Is Ford Messing Around with your Order?

[ZackDanger]

I had my reservation turned into an order without me doing it. I was about to go through the process and finalizing my build spec. when I got an email from Ford with the spec of a Bronco order that I didn't place, didn't want and knew nothing about. The dealer claims it wasn't them and blames Ford. Ford customer services says it wasn't them. Anybody know who or how this could have happened?

Welcome to the forum Pete!

It was 100% your dealer. Someone at the dealership saw your reservation and wanted to get it into the system as an order.

There are bonafide reasons for them to do this, and even reasons that benefit you. There are also reasons to do this that are wholly for the benefit of the dealer without consideration for the reservation holder. The million dollar question is whether it was done maliciously or not.

The good news is if you’re otherwise happy with your dealer, they can modify that order into exactly what ever you want. In fact, they can keep modifying the order all the way up until about 2 weeks before it is built (when the VIN is assigned and the actual build is scheduled).

If you were planning on transferring your reservation to another dealer, that’s a whole other problem, and there are threads on exactly that situation already.

There are millions of words of info here on the forum, and for the most part, we’re collectively much smarter and better informed about the Bronco and the ordering process than a very large portion of the dealerships out there.

If you have any questions, the forum probably knows the answer, and if we dont, we’re likely going to be the first to find out.

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[Gamecock]

Keep in mind dealerships can place the orders in anyway they choose.

While it seems strange that a dealership would not want to put in all 400 or so reservations and not just the 130 they were allotted in 2021, they may choose to take the first 130 that come in and commit and not submit #131 and on.

My dealer was only allotted 18 Broncos. It did not matter on their end when we reserved. They picked the 18 they wanted to submit.

I am expecting the reservation date to matter when Ford sets up the production run, but who knows? Dealerships can assign different priority numbers, too. My dealership made it a priority to get a Bronco in for a guy who buys his fleet vehicles from them even though is reservation was nowhere near July.

We'll see what happens this summer...

If they only submitted/converted 18...they’re not going to get all 18. 18 was an estimate based on the number of reservations they had. They haven’t been allocated any yet. If they have a lot less actual orders; they will get less Broncos.

 

[BumbleBeeTuna]

Hi Everyone!

Maybe I'm overreacting or overly suspicious of car dealers but I thought I'd check in with other people who have placed orders and see if anyone is having a dodgy experience with their dealer. Also, I'm hoping someone at Ford is reading this and can weigh in on my experience and reaffirm for me (us) the deadline for finalizing an order without losing my place in line. My assigned dealer is South Bay Ford in the Los Angeles area.

Here's some background and I'll end with what feels like some shenanigans by my local Ford dealer and a question:

I placed my deposit early in the process and was receiving emails from Ford for awhile, including a lot of unwanted Ford marketing emails unrelated to the Bronco. I asked to only receive emails about my Bronco order. In early January, I received a phone call from a salesman at South Bay Ford excitedly congratulating me for being among the first 100 reservations at South Bay. He was eager for me to finalize my order and initially said that I could get my Bronco this year, until I told him that I probably wanted the 6 cyl., at which point he told me I'd probably get a 2022 model next year. I explained that I hadn't made my final decisions but would build it online and then finalize the order. He cautioned me that I had only until Jan 31 to finalize. I asked him to call me during the last week of January. He never called. Meanwhile, I checked in with this Forum and was reassured that the deadline for finalizing orders wasn't until March. So, I didn't really worry about it.

Last Saturday, I stopped in at South Bay to see if they had any models of any vehicle in Cactus Grey. They did and it's awesome. It looks grey in photos but definitely more sage green (to my eyes) in person. Anyway, a salesman talked to me and I told him I was on the list for the Bronco and I told him some of the above story. He took my name and said someone would get back to me.

This afternoon I got a call from another salesman asking me "what kind of car are you interested in?" Obviously, that opening line didn't make me feel very confident that the Bronco orders were under control at South Bay. I reexplained my experience so far. He then claimed that my email account was "blocked" and only I can unblock it. I didn't understand this because I don't even know how to block people using my email service. He then urged me to finalize my build and said that I could lose my place as his dealership has only been allotted 130 Bronco deliveries. I told him that I thought I had until March to finalize my order and that my deposit held my place. He said, "Not necessarily."

So far, my dealings with South Bay have felt typically 'car dealer-like' and it's turning me off just a bit. I've mostly settled on what options and package I want on my new Bronco but I don't like feeling rushed and I want to make sure that my finances are all lined up and that I've really chosen the best options for me to live with for the foreseeable future. (This is my retirement present to myself so it's going to be my car for a long time.)

What's been everyone else's experience with the orders and your contact with your assigned dealer?

Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and input.

Ed

Talk to Don at South Bay Ford. He’s the one placing orders for Broncos. All of them as far as I know. ***If it’s South Bay Ford off rosecrans and I-405***

Pm or DM me and I’ll give you his contact if this is indeed the same dealer I’m ordering through. He was pretty well informed on the ordering process. I spoke with him in moderate detail regarding my order and even changed it through a PDF back to a different bronco with different options with NO ISSUES. He texted me confirmation and showed me that the order has changed. Easy peasy.

Be prepared to place your order with him ASAP. Just FYI South Bay Ford will take an additional $400 plus when you give them your build plus an additional $500 (in March) deposit on your bronco. So $1,000 total by time of order conversion!!!! Yikes.

Good luck.

 

[tyrobronco]

If they only submitted/converted 18...they’re not going to get all 18. 18 was an estimate based on the number of reservations they had. They haven’t been allocated any yet. If they have a lot less actual orders; they will get less Broncos.

Probably.

Hopefully since I put my order in a month ago, Ford has made things clearer for dealerships.

For me, this is new so information isn't being contaminated by how the system has worked for years (decades?).

I can't imagine trying to relearn a one-time temporary system where things are fluid.

Wait, I'm a teacher, so maybe I can. It is frustrating.

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