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Originally Posted by r0guenj
what happens if the dealer doesn't transmit the order on time?
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Then Ford makes the order for a 2011 model, but notifies the dealer so the dealer can cancel the order if he doesn't want to order a 2011.
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does the dealer need to have an allotment available (i saw this posted somewhere) to order a vehicle?
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No, not to order, but to have the truck built in a normal timespan he might need an allocation. Without an allocation the order simply goes to the back of the line and might get built after all the orders for dealers with allocation are completed.
Allocation is a problen only when demand exceeds supply. I doubt that allocation is a factor on current orders.
A dealer receives allocation based on how many similar vehicles he has sold in the last year or so. So a dealer that sells lots of SuperDuty pickups will receive lots of allocation for SuperDuty pickups.
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when do dealers send orders to the factory?
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Any time they want to. The "order bank" is an internet database, and a dealer can transmit a transaction to that database at any time. The same way you can make a post on TheDieselStop anytime your PC is up and running and your ISP is working. But then normally Ford's automated order system hangs onto that order until the next Thursday afternoon. On Thursday, all the open orders in the order bank are sorted and arranged in the order they will be built. The orders are arranged by date/time of receipt into the system, then by dealer-assigned priority number. If there are more orders in the order bank than Ford will build in the target production week, then dealer allocation is applied to see which orders are scheduled for production and which spend another week in the order bank.
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the dealer system has an order #, but when does ford get it?
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As soon as Ford's automated order system accepts the order. Usually immediately.
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how long to generate a VIN (so i can check that the options are correct).
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You don't need a VIN. When you ordered the truck you should have requested a priced DORA, order code C09. DORA = dealer order receipt acknowledgment. If you (or the dealer) didn't include order code C09, then there'll still be a DORA, but without prices. As soon as the automated order system accepts the order, plus one business day, it will send a DORA to the dealer's computer. The DORA is basically a copy of the order, but it confirms that Ford agrees to built the vehicle exactly as listed on the DORA.
The order system also has an "order confirmation". But that only confirms what the dealer asked for, and not necessarily what Ford will build. When the DORA shows up a day or so later, then you'll know exactly what Ford is building for you.
After your order is grabbed out of the order bank (usually on Thursday night) and scheduled for production, then a VIN is assigned. The VIN and estimated date of assembly is sent to the dealer.
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is it a hard 6-8 weeks from order date or transmit date?
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It's an estimate. It can be as early as 5 weeks, most take 6 to 7 weeks, and a few require 8 weeks. Usually if it's more than 7 weeks, it's because Ford ran out of something you ordered, so your order had to wait for a backorder to come in.
You ordered on Wednesday, so that's good, if your dealerperson got the order in the computer before the deadline on Thursday. Your order could have been scheduled by Thursday night, and the dealer could have a DORA by the following Monday (19 Oct). Then it takes a coupla weeks for the assembly plant to gather together all your parts and components and get them ready to go together. So we're at 2 Nov when your truck starts down the line, and it will come off the line on 3 Nov. Give the lot boys a few days to get it on the right train, then the train heads cross country to a mixing yard - call it 7 Nov. It might spend a coupla days in the mixing yard, then heads out again on a different train. It takes the train a coupla days to arrive at the destination railyard (or ramp), so call it 14 Nov. The convoy (car-hauler trucks) kill another coupla days getting it selected and loaded on a hauler going the right direction, then the hauler heads out. But he has several vehicles for other dealers on the hauler, and yours will be the last one unloaded, so call it Wednesday, 18 Nov, 5 weeks after your dealer processed the order.
You can dream, but don't count on faster than 5 weeks, and only a tiny percentage of orders make it in 5 weeks.
While you're waiting, Ford keeps the dealer advised as to the status of the order. The status is in code, so if you want to learn what it means, go to the Diesel FAQs off the home page, then to '99-up FAQ, then to "During your order". If it were mine, I'd call my dealerperson once a week and have him find my order number in the automated order system and print out the status page for me. Or better yet, let him know that you'll show up in his office every Friday afternoon or Saturday morning to pick up a copy of the order status report for your order number.
After the truck leaves the assembly plant, the Ford status doesn't change much. If you want to follow the boxcar across the country, then get the railcar number from the status system and then go to the railway company and see if they allow customers to trace boxcar numbers. Some do, some don't..
'92 F-250 7.3 IDI Diesel 4:10 (99k) 4x4 ext cab (Prodigy brake controller
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