[CrewVanManInfo]

I was hoping Ford would have a plan in place so once the 2022 order went to 'Balanced Out' status, there would be a plan in place for directing customer onto a 2023 model. I have been working 3 directions with customers using the CrewVanMan 2023 B-O-B Transit Service booklet placing new orders, working with customers on their incoming Transits, and a health issue that has been in a critical situation for a recent blood clot. I have been trying to communicate via emails with the ones I get but with 30 to 40 each day, then calls from all over the USA about Transits, it has become more than just a full time job.
Adding to that the 2 days of travel from Texas to Kansas City and it is a busy time for me. Been nice if Ford would have helped with some planning that should have happened 2 months ago.

 

[IsleofMan]

My understanding from various sources, including the dealer, is that Ford will do some sort of priority "magic" to help those with "balanced out" 2022 orders move closer to the front of the line. We shall see what this looks like as time progresses.

How'd that "magic" work out last year when regional reps were saying the same thing to balanced out MY21 orders? I think the truth is that Ford does not have the administrative capability to execute that kind of prioritization.

 

[mikeg]

I was hoping Ford would have a plan in place so once the 2022 order went to 'Balanced Out' status, there would be a plan in place for directing customer onto a 2023 model. I have been working 3 directins with customer using the CrewVanMan 2023 B-O-B Transit Service booklet placing new orders, working with customer on their incoming Transits, and a health issue that has been in a critical situation for a recent blood clot. I have been trying to communicate via emails with the ones I get but with 30 to 40 each day, then calls from all over the USA about Transits, it has become more than just a full time job.
Adding to that the 2 days of travel from Texas to Kansas City and it is a busy time for me. Been nice if Ford would have helped with some planning that should have happened 2 months ago.

Thanks for the heads up Ed. I hope your health is improving.

as a current customer who submitted a 2023 order last week because my 2022 order was balanced out, would it be better to work directly with Kayla and Rusty at Crossley since you are so busy?

I don’t think there will be much I need except for any work needed to tie my two orders together once Ford figures out a mechanism.

Now it is just a waiting game for Ford to figure out supply chain issues.

 

[SierraGal]

I get but with 30 to 40 each day, then calls from all over the USA about Transits, it has become more than just a full time job.

Ed, you bring in a sh*t load of sales for Crossley Ford and with your knowledge about Transits, you are very valuable to that dealership. Go to Mr. Crossley and demand another person be assigned to help you with your work load and demand an increase in your commission/pay. You have leverage here, Ed, use it 💪

 

[Mclovin16]

...... and a health issue that has been in a critical situation for a recent blood clot. I have been trying to communicate via emails with the ones I get but with 30 to 40 each day, then calls from all over the USA about Transits, it has become more than just a full time job.
......

Ed, You should not have to be the only person at Crossley to take on the entire burden of informing their customers. Can't Kayla or others do some of the work?

 

[Edward714]

100% accurate. The only way I knew my '22 order was balanced out was reading this forum. The only way I knew to ask my dealer to remove the PSD option was this forum. My dealer never once reached out on their own to update me or facilitate anything. All communication was prompted by me. I didn't order through Crossley, but I did order through a Ford Fleet dealer also located in Kansas City. They were no better. It's not just one dealership. It's the entire Ford network. Don't get me started on the Ford "help line". They refer you to the dealers, the dealers say they don't know anything and that Ford won't tell them anything either. It's a complete and total **** show.

The dealer networks aren't set up for customer updates, they're not set up to handle these inquires and they aren't given any of this information by Ford. But when you reach out to Ford, they direct you to the dealer networks. I was on the phone with Mercedes dealer yesterday and after I told them what was going on they were in shock that thousands of customers were just told to f--- off by Ford and given NO plan whatsoever for how to move forward, other than order a '23 at the higher price and hope you get a Transit at some point before we decide to balance those orders out as well?

How is it that Ford is balancing out these orders BEFORE providing a clear and communicable plan to their dealer networks to relay to customers?

Ford is literally to big to fail they can screw over half their customers and another half will keep them in business. And with little to no competition they can do anything they want, and act like everything is fine when it’s not, people here have been waiting years to get into a van and nothings changed, their whole system needs to be revamped

 

[CrewVanManInfo]

Thanks for the heads up Ed. I hope your health is improving.

as a current customer who submitted a 2023 order last week because my 2022 order was balanced out, would it be better to work directly with Kayla and Rusty at Crossley since you are so busy? Best to wait until we get all the information on the 2022 model to 2023 model changeover. Just placing your order in the system has no special scheduling preference that we are waiting for Ford to give us for moving it to a 2023 model. Just going with the regular input would not get you any further up the scheduling ladder. That is what we want so placing your order in the system has preference.

I don’t think there will be much I need except for any work needed to tie my two orders together once Ford figures out a mechanism.

Now it is just a waiting game for Ford to figure out supply chain issues.

 

[mikeg]

@CrewVanManInfo my 2023 order went in last week and Kayla didn’t mention anything about needing to wait.

leave the 2023 order in and see what happens? Other options?

 

[MrCash]

As someone said in a previous post about a class action lawsuit, the only one who benefits is the law firm. The lead plaintiff might be made whole, but all of us others will get a fraction of what we deserve, and it wouldn't be able to be applied until a 2025 order instead of getting a van NOW (I don't want a cash settlement, I want a van). The best hope would be for Ford to try to make it go away immediately, but the lawyers wouldn't be happy about that.

If Ford isn't already making plans for carry overs, I think the best bet is social media (hit Jim Farley the CEO and Mike Levine, North America Product Communications Director, who are 2 of the 9 users that @ford follows on Twitter) as well as the Ford auto blogs, and then small claims court. $6k would easily be worth flying out to Michigan for a day from anywhere in the US.

I also think you could file a small claims suit on the county where the KC plant is located. They actually have an 8k limit I think (I posted about this somewhere). You may be able to file suit in your home county due to some recent supreme court precedent. And even if there is a class action, you can still decline to join the class (may need to opt out) and file on your own.

 

[Duckpond]

Wow, an epic F-ck You from Ford to everyone who was promised a vehicle when their order was accepted. During this process, I did not get a single piece of communication from Ford or from my dealer, unless I contacted them first. Not an email confirming my order, no VIN, no updates, not a phone call, nothing. If I wasn't trolling this forum looking for clues, I would've just never found out any of this information. This has been the single worst customer experience of my lifetime. I'm beyond disgusted.

Calling the customer helpline will get you nowhere. They regurgitate a script and offer zero customer support and direct you back to your dealer. When I call the dealer, they have no information they're willing to share either. Both the dealer and Ford customer service refuses to answer questions about price protection or line priority for customers who had a model year '22 balanced out. Fun stuff.

Now how do class action lawsuits work again?

I say wait and see what Ford is going to do for those like myself who placed an order in good faith believing that they would deliver what they excepted an order for; I placed December 14 2021. Anyone know when the next shareholders meeting is?

 

[TWinKC]

I'm going to add that I spoke to a friend who ordered a '22 Transit cargo and was balanced out, his dealer offered him price protection on the '23 and told him that they didn't need Ford's approval and were willing to offer that regardless of any official private offer. He's got his '23 build dates already and was price protected. I called the dealer and spoke to them myself this morning and all of this was confirmed.

The dealer told me "we don't want our customers hating us when they sign for one price and then are being forced into a price they didn't agree to, just to get the vehicle they ordered originally".

Makes sense to me.

So every dealer who is acting like they need some kind of official word from Ford is suspect to me right now. Ford is telling us to talk to the dealers. The dealers are saying they don't know anything. What is going on?

 

[LumberJeff]

I'm going to add that I spoke to a friend who ordered a '22 Transit cargo and was balanced out, his dealer offered him price protection on the '23 and told him that they didn't need Ford's approval and were willing to offer that regardless of any official private offer. He's got his '23 build dates already and was price protected. I called the dealer and spoke to them myself this morning and all of this was confirmed.

The dealer told me "we don't want our customers hating us when they sign for one price and then are being forced into a price they didn't agree to, just to get the vehicle they ordered originally".

Makes sense to me.

So every dealer who is acting like they need some kind of official word from Ford is suspect to me right now. Ford is telling us to talk to the dealers. The dealers are saying they don't know anything. What is going on?

Great post that shows that there are great dealers out there. As I've mentioned before my dealer covered the price change when I was told I needed to change from the included Hi Res Camera to the expensive 360 Camera. I even added the HD floor mats, passive entry/start and dual note horn at the same time as the camera change. They covered the cost for all of those other items as well.

 

[mjm2950]

I'm going to add that I spoke to a friend who ordered a '22 Transit cargo and was balanced out, his dealer offered him price protection on the '23 and told him that they didn't need Ford's approval and were willing to offer that regardless of any official private offer. He's got his '23 build dates already and was price protected. I called the dealer and spoke to them myself this morning and all of this was confirmed.

The dealer told me "we don't want our customers hating us when they sign for one price and then are being forced into a price they didn't agree to, just to get the vehicle they ordered originally".

Makes sense to me.

So every dealer who is acting like they need some kind of official word from Ford is suspect to me right now. Ford is telling us to talk to the dealers. The dealers are saying they don't know anything. What is going on?

I guess that dealer is willing to lose money or make almost nothing on the rolled over order. A couple of questions come to mind. How many orders does that dealer have that are being rolled over? Did that dealer have allocation for the MY22 order that was balanced out and do they have allocation from Ford for MY 23? If no allocation for MY 23 the dealer likely has very little risk on the price protection offer as the MY23 probably will not be built either.

Crossley Ford we know has over 60 orders balanced out, that is pretty big number to offer dealer price protection, especially if the dealer is actually losing money by doing so.

Still nice for your friend, if the MY 23 Van is built and delivered at MY 22 prices.

 

[TWinKC]

Did that dealer have allocation for the MY22 order that was balanced out and do they have allocation from Ford for MY 23? If no allocation for MY 23 the dealer likely has very little risk on the price protection offer as the MY23 probably will not be built either.

Still nice for your friend, if the MY 23 Van is built and delivered at MY 22 prices.

The customer has a VIN and a build date for the '23, set for delivery in Sept. Confirmed by dealer on the call. I can't speak to their allocation or anything else about the transaction except for the fact that they did price protect the order even after it was balanced out by Ford.

 

[nmiller85]

The customer has a VIN and a build date for the '23, set for delivery in Sept. Confirmed by dealer on the call. I can't speak to their allocation or anything else about the transaction except for the fact that they did price protect the order even after it was balanced out by Ford.

Sounds like this is a dealership name that should be shared. Lots of push on here to shame dealerships, justified or not, but so little encouragement to share the good stories.

Did that dealer have allocation for the MY22 order that was balanced out and do they have allocation from Ford for MY 23?

Ford has made it clear in communication with dealers since mid production year MY21 that earned allocation is not the be all end all that it used to be for custom orders, when COVP approved. These orders receive 'bonus' allocation and priority scheduling over the earned allocation.
On here, at the end of MY21 scheduling, those balanced out was blamed on lying dealerships that didn't have allocation, not at all related to the 10+ weeks the plant was shut down. This year, it's a different tune/excuse on here...

A user on here shared their dealer stated they had 0 transit allocations for this year, yet got 2/3 of theirs scheduled for this year (literally only 3 orders total). CVM states around 50% scheduled, yet supposedly had earned allocation for all of them (some rolling over from stock last year or something to get over the initial 100 🤷)

 

[mjm2950]

The customer has a VIN and a build date for the '23, set for delivery in Sept. Confirmed by dealer on the call. I can't speak to their allocation or anything else about the transaction except for the fact that they did price protect the order even after it was balanced out by Ford.

I've had a VIN for my 2022 model since November 2021. And probably 25+ scheduled build dates, and a window sticker since late March with an expected delivery date of April 14th. Obviously that hasn't happened. Currently scheduled for August 19th. 11 months after the order was placed. Having that 2023 van with a VIN is the best news because Ford will very likely build it at some point. Hopefully sooner rather than later for that order. And yes, that's a great dealer that is eating that $6,000 to $8,000 price increase. Ford needs to step up to the plate and give all those balanced out orders or at least those were the dealer had allocation from Ford to take those orders price protection.

 

[Vanaroo]

I'm going to add that I spoke to a friend who ordered a '22 Transit cargo and was balanced out, his dealer offered him price protection on the '23 and told him that they didn't need Ford's approval and were willing to offer that regardless of any official private offer. He's got his '23 build dates already and was price protected. I called the dealer and spoke to them myself this morning and all of this was confirmed.

Which dealer is this? We've named plenty of dealers who pulled shenanigans -- I'd like to know who is one of the "good ones" (and they deserve the mention)

 

[SierraGal]

Which dealer is this? We've named plenty of dealers who pulled shenanigans -- I'd like to know who is one of the "good ones" (and they deserve the mention)

Yes Vanaroo, we should make a chart and post them: "Hall of Fame Dealers" and "Hall of Shame Dealers"

 

[mjm2950]

Sounds like this is a dealership name that should be shared. Lots of push on here to shame dealerships, justified or not, but so little encouragement to share the good stories.


Ford has made it clear in communication with dealers since mid production year MY21 that earned allocation is not the be all end all that it used to be for custom orders, when COVP approved. These orders receive 'bonus' allocation and priority scheduling over the earned allocation.
On here, at the end of MY21 scheduling, those balanced out was blamed on lying dealerships that didn't have allocation, not at all related to the 10+ weeks the plant was shut down. This year, it's a different tune/excuse on here...

A user on here shared their dealer stated they had 0 transit allocations for this year, yet got 2/3 of theirs scheduled for this year (literally only 3 orders total). CVM states around 50% scheduled, yet supposedly had earned allocation for all of them (some rolling over from stock last year or something to get over the initial 100 🤷)

Yes, Ford has shafted the dealers, the sales people and the retail customer. Ford changed from allocation to COVP after many 2022 orders were placed based on allocation. Sadly Ford and CEO James Farley have no respect for Ford's customers. Ford executives put on a great clown show. Orders should be filled more in line with when the order was submitted.

 

[nmiller85]

Yes, Ford has shafted the dealers, the sales people and the retail customer. Ford changed from allocation to COVP after many 2022 orders were placed based on allocation. Sadly Ford and CEO James Farley have no respect for Ford's customers. Ford executives put on a great clown show. Orders should be filled more in line with when the order was submitted.

COVP was in place before the order books opened for '22s, despite the focus on allocation here at the time.