I gave a dealer a deposit to order me an 07 Explorer a week ago... they say that they can only order them on Mon and Fri (is this true?). I asked them to fax me the confirmation sheet once it was ordered... I heard nothing on Tues so I called... sales manager was busy in meetings all day Monday.. not ordered... will do Friday... so I called at the end of the day today... "Oh... he did not get to it"... he will do it on Monday. So, I told them that if it is not ordered on Monday I will come in to get my deposit back and order at one of the other two dealers that said they would match the price (I went to this dealer first since I bought my last Explorer there... but it has changed ownership since).

Am I wrong in expecting it not to take over a week to place an order? Is there some reason the dealer may be stalling? Some quota? My understanding is that a car dealer is in business to sell cars... I am curious what else they have been doing for a week that was more important than selling a car to me? It does not make me feel like they want to earn my business and have a happy customer as they said to my face when I gave them the deposit. (The last one I ordered from the old owners "accidently" the order did not get placed when I checked 3 weeks later... so I have learned to get order confirmation asap to make sure it was ordered and that the RIGHT vehicle was ordered).

Any suggestion on how I should handle this... or if I am being unreasonable?

Jeff

 

All I can say is...... you sure the heck didn't order it from me. Confirmation happens 24 hrs after order, acknowledgement with the factory order number comes the day after that. Order updates should be accessable Mon-Fri during business hours (Dearborn hrs) and most Saturdays. Sundays are generally update days, and Mondays may not reflect Sundays changes.

If they can't even get the order done in a timely fashion, just wait 'till you call in 30 days asking how the status of the order is moving along. You aren't being unreasonable at all.

 

Thanks for the response, Ernie... I wish I were within 1000 miles of your dealership... I would have looked forward to ordering from you.

Is it true that orders for Explorers are only accepted by Ford on Mon and Fri?

Jeff

 

"orders for Explorers are only accepted by Ford on Mon and Fri" Nope..... not as far as ford's concerned. Wanna bet that's the two days they do their ordering? I actually try not to enter orders on Friday- there's three, possibly four days before you see your confirmation and acknowledgement. You haven't lived until the day you see those, spot an error, and get the message "locked in" when you try to change it.

 

I would go ballistic if I got that kind of gibberish. What kind of deal did you get?

 

Is that the same sinking stomach sensation like when you reach for money in your pocket and realize you've lost several hundred dollars?

 

$500 under invoice.

 

SOunds like a good price but I'd continue hardballing them. No excuse for not doing simple things to keep the customer happy.

 

Polar,

You said "Confirmation happens 24 hrs after order, acknowledgement with the factory order number comes the day after that."

The dealer said they placed the order yesterday... they faxed me a page called "Vehicle Order Confirmation" (two column list of base + options & msrp and invoice pricing, upper left says CNGP530, lower lines have function key assignments, etc.). I assume this is neither of the two forms you talked about above... and that this is just a screen print of the details they typed in the computer but in no ways confirms for me the order was ever placed. Right? I see the time on the print out is only 15 minutes before the fax time at the end of the day, so it appears my order was forgotten again until they received my irate e-mail to the gm, sm, internet sm, etc. in the late afternoon (4 out of 5 e-mails were returned undeliverable... go figure... an internet sales manager who cannot get e-mail at the published e-mail address on their web site... WOW!).

Another forum talked about the DORA coming 24 hours after order placement... is this one of the two documents you described above?

I am just trying to figure out where the heck I am here... if my order was placed.. and why the heck these guys are making it so diffucult for me to give them money? !!!!!!

Jeff

 

jscozz Polar,

You said "Confirmation happens 24 hrs after order, acknowledgement with the factory order number comes the day after that."

The dealer said they placed the order yesterday... they faxed me a page called "Vehicle Order Confirmation" (two column list of base + options & msrp and invoice pricing, upper left says CNGP530, lower lines have function key assignments, etc.). I assume this is neither of the two forms you talked about above... and that this is just a screen print of the details they typed in the computer but in no ways confirms for me the order was ever placed. Right? I see the time on the print out is only 15 minutes before the fax time at the end of the day, so it appears my order was forgotten again until they received my irate e-mail to the gm, sm, internet sm, etc. in the late afternoon (4 out of 5 e-mails were returned undeliverable... go figure... an internet sales manager who cannot get e-mail at the published e-mail address on their web site... WOW!).

Another forum talked about the DORA coming 24 hours after order placement... is this one of the two documents you described above?

I am just trying to figure out where the heck I am here... if my order was placed.. and why the heck these guys are making it so diffucult for me to give them money? !!!!!!

Jeff

That confirmation is the first sheet, and it looks like a screen print because it is. Welcome to 1985 with Ford's Concepts system. The acknowledgement will show more detail, and have a factory order number on it. And yes, someone physically sat down and ordered the dang thing after you pestered them. Short form, the order's been submitted. You want that acknowledgement as your documentation in case the salesman gets run over by a bus, dealership changes hands, etc- because the Factory order number is Ford's tracking record.

 

Thanks, Polar... how do I know from this first sheet that it is ordered? While I sat at the dealer 13 days ago he showed me a smiliar sheet with my order details on it... the only difference was the priority level... 14 then, 12 now. I called them today and the sales manager is out and the other manager told my sales person there is no new info about this order... I specifially asked for a copy of the DORA. Since the first sheet shows 18:43 EDT yesterday, could it take a day longer for the DORA? Or are these guys just not too sharp... or don't care?

Jeff

 

DORA=> Dealer Order Receipt Acknowledgement

simple answer- you don't. the first sheet is the confirmation from ford right before you hit the "send" button. It's the first order document. The DORA is the second, and has the order #. After 13 days you should not only have a DORA but an estimated ship date if this guy had done everything right.

 

Still 3 days later and all I have been able to get them to fax me is a "Daily Status Report"... even after asking specifically for the DORA. This report has no Factory Order #... and the status shows "Unsch/clean"... on the VIN only MEU758 are filled in... order type RET. Dlr Order # J001...

Are these guys jerking me around or is what they sent me any confirmation that they really ordered my vehicle? I just can't fathom why it is so difficult for them to just send me what I am asking for and what I have a right to review, unless they really have not yet placed the order...

Jeff

 

jscozz: two years ago I "ordered" a KR from Dallas Hollar Ford in Harrisonburg , VA....gave them a $20,000.00 deposit...and received a receipt and what I thought was an order....apparently not. After a month of frustrating phone calls ...I was concerned there was an error on one item code...they blew me off...saying they weren't sure what seat I was getting ?! I responded if I didn't care what I ended up with, I would have bought off the lot . About then I realized there never was a signed contract for any specific order...just a receipt for my deposit...and guessed the plan was to bump my original great price up at delivery...assuming I couldn't turn it down after I smelled the leather and waited two months . Not. I demanded my money back...and after a hissy fit I wish I had on video tape...I got it back and bought elsewhere. Just a week ago I took possession of another KR from Van Bortel Ford...drove 500 miles to pick it up...and the experience was worth every mile. Within days of my order, I had confirmation and vin #...in less than a month, I had my truck. Good luck with your order....you wouldn't think you'd have to take such abuse after spending that kind of money ?

 

Oh, they've place the order alright. At this point, that's all the info there is out on the order. It'll be a couple of weeks before anything more shows up. Truck's been ordered, acknowledged, and is waiting for production schedule. And someone's got the damned DORA.

But..... they're refusal to send you the DORA means only one of two things- they're hopelessly incompetant (very possible), or they didn't sell it to you for what they said they did, in relation to invoice. I'm voting for the latter personally, but 30 years in the biz has me a bit jaded.