Again with Allocation - Diesel Forum

wexman · 02-22-2001, 07:56 AM

Since my original question got "lost" in the replies, I'll ask again: From reading the "FAQ" section about ordering, I infer that even though you may have a deposit for a truck with your dealer, it could possibly not get built, due to allocation. Can you then demand your monay back? Would it get built eventually? Sorry for sounding thick-headed, but this allocation business is really confusing.

Cochise · 02-23-2001, 07:49 PM

Wexman,

Cochise here. Well, I've left ya' hanging long enough! Somebody back me up!

Woulda', Shoulda', Coulda', ain't goin' to get your unit any quicker.

Allocation, If your Dealer is un-willing to share that information with you, you will in all probability never know how many units he gets.

Yes, Even though you have a deposit with the Dealer, your "Dream Truck" may never get to your door step. Ford will not build/deliver anymore units to your Dealer than your Dealer has been allotted, unless there is a special factory sale of a peculiar unit(s).

If your Dealer's allotment is 5 S/Duty units a month and he has sold and/or ordered 15 units already for the month and you are number 16, then theoretically it could be into his 4th month of allocation before Ford would even consider looking at your unit.

Didn't want to hear that did ya'.

The Dealer, may make you jump through all the hoops to get your money back, he should be able to refund your money.

Did you order some weird combination(s), something that would be hard to dump?

Send me your specifications... I'll show ya' a few tricks, if ya' ain't skear'd!

I will not be in tomorrow, going "Hog Hunting"!

Beam me up Scotty!, I'm done!

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Cochise Fleet Sales Mgr. Legends & Leaders Platinum Member
Lone Star Ford ph 281.931.3310 fx 281.878.4267 cochisewillis@hotmail.com

[This message has been edited by Cochise (edited 02-23-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Cochise (edited 02-23-2001).]

SmokeyWren · 02-23-2001, 10:33 PM

wexman - I haven' piped up yet because to me the answer is quite obvious. I'm an old man. I've owned over 100 vehicles over the years. I've ordered a dozen or so "special order" new vehicles to get exactly what I wanted.

But I have never ordered a vehicle from a dealerperson I didn't know very well and trust to be completely honest with me.

Most salesmen don't know the answers - they're more or less mini-wage employees. So I don't deal with salesmen unless it's my nephew who wouldn't dare lie to Uncle Smokey. I deal with the manager - such as Cochise - a fleet manager. Or the truck manager. Or the General Manager. And only then if I know them good enough to know they'll tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Therefore, I can't imagine ever ordering a new truck from someone that might not tell me the truth about his allocation or commodity constraints, or FDAF amount, or who would worry that I wanted a copy of the DORA. So I have trouble emphathising with you.

From what little I know about the business, Cochise just told you the truth. You need to sit down with the General Manager of the store where you ordered your truck and have a heart-to-heart talk about allocation and commodity constraints and how it affects the order for your truck. Find out exactly where your order lines up in their current order bank. If you even suspect they're not telling you the whole truth or that they're claiming ignorance, then cancel the order, get your deposit back, and order from someone you can trust.

I can give you several names of members right here on this website. One of them is out hunting hogs right now.

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Ole retired guy in west Texas with Darling Wife and Sierra Blanca - the white mountain of a '99.5 F250 PSD CrewCab. Meet me in Louisville! Click here

wexman · 02-26-2001, 07:43 AM

To both SmokeyWren and Cochise:

Thanks for the info. As I said, this allocation stuff is confusing, but I get it. It still doesn't seem entirely right that someone could take a deposit KNOWING that they couldn't fill an order. I am in the financial services industry - if we did that, we'd be up before a congressional committee.

But, that said, I ordered an '01 F350 PSD, supercab, shortbed, 4wd, swr, 6-speed, Lariat, 3.73 with limited slip. In short, a fully loaded truck with a stick - so yes, the dealer would find it hard to "dump" (at least around this area - "soccer mom central"). There are at least 2 DOZEN Ford dealers within 30 miles of me, yet the only 6-speeds are on "work-truck" specials or chassis cabs. If I had wanted an auto, I wouldn't have had to order a truck, I could've had my pick.

Well, we'll see how this plays out. This forum is great for finding out information.

Thanks again.

[This message has been edited by wexman (edited 02-26-2001).]

SmokeyWren · 02-26-2001, 10:24 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by wexman:
It still doesn't seem entirely right that someone could take a deposit KNOWING that they couldn't fill an order.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Your truck will be built eventually. As Cochise indicated, it depends on where the order lines up in the dealer's allocation. Someone at that dealership can tell you almost to the week when your order will be "pulled" for production unless the 4x4 commodity constraint makes the order hard to predict.

Considering commodity constraints, the 6-speed and SuperCab should speed up the order, but the 4x4 will slow it down. So overall the commodity constraints shouldn't be a big problem for your truck. And from what I see around here, supply has almost caught up with demand for SuperDuties, so allocation shouldn't be as big a problem as it has been for the last 3 years.

The 6-speed on a Lariat would definitely make it "hard to sell" in the opinion of most dealers. However, that will be a problem only if your order is already locked for production. If it's not locked for production, then the dealer can cancel the order with no penalty. And if it is locked for production, then that means you'll be getting it in 3 or 4 weeks at the most - so that's no problem either.

So once again I advise you to talk to a manager at your dealer. Find out the status of your order as of today. Then decide whether to cancel the order.

wexman · 02-26-2001, 04:29 PM

Well, I checked with the sales manager, and here's what I got:

After 3 weeks, I have no VIN, no build date, no nothing. He is "getting an allocation" next week, so "maybe" my order will go "hot" (his words). When I told him that I know of many superduties that get VINs in a week, he just sort of laughed, and said "well, maybe if they get the order in at the right time."

So, to Cochise and SmokeyWren, you were right: I have an allocation problem. I will call the dealer again in a couple weeks for an update. If he is still putting me off, then I might have to cancel the order, and go buy an automatic tranny truck off a dealer's lot. (I HATE auto trannies.....)

Thanks again for your help.

[This message has been edited by wexman (edited 02-27-2001).]