[WildeOne]

[RANT] It seems that this FiST will be my only (first and last) American new car purchase. It seems that the Big 3 still have some extremely archaic methods of manufacturing and delivery that would need to be addressed before I pulled the trigger on another one.

By means of comparison, my previous 2 vehicles were both "Japanese" and both built-to-order. I ordered my 2011 Subaru Outback in August of 2010, and it was delivered 23 days later as ordered. That is pretty quick to go from order to delivery, but actually slower than my commuter vehicle. I ordered my 2008 Toyota Yaris in the 2nd week of July (no one stocks a standard transmission) and the car was built and delivered in 11 days. You read right, 11 days. It took them 5 days from order to build, delivery was 5 days after that, and 1 day was dealer prep.

I ordered my FiST on Oct 21st. The car was built on Nov 23rd. Four weeks from order to build is pretty lackluster performance, but I do realize that Ford is not exactly a "lean manufacturing techniques" type of operation, so I can live with their less-than-remarkable manufacturing efficiency.

Now this is where the story turns into an indictment of their processes. I still do not have a concrete delivery date, and the car has been built for 6 weeks. The best that my dealer has gotten from Ford is "probably mid-January", which if you are in business means "we haven't actually scheduled it yet."

So let me get this straight. Subaru can deliver a car in under 4 weeks, Toyota can do it in under 2 weeks, and Ford needs 8 weeks to ship a built car from Mexico City to New Jersey? It seems that their organizational and planning skills may be lacking, and unless they learn a few things in the future they will never see another dime from me. Shipping time was shorter from Germany on my GTI way back in 1987, and I would hope that companies would improve on practices over time rather than remaining mired in their outdated methods.[/RANT]

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

Out of curiosity, did you ever ask the dealership how long it'd take to order a different model that isn't in stock? Pretty big rant with a sample size of ONE. I believe I've read that Ford was only anticipating on selling maybe 10,000 to 15,000 units this year. Not exactly a high production vehicle... It's a nice little brute of a car. Hope it'll turn out to be worth the wait for you.

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

If you really wanted it so badly just buy one off the lot. Or find a dealer that has one in-transit the way you want and have it delivered to your local dealer. Your dealer can do that. Waiting months for a car you ordered to arrive is normal. All OEMs do this.

btw, the Yaris takes 16-20 weeks now
Toyota Cars (Production Updates)

Fiesta ST is 10-12 weeks
Ford-Lincoln Cars (Production Updates)

Subaru is 8-10 weeks
Subaru Cars (Production Updates)

You probably got your car really quickly because your dealer found one exactly equipped the way you ordered it and it was in-transit.

 

[WildeOne]

I worked as a service supplier to the bulk of the auto industry until 2001. I watched the changes take place in "import" companies, the fact that they streamlined and found ways to be more responsive, usually by decentralizing everything and making several smaller production lines. I also watched the Big 3 go the other way, they shut down locations and made giant plants that cannot respond to market fluctuations. But, I can live with that, it is business suicide in today's market, but still within the window of acceptability. The plant itself did a decent job working within their system. Ford built the car in a decent amount of time, but then they can't figure out how to ship it? Really? Companies live and die by logistics, first to market wins. In business terms, their cost (build date) to payment time is running at 60+ days on this, and tying up capital for 2 months is horrible business practice. Solid business principles would be to not build the vehicle until right before shipment.

I agree, the car itself is exactly what I wanted, hot-hatch with some grunt and quick handling. My concern is actually the company itself - I am entering into a business relationship with what amounts to a manufacturing dinosaur. I'm sure that the car will be great once Ford actually delivers.

 

[WildeOne]

My dealer had none in stock, and the only dealer with one in-state when I ordered was one that I wouldn't do business with for any reason. This car is actually one that was slated for the dealership and they put my changes to their stock order that had been in for nearly a month, which moved my production up considerably. By the time the car comes in, it will be at about 15-16 weeks. If you think I'm displeased, you should hear how angry my dealer is since his original delivery was supposed to be "early December".

Side note:
I wish there was a site that showed single consumer production schedules. Like yours, I can only find fleet production lead-times. Fleet lead-times are traditionally longer because they receive very favorable pricing in return for larger quantities and block-scheduling.

 

[Colin1337]

Were any of your other cars fresh in the states? Where they selling out left and right?
Probably not, big difference in this car vs your other vehicle choices

 

[Drifter]

Lads, keep in mind supply and demand. The Fiesta outsold way more than Ford anticipated, Here in South Africa there are none left, three month waiting period when ordering. Ours come from Germany.

 

[joker96]

I was going to order mine but the dealer told me the wait time was at least 3 months. I bought one from the lot. Not the color I wanted but wasn't bad either. It had all the options I wanted tho. I found the color I wanted in another dealer but without the options I wanted. Mine came from Mexico. From Mexico to Florida to finally arrive in Puerto Rico on sept 20. Got mime on the 21st. If I am not mistaken like 10 Fist arrived and all are sold. So yeah I don't think ford anticipated these sales.

 

[///M Compact]

As I pointed out in another thread, many dealers are reluctant to order cars and/or actively discourage it. My only experience with ordering a car was in 1995 when I picked up my Club Sport. I placed the order on 8/1 but I knew from the DOG that only 400 were available for firm order with a SOP of September/October. My salesperson then had to go back and forth with Munich because they wanted to build all 400 cars with a hole in the roof- even though the DOG listed the sunroof as an option, and that was the only real glitch. Everything else went according to plan; it was built on 10/10 and my salesperson tracked the car with enough specificity that she was able to tell us what day it would be available for delivery at her dealership- which allowed us to get airline tickets at a reasonable cost.
My point in relating this story is that I think that the dealer is a major factor in determining if the ordering process goes smoothly; if they are ignorant or lazy- or both, be prepared for a lot of frustration...

 

[ST_Rocky]

My experience was much different.

I knew about the Focus ST for a long time. Tried to buy one a few months ago, trading in my 2008 R32 (only had around 24k miles on it). The dealer treated me like dirt, and was way outta line with the price. While there, seen my first Fiesta ST (black) in the showroom. Looked nice, but I wanted to get out of there.

Two weeks later, Focus ST dreams crushed, I was about to get a sweet deal on the new Dodge Dart GT. Had seen only a few reviews of it on YouTube, but a ton on the Fiesta ST. So on a whim, I stopped at a Ford Dealer on the way to Dodge. Fresh off the truck was what I wanted. Drove away in it that day. So my experience was way different than most. No waiting, no ordering, no stress.

 

[st_fan]

I placed my order on 11/19, and was recently told that the car won't be made until Feb. According to the sales manager at the dealer the Mexico production plant shuts down for 3 weeks in December, and the ST is a limited production car.... So I probably won't see it until March!!! WTF


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ron Avery]

[RANT] It seems that this FiST will be my only (first and last) American new car purchase. It seems that the Big 3 still have some extremely archaic methods of manufacturing and delivery that would need to be addressed before I pulled the trigger on another one.

By means of comparison, my previous 2 vehicles were both "Japanese" and both built-to-order. I ordered my 2011 Subaru Outback in August of 2010, and it was delivered 23 days later as ordered. That is pretty quick to go from order to delivery, but actually slower than my commuter vehicle. I ordered my 2008 Toyota Yaris in the 2nd week of July (no one stocks a standard transmission) and the car was built and delivered in 11 days. You read right, 11 days. It took them 5 days from order to build, delivery was 5 days after that, and 1 day was dealer prep.

I ordered my FiST on Oct 21st. The car was built on Nov 23rd. Four weeks from order to build is pretty lackluster performance, but I do realize that Ford is not exactly a "lean manufacturing techniques" type of operation, so I can live with their less-than-remarkable manufacturing efficiency.

Now this is where the story turns into an indictment of their processes. I still do not have a concrete delivery date, and the car has been built for 6 weeks. The best that my dealer has gotten from Ford is "probably mid-January", which if you are in business means "we haven't actually scheduled it yet."

So let me get this straight. Subaru can deliver a car in under 4 weeks, Toyota can do it in under 2 weeks, and Ford needs 8 weeks to ship a built car from Mexico City to New Jersey? It seems that their organizational and planning skills may be lacking, and unless they learn a few things in the future they will never see another dime from me. Shipping time was shorter from Germany on my GTI way back in 1987, and I would hope that companies would improve on practices over time rather than remaining mired in their outdated methods.[/RANT]

I have ordered all of my cars since 2002. I have ordered two Lotus's one an Elise in 2005. I placed the order in April 2005, the car came in in August 2005. Not bad so fare, in April 2010 I placed an order for a Lotus Evora. The car was built at the end of June, it was shipped 5 weeks later and did not arrive in Long Beach Ca until early October.So sometimes it can take a long time. Now with the ST I broke my own rule and bought off the dealers lot. It was a very impulsive purchase I must say. Now if I had ordered the car, I would have passed on the sunroof and gone for the Molten Orange Recaro's instead of the grey ones hat came with my car. But I am really happy with my car. I do know that waiting for a car on order can be very frustrating, but in the end it is worth it to have exactly what you want. Just my $.02
Ron

 

[cinderbike]

I waited 5 months for mine, but that was also before they started building 2014s.

 

[rodmoe]

7.5 months to the Day I waited.. Same as Cinderbike I preproduction ordered ..

Ron you still have the Lotus's ?? those look like fun track or sunday cars ..

 

[Ron Avery]

7.5 months to the Day I waited.. Same as Cinderbike I preproduction ordered ..

Ron you still have the Lotus's ?? those look like fun track or sunday cars ..

Yes I still have the Evora, the Elise I gave my daughter for her collage graduation. And yes they are great cars, very respnsive.
Ron

 

[Colin1337]

Good lord, I wish my parents had given me a lotus for going to college! Haha

 

[rodmoe]

Good lord, I wish my parents had given me a lotus for going to college! Haha

Ill talk to your mom next time ..... Oh nevermind ... j/k

 

[rodmoe]

Yes I still have the Evora, the Elise I gave my daughter for her collage graduation. And yes they are great cars, very respnsive.
Ron

Dang Sexy Ron !!