Promised Call

[JAR897]

that's not bad dealers, that's reality unfortunately.

I have never said its bad dealers, I have said that I expect a quicker build. My argument isn't that I should be ahead of the que, I understand that. My gripe is that the cars arn't being built quicker, and frankly !Removed! customers off by the wait. You stick up for ford by saying about their parts and product line etc etc.. well thats part of a system, and IMO their system is less than adequate. They knew the new fiesta would be a big selling car, and when the demand rocketed they should have had contingency plans or something to cope with that! I just don't think 100+ days for a car is perticularly efficient? Maybe I'm wrong - its my first car that I have ordered form a factory order, but still I would have expected a quicker build. No fault of the dealer, just the system of how the car is built.

For the record, I have been to various dealerships and ALL of them have quoted me a delivery date much shorter than what I would calculate! Not the dealer I ordered from, which is one of the reasons I chose the dealer I did, because he is an honest and good dealer.

I'm just saying that some dealers out there will try and do you over.

[KeithC]

I have never said its bad dealers, I have said that I expect a quicker build. My argument isn't that I should be ahead of the que, I understand that. My gripe is that the cars arn't being built quicker, and frankly !Removed! customers off by the wait. You stick up for ford by saying about their parts and product line etc etc.. well thats part of a system, and IMO their system is less than adequate. They knew the new fiesta would be a big selling car, and when the demand rocketed they should have had contingency plans or something to cope with that! I just don't think 100+ days for a car is perticularly efficient? Maybe I'm wrong - its my first car that I have ordered form a factory order, but still I would have expected a quicker build. No fault of the dealer, just the system of how the car is built.

For the record, I have been to various dealerships and ALL of them have quoted me a delivery date much shorter than what I would calculate! Not the dealer I ordered from, which is one of the reasons I chose the dealer I did, because he is an honest and good dealer.

I'm just saying that some dealers out there will try and do you over.

You're not grasping this are you.

You cannot make cars quicker just because the queues are longer, it doesn't work like that. If you went into Greggs for a pasty, would you be happy for instance if they only cooked them for say 10 minutes instead of 30 mins because there was a queue in the shop and all the fresh batch had sold? I don't know how i can put it into simpler terms for you.

Have you any idea how much money it costs to put a new car into production? How much assembly lines cost and how much tooling costs? We are talking hundreds of millions of pounds.

To make more components in the same time you need more machines and people to operate them, where do you put these new machines?

To build more cars in the same time you need more assembly lines and these need manning as well. Where do you put these assembly lines?

You can't just invent space inside a factory where all these extra machines and assembly lines are going to sit.

What happens to all the expensive machines that are sat idle and the men who are sat on their backside when demand dies down, which it will?

You'd be the first to complain if your car cost an extra £2000 to cover these extra costs and that is the reality of the situation.

Do you honestly belive Ford would be taking the time they are to make the Fiesta if they could make them quicker?

You were told when you ordered the car that you would have to wait, so why are you moaning when you are doing what you was told would happen. I was told it was anything between 8 and 12 weeks and that was before the rush and back up started and it's something I agreed to or else I wouldn't buy the car, similarly, you did the same. I was also told, by the same dealer as you, that the timescale was an estimate and could change (due to demand) and it was not set in stone like some people think. I told him don't worry, I will not be mithering you and I didn't, I just waited.

Oh, and didn't you go with the dealers you are with because you went with Deal Drivers?

[KeithC]

Double post.

[hedgepig]

Oh dear my topic has caused some feeling. I haven't pestered my dealer and as you will note he delivered the car ahead of schedule. My complaint with him has been that HE told me he would ring me about 5 times and not once did he. As I said even on the day before pick up when he promised me he would ring to arrange a time for me to pick it up HE DIDN'T. I had to ring him minutes before the dealership shut to ask what time I could pick my car up.

Why promise a call and then not bother was all I asked.

Of course it has; you were inferring that all dealers are bad.

What's your problem---your car arrived on time---job done no fuss----actions speak louder than words.

If anything, you should be praising him not criticising him.

There you go......rant over! ;)

[hedgepig]

It takes over 10 hours for it to go through the paint process!!!

And that's assuming there's no backlog or paint shortages or capacity issues or breakdowns or sickness etc etc etc.

As Keith has already painstakingly explained, the manufacture of cars is not like bagging potatoes; it takes time and estimated lead times have to be given for that very reason.

So, you all need to be very very patient--if there's any way that Ford can speed up the process, believe me, they will. ;)

[amyjaj]

And that's assuming there's no backlog or paint shortages or capacity issues or breakdowns or sickness etc etc etc.

As Keith has already painstakingly explained, the manufacture of cars is not like bagging potatoes; it takes time and estimated lead times have to be given for that very reason.

So, you all need to be very very patient--if there's any way that Ford can speed up the process, believe me, they will. ;)

Yeah we had plenty of those. I remember times where we've been in the rest room for alot of the 11 1/2 hour shift due to a break down some where in the factory.

[JAR897]

OMG Keith, I get what your saying. I was simply stating that I expected car production to take less than it has for me and others.

Your making out like I'm some sort of ungreatful Ford hating and arogant guy, when all im saying basically is that i have no experience in buying cars but I wouldn't have expected such a wait. Alot of the dealers were telling me a delivery date of late may, early June.

FYI Keith I went with dealdrivers because of the price. But my dealer is the best I have encountered and my folks aggree.

And I would have chosen my dealer over any of the others I talked to anyway.

Also, your telling me that ford are doing 100% to get those cars out as quick as possible?! I very much doubt it! THey are a company after all, and running a product line, which is a system. They will ballance productivity with cost, understandably. I'm just saying I expected it earlier! despite the estimate.

As i have said time after time, it may well be the younger generation, or maybe ust me ordering things off amazoin and them arriving the next day. I understand your critisism but you are making out like people are out to get Ford and their dealers, when thas simpky not the case.

[KeithC]

OMG Keith, I get what your saying. I was simply stating that I expected car production to take less than it has for me and others.

You may get what I'm saying, but you are having trouble understanding the reasons why a car takes so long to build. Just a good job your not buying an Aston Martin or Ferrari, christ, you'd have a wait then. On what basis are you building your expectations on the time a car taks to build? I'm not sure you can if you have no experience of manufacture.

Your making out like I'm some sort of ungreatful Ford hating and arogant guy, when all im saying basically is that i have no experience in buying cars but I wouldn't have expected such a wait. Alot of the dealers were telling me a delivery date of late may, early June.

No I'm not, I'm trying, but failing miserably, to explain to you why a car that has thousands of different component parts, built in a massive factory by thousands of people with the pitfalls that entails, takes so long to build. Added to that a massive waiting list to compound the problems. If you can't get your head around that, I can't do anything about it. Maybe, just maybe, at th time of your enquiries some dealers were unaware of the long waiting time.

FYI Keith I went with dealdrivers because of the price. But my dealer is the best I have encountered and my folks aggree.

And I would have chosen my dealer over any of the others I talked to anyway.

I know, that's what I intimated. I agree, the dealer is a very good one.

Also, your telling me that ford are doing 100% to get those cars out as quick as possible?! I very much doubt it!

Again, what are you basing this assumption on exactly? Because someone who has no experience in this field "expects" it earlier. I've already explained it's not easy or cheap to "up" production. Crikey, wait till you order your first sofa and you have to wait for that to be made.

THey are a company after all, and running a product line, which is a system. They will ballance productivity with cost, understandably. I'm just saying I expected it earlier! despite the estimate.

Which kind of contradicts what you said above. Of course they are a company and they have to be profitable, hence they don't go building extra capacity to cut down on waiting lists for 6 months.

As i have said time after time, it may well be the younger generation, or maybe ust me ordering things off amazoin and them arriving the next day. I understand your critisism but you are making out like people are out to get Ford and their dealers, when thas simpky not the case.

You are right when you say it's about generations, especially if you think you can compare the time to buy something off amazon and buying a made to order car. That just about sums it up and why I find it hard to explain to you or should I say, hard for you to comprehend what I'm saying. I'll tell you what, show your father what I've put and I bet he agrees with me.

To paraphrase the communication in this post, you expect your car to be delivered within weeks because you can get a DVD, that's in stock, from amazon the day after you order it. I'm sorry mate, you need to spend a bit of time in the real world.

[JAR897]

To paraphrase the communication in this post, you expect your car to be delivered within weeks because you can get a DVD, that's in stock, from Amazon the day after you order it. I'm sorry mate, you need to spend a bit of time in the real world.

NO, it was an example. Obviously I don't expect buying a car to be like buying something off amazon. I was simply using that as an example as to why generations may differ in the expectations of waiting times. Keith, I understand what you are saying, and my dad would agree, and I do comprehend. I was just saying that I would have expected it to be quicker. I base my expectatioins on no hard evidence, other than my dadd's previously ordered cars.

My dad has had a built to order Lambo and Aston, and neither of which took as long as ford. Just saying.

Thanks for the insite into how a production line works. I understand your points and can see why it may take longer to build if the peices of the puzzle arn't there to begin with. But that doesn't mean I should just sit back and take it, does it? I know there is nothing I can do about it, and I know I was given an estimate by my dealer of mid June, but some of the other horror stories on here have put me in considerable doubt as to the customer satisfaction that FORD (not the dealers, but Ford themselves) bring.

[KeithC]

My dad has had a built to order Lambo and Aston, and neither of which took as long as ford. Just saying.

Current waiting times for Lamborghini are around 6 months, down from 12 months due to the recession and 30% loss in orders.

Aston Martin is similar, expect a 6 month wait for a V8 Vantage or 5 years for a DBS.

Last year, Ferrari's waiting list was around 2 years and if you've no history with them you'll be lucky if they let you buy one at all.

I don't think anyone has had to wait 6 months to take delivery of a Fiesta and if they have, I remember someone's order being cocked up and had to be re ordered, then it's a one off. I waited about 8 weeks, which was 2 weeks less than when I bought my last sofa.

Yours, if I remember correctly will take around 3 months, maybe a week or two more, which in the current climate of demand for the Fiesta isn't too shabby at all.