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Atypical Wave 1 Order Experience?

Blaster

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Hey, I would like to share my order experience with everyone as it feels atypical and at odds with what some people have described with dealer allocation/prioritization. Maybe you could shed some light on what feels like a lucky sequence of events, or just read and enjoy the second stage of my waiting game.
  • Ordered 9:39 EST 5/19, Order # 1081xxxx. And I kind of forgot about it because CoVid and all the other shit that's been going on.
  • Wife got an EV in December, and ID.4 - which made my current ICE vehicle is started to feel like it is on it's last legs (I'm jealous). So I did some online research, found this forum and some on Reddit, and decided called up my local dealer to see if I should wait out the reservations or shop for something hybridey.
    • Mid-December they have very little information.
    • Last week of December they told me I was top of their reservation list. Woop!
    • First week of January they tell me they plan on adding $10k for "high-demand". Womp!
  • I immediately call another dealer 30 minutes away that confirms they are strictly MSRP (nothing in writing, 'whatever' for now I'll take it).
    • Ford announces Wave 1 orders this week (first week of Jan), more forum/reddit research and decide to call up Ford to switch dealers.
    • Switch initiated AM 1/4/21 after waiting on hold for 45+ minutes, I get the impression everyone is calling, and I speak with the nicest rep ever (good job Ford). She's jamming away with me and the thousands of others, ultimately confirms switching dealers will be easy and not affect my reservation.
    • That day, nothing shows up in my account, whatever she said system was down from demand but also who knows anymore, right?
    • I decide to call back EOD just to confirm and wtf I get the same rep on the phone. We have a good laugh, she confirms system still down but change has been recorded and will be confirmed in the morning.
    • 1/5/21, I receive an e-mail confirming change of dealership.
    • I immediately call up my new dealership to say hello and see where I am in their list, sales rep says shit they have a ton of Lightning reservations who knows what will happen and where I am, she still confirms MSRP-only from earlier.
  • 1/6/21 PM I get the e-mail, Wave 1 order banks open, giddy-up.
  • Rushed order, placed and confirmed that night (I was worried PRO was going to run out of stock, 20+ week lead time for all options)
    • Pro, Black, 9.6kw, Spray-in
    • Dealer confirmed AM of 1/7/21
  • 1/7 I call the dealer to talk about the order and see if they knew anything, turns out they don't. Sales rep asked "what does the order site look like", they are completely in the dark. I assume I am their only order in Wave 1. (They must not have prioritized/scheduled anything special? Large dealer in VT, small state?)
  • 1/8, I call dealer to add Max-Tow, they ask if I can edit my order on my end, I confirm I cannot, she figures something out and maybe adds it but the system is down and she cannot confirm. I pray it doesn't kick my reservation back, wtf do I know.
  • 1/9, nothing changed in my order deets.
  • 1/10, nothing changed in my order deets.
  • 1/11, sales rep emails to confirm my order has been updated. Dbl check my account, Max-Tow is there. woop-woop.
  • Continue to check forums/account for any updates...flash forward to today.
I wanted to share this to add to the ether but also because I have heard so much about dealer allotments and special reservations that I thought I should share an experience that didn't seem phased by that at all. This could all be because I am in a small market, but frankly this is a large dealer, I switched last minute, and I ended up being one of, or their only, wave-1 order. Maybe I am lucky, maybe they are honest, and maybe nobody knows wtf this whole process is like...

Thank you to everyone that has been a part of the conversation across all message boards, it's been a pleasure and learning experience for me with you all. If you know why I still got in at Wave 1 let me know, or if you have any comments I am happy to hear any of them. Thanks!
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Sam James

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Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to order the Lightning (assuming a Pro is still available... maybe Lariat ER if I'm feeling insane). Completely agree on the ID.4. It may be my wife's, but I drive it whenever possible.
 

Beans

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Maybe you could shed some light on what feels like a lucky sequence of events, or just read and enjoy the second stage of my waiting game.
No light to shed, but I'm in a similar boat. No idea how I got in wave 1, but not going to ask too many questions. My assumption is my small dealer has few orders for the Lightning and all were after I reserved.
 

vandy1981

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If you know why I still got in at Wave 1 let me know, or if you have any comments I am happy to hear any of them. Thanks!
Congrats! Looks like you got a wave 1 invite because you were the person who had the earliest reservation at your dealership and weren't a victim of a "dealer priority" scheme. That's how this system should work for everyone--unfortunately, the priority list corrupted the process at a bunch of other dealers.

Also want to share my appreciation of the people on the Ford telephone hotline. They've been really great to work with--I just wish they were empowered to give us a little more information to us, specifically our ranking on the reservation-to-order system.
 

rmansava

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This is exactly how my experience went as well. I switched dealers a few days before the wave 1 email. Received the wave 1 email and I was able to order online. Dealer had no idea that I ordered and nothing was showing in their system. Small dealer, I think they said they had 5 reservations. Had to explain to them where to look (thank you forum) to accept the order and a few days later the order was accepted. It took another day for the order to show in the real order system where they were able to add the max tow package for me.
 

jazzmanmonty

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This is exactly how my experience went as well. I switched dealers a few days before the wave 1 email. Received the wave 1 email and I was able to order online. Dealer had no idea that I ordered and nothing was showing in their system. Small dealer, I think they said they had 5 reservations. Had to explain to them where to look (thank you forum) to accept the order and a few days later the order was accepted. It took another day for the order to show in the real order system where they were able to add the max tow package for me.
Hey! Maybe you guys found a loophole around the dealer prioritization list. Since dealers had to prioritize by Dec. 17th and can no longer change it, this might be a glitch. By switching dealerships now, the glitch defaults to prioritizing your order by timestamp over their set list that is recognized solely on the set priority number.. you get what i'm saying? So when Ford algorithm scans dealers to generate next set of invites, they see you as earliest timestamp vs. #3 spot on dealers predetermined list for wave 3. This is quite possible.

It would be very interesting if someone on here (with a VERY early timestamp and a reservation at a large dealership that told them they are #30 on their list) to transfer over to a smaller dealership (not too small) say a few days before wave 3, and see if they suddenly get an invite when wave 3 hits. Worth a shot!
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