Ford Escape -- On order, but no ETA

Kim - Your dealership can only guess when Ford might produce your unit. Their guess will be more precise if they know how many they have been allocated and the priority they ordered yours under vs. the others that they have ordered.

First, the dealership has to pass their certification for Sales and Service and pruchase the special service tools before they can have the order scheduled. Are they certified yet?

Second, since only 16,000 will be allocated to certified dealers for production January through July (est.), the average dealership will only get 4 or 5 for the year. Smaller dealerships may get 1 or 2 and larger dealerships 6 or 8. How many do they believe they will get for the 2005 model year? Their Field rep has given them a close number.

The date the order was submitted to Ford and the priority placed on the order will determine your placement in their allocation. Were you first in? Second? Was your order placed as a retail order (as opposed to a stock order)? Were other orders given a lower priority number than your unit (lower means schedule me quicker)?

Next - the Nav. system has been running short supply. If you ordered it, that might slow down your order a bit.

If they were allocated 3 and your order was number 5 and it has a higher priority number than the others, they don't know when or "IF" it will be produced. If they were allocated 1 and you are it, every dealership should have at least one unit produced in Jan or Feb.

Don't you wish you would have asked these questions when you were ordering?

I'm in the same boat as you. Waiting with no production schedule. Good luck!

I can get my deposit back, but don't want it back. Three years ago I told everyone I knew that I was going to buy the first hybrid SUV on the market, and I still feel that way.

The dealer I purchased from is a local, certified hybrid dealer. I live in Nevada, and don't want to purchase from a dealer in California. I truly believe this is the best local dealer to buy from, as they were the ONLY one even remotely responsive to my request to place an order. I was the third person to order from them. (It's a custom, not stock, order. Figured if I was going to get a new hybrid, I wanted EVERYTHING, plus the color I chose!)

If I get curious enough, Red, I'll ask about this dealer's allocation. However, since I'm not going to go with someone else, it's not that big of deal to me. I found an Escape on the lot of a California dealer when I was in the Bay Area at Christmas. I was excited to see one, but did not take the salesman up on his offer to purchase it, as I do want to buy locally and it didn't have all of the options on it that I wanted.

I'm most curious as to when Ford is going to start production of the next batch, though. Can't seem to get the Ford "Relationship Center" to give me an answer to that question. I am highly tempted to call Mary Ann Wright, the Chief Engineer of the Hybrid and the Director of Sustainable Vehicle Technology at Ford. (Anyone know how to get contact info for her?)

Thanks for letting me vent............at this point I'm hoping to have my hybrid by summer!

I was told by my dealer that dealerships with a lot of business get their cars the fastest. I don't know what the logic is, other than rewarding high selling dealerships. I was lucky and purchased from the largest retailer of hybrid escapes in the Bay Area, Albany Ford. At least, that's what they told me. I ordered mine, stock, on Halloween and picked it up yesterday. I called last week to consider changing some options and found out it was already on a train!

Good luck,

Chris

Chris - your dealer nay have more allocation than some smaller dealers but they don't get pulled ahead for production. If they are allocated 12, they will come about 1 a month. If a smaller dealer is allocated 4, they will come about 1 a quarter. Unless the orders have oprions that are on hold or in short supply.
It all has to be fair or dealers will be up in arms. A lot of vehicles are "Free Demand" and not allocated, but the FEH is closely allocated.

I found a dealer in NJ in edison that has two sitting on his lot for Immediate sale @ MSRP. I dont have the contct information avialble with me but I will post tonight when retreive this from my car in if anyone is interested.

Glad to hear someone outside the fifteen states is finally getting their vehicle. I placed my order with my dealer back in July in NC and still have not heard anything about an ETA. I've also tried the calls to Ford but of course they had no info.

Duane -- Would have loved to try the Escape in the 50"(!) of snow that I've had at my house in the last 10 days. I live in the city limits, only a couple miles from downtown. If your brother would like to check out my new Escape, let me know. Would be happy to show it to him.

If you have an order in on an escape hybrid, you may or may not want the appearance package. I did but the dealer said it was not available on any color, just siver. This is because of the wording in their ordering book. They were wrong, it is available. Only Hybrids on the escape model have this option which will make people notice the siver lower color is a hybrid. I think it also looks alot better. BTW, if you have not checked EBay, there are new escape hybred's availible now from dealers!

Thanks Steve, I didn't hear about the sandblasting problem. I guess I'll try to keep that area waxed good because I don't like the looks of those mud flaps or protectors.