers agreement only works if the dealership offers great prices and stellar service. If things go right, we get kudos. If things go wrong, it happens in front of potentially thousands of faces.

I'm hoping Jeff will chime in too. It's 0:dark:30 back East, so it may be awhile before he does.

 

I just re-read that first post, and think I may have misunderstood something. Are we talking drop-shipping to another dealership, or just putting it on a truck and sending it?

 

I can attest to the comments from Polar....My company signed a fleet agreement with a Dealer in Indiana a couple of years ago. They were great but the delivery issues grew into an unbelieveable pain in the "A". We actually had a dealer who let a $53,000 Truck sit for 26 days before notifying the body company of it's arrival. Several company passenger cars were left sitting until a call from the company fleet manager when they amazingly showed up. We now use a vendor who deals direct with Ford & Navistar on the vehicles. The flight and the trip back is well worth any inconvienence.

 

Since the inception of this program, I've done 2 drop-ships. In a nutshell:

Drop-ship #1) As usual, vehicle goes to drop-ship dealer, paperwork comes to me. Once everything verified OK by customer, I send paperwork to delivering dealer. They LOSE all the paperwork, deny they ever received it (thank god for FedEx receipts). It took nearly 3 months to get it all reproduced, while the vehicle sat at the dealership.

Drop-ship #2) We order truck, put all the proper codes into the computer for drop-ship to dealer in NM. Despite us doing our job, truck shows up HERE, in NY. In the meantime, Ford has purged the system of all order info, so it's too late to prove they screwed up (YOU try arguing with a Godzilla-sized corporation). We paid $1200 out of our own pocket to ship truck to NM.

I'm 0 for 2 on drop-ships, and I STILL have nightmares from both of them (yes, stuff like this really does bother me). Any more questions?

 

Last summer we got 15 pickups in- no paperwork, no drop-ship info, nada. I finally got the name off of the window sticker for the selling dealership and rang them up. The conversation went something like this:

them: "Ummm, which dealership did you say you were from? And you're located where? Where? I'm going to have to get back to you on that."

The trucks were supposed to be in Wyoming. The bodies were in Denver, and the trucks got shipped to Portland."

 

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking of, "just putting it on a truck and sending it"? I was un-aware of drop-shipping, but that makes sense too.

Since doing a "shipping" thing (either drop-shipping or putting on a truck and sending it) sounds painful both for the buyer and seller (maybe?), is it possible for me to go onto a dealer lot and find the truck I want...and ask you (and/or Jeff) to do a final selling price comparison? I'm talking selling price of truck...not tax, title, etc. Just the actual selling price of the truck (with incentives if any and invoice info). I would get all the info you need...MSRP, model, with equipment, etc. Would that work better? I could then say that I could get the same exact truck from FTE for $xyz.

Hope that makes some sense...always hard to type exactly what I am thinking when it comes to buy/sell/price.

biz

 

Just think if FedEx ran there business like FORD is...folks might start using UPS or USPS or DHI...etc.

 

i've heard where folks got their corvette dropped shipped. The dealership it gets delivered to thinks its a new toy and lets all the sales guys drive it, lets folks off the street test drive it..they let children play in it with candy, etc..
and the dealership that sold it to you can't do anything about it.

they'll mysteriously lose the paperwork for a few days to keep it on their lot a bit longer..its a free show car for them.

that is too scary for me. would hate to be stuck with a car like that which I've already paid for.

eep.

 

Here in NM...actually Santa Fe, NM, I personally know the Owner. They have always treated me, my Father, and any customer we have sent with total honesty. However, they still cannot beat the deal I could get with FTE. Unless I was to get a price from you and/or Polarbear for the exact truck they have on the lot. Of course we will not add tax, title, etc. Just the "selling" price after all rebates and incentives and invoicing.

As for drop-shipping to this dealer, I would feel totally comfortable with it. If it is still a practice you consider doing?

You did answer my question...so to speak. It costs about $1200.00 to load a truck and ship it to NM. Humm, will have to weigh that later.

Jeff, I really appreciate your honesty in that the two experiences with drop-shipping has left you feeling uncomfortable. I totally understand...but???

Thanks,
biz

 

Corvette people would never let their cars get drop-shipped. "Hyper-sensitive" doesn't even begin to describe that customer group (and who can blame them, really?) The big Corvette deal is to opt for museum delivery, and pick up the car in Bowling Green.

 

Sadly, the bulk of the errors can be blamed on the shippers.