Razdan Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I have to agree with this, I spent the last few days trying to find information. Other companies have it, I am pretty patient when I need to be, but it sure would be fun to be involved in the build process somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrown9064 Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 I have to agree with this, I spent the last few days trying to find information. Other companies have it, I am pretty patient when I need to be, but it sure would be fun to be involved in the build process somehow. Agreed. It is fun to order a new vehicle and it would be more fun to be "involved" like quoted above. All said, even having tidbits of info like the Window sticker and ETIS is helpful. If cyberdman can look up the info by VIN number, you would not think it would be hard to having a publicly facing website dip into that same database and pull a "cleansed" version. Chris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 Agreed. It is fun to order a new vehicle and it would be more fun to be "involved" like quoted above. All said, even having tidbits of info like the Window sticker and ETIS is helpful. If cyberdman can look up the info by VIN number, you would not think it would be hard to having a publicly facing website dip into that same database and pull a "cleansed" version. Chris It's not hard to get the data - it's already available. It's just not a priority because of the low percentage of folks who actually order vehicles and want that type of tracking versus the time and cost to make it available. You'd have to front end it to interpret the information that is normally provided internally so it makes sense. It's not terribly difficult but it's more than just throwing up a web server. With other mfrs doing this I think it's just a matter of time before Ford offers it, although I'd expect to see it on Lincolns first as part of their "concierge" service. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrown9064 Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 It's not hard to get the data - it's already available. It's just not a priority because of the low percentage of folks who actually order vehicles and want that type of tracking versus the time and cost to make it available. You'd have to front end it to interpret the information that is normally provided internally so it makes sense. It's not terribly difficult but it's more than just throwing up a web server. With other mfrs doing this I think it's just a matter of time before Ford offers it, although I'd expect to see it on Lincolns first as part of their "concierge" service. Makes sense and agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holyfusion Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Yes, I would love to be able to put in my vin and instantly know the location of my vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holyfusion Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Being a programmer, putting a link on ford motor site where you enter a vin and then lookup the number in their database would only take about 5 hours of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 Being a programmer, putting a link on ford motor site where you enter a vin and then lookup the number in their database would only take about 5 hours of work. It's not the web interface - that's easy. The hard part is translating the internal terminology and making it understandable (and figuring out what you do or don't want the customer to know). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madpd97 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I agree, better tracking system would be nice! I think my salesman is getting tired of me calling for updates... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzul Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 The other problem is that the more information you give customers, the more explaining that will need to be done when things get delayed. Or you eisk unhappy customers when an ETA goes from a certain date to "unknown." Or you may have customers tracking their orders so closely that they show up at rail yards, or follow the car haulers down the road, ect. That part will require them to add more and more employees to deal with people trying to find they're cars in the wild prior to delivery. That alone would add so much extra to the bottom line that it could possibly affect the overall price of the car. Not to be a downer, but we need to be objective and think about this from all angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
http Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 My salesman has been very good about updating me on my order and it's been kinda fun pulling the window sticker from one site and tracking the build on another, but in this day and age, with web technology, there should be a better way to track our orders. My recommendation would be for the showroom salesman to provide you with the order number and for Ford to offer a single web site to track the whole process from order submission though build to shipment and delivery. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjs157 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Didn't see this topic, yes please enable website based tracking to general public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirtualAmerican Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Agreed. It is fun to order a new vehicle and it would be more fun to be "involved" like quoted above. All said, even having tidbits of info like the Window sticker and ETIS is helpful. If cyberdman can look up the info by VIN number, you would not think it would be hard to having a publicly facing website dip into that same database and pull a "cleansed" version. Chris Oh yes, a thousand times yes. I would make really good use of this if it existed. ETIS and the window sticker do OK I guess, but a real website would be the bomb. Come on, Ford! Make this happen! :stats: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolverineone Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I strongly agree. I'm a member of the Armed Forces. My family and I are relocating to Alaska from overseas and I purchased a vehicle through the Exchange New Car Sales Program. The car should be enroute to a local dealer in Alaska for delivery however the salesman can not tell me where the vehicle presently is. He keeps insisting he did a "hot" on it for delivery by 6 June but it is scheduled to get there no later than 19 June. Rental cars in Alaska are on Orbitz for approximately $1500 a week. I'm avoiding getting a rental car like the plague so I can get some more Ford accessories. Why isn't there a better option Ford? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easyrider949 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I think it would be a great Idea to have a better real time tracking system for customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slampro Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 We ordered our Cmax on May 9. So far all we have is an order number. I would love to be able to go to a site and use the order number and see an estimated vin assignment date, build date, and etc. I really don't like having to call the dealer to see if there is an update. I am sure I am not the only one at that dealer with a car on order. I am also sure I am not the only one he has to tell, "I'll let you know when there's an update." Then I have to hope he does, and doesn't wait a week or two after he gets the update(heck, I don't want to wait a day). So, I call again, and well, I'll end up calling again. I don't know when he got the order number. I don't even know if it is a real number, as it seems I can't use it for anything. He didn't give it to me until I called him. I haven't called more than once a week, so I am not hassling him. Ford really could do a much better job at this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sstakher Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I agree. Just need a simple website stating the status. Dell computer does a nice job on tracking your computer order from beginning to when its shipped. Having a camera system would be cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bughunter Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Even a simple version of what the dealer has access to for folks to check on their own orders would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecsys3 Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 man, I would love this ! But I doubt they'd put the effort in building such a system. Seems like it might bring a customer service nightmare; handling the support for it and the inevitable calls when your car is "unscheduled" or appears stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slampro Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Still waiting for our car. It was built 7/19, had an ETA of 8/11. Last I heard yesterday, the date was changed on Monday to TBD. Nobody knows why. I have no idea where my car is today. I sent my dealer an email Friday, asking about the hybrid FE update, if it would be built into our car. He knew nothing of it, said he would check on it, still have no answer to that question. Really not a good experience ordering a car. I am at the mercy of the busy sales manager at the dealer, who would rather sell more cars to others then check on mine, I am sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice-capades Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Still waiting for our car. It was built 7/19, had an ETA of 8/11. Last I heard yesterday, the date was changed on Monday to TBD. Nobody knows why. I have no idea where my car is today. I sent my dealer an email Friday, asking about the hybrid FE update, if it would be built into our car. He knew nothing of it, said he would check on it, still have no answer to that question. Really not a good experience ordering a car. I am at the mercy of the busy sales manager at the dealer, who would rather sell more cars to others then check on mine, I am sure. If you're not satisfied with the busy sales manager I'd suggest that you go higher and talk to the General Manager or Dealer Principal. It's in their best interest to assist you as after delivery you're going to get a survey from Ford about your experience and the dealership will experience repercussions for negative feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slampro Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 If you're not satisfied with the busy sales manager I'd suggest that you go higher and talk to the General Manager or Dealer Principal. It's in their best interest to assist you as after delivery you're going to get a survey from Ford about your experience and the dealership will experience repercussions for negative feedback. It's not that I am unhappy, really. Sorry, just venting I guess. It's more like I would just rather have a better way to find out information. I don't place that solely on the dealer. Ford should give dealers advanced notice of such things, before the press release goes out. I have since figured out that the hybrid FE update is in my car. I have learned that the update is for cars prior to 7/8. I learned this from a C max forum where someone posted the text of the bulletin. Plus it does not show up on Etis, others are seeing it for their C max. I even got the vin from the window sticker off a dealer lot of a C max built 1 month before mine. The PCM update appears for that car. So I have concluded, hopefully correct, it is built into mine. I also received a status update today showing no change since the 21st. Still awaiting shipment, ETA=TBD. No idea why, no idea when we'll get it, no idea how to find out. I don't blame the dealer for this at all. Ford needs a tracking system for customers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR61 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 If you're not satisfied with the busy sales manager I'd suggest that you go higher and talk to the General Manager or Dealer Principal. It's in their best interest to assist you as after delivery you're going to get a survey from Ford about your experience and the dealership will experience repercussions for negative feedback. Absurd. This is the 21st century. Ford needs to set up a tracking system for customers ASAP. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Nap Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Love the idea! Cameras? Maybe not. It would be an invasion of privace for the workers but if ford can track the where abouts annnywhere on the line it would be great for us to be able to as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy314 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 You don't think they are watching the employees now? You could have limited view 'web cams'... Ford would need to see a real purpose to it though as you'd have to worry about abuse and such. All I can mention is you can do with BMW. You can follow your VIN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trvlrschick Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I wonder if one of the reasons they don't have a good tracking system is that if a person saw it on the Ford website, it might encourage them to order a specific car, rather than just buying off the lot. How big is the percentage of people that order, vs. the number who just buy one off the lot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.