Long ship delays (>60 days from build to arrival)

[thrawn2k2]

Ran into this too. Built week of 8/15, arrived at dealer 10/24. Purchased on 10/26.

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[metroshot]

METROSHOT, I don't think that there is a 'single' logistics for Ford, it depends on WHERE the new vehicle is heading, whether it will be by rail, and 'which' rail company, as well as if it will be convoy directly to the dealer, usually only if within 300 road miles.
They use several different rail companies, including Norfolk Southern, which came to me in the Atlanta area, although the initial rail yard might be CSX, which then drops the rail car, full of trucks, off at the appropriate rail yard for the 'final' rail delivery destination.

Once your vehicle reaches it's final 'rail unloading yard', then it will sit in the rail car until a logistics provider, with drivers, unload the truck and park it in a destination 'space' ... then, it waits for the trucking company that controls the deliveries from there to load it onto a trailer, assign a driver, and have them bring it to the dealer.

The vehicle goes thru MANY hands on it's way to you - it's not even a 'single' company that does ANY of this.

Yes I understand the process, but what I don't understand is why these trucks are sitting at their rail depot (industry) locations after being unloaded.

There must be a 3rd party logistics company that is paid from the time it leaves MI to your dealer = many hands.

Why do we pay the extra $1795 line item = delivery & destination charges ?
To whom does this get paid to ?

When I tracked my Lightning, it was on a CSX track in a Canadian National Railway car, transferred to UP in IL, and made it's way to Mira Loma, CA where it was unloaded at the Union Pacific industry depot.

Trucking company picked up the next day (Friday) and held onto it over the weekend (dealer does not accept new vehicle PDI on Sat/Sun).

First thing Monday, it was delivered to the dealer.

Total days from shipping date in Mi to dealer was 17 days.

 

[suldog99]

My delivery window just changed AGAIN - by a MONTH. Last month they just pushed it a month. And now just pushed another month. 9-9 to 9-15 was the original window. Ha!! Maybe they meant 2023?

There is literally no plan. Total bullshit.

@Ford Motor Company WHAT IS THE PLAN??

We are the unlucky few - just know, that when your delivery window ends, and you still dont have your truck, they will arbitrarily push the window out a month.

 

[MickeyAO]

As someone with a long blend date to delivery (see signature block), I can attest that you will find all the angst and uncertainty will fade away once you take delivery and start driving it!

 

[carrillj]

What’s sucks is that some people will lose the EV tax credit due to these delays.

 

[Viet658]

What’s sucks is that some people will lose the EV tax credit due to these delays.

I believe Ford produced mostly ER Lariats according the charts that were provided in the beginning. If any of those have max tow then they will lose the $7,500 tax credit starting in 2023 because they will exceed the $80k limit. My hard cut off date is 12/31 for my order. If it comes after then I will be cancelling.

 

[Drayday55]

I believe Ford produced mostly ER Lariats according the charts that were provided in the beginning. If any of those have max tow then they will lose the $7,500 tax credit starting in 2023 because they will exceed the $80k limit. My hard cut off date is 12/31 for my order. If it comes after then I will be cancelling.

Same here

 

[carrillj]

I’m in the same situation. My truck goes into production next week, but now I’m worried it won’t arrive in time for me to receive the EV tax credit. I’m in San Diego, CA.

 

[RickLightning]

Didn't mean to sound rude, realized it was a little snarkier than intended. But my truck being late is 100% on Ford, and I'm pretty sure most people from production weeks 8/15 and 8/18 are in the same boat. They probably shipped it missing a part and are taking their sweet time getting around the country to fix them instead of leaving them at the factory like the following weeks and taking care of them in a timely fashion. There are a few outliers where rail strikes and weather could affect the shipping, but the loudest complaints right now seem to be the folks that can go watch their trucks sit in the weather, waiting.

Just a random fun fact; a vehicle can develop flat spots on their tires due to sitting for only 30 days. Add 2500lbs over "normal" curb weight due to batteries and I think a lot of people are going to need new tires after this, bc I doubt the rail yard workers are rolling the trucks around...

A couple of points.

1) There is limited space to store vehicles at/near a factory. At the end of Q3, Ford has 40 or 50,000 vehicles sitting in places. What makes you think the F-150Ls should get preferential treatment?

2) Vehicles sit for months at dealers and don't get moved. People buy year old vehicles all the time (pre-pandemic). Tires are just fine for 99.9% of them.

 

[badger_7]

A couple of points.

1) There is limited space to store vehicles at/near a factory. At the end of Q3, Ford has 40 or 50,000 vehicles sitting in places. What makes you think the F-150Ls should get preferential treatment?

2) Vehicles sit for months at dealers and don't get moved. People buy year old vehicles all the time (pre-pandemic). Tires are just fine for 99.9% of them.

1) They started stockpiling weeks after the production weeks in question. 8/8+8/15 weeks went out while 8/22 weeks were parked at the factory to wait for chips. Then they shipped those trucks to their final destinations, leapfrogging the two earlier weeks. There was no major backlog being tracked back mid-August based on the other production weeks in the tracker or media outlets.

2) Most dealers I've regularly driven past have at least moved vehicles around to either display a different vehicle or make room for new ones coming in. Not saying they all do, but from my experience, they don't just sit around for months at a time. And they at least get washed and checked over occasionally by Ford-associated employees. I doubt United Pacific cares at all about the vehicles sitting in their lots. Sitting without movement, such as when storing a vehicle, causes flat spots. That's just how it works, and how quickly it happens depends on many factors. Environment (temp, humidity, etc) and weight are the big concerns, which, where I am, is a hot/dry climate (bad) and the Lightning is heavier than any other F-150, by a lot. So, there is limited experience with that kind of weight on that particular tire. Not saying it's definitely an issue, but it's something to be cognizant of when driving off the lot the first time.

 

[luebri]

A couple of points.

1) There is limited space to store vehicles at/near a factory. At the end of Q3, Ford has 40 or 50,000 vehicles sitting in places. What makes you think the F-150Ls should get preferential treatment?

2) Vehicles sit for months at dealers and don't get moved. People buy year old vehicles all the time (pre-pandemic). Tires are just fine for 99.9% of them.

Seems like you are caping up for Ford here. Bottom line, Ford is executing its delivery process extremely poorly for several of us and providing zero customer service while they do it. Every other word out of Jim Farley’s mouth is Tesla. While bottom line is they are way behind Tesla in the make to order game, which is the auto industry model moving forward. Stocking dealer lots full of vehicles in gone, done, never coming back, was a stupid model anyways. So they better figure out make to order and get them delivered in a reasonable time or their goose is cooked. You can only treat customers like they are worthless so many times before they walk…. Sometimes forever.

 

[lancersrock]

Seems like you are caping up for Ford here. Bottom line, Ford is executing its delivery process extremely poorly for several of us and providing zero customer service while they do it. Every other word out of Jim Farley’s mouth is Tesla. While bottom line is they are way behind Tesla in the make to order game, which is the auto industry model moving forward. Stocking dealer lots full of vehicles in gone, done, never coming back, was a stupid model anyways. So they better figure out make to order and get them delivered in a reasonable time or their goose is cooked. You can only treat customers like they are worthless so many times before they walk…. Sometimes forever.

You have a few points there that are a little extreme. Made to order is not going to happen overnight. Also let's keep in mind Ford has launched 4 new models in the middle of a manufacturers nightmare with part shortages, they have dropped the ball on communication but some of that has to be they haven't had to do it like this before. Tesla has had time to improve their craft without outside influence of dealers. They got to figure it out but most of us are just impatient.

 

[Drayday55]

Lubir is just venting. To reiterate his sentiment. We're ordering 80k vehicles not a pair of socks. For the $1800 or so dollars were spending accuracy, truth and transparency is all we need. We're not asking for unrealistic promises. What we've been force fed is 3rd world level of service for premium cost.

 

[luebri]

Am I venting? Yes.
Am I beginning increasingly impatient? Yes.
Am I also honestly assessing my (and several others) customer experience vs the Tesla customer experience? yes.

Jim Farley is obsessed with competing with the Tesla experience... as he should be. The brand (Ford) is more than the product (F150 Lightning). A good brand is repeatable product success + relentlessly good customer experience.

Agree with @Drayday55 completely. An $80k purchase deserves a premium customer service experience... much less a competent customer service experience. If the vast majority of the lightnings are delivered in less than 30 days I do not think it is unreasonable to expect elevated customer service at the point you go past that much less 60+ days.

Tesla: 227.54
Ford: 13.37

Amazon: 102.44
Sears 0.100

 

[badger_7]

I fully agree with you @luebri , this is freaking stupid and anyone trying to stand up for @Ford Motor Company in this thread, that isn't a Ford employee and can provide actual information, shouldn't bother trying to convince us (waiting for trucks sitting for *literally* two months or more in a rail yard while other trucks are being built and delivered in less than 4 weeks) that we're being unreasonable. We aren't. $80K on a vehicle is insane and I'm stupid for keeping my order, but they keep stringing us along with hope of finally getting a delivery. If I hadn't already set my mind on getting an EV truck this year, I would wait on the Ram. They can't launch theirs any worse than Ford at this point. If I could use a Rivian in my use case, I'd throw my name on that list, because it's more likely that I get that truck before my Lightning that is sitting 20 miles away.

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