Mustang stuck at rail yard for over a month?

[oneheadlite]

...my '21 Harley Revival I bought last May was the same type of snafu.
A dealer I have bought 7 new Harleys from since 2013 wouldn't sell me the
bike because he wanted to keep it a while, drawing in customers to buy
other models and sell their junk accessories.
I said; "well sell me another bike." He had 3 Ultra Limited water cooled bikes on
the floor. He says "they're all spoken for."
I said; "well, go down the road and get another one."
He said there weren't any to go get. Remember I said I've bought 7 new bikes in
the last few years from this dealer.
I called the dealer in Winston-Salem and they brought the Revival to me.

I am done with Harley Asheville.......................

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[22GT]

Maybe these cars all have something in common? Mine is a manual GT in Oxford white with black aaccent package. 301A package with active exhaust.

 

[Cordero1]

Why not just cancel your order & pick up one of the many other Mustangs you say that are already at the lot? I know it wont be what you ordered exactly, but Im sure there is something close to it.

 

[TentacleKitty]

FYI: located in Canada, not the USA.

I factory ordered a 2022 Mustang GT back in November. It was subsequently built on January 13th and it landed at my local rail yard on February 10th. The original delivery ETA was February 8-14, however it got pushed to March 8-14 after it landed, and I'm not sure what it is now.

It has now been over a month and car is still sitting at the rail yard apparently. I have inquired multiple times with the dealership and they tell me they've spoken to their Ford rep who has given no other information other than "quality assurance purposes".

It feels a bit ridiculous that the car has been sitting 15 minutes away from my house for this long and there is seemingly nothing that can be done about it, and no one has a concrete answer as to why.

It's worth noting that other dealerships in the area have Mustang GTs on their lots which were built after mine, so it's not like it's a delay that's equally affecting all cars.

Has anyone else run into this issue before? Should I bother calling Ford customer service or just wait it out? I spoke to a salesperson from another dealer who told me I should put more pressure on my dealership to get answers, but I'm not really a confrontational person. I think I'd be fine waiting if they could at least give me a reason for the delay and an accurate ETA, but I digress.

What you wrote in your third paragraph, saying it is "quality assurance purposes" doesn't make sense to me. The car obviously has left Flat Rock (where they would have done all those checks), but is not at the dealership yet (where additional checks could be done). QA checks being done in a railyard??

So here was my experience, for what it is worth: My car came by train from Flat Rock to Portland, Oregon, and it sat in a railyard for a couple of days. Then the local trucking company picked it up and piggybacked it to my dealership for quick 10 mile trip. I had the luxury of knowing when my car was unloaded, because the local trucking company has a website where I was able to check status by the car's VIN. I was able to see it get scheduled for truck delivery, and also saw the dates/times of loading/unloading, as well as who the truck driver was, and the dealer person signing for acknowledgement of delivery at the dealership. So I had lots of good information for tracking.

My question to you is, will your dealer let you know who their trucking company is, so you can make your own inquiry? I am guessing that might be a long shot, but maybe it's worth asking?

 

[Lunixor]

What you wrote in your third paragraph, saying it is "quality assurance purposes" doesn't make sense to me. The car obviously has left Flat Rock (where they would have done all those checks), but is not at the dealership yet (where additional checks could be done). QA checks being done in a railyard??

It doesn't make sense to me either that any checks would be done at the rail yard. I spoke to the dealer again today and they reiterated that is the message Ford is giving them, and Ford won't release the vehicle from the holding lot for delivery to the dealer. Apparently in their system it shows up as a "Quality Hold".

Ford customer service got back to me this morning as well but they were not helpful at all. They gave me the same "quality assurance" answer that the dealership did, without any further detail. I'm trying to push for a real answer so we'll see how that goes.

My question to you is, will your dealer let you know who their trucking company is, so you can make your own inquiry? I am guessing that might be a long shot, but maybe it's worth asking?

I would hope so, that being said the dealership is a 20 min drive from the holding lot the car is located at so I don't imagine it would take long to get it delivered.

Maybe these cars all have something in common? Mine is a manual GT in Oxford white with black aaccent package. 301A package with active exhaust.

I ordered 401A manual in Rapid Red with Performance Pack, Active Exhaust, B&O Sound system.

Why not just cancel your order & pick up one of the many other Mustangs you say that are already at the lot? I know it wont be what you ordered exactly, but Im sure there is something close to it.

If I'm going to pay money for a brand new car that I plan on keeping long term, I'd much rather get something that has the colour and options I want. Unfortunately I could find no other Rapid Red GTs with manual transmissions near me. Most dealer inventory is black/white/silver and automatic.

 

[TrackMustang]

Maybe these cars all have something in common? Mine is a manual GT in Oxford white with black aaccent package. 301A package with active exhaust.

Manual GT in Oxford white with a black accent package… you seem like a brilliant person, not sure why… perhaps your incredible taste?

 

[Cordero1]

It doesn't make sense to me either that any checks would be done at the rail yard. I spoke to the dealer again today and they reiterated that is the message Ford is giving them, and Ford won't release the vehicle from the holding lot for delivery to the dealer. Apparently in their system it shows up as a "Quality Hold".

Ford customer service got back to me this morning as well but they were not helpful at all. They gave me the same "quality assurance" answer that the dealership did, without any further detail. I'm trying to push for a real answer so we'll see how that goes.



I would hope so, that being said the dealership is a 20 min drive from the holding lot the car is located at so I don't imagine



If I'm going to pay money for a brand new car that I plan on keeping long term, I'd much rather get something that has the colour and options I want. Unfortunately I could find no other Rapid Red GTs with manual transmissions near me. Most dealer inventory is black/white/silver and automatic.

Well then sir, you might just have to jump out of your comfort zone & get confrontational if you want what you ordered. Shut mouths dont get fed. Id be calling & stopping by daily if it was me. Just my .02

 

[TentacleKitty]

It doesn't make sense to me either that any checks would be done at the rail yard. I spoke to the dealer again today and they reiterated that is the message Ford is giving them, and Ford won't release the vehicle from the holding lot for delivery to the dealer. Apparently in their system it shows up as a "Quality Hold".

Ford customer service got back to me this morning as well but they were not helpful at all. They gave me the same "quality assurance" answer that the dealership did, without any further detail. I'm trying to push for a real answer so we'll see how that goes.

I am going to go out on a limb here and speculate, so please forgive me if I say something that someone sees as incorrect or misleading. Here is what I see as "chain of custody" of that car from Ford's production plant to you:

Ford --> Train Company --> Truck Company --> Dealership --> YOU

Let's say something happened to the car while the car was on the Train -- some kind of damage or issue during loading or transport. Ford is the entity that sets up the relationship with the Train Company for shipment, and if the Train Company reports that there was damage to the car during rail shipment, maybe they tell Ford "something happened" and Ford's response is to NOT allow release of the car from the Train Company to the Truck Company. Again, I'm only imagining and purely speculating here. So if something is keeping the Truck company from getting the car, then maybe either Ford and/or the Train Company still has "ownership" (custody) of the car and is trying to figure out what to do.

Hoping there is really nothing wrong with your car and there is just some bad mix-up or communication.

 

[Lunixor]

I am going to go out on a limb here and speculate, so please forgive me if I say something that someone sees as incorrect or misleading. Here is what I see as "chain of custody" of that car from Ford's production plant to you:

Ford --> Train Company --> Truck Company --> Dealership --> YOU

Let's say something happened to the car while the car was on the Train -- some kind of damage or issue during loading or transport. Ford is the entity that sets up the relationship with the Train Company for shipment, and if the Train Company reports that there was damage to the car during rail shipment, maybe they tell Ford "something happened" and Ford's response is to NOT allow release of the car from the Train Company to the Truck Company. Again, I'm only imagining and purely speculating here. So if something is keeping the Truck company from getting the car, then maybe either Ford and/or the Train Company still has "ownership" (custody) of the car and is trying to figure out what to do.

I think you are spot on here and this is probably the case. It seems that the car is in fact at the rail yard but Ford is preventing it from being released to the trucking company to be sent to the dealer.

I spoke to the dealer on the phone again today and emphasized how ridiculous this situation is, and they agreed but their hands seem to be tied in this situation. I’m pretty sure they want the car as much as I do, since they don’t get paid by me until it’s here.

After my call the sales manager contacted Ford again and sent me this info in an email:

I’ve heard back from our dealer sales manager. Here’s his response:

“It’s on a quality hold right now, there’s no way of knowing for what reason however. The updated eta shows between April 8th – 14th.. Given it’s a quality hold we can’t rush it and we have to wait it out unfortunately.”

I then pressed harder for more information regarding the hold:

“Quality holds are the worst basically because Ford will never provide info on those unfortunately.”

So at this point I think I have exhausted what I can get out of him. I’ll leave it in your hands for now to determine if you still want to wait for it. I don’t want you to go through with the purchase if it doesn’t sit right with you because at the end of the day I’d rather you be happy with the whole purchase.

Ford customer service was also unable to provide any assistance and they said that the dealership has more leeway than they do.

In this case it seems that I have no choice but to wait it out, because Ford won’t budge.

 

[22GT]

I just spoke with the ordering manager about my car. He said my car is awaiting shipping at flat rock. No quality holds from what he can see. He was quite confused on why it's been waiting shipping for almost a month. He did admit it was quite strange for a car to sit that long waiting for shipping, and that's all I got from him. He said delivery date was March 28-april 18. Has anyone else heard of a delivery window that big before? My car was built on 2/14 and released from the factory on 2/27.

 

[TentacleKitty]

To the OP and anyone else that might have a car that sits in a railyard for a long time. I found the following post (click here) on the Maverick Truck Club Forum, and wanted to share it since it seemed to chime in with the long railyard wait we've been discussing on this thread.

 

[Fastoldman]

Read through most of this and from thirty years in the business I can tell you this is quite normal for GM, Ford, or Chrysler ( Stellantis ). Usually a quality hold is due to something that could be a new TSB ( Technical Service Bulletin ), recall issue , a weather delay, or a rail issue.

1. Rail issues during the Winter are super common and occasionally things get backed up and vehicle loaded cars get blocked in, so everything is in a backlog situation.
2. If it is a quality control issue it can be something like a part failure , and investigation is underway for a possible issue, a part from a supplier has been found defective, or other concerns.Sometimes it is a safety issue.
3. It can also mean a possible recall is in the works and there is no need to send cars out if they will be required to sit at the Dealer's lot until a remedy is done.
4. When many are backlogged it is usually due to a part repair so patience is required.

I am always surprised why Dealers do not explain to consumers that this is an unfortunate issue , not uncommon, and surprisingly it is most often minor though obviously frustrating. I have seen customers get frustrated, run out and bought another car, only to find it has to return to the Dealer for a recall. Years ago I had a load of cars stuck in a rail yard, and when we finally got the vehicles we ( the Dealership ) found out it was due to an accident in the railyard where the tracks were heavily damaged, hence the railcar was stuck.

Lastly, most of the time the Dealer can get no more information than you can because Corporate seldom gives anyone an answer. They can call a million times, but if it is a suspected recall, no one one will be told until it is confirmed anyway, and if it ends up not being an issue with the vehicles on the train , then everyone gets upset for no reason.

I realize this will not help everyone, but it is not a Ford phenomenon, it is with all Manufacturers and patience is best. Especially if you have an order, as you have price protection and many of the vehicles have gone up in price a couple of times since late last year.

 

[PoCoBob]

Phone your Ford dealer again and tell them the next person who'll contact them will be someone from Global or CTV. Somehow once someone from the media gets involved these impossible situations become easily fixed. Both stations have consumer reporters who would gladly run Ford through the ringer on TV.

 

[15BluStang]

At this point, it appears that there is nothing you or your dealer can do. It sounds like if your dealer could go to the holding lot and get your car, they would. My advice is don’t burn bridges as it is not going to get your Mustang to you any faster and could hurt getting things done in the future. IOW, Don’t be a Karen!

 

[Skye]

Curious if the dealer, agreements, shipping companies, etc., are holding the car and awaiting others to arrive, so as to be most efficient by delivering multiple vehicles at once to the dealer.

I cannot begin to imagine your frustration, but from someone looking at spreadsheets, shipping schedules, loads and numbers of cars moving, these factors could explain the wait.

Have you noticed, has the dealer received other new cars?

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