So who has ordered the new S550 Mustang?

[LuS1fer]

I think cars up to 31/3/17 will take a hit in the used car market, eventually, rather like the increases in VEL from 2005.

As of 1 April 2017, cars will be taxed up front and you will pay the big lump emissions tax on first purchase.

However, as long as the car is under £40k, all subsequent years road tax will be £140 a year, even on a V8.

What this will mean is that any S550 registered up to 31/3/17 will still be paying £505 a year tax while the eventual used car buyers for post April 17 cars will only be paying £140 a year. The difference is less marked for cars over £40k. Food for thought.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/news/ved-road-tax-from-20...

[Centurion07]

Not really. Someone looking at my Dec.'15 registered car is unlikely to have the money to make the difference up to one almost 18 months younger. Never mind the fact that those cars will have that price hike factored into their secondhand value as well. Complete non-issue I think.

ETA I can well see the price hitting £40k by 2017, that's IF Ford are still producing the Mustang in RHD form. There's been no word on total numbers.

I would imagine they're kicking themselves having totally underestimated demand here in the UK and have realised they would've sold just as quickly even if the price been closer to £40k to start with.

Edited by Centurion07 on Tuesday 8th September 18:17

[Stig]

One word - Livid!

After hearing nothing regarding my order (placed April 16th with Gowrings, Reading) and seeing Ford UK posting on Facebook re. Mustang production, I had a moan at them and their social media team responded (quickly in fairness). Long story short, Gowrings called me on 28th August to say 'Yes, the order is on the system and Ford are 'thinking about building it'.

OK thought I - some progress at least, so hopefully I'll see it Q1 next year.

However, then I saw the Mustang6G thread with Andy Abbot's email (Ford UK chairman) inviting customers with orders to contact him for updates - which I duly did.

Today, I get and email from Ford sayiing that the order was ONLY CONTRACTED ON AUGUST 28th (the day Gowrings called me back saying that Ford were thinking about building it) meaning that it won't even be built until Q1 next year so, I will probably not get the car until JULY 2016!!!!



I am furious!!! Now waiting for a callback from Gowrings to ask whey they sat on my deposit for 4 months and did absolutely squat about placing the order - not to mention that I will now have to wait 4 months more than planned to get the car.

Utterly, utterly, woeful service.

[steiom]

Stig said:

One word - Livid!

After hearing nothing regarding my order (placed April 16th with Gowrings, Reading) and seeing Ford UK posting on Facebook re. Mustang production, I had a moan at them and their social media team responded (quickly in fairness). Long story short, Gowrings called me on 28th August to say 'Yes, the order is on the system and Ford are 'thinking about building it'.

OK thought I - some progress at least, so hopefully I'll see it Q1 next year.

However, then I saw the Mustang6G thread with Andy Abbot's email (Ford UK chairman) inviting customers with orders to contact him for updates - which I duly did.

Today, I get and email from Ford sayiing that the order was ONLY CONTRACTED ON AUGUST 28th (the day Gowrings called me back saying that Ford were thinking about building it) meaning that it won't even be built until Q1 next year so, I will probably not get the car until JULY 2016!!!!



I am furious!!! Now waiting for a callback from Gowrings to ask whey they sat on my deposit for 4 months and did absolutely squat about placing the order - not to mention that I will now have to wait 4 months more than planned to get the car.

Utterly, utterly, woeful service.

Oh dear, dear me. Very sorry to hear this.... It would be interesting to hear Andy's personal feedback on that - surely Ford UK can make good the dealer's incompetence and re-prioritise a dealer / demo car?..... Unfortunately, given the size of the whole debacle I suspect you may not be the only one who finds themselves in this position.

I too contacted Andy on Monday after seeing the Mustang6G thread 'offer' and am still patiently awaiting the verdict on mine...

[Stig]

steiom said:

Oh dear, dear me. Very sorry to hear this.... It would be interesting to hear Andy's personal feedback on that - surely Ford UK can make good the dealer's incompetence and re-prioritise a dealer / demo car?..... Unfortunately, given the size of the whole debacle I suspect you may not be the only one who finds themselves in this position.

I too contacted Andy on Monday after seeing the Mustang6G thread 'offer' and am still patiently awaiting the verdict on mine...

In fairness, Ford UK were quick to respond after I expressed my disappointment/dismay!

Hopefully, they can re-schedule production of my order (I now have a number - hurrah!) for November build, meaning it will arrive when I expected - Feb/Mar 2016, which is perfect for me. They have to communicate build numbers for November by end September in this respect.

In parallel, I managed to speak to the sales manager at the dealership (who's only just taken over - read into that what you will!) who is also looking into it. He intimated that they may have some 'pro-forma' orders in the system that can be re-allocated to account for spec. changes etc. This is one of the reasons I went for a striaghtforward spec. (V8 Fastback, manual, custom pack) as I knew they would be the first to be built (I work closely with several automotive manufacturers so have an idea of how the line-off works - most common spec = most/quickest built obviously).

Fingers (well, everything) crossed, that there's still a chance to get the order back on track!

[croyde]

Hope so Stig.

This kind of thing worries me. Will our cars be off the road for months on end when it comes to breakdowns, repairs, warranty work etc because of lack of spares. What about refusing a car because it was damaged in transit, it's a lemon, not up to scratch etc

Wait another year for a replacement.

[Stig]

croyde said:

Hope so Stig.

This kind of thing worries me. Will our cars be off the road for months on end when it comes to breakdowns, repairs, warranty work etc because of lack of spares. What about refusing a car because it was damaged in transit, it's a lemon, not up to scratch etc

Wait another year for a replacement.

I wouldn't worry about that so much as most car parts will be interchangeable. It's only the specifics like the dash that would be likely to take longer and I expect they create good stock of more commonly broken items (light lenses etc) for that scenario.

Still, famous last words and all that...

[Quinny]

Yeah, I'm not to happy myself.....asked about my order and got this reply...

Order placed 2nd Feb..


Hi A

Your vehicle is scheduled to be built in November; I will ensure it is moved to the top of the list for early release within this month.

I am arranging a communication to Ford Stores at present so they can readily feedback build months to their customers.

I hope this helps
Kind Regards

[rehab71]

Hi all

First post on the thread.

I'm a Ford Store dealer and just wanted to add that communication from Ford to me has been bloody poor! I've got three UAFA winner cars on orders which were all due build week beginning 10th August. Other than the information about the new exhaust manifold I've had no information from them.

My customers are starting to get pissed off with me and there's nothing I can tell them!

[targa]

Quinny said:

Yeah, I'm not to happy myself.....asked about my order and got this reply...

Order placed 2nd Feb..


Hi A

Your vehicle is scheduled to be built in November; I will ensure it is moved to the top of the list for early release within this month.

I am arranging a communication to Ford Stores at present so they can readily feedback build months to their customers.

I hope this helps
Kind Regards

Dear Quincy
I ordered on the same date as you. I emailed Mr. Andy Barratt - who is Head of Ford UK. He has promised to deal with every query personally on another forum. To give full credit to him he responded straight away to my email attached:

Dear A
I am currently in Germany, so I will ask one of my team to update you in my absence

Karen - can you assist please

Sent from my iPhone

On 8 Sep 2015, at 20:44, xxx wrote:
Dear Andy
Thanks for offering to get the information regarding build dates etc - appreciated. I booked my Mustang via Ford xxxxx 02/02/2015. I was told that my car is "number 382 in UK system" see attached email

---

From:x
To: x
Cc: 'x'
Subject: Mustang order- your order is number 382 in UK system
Hi
Just to confirm so you know your order has been processed . I am sure you will be receiving Ford confirmation emails in the near future.
Kind regards
x
New Car Sales Leader

---

I wonder if you could let me know when can I expect to get the car.

Kind Regards

[Stig]

Just to say - Karen (and Andy) have been excellent in terms of getting my order back on track.

Have committed to rescheduling my order for November build (due to dealer oversight), so back on track for early 2016 delivery. Much relieved!

Sometimes it's more important how a problem is dealt with than having the problem in the first place - this is an example of just that.

Faith restored in both FMCUK and Gowrings (who also responded quickly to resolve things).

I'm sure they (Ford) would accept that the handling of the launch order process has been less than ideal, but they're working hard to make the Mustang ownership experience what it should be - a pleasure.

What I would say is that if you have concerns, try your dealer first and if that fails Ford direct. Their (Ford's) social media team are also very responsive.

Excited again rather than frustrated!

[Stig]

targa said:

Dear Quincy
I ordered on the same date as you. I emailed Mr. Andy Barratt - who is Head of Ford UK. He has promised to deal with every query personally on another forum. To give full credit to him he responded straight away to my email attached:

Dear A
I am currently in Germany, so I will ask one of my team to update you in my absence

Karen - can you assist please

Sent from my iPhone

On 8 Sep 2015, at 20:44, xxx wrote:
Dear Andy
Thanks for offering to get the information regarding build dates etc - appreciated. I booked my Mustang via Ford xxxxx 02/02/2015. I was told that my car is "number 382 in UK system" see attached email

---

From:x
To: x
Cc: 'x'
Subject: Mustang order- your order is number 382 in UK system
Hi
Just to confirm so you know your order has been processed . I am sure you will be receiving Ford confirmation emails in the near future.
Kind regards
x
New Car Sales Leader

---

I wonder if you could let me know when can I expect to get the car.

Kind Regards

From speaking to Ford, it's 12 weeks from line-off (approx). So November build will likely be Teb/March 2016 (like me).

Hopefully this means we miss the worst of the winter and salty/crappy roads at least!

[steiom]

Great news Stig, glad to hear it.

It does seem that Andy's focus is beginning to turn things around, many now have dates and questions are being answered. Fair play indeed..

I'm still waiting to hear back from him on mine, but fingers crossed.

[ftypical]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone asked what the problem was that led to such Seriously High Paid Help having to personally engage with individual customers in order to avoid a PR Meltdown on Social Media?

[foliedouce]

ftypical said:

Just out of curiosity, has anyone asked what the problem was that led to such Seriously High Paid Help having to personally engage with individual customers in order to avoid a PR Meltdown on Social Media?

Nope, but if you look as his LinkedIn profile, he's a salesman at heart so it's no surprise that he's rolled his sleeves up to work with the customers.

Good on him, he's leading from the front and should be commended. Shame more 'leaders' don't do this.

Interestingly he was the Launch Manager for the Mondeo, I wonder how that went?

[Quinny]

Well from my contact, his assistant has managed to get my order moved from sometime in Nov, to the beginning if Nov...

A slight improvement....

[Centurion07]

foliedouce said:

Nope, but if you look as his LinkedIn profile, he's a salesman at heart so it's no surprise that he's rolled his sleeves up to work with the customers.

Good on him, he's leading from the front and should be commended. Shame more 'leaders' don't do this.

Interestingly he was the Launch Manager for the Mondeo, I wonder how that went?

Whilst it is commendable, you have to wonder how on earth it got to this point in the first place?

My dealer told me, and I've since heard someone else's dealer said the same, that initially dealers were just there to take the orders and Ford would then take over all the contact. It then turned out that actually Ford were expecting the dealers to be doing the legwork with regards to keeping customers informed but somehow the dealers weren't told this.

BTW haven't you ordered a Ruby Red convertible? There's pics of a RHD one over on mustang6g.com

[croyde]

So I have my VIN and a supposed build date of the 14th Sept but apart from very basic info on Etis no window sticker is coming up on the various different recommended sites.

Usual?

[sumpoil]

croyde said:

So I have my VIN and a supposed build date of the 14th Sept but apart from very basic info on Etis no window sticker is coming up on the various different recommended sites.

Usual?

Have another check on your window sticker, mine is now active and I have the same build date (14th) as you. The 'blend' number seems to indicate that mine will actually be built on the 17th (Thursday), so the sticker is available 4 or 5 working days in advance. I guess if the 14th is a 'week beginning' date you should have a sticker by tomorrow at the latest (or Monday I suppose if nothing gets created on weekends).

Getting closer!

[foliedouce]

Centurion07 said:

Whilst it is commendable, you have to wonder how on earth it got to this point in the first place?

My dealer told me, and I've since heard someone else's dealer said the same, that initially dealers were just there to take the orders and Ford would then take over all the contact. It then turned out that actually Ford were expecting the dealers to be doing the legwork with regards to keeping customers informed but somehow the dealers weren't told this.

BTW haven't you ordered a Ruby Red convertible? There's pics of a RHD one over on mustang6g.com

I hear what you're saying and Ford definitely need to learn from this, but I guess I pretty chilled as I got all bent out of shape about the Alfa 4C launch and cancelled my order (thank god as I hate the launch headlights), so I'm relaxed to the point of being horizontal on the Mustang.

Swapped the Ruby Red for Magnetic, too late to change now, I hope I don't regret it.