You guys are not going to believe this!!!

22244 Views 74 Replies 15 Participants Last post by PeterR, Feb 19, 2015

BW5

Discussion Starter · Jan 9, 2015

I can not believe this My dealer just received 2 transits that were built 16 & 17 days after my transit(12/18/14 & 12/19/14 vs. 12/2/14) and mine sits, paid for, at the rail yard waiting for a railcar to be shipped. I don't care what I have to do this is needs to be explained to me. Pete and crewvanman add this to your list of WTF!!!! The other part of it is one of them is a diesel that THEY DID NOT EVEN ORDER!!!!!!! Ford just sent it to them per the commercial sales manager. If anyone has any info on how to contact anyone who can help me with this please do. The ford regional customer care rep will not even return my calls when he was supposed to call me Tuesday with an update on my van. I am going to call every number I can find for ford today until I get some one who is willing to help me with this. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!

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PeterR

· #3 · Jan 9, 2015

"I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do."

HAL
2001: A Space Odyssey

PeterR

· #5 · Jan 9, 2015

BW5 said:
I can not believe this My dealer just received 2 transits that were built 16 & 17 days after my transit(12/18/14 & 12/19/14 vs. 12/2/14) and mine sits, paid for, at the rail yard waiting for a railcar to be shipped. I don't care what I have to do this is needs to be explained to me. Pete and crewvanman add this to your list of WTF!!!! The other part of it is one of them is a diesel that THEY DID NOT EVEN ORDER!!!!!!! Ford just sent it to them per the commercial sales manager. If anyone has any info on how to contact anyone who can help me with this please do. The ford regional customer care rep will not even return my calls when he was supposed to call me Tuesday with an update on my van. I am going to call every number I can find for ford today until I get some one who is willing to help me with this. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!

Dear BW5,

I am happy to help, but . . .

I request that we stick to this one thread to follow through. Are you agreeable to staying put here, so that CrewVanMan and others can help sort this out?

You have posts all over the place, and it simply too confusing (for me at least) to jump from thread to thread.

Please confirm.

Thanks,

Peter

PS -- It will be helpful if we can focus on your Transit, and your Transit alone. Philosophical discussions about Ford's system (not?) of prioritizing shipments -- questions of why certain vehicles seemed to jump in line -- etc. etc. -- just muddy the waters IMO.

We shall focus on locating your vehicle, and that's it. OK?

Please post your VIN again, and post an image of your window sticker here, for starters.

Thanks,

Peter

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PeterR

· #8 · Jan 9, 2015

Well said Chance. To clarify -- I was trying to get BW5 to stay on this thread if he wants my assistance to find his vehicle, that's all. He did mention me by name in his earlier post . . .

I am happy not to help and watch the philosophy fly . . .

PeterR

· #10 · Jan 9, 2015 (Edited)

Hopefully CrewVanMan can help. Seems to me he has his finger on the pulse for your situation. You might check the Have Window Sticker thread, and also Longboard's new thread. Will post a link soon:

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...on/6297-build-complete-delivery-time-lag.html

Check out the Ford source in my last post on that thread yesterday to reach the FFIC [acronym begging for PUNishment IMO,]

http://researchmaniacs.com/Ford/TrackFactoryCarOrders.html

PeterR

· #11 · Jan 9, 2015

BW5 you could try this Chat site which CrewVanMan posted:

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...ion/6345-online-chat-ford-representative.html

PeterR

· #14 · Jan 10, 2015 (Edited)

Thanks CrewVanMan, I had a hunch there would still be Status Report available . . .

BW5 here is an image of a type of report to which CVM may also be referring, called "Track a Vehicle -- Full History," which is done for your Transit by its VIN. This image is the one that Sweetb728 posted on her thread:

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...ild-date-shipping-date-gone-status-report.png

Sweetb728's thread is here:

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/dealers-purchases-orders/6257-build-date-shipping-date-gone.html

Congratulations on the new baby girl! Transit still on the way . . .

PeterR

· #16 · Jan 10, 2015 (Edited)

Condolences BW5, hopefully Monday will bring some resolution from your dealer's team and/or CrewVanMan's contacts.

What a fiasco . . .

If the dealer tries to get a Track a Vehicle report for your VIN, what error message appears on their computer screen? You might ask for a screen shot of this, just to make sure you are getting the entire story here . . .

PS -- Edit -- please note that this Track a Vehicle report is different from the dealer's daily Status Report. They are two different reports entirely, and in my opinion, SOMETHING should appear on the dealer's computer screen when they try to run a "Track a Vehicle" report for your VIN, similar to Sweetb728's which I posted. Did you click on her link above, and see her report, just so you can print it out, if necessary, to show to the dealer?

PeterR

· #17 · Jan 10, 2015 (Edited)

CrewVanMan said:
BW5

I have your VIN....FKA36159 and it looked to clear ETIS 12/2/2014.
Is your Transit at the Kansas City plant location or the regional distribution center?

Go to your dealer, Maguire Ford, and get them to print the VIN history on your Transit. I need to know where it is NOW......exact location.
Ford has control of the Kansas City plant distribution, but the regional center has control once it is offloaded from the rail car.
If it is at the regional center, they can call and get it delivered by SPECIAL REQUEST.

Per the post I just did to BW5, I believe you are referring to a "Track a Vehicle -- Full History" report, similar to the one Sweetb728 posted (link above -- Edit link below too). Is this correct?

If so, it would be helpful if we could all start calling this report by its correct name, in order to contrast it from the dealer's daily Status Report which shows ALL vehicle orders placed by that dealer, with each line item relating to a specific Transit by VIN. star gazer posted an example of this recently as I recall. [Edit -- see PS below]

Thus there are two different reports available for each Transit on order IMO:

1. Track a Vehicle -- Full History
2. Status Report

Is this accurate, CrewVanMan? Thanks

PS -- Edit, just to make sure we are on the same page in one post, here are samples of the two reports (click on blue links):

1. Track a Vehicle -- http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...ild-date-shipping-date-gone-status-report.png

2. Status Report -- http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...sticker-tracking-build-dates-vin-sticker2.jpg

PS2 -- BW5, it would be reasonable to ask your dealer for a printout, or screen shot, of each of these reports (or error messages) for your VIN. As in the nuclear disarmament situation:

Trust but verify . . .

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PeterR

· #19 · Jan 10, 2015 (Edited)

Thanks for the confirmation. So what do you think BW5's dealer will see on his computer screen when he runs each report using BW5's VIN?

At least an error message for each?

Shouldn't the Track a Vehicle report still show his Transit as sitting somewhere? If the dealer gets a blank, then somewhere up Ford's corporate ladder SOMEONE should be able to access this information, if the dealer can't?

Thanks

PeterR

· #21 · Jan 10, 2015

BW5, as I re-read the recent posts, it seems to me that you need to meet with your dealer and watch them as they go on the computer, using your VIN, and ask for the two different reports. Something is not adding up here IMO.

Trust and verify . . .

Edit -- ditto to CVM about getting the Fourth Estate involved.

PeterR

· #24 · Jan 10, 2015 (Edited)

You might consider contacting Michael Martinez:

Ford's Transit Van continues E-Series' success

Good luck!

Edit -- although the Detroit press as auto cheerleaders may be disinclined to pull open the Emperor's bureau drawers . . .

PeterR

· #27 · Jan 10, 2015

How about writing the author of your article to see if the WSJ has a business/auto writer who would be interested in BW5's plight, perhaps Dan Neil? [interesting article]

Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: Big Vans, Big Ideas - WSJ

Note the surfing in Costa Rica aspect!

PeterR

· #34 · Jan 11, 2015

1stford said:
Was it Ingot Silver, MH, 148WB, with Alloy Wheels?

CrewVanMan said he saw a Focus on the lot, not a Transit.

PeterR

· #37 · Jan 12, 2015 (Edited)

Thanks for the update BW5, although Ford's actions here continue to blow the mind . . .

Hopefully CrewVanMan's contacts in Dearborn can access Ford's computers at a higher level than the dealer has access to, apparently.

PS -- Did you print out the sample "Track a Vehicle -- Full History" report from Sweetb728, and show (email) it to the salesman? Do we buy his story that he does not know what this report is?

See here:

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/83193-post14.html

PeterR

· #40 · Jan 12, 2015 (Edited)

BW5 said:
PeterR, re-read post #36 my salesman said he does not even no what that report is and even if he did they can not get any info on my van because they paid ford for it. The sales manager the other day tried and was unsuccessful they have no way to get info on my van now at the dealership. They have to call others to get it.

Yeah, I understood about their (supposed) inability to access your vehicle info. by the VIN. I don't buy it, but maybe Ford cuts off their computer access to your VIN after a complete sale, as you suggest.

I was actually re-asking specifically about the salesman's claim that he did not even know about this type of report at all -- Track a Vehicle -- Full History -- if I have read you correctly.

Then there is the issue whether the computer database is open to higher levels at Ford who still have access to your VIN for various reports.

You can bet that the quarterly and year-end reports for the dealer's sales will include a line item for your VIN. And they are telling you they have no access at all to ANY information about your vehicle. Does not compute IMO!

PeterR

· #42 · Jan 12, 2015

Is the FCC you refer to the same as the site listed at the bottom of this page?

How to Track Ford Factory Car Orders

Ford Fleet Information Center

1-800-343-5338

PeterR

· #43 · Jan 12, 2015

BW5 said:
Yep he did not know anything about it. But like I said he and the sales manager tried every avenue the knew of including the previous sales manager they tried every avenue they knew of within their system to find my van they cannot get any info on my van now thru their software.

But their apparent claim that they have never seen a "Track a Vehicle by VIN" report is difficult to believe IMO.

PeterR

· #44 · Jan 12, 2015

CrewVanMan said:
Passed by the Forney Distribution Center yesterday and they were unloading some Transits. I made a pass around the back of the lot to get a better view and saw something that we on the forum may not have considered about delays on our vehicles......

Wrecked on the lot!

Now here was a Focus that was back in a area by the inspection building that had front end damage. I am sure that they may have some accidents on the lot in Kansas City with all the movements of Transits on the lot.

Is BW5s Transit in this situation? All excuses about it being at the lot and not moved?

Any progress today on BW5's plight? Thanks

PeterR

· #46 · Jan 12, 2015

This just in on another thread FYI BW5.

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...on/6297-build-complete-delivery-time-lag.html

greenwater said:
After going up the chain of command at Ford I finally got some help from the national customer service manager. She was very helpful and was able to tag my van for rush delivery. (There is a special term for it but I forgot what it was) Apparently this is an option if the process has taken more than 12 weeks. My van was ordered in October, built on November 16 and delivered today. The van did not go on a train. It was driven on a flatbed from Kansas City to Colorado. All the while the dealer never knew of it's whereabouts or when it might be delivered. The customer service manager knew exactly where it was when I called her over the last few weeks. There seems to be a disconnect between Ford corporate and it's dealers.

The van looks and drives great. I'll post a quick review in a week or two in the general forum.

PeterR

· #48 · Jan 13, 2015 (Edited)

CrewVanMan said:
BW5

Have a guy at the Kansas City plant going to check the yard tomorrow for your Transit. They have your VIN so hopefully he can spot it.

My Fleet dealer contact in AR tried to locate your Transit through the system and it would not come up. He said the dealer should not have shown it AS SOLD in the system before it was delivered so it could be tracked in the Ford system even though you paid for it. Your dealer IS CORRECT!
If they key it in as SOLD, you goes off the DAILY STATUS and the TRACKING BY VIN system

Thanks for the follow up. At what level in the Ford corporate hierarchy do you think someone can track a Transit in this situation? Certainly the VIN is in the system someplace, if only for warranty purposes, and maybe sales totals for the dealer etc.. What else?

The IT dept. should insert some kind of control here IMO to prevent the "disappearance" of such vehicles until the purchaser has signed off on delivery.

This whole thing smells like a coverup of some kind . . .

For instance, how can a dealer claim they have never seen a report called Track a Vehicle -- Full History?

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