We special ordered our F450 from our local dealer, with agreement that it would be delivered to a dealership in OKC so DH could fly in, pick it up, drive to Elk City OK and pick up our DRV to drive it home. Found out Friday that our sales guy messed up and the truck is headed to Seattle, but currently it's still in the "being built" stage. We're hoping to get a positive call tomorrow after they contact Ford distribution and figure out how to get the truck to OKC as planned and promised.
Has anyone had a similiar issue? If the distribution can't be changed, did the local dealership compensate you for the extra time, gas, expense of having to drive an extra 1900 miles? We have enough frequent flyer miles to use so the flight wasn't going to cost us anything, now if they can't fix it, we will be out a lot of extra money.
Any advice?
Racerguy said
07:02 AM Mar 4, 2013
Their mistake....Make them fix it at no cost too you!!
bigboomer said
07:26 AM Mar 4, 2013
If they cannot fix it then I would tell them you are cancelling the order and will be ordering a Chevy or Dodge....Like Lucky Mike said they would most certainly hold you to the contract if you wanted to make a change so the reverse is on them. Let them know you are communicating with a awful lot of folks who might or might not now do buisness with them depending on how this plays out.
Good Luck,
Les
-- Edited by bigboomer on Monday 4th of March 2013 07:26:54 AM
-- Edited by bigboomer on Monday 4th of March 2013 07:27:14 AM
GENECOP said
07:49 AM Mar 4, 2013
Tell them to deliver as promised or keep the truck for themselves....
Lucky Mike said
02:52 PM Mar 4, 2013
That was my opinion when I read it......they would hold you to the contract and you should make them or be compensated for it.....trust me you paid for it!!!
NWescapee said
06:18 PM Mar 4, 2013
Thanks guys, our biggest concern is that if we have to re-order the truck, is the timing. If we have to wait another 10 weeks we'll have to delay putting the house on the market, and we might also have to cancel out of one of our best art shows as we no longer have our TT and wouldn't have our new 5v'er yet and we don't want to pay hotel prices for a very expensive little tourist town during one of their busiest weekends of the year. Argg, this just got way too complicated when we start thinking about all the money we could be losing due to one person's mistake. I already told the dealership that I would expect to be compensated if we were to incur any additional expense and their respons was "I don't know how we could help you there". Hopefully we'll get a call later today with everything fixed as it should be and my blood pressure can go back down to normal!!
GENECOP said
10:23 PM Mar 4, 2013
NWescapee wrote:
Thanks guys, our biggest concern is that if we have to re-order the truck, is the timing. If we have to wait another 10 weeks we'll have to delay putting the house on the market, and we might also have to cancel out of one of our best art shows as we no longer have our TT and wouldn't have our new 5v'er yet and we don't want to pay hotel prices for a very expensive little tourist town during one of their busiest weekends of the year. Argg, this just got way too complicated when we start thinking about all the money we could be losing due to one person's mistake. I already told the dealership that I would expect to be compensated if we were to incur any additional expense and their respons was "I don't know how we could help you there". Hopefully we'll get a call later today with everything fixed as it should be and my blood pressure can go back down to normal!!
Those things that you are concerned about are valid but should not be told to the dealer (unless you already did) the dealer must think you are willing to walk away, NO PROBLEM, that is your only leverage......keep us posted.
Lucky Mike said
10:25 PM Mar 4, 2013
If they said to me that they didnt know how to help me there.....I would point out that on the contract point of delivery was where you asked to have it delivered and thats how they can help you..........other than that exslpain to him the meaning of breach of contract and follow thru......also call ford motor company or whatever brand you are buying and start at the top....put the dealer in the hotseat and see how fast things change
Jack Mayer said
11:43 PM Mar 4, 2013
Exactly what Mike said. First, make it clear to the dealer that it was their mistake, and their mistake to fix. Second, tell them that they have 3 days to tell you how they intend to resolve the issue, third, tell them that you will escalate to Corporate after the three days if they do not resolve it - not a threat, just what you will do.
NWescapee said
11:44 PM Mar 4, 2013
Update - order change was put in but we were told we won't know if they were able to re-route delivery until the date is much closer. They gave us a 50/50 chance. And no, we haven't told the dealer how much grief they are causing us yet, I'm doing some research on what other trucks are available in the OKC area that might meet our specs so if they can't deliver on their contract we can find another option.
Racerguy said
12:58 AM Mar 5, 2013
I think you are giving them way too much wiggle room.I would be on them like white on rice.
Alie and Jims Carrilite said
08:54 PM Mar 5, 2013
Dig a little or maybe Howard or Linda could give you a Ford Corporate phone number or 2. Go to the highest you can, and let it roll down hill. Make the dealer work for his part of YOUR check.
53 Merc said
09:09 PM Mar 5, 2013
NWescapee wrote:
Update - order change was put in but we were told we won't know if they were able to re-route delivery until the date is much closer. They gave us a 50/50 chance.
Do what? These jerks are just not performing as the contract describes. Go to another dealer and have them find in another dealers lot something that meets yur requirements. They can look all over the US for a truck in your spec. If you still want to deal with the jerks that are runaround masters, good luck. You need to make them understand the tolerance for B.S. is reaching saturation point.
Lucky Mike said
09:14 PM Mar 5, 2013
Jim is correct....Howard and Linda just went thru problems and can probably help you to start in the higher offices, I would PM them for the info .......the Dealer will be a little more Respectable if the shove comes from his Corporate supplier
, Dont be giving its your money and you paid for this product so make sure you get to the letter what you paid for....
NWescapee said
02:55 AM Mar 6, 2013
We've sent a request to the general manager of the dealership with 24 hours to respond detailing how they will deal with the situation if the truck does not arrive where promised, no answer yet, I'm trying to be patient but that's not always my strong suit.
In the meantime I've contacted a Ford dealer in OKC who doesn't have exactly what we are looking for but has started a 3 state search to see if he can find a closer match and can expand his search further if necessary.
I will be contacting Corporate tomorrow if I don't hear from the dealership by noon and possibly my credit card company since our deposit for the special order was put on the credit card and will be disputing the payment. I might also start posting messages on the local dealer's Facebook page and see if using social media gets their attention!!
GENECOP said
03:11 AM Mar 6, 2013
NWescapee wrote:
We've sent a request to the general manager of the dealership with 24 hours to respond detailing how they will deal with the situation if the truck does not arrive where promised, no answer yet, I'm trying to be patient but that's not always my strong suit.
In the meantime I've contacted a Ford dealer in OKC who doesn't have exactly what we are looking for but has started a 3 state search to see if he can find a closer match and can expand his search further if necessary.
I will be contacting Corporate tomorrow if I don't hear from the dealership by noon and possibly my credit card company since our deposit for the special order was put on the credit card and will be disputing the payment. I might also start posting messages on the local dealer's Facebook page and see if using social media gets their attention!!
There is another website Ripoff Report, you can list your grievance give the details for all the world to see.
Terry and Jo said
03:24 AM Mar 6, 2013
Dale and Ruth,
I've just sent you a private message.
Terry
NorCal Dan said
10:40 PM Mar 6, 2013
On the Phoenix ch. 5 news a few days ago they ran an article about a women who was being sued for posting negative comments about a business. Bottom line, be able to prove anything you post on public sites, ie. Facebook.
NWescapee said
12:34 AM Mar 7, 2013
Well, the local dealer didn't respond within the requested timeframe, so I called Corporate. Since then I've received 3 phone calls, the local dealership is suddenly springing to attention to make this work and will have a final answer for us by Friday regarding where our truck is going (Ford hasn't confirmed with them if they'll be able to offload it from the train it's on) and if it ends up in the wrong place what their plan is to get it to the right place and when that will occur.
The folks from Corporate did tell me that there wasn't much they could do since the local dealerships are locally owned and operated, but they did contact the local dealer with our issues and got them moving in the right direction.
Our local dealer is also starting a search of the dealerships in the OKC/DFW area to see if they can find any trucks that meet our specs as one option, unfortunately leather seats seem to be pretty standard on F450s and with Tazzy Kat we just do not want leather. Deal breaker for us.
cejones4210 said
05:27 AM Mar 8, 2013
A dealer may be locally owned but they are also under contract to the Ford company. I'd be pushing more buttons at Corporate because someone there wasn't doing their job either! Squeaky wheel gets the attention! Hold them accountable, let them know these conversations are being posted on a forum. That always gets their attention. I work for a large international corporation in customer support, so I know a bit of what I speak.
NWescapee said
08:16 AM Mar 8, 2013
Well the truck is on it's way to WA instead of OK. That has been confirmed. The local dealership is offering to have it trucked to OK via a transport company or reimburse for the cost to drive. So, looks like it's our decision to make. We're waiting for a more definitive date on delivery of the truck to our local area and then we'll make a decision.
Biggest concern right now is that the transport company could take 1-2 weeks to get it to OK depending on when their schedule and we have a definite date when we need to have it back here to pack and head out of town for an art show.
So, looks like most of the issue has been resolved, ball is now in our court to decide if Dale is driving both ways or if we're going to have it transported and fly him to OKC. We're kind of leaning towards Dale driving it, feeling like we might have a little more control over the schedule but will make that decision after this weekend's first art show of the year. No time to really think now, our first show of the year is off to an unexpectedly great start and we aren't left with much time to do anything other than sell, sell, sell, a great problem to have when you are self-employed!!
bigboomer said
01:43 PM Mar 8, 2013
Well it certainly sounds a lot better than when it started. Hopefully the plan keeps evolving towards a successful outcome. Have a safe trip picking up and driving your new baby home!
Les
NWescapee said
06:22 AM Mar 28, 2013
Not good, 3 weeks ago we were told our truck had shipped. Today we found out that our local dealership had been mis-informed. Evidently the truck is still in the factory in KY after both our local dealer and the people we talked to at Ford Corporate told us it was on a train to our home town. Obviously Ford has something wrong with their internal communications and tracking systems.
Starting the search with a dealer in OKC tomorrow (Yes, Terry & Jo, we're calling your contact, thanks for that tip) to see if they can find a truck for us in the area closer to Rolling Retreats. I've about had it with this waiting game, between the dealership, and now Ford Corp. I have totally lost my trust in anything any of them are telling me, not to mention my patience.
The house is 90% ready to go on the market, we have art shows beginning the end of April where we need to be mobile and will be losing money if we aren't.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
jholderbaum said
12:33 PM Mar 28, 2013
Does it have to be a f-450? I've seen a few HDTs for sale that may be in that area as well?
NWescapee said
04:08 PM Mar 28, 2013
HDTs would make our art show load in / load out process very difficult. An HDT would just be too big to manuever through many of the show set ups.
jholderbaum said
05:56 PM Mar 28, 2013
I am pretty sure many of the singled HDTs have the same width as a F-450, and some even have a better turn radius. I;ve driven older Class-8s that have a better turn radius than my F-250. (shrug) just a thought.
Terry and Jo said
01:05 AM Mar 29, 2013
Ford F450's also have a good steering radius. Our F450 is a full 3 feet longer than the F250 club cab that we had but turns in the same radius. Dale and Ruth's issues with getting to art shows and other venues pretty much rules out the height of a HDT. I would venture that even an MDT like a mini-Freightliner would be too large for those venues.
When they were visiting here in Oklahoma some time back, we met up with them and enjoyed a meal with them and their grandtwins. We also let them drive our F450 so that they would have a sense of how big it was and how it handled.
Terry
jholderbaum said
01:13 AM Mar 29, 2013
Ahh, wasn't thinking about height. I guess I assumed (yes I know the saying) they were pulling their 5th wheel to the shows as a moving shop. I should know better :)
NWescapee said
05:15 AM Mar 29, 2013
We will live in the 5th wheel at shows but plan to use the truck as our load in / load out vehicle. Our current Toyota Tundra has been problematic at times, especially when we have bicycles mounted on top, that made it really challenging to load into a show in a park that was a Redwood Grove, let's just say our bikes helped with the tree trimming!!
I think the HDTs are also longer, which again, when you are pulling up in front of a 10x10 booth space and trying to unload quickly, move the truck and then continue set up would be more of a challenge with the HDT, I think.
Looking at other options now, any opinions on used F450s? Any years to avoid? If we're considering a diesel, how many miles is too many? Diesel trucks are new to us, we're still learning as we progress through this journey.
We special ordered our F450 from our local dealer, with agreement that it would be delivered to a dealership in OKC so DH could fly in, pick it up, drive to Elk City OK and pick up our DRV to drive it home. Found out Friday that our sales guy messed up and the truck is headed to Seattle, but currently it's still in the "being built" stage. We're hoping to get a positive call tomorrow after they contact Ford distribution and figure out how to get the truck to OKC as planned and promised.
Has anyone had a similiar issue? If the distribution can't be changed, did the local dealership compensate you for the extra time, gas, expense of having to drive an extra 1900 miles? We have enough frequent flyer miles to use so the flight wasn't going to cost us anything, now if they can't fix it, we will be out a lot of extra money.
Any advice?
If they cannot fix it then I would tell them you are cancelling the order and will be ordering a Chevy or Dodge....Like Lucky Mike said they would most certainly hold you to the contract if you wanted to make a change so the reverse is on them. Let them know you are communicating with a awful lot of folks who might or might not now do buisness with them depending on how this plays out.
Good Luck,
Les
-- Edited by bigboomer on Monday 4th of March 2013 07:26:54 AM
-- Edited by bigboomer on Monday 4th of March 2013 07:27:14 AM
I already told the dealership that I would expect to be compensated if we were to incur any additional expense and their respons was "I don't know how we could help you there".
Hopefully we'll get a call later today with everything fixed as it should be and my blood pressure can go back down to normal!!
Those things that you are concerned about are valid but should not be told to the dealer (unless you already did) the dealer must think you are willing to walk away, NO PROBLEM, that is your only leverage......keep us posted.
Go to the highest you can, and let it roll down hill. Make the dealer work for his part of YOUR check.
Do what? These jerks are just not performing as the contract describes. Go to another dealer and have them find in another dealers lot something that meets yur requirements. They can look all over the US for a truck in your spec. If you still want to deal with the jerks that are runaround masters, good luck. You need to make them understand the tolerance for B.S. is reaching saturation point.
, Dont be giving its your money and you paid for this product so make sure you get to the letter what you paid for....
In the meantime I've contacted a Ford dealer in OKC who doesn't have exactly what we are looking for but has started a 3 state search to see if he can find a closer match and can expand his search further if necessary.
I will be contacting Corporate tomorrow if I don't hear from the dealership by noon and possibly my credit card company since our deposit for the special order was put on the credit card and will be disputing the payment. I might also start posting messages on the local dealer's Facebook page and see if using social media gets their attention!!
There is another website Ripoff Report, you can list your grievance give the details for all the world to see.
Dale and Ruth,
I've just sent you a private message.
Terry
The folks from Corporate did tell me that there wasn't much they could do since the local dealerships are locally owned and operated, but they did contact the local dealer with our issues and got them moving in the right direction.
Our local dealer is also starting a search of the dealerships in the OKC/DFW area to see if they can find any trucks that meet our specs as one option, unfortunately leather seats seem to be pretty standard on F450s and with Tazzy Kat we just do not want leather. Deal breaker for us.
Biggest concern right now is that the transport company could take 1-2 weeks to get it to OK depending on when their schedule and we have a definite date when we need to have it back here to pack and head out of town for an art show.
So, looks like most of the issue has been resolved, ball is now in our court to decide if Dale is driving both ways or if we're going to have it transported and fly him to OKC. We're kind of leaning towards Dale driving it, feeling like we might have a little more control over the schedule but will make that decision after this weekend's first art show of the year. No time to really think now, our first show of the year is off to an unexpectedly great start and we aren't left with much time to do anything other than sell, sell, sell, a great problem to have when you are self-employed!!
Well it certainly sounds a lot better than when it started. Hopefully the plan keeps evolving towards a successful outcome. Have a safe trip picking up and driving your new baby home!
Les
Starting the search with a dealer in OKC tomorrow (Yes, Terry & Jo, we're calling your contact, thanks for that tip) to see if they can find a truck for us in the area closer to Rolling Retreats. I've about had it with this waiting game, between the dealership, and now Ford Corp. I have totally lost my trust in anything any of them are telling me, not to mention my patience.
The house is 90% ready to go on the market, we have art shows beginning the end of April where we need to be mobile and will be losing money if we aren't.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Ford F450's also have a good steering radius. Our F450 is a full 3 feet longer than the F250 club cab that we had but turns in the same radius. Dale and Ruth's issues with getting to art shows and other venues pretty much rules out the height of a HDT. I would venture that even an MDT like a mini-Freightliner would be too large for those venues.
When they were visiting here in Oklahoma some time back, we met up with them and enjoyed a meal with them and their grandtwins. We also let them drive our F450 so that they would have a sense of how big it was and how it handled.
Terry
I think the HDTs are also longer, which again, when you are pulling up in front of a 10x10 booth space and trying to unload quickly, move the truck and then continue set up would be more of a challenge with the HDT, I think.
Looking at other options now, any opinions on used F450s? Any years to avoid? If we're considering a diesel, how many miles is too many? Diesel trucks are new to us, we're still learning as we progress through this journey.