Polar,

Thanks again for your response... every step of the way with this dealer makes me wish I lived less than 2000 miles from Oregon!

I though, based on what I read here, that there should be a factory order # on their status instead of just the dealer order #... and I read elsewhere that Thursday nights is when Ford sets production dates and assigns VIN #'s... so I thought by today they would have that info. Oh well... my main concern is that I have a loan rate locked and if they did not order it or there is an error when it comes in, it will cost me a lot of # to lose my loan lock rate (special promotional offer through local credit union, 1pt below market rates).

Assuming they do get a full VIN # next week, once I have that, is there any way for me to get from Ford (other than from this dealer) the full details on the vehicle including options, order #, build date, etc.) to head off any problem weeks down the road?

Knowing these guys, I suspect that your first guess is accurate... so much for me being loyal and going back to the dealer I used before... (I find out now that they change downership since my last purchase). As for selling price, I have the original dealer print out with invoice prices on it, that match what I know to be true from the Explorer price guide and my signature and the sales managers signature on it. I even added line items for tax, transfer and their quoted doc fee of $129... so, there should not be a penny difference in price when the vehicle comes in. Did I miss something?

Another thing was unexpected was that they would not give me a definate price on my trade (96 Explorer). In teh past I thought dealers gave me a trade # with the stipulation that any drastic change in condition or mileage by the time the new vehicle comes in is groudns for adjustment in trade price... but these guys would only give me a guess of $1500 for my 96 Explorer with 162k on it, and nothing in writing... they never even drove it.

Jeff