Well, I finally gave up today. The misinformation and the waiting were bad enough but the thing about the damage just tore it for me. This message I wrote to Sam De La Garza will explain things.
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As one of the biggest fans of the Ford Fiesta for more than two years now I never thought I'd be saying this but I canceled my order today.
I found out yesterday that my car (Vin #3FXXXXXXXXX) had arrived in Baltimore but was damaged. The dealer called all over the place to find out more about the car's status but could find no one who claimed to know anything about it. So I asked them to return my deposit and they agreed.
This was the final straw in a litany of problems I've had getting this car. It started back in spring when I heard of other Fiestas being scheduled for build but mine wasn't. I learned later that these early schedules were for Ford/Dealer employees, but no one told me that at the time, leading me to believe for a while that my order was mishandled.
Then my car was built May 24, but it sat and sat and sat, while hundreds of other Fiestas made their way to customers. I never got a good explanation why. My car was not on the Midwestern route affected by the tropical storm.
Finally, two weeks ago I get a call from "Peggy at Fiesta Program Headquarters" saying I would get a $50 mastercard for my troubles. But even that hasn't gotten to me yet (others on internet forums are also saying they haven't gotten their cards yet).
I have never seen such contempt for such an enthusiastic and devoted group of customers.
At this point I'm glad to have my deposit back but not sure where to go from here. I still like the Fiesta as a car but it's just too hard to buy one. Supplies are short and most of the cars advertised as being in dealer inventory are not really there. Plus, many dealers are adding markups or pre-loading accessories to the ones they do have. Finally, there was an unsubstantiated report of a whole bunch of Fiestas getting damaged while shipping on a boat. So, even if I do find a Fiesta I like at a good price how do I know it wasn't damaged too?
I am appalled at all of this and you should be too since someone as devoted to the Fiesta I was is having such serious doubts.
At the very least you owe a heartfelt apology to the folks at XXXXX Ford in XXXXX, XXXX. Believe me, they made their mistakes in this process too, but at least today they were on their game. Turning over every stone to try to track down my car and paying back my deposit. They had to endure a tirade from me because Ford Motor Company messed this up so badly.
I hope you do everything in your power to satisfy those who are still waiting for Fiestas. I think it means personally reaching out to them, giving an honest explanation why the car hasn't shipped, and working out alternate arrangements for those who won't be able to get their cars immediately. Otherwise I fear the Fiesta is doomed to become a victim of its own success.
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This will be my last post on the Faction for a while. I'm lost and confused and really need to cool off before I figure my next move.