Factroy Direct Ordering, Does it exist?

[superccs]

I am looking at getting a charcoal colored 2011 F150 w/ Ecoboost, supercab, and FX2 package but can't seem to locate the model + options I want anywhere. Does anyone have experience ordering directly from the factory or is that even possible?

Is it like ordering sushi?
If I contact my local dealer, which I am sure has none that I interested in, will they just drive me crazy and try to sell me what they have in stock?
I would love to hear from satisfied customers or those of you with horror stories from those of you who have pulled this off?

Thanks, and have a good Thursday evening.
-C

 

[EightySix Four]

I am looking at getting a charcoal colored 2011 F150 w/ Ecoboost, supercab, and FX2 package but can't seem to locate the model + options I want anywhere. Does anyone have experience ordering directly from the factory or is that even possible?

Is it like ordering sushi?
If I contact my local dealer, which I am sure has none that I interested in, will they just drive me crazy and try to sell me what they have in stock?
I would love to hear from satisfied customers or those of you with horror stories from those of you who have pulled this off?

Thanks, and have a good Thursday evening.
-C

Go to a dealer, tell them exactly what you want. They'll search high and low for it and if they can't find it, they'll order it for you. It's a pretty common process. They'll try really hard to get you out the door with one of hte models they have on the floor, but none will outright deny you. Stick to your guns and you'll be fine

 

[Vic Vega]

The fleet sales people will be more willing to order something for you since they have a limited inventory anyway and most of their sales are done on order.

A general sales person may do this but they are mostly going to want and sell you their current inventory; some dealers flat out won't do it, mostly the large places with plenty of inventory. Smaller dealers outside of time typically have a better handle on customer service. A hefty down payment is usually required for orders.

 

[Reliant]

The fleet sales people will be more willing to order something for you since they have a limited inventory anyway and most of their sales are done on order.

A general sales person may do this but they are mostly going to want and sell you their current inventory; some dealers flat out won't do it, mostly the large places with plenty of inventory. Smaller dealers outside of time typically have a better handle on customer service. A hefty down payment is usually required for orders.

I ordered my Mustang (OP wants a Ford so this is applicable) and my deposit for the order was $500, which was 100% refundable. I don't see $500 an unreasonable place holder which can be wrapped in to the down payment. Also, after the car came in, i didn't put much down, it was just like any other car transaction. Do some research and see what others end up paying to place the order and as a downpayment so you can get the sense if you're being ripped off by a salesman trying to get a bigger cut out of you, get an idea of MSRP for what you want so you'll see any dealer markup, and go from there. You should leave with a decent deal.

 

[Bignate603]

It seems like it might be a little bit harder to negotiate price on a car that's not sitting on the lot but any dealer would be insane if they turned away somebody that wanted to buy a car for them for a reasonable price. If they can get a reasonable assurance that you're going to follow through on the deal its a complete win-win for them, they get their money for the vehicle the day it rolls off the truck rather than having it sit around on their lot for weeks.

 

[alkemyst]

Early in the model year you can usually order. Also as said above, not all dealers want to order...especially slow movers they already have on the lot and/or end of year coming up.

 

[thirdeye]

Better than half of the new cars I've ever purchased were custom ordered. As long as you find a dealer who won't screw around you shouldn't have an issue. If you don't have a relationship with any Ford dealers, try using Edmunds to build what you want and then contact your local dealers.

 

[RU482]

If you are ordering a vehicle, aren't you giving you giving up the bargaining power?

 

[Zap]

My wife's 2011 WRX was custom ordered. We used our AAA membership buying service. Went on the AAA.com site and entered in what we were looking for. Dealer contacted us with an offer (dealer invoice +$600, all options at dealer invoice). My wife decided on exactly what she wanted. They didn't have it (not too surprising on a WRX) and ordered it. Took around 8 weeks, and we had to leave a $1000 deposit.

Back in 1993 my dad bought a 1994 Ford F150 4x4 extended cab. I inquired about ordering one and the dealer was reluctant, but did say they can do it and it will take several weeks. Unfortunately my dad was hot to replace his 1982 Ford Courier (basically a rebranded Mazda B2000 mini truck) and got one off the lot. I wanted him to order one since there was a $500 option for that year which allowed switching to 4x4 through a switch on the dash instead of the floor shifter. All the ones on the dealer lot used the floor shifter with auto locking hubs, so that's what we ended up getting.

 

[alkemyst]

Better than half of the new cars I've ever purchased were custom ordered. As long as you find a dealer who won't screw around you shouldn't have an issue. If you don't have a relationship with any Ford dealers, try using Edmunds to build what you want and then contact your local dealers.

how many?

 

[Zivic]

a dealer should be able to locate you one.....

as far as f150's go... my good friend should have his new '11 platinum with ecoboost here today. the truck was located for him from down south and being shipped up to MN. I am looking forward to checking out the ecoboost.

 

[TraumaRN]

If you are ordering a vehicle, aren't you giving you giving up the bargaining power?

Not necessarily if you goto an honest dealer. When you order direct from the factory from Ford at least, both myself for when I ordered my Fusion Hybrid and my parents when they ordered a new 2011 Explorer from the factory the dealership made us put $500 full refundable deposit down and then my parents and myself managed to work in the current discounts/rebates because we put the deposit down at the time of order so the dealership worked with us.

Why would they do that? Well because they know we can go elsewhere and have other dealerships that would be willing to honor it.

OP if you are REALLY sold on custom ordering just do it, it's easy you are guaranteed to get EXACTLY what you want, and the dealer should still be able to work rebates/discounts into the price. All it takes is patience, takes anywhere from 4-8 weeks to take delivery depending on the model ordered, where you live, etc etc

 

[Zivic]

well, buddy got the truck the other day... so what do we do first, we line it up against our 08 tundra with the beastly 5.7.... sorry ford, ecoboost looses by a few lengths. The ford might be a nicer truck overall, but the toyota's 5.7 is really something special.

other than that, the powerband is very smooth in the ford. inter cooler is pretty big, but uses plastic side tanks. I like the offset license plate. I suspect you will see some ford owners offsetting their front plate to make it look like it's boosted.

as an enthusiast, I desperately want to see one of these trucks setup on E85. Larger injectors, maybe a larger fuel pump, eliminate the cats and a catback exhaust and retune it with some more boost. These trucks should put down 400 or better to the wheels.

 

[superccs]

The power of the 3.5T is like a airplane taking off, its deceptively smooth.

In regards to the drag race between teh Toyo 5.7 and teh 3.5T...
I think the idea is to get huge power when demanded, and still get great mileage when you're not standing on it. The 5.7 toyo will get shit mileage all the time.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

well, buddy got the truck the other day... so what do we do first, we line it up against our 08 tundra with the beastly 5.7.... sorry ford, ecoboost looses by a few lengths. The ford might be a nicer truck overall, but the toyota's 5.7 is really something special.

other than that, the powerband is very smooth in the ford. inter cooler is pretty big, but uses plastic side tanks. I like the offset license plate. I suspect you will see some ford owners offsetting their front plate to make it look like it's boosted.

as an enthusiast, I desperately want to see one of these trucks setup on E85. Larger injectors, maybe a larger fuel pump, eliminate the cats and a catback exhaust and retune it with some more boost. These trucks should put down 400 or better to the wheels.

I would think the 5.7 would pull a lot better than the base V8s in all the trucks. Throw it up against the 6.2 for a fair comparison.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah, that's really a pretty poor comparison IMHO.

 

[LTC8K6]

well, buddy got the truck the other day... so what do we do first, we line it up against our 08 tundra with the beastly 5.7.... sorry ford, ecoboost looses by a few lengths. The ford might be a nicer truck overall, but the toyota's 5.7 is really something special.

other than that, the powerband is very smooth in the ford. inter cooler is pretty big, but uses plastic side tanks. I like the offset license plate. I suspect you will see some ford owners offsetting their front plate to make it look like it's boosted.

as an enthusiast, I desperately want to see one of these trucks setup on E85. Larger injectors, maybe a larger fuel pump, eliminate the cats and a catback exhaust and retune it with some more boost. These trucks should put down 400 or better to the wheels.

Ford isn't sorry at that comparo at all. A few lengths? Clear win for the Ford. Keeping up and getting way better economy.