cpwl
Well-known member
Well after all the hassles of ordering my FFE detailed at:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2203
things have finally moved forward. Eventually in Feb I received a 10 Mar tentative date but it was never stated if that was the delivery date or the production date! Ugh, it was like pulling teeth to get any information out of the dealer. In the end most dealers really are set up to primarily sell what they have on the lot and special orders are clearly an inconvenience to them! In early March I unexpectedly received an e-mail saying that the car would be received “any day now” so apparently the 10 Mar tentative date was for delivery. Of course the week of Mar 10 came and went with no delivery, then the week of 16 Mar, and 23 Mar and 30 Mar, you get the idea! Finally on 7 April I got the treasured e-mail saying the car had been received the evening before and it was being prepared for delivery which, after yet more convolutions, was finally scheduled for Fri 10 Apr. Now don’t get your hopes up because delivery didn’t go smoothly either. Because I live in Quebec and a front license plate is not required I had sent an e-mail what was ultimately 10 days prior to car receipt by the dealer directing that the plate holder NOT be installed and it simply be put in the trunk of the car. I also spoke with my salesman to confirm this which was acknowledged. When I arrived at the dealership I saw the car and was, for a brief period, overjoyed. We were a few moments early so we were asked to wait in the customer lounge which was no problem. When the salesman finally came in he gave me the news that their “detailer” had put the plate holder on the car. While I did not “blow up” I was quite furious over this, especially as it had clearly been done while we were waiting in the lounge. Quiet but very stern words were spoken noting that I had waited 7 months since ordering the car and that this was the only change from the usual PDI. I hadn’t asked that anything more than usual or particularly special be done, just don’t put the front plate holder on which should have actually saved the dealer and PDI staff one step of preparation. So the salesman went away to “see what could be done”. Another 20 minutes later the salesman returned and invited my wife and I out to see the car. Now my wife is a pretty quiet and understanding woman who rarely raises her voice in public but as we received yet another apology and “explanation” she made a comment to the effect of “because an idiot didn’t read his e-mail and couldn’t do his job properly”. And as I had stated in the lounge when first told of the error the inspection confirmed that any “plugging of the holes in the bumper cover would look atrocious! I was on the verge of walking away and told the salesman so. This was followed by comments relating that this is the first new car that I have ever bought so why should I accept anything less than “factory perfect?” I then followed up with the directive that he get his new car sales manager to resolve the problem. Of course the only resolution was a replacement of the front bumper cover which had obviously been worked out in the 10 minutes it took to get the manger out to talk to me as he immediately undertook to replace it, no argument, no excuses, so for the moment that was fine. The replacement part should arrive in a week to 10 days and then hopefully it will be a quick installation, a day or two at the most I’m hoping but the track record to date leaves me circumspect to say the least.
So after far too long sorting out that problem and signing financing papers etc I finally “owned” my FFE and sat down in the car for a basic familiarization with the car sufficient to let me drive it home. Dang this car is even more awesome than I remember from the test drive. 2015 FFE, blue candy with leather upholstery!! There is still so much to learn about the displays, data presentation, getting the car on MFM, sorting out go-times etc, etc, etc. I haven’t put very many kms on the car yet and I’m being quite gentle to try and drive the GOM up to counter the obvious “jack-rabbit” driving done at the factory, the transportation terminals and the off site PDI location. But I have had some fun as well as my usual more sedate driving.
Today a bit more ugly showed up though! My wife and I were at the garage entry and as we looked disgustedly at the two “filled” holes in the bumper cover (one of which is accompanied by an associated large paint chip) I noticed that they had also put 4 plugs in the grill!! As it turns out they must have drilled the front plate holder directly into the grill and put black plastic plugs into those holes which I didn’t see Friday evening in the low light of an overcast day and now leaves me wondering how they put two more holes into the bumper cover????? All I can say is “what the blazes”!! Of course the requirement for a new grill will be amongst the first phone calls to be made tomorrow and followed up with an e-mail. It all certainly leaves a very sour taste over the entire process which should have been a joy but has in many respects become a tedious ordeal that seems simply endless.
But the car itself is everything I remember and more and indeed everything all you guys have advertised. Love the quiet smooth power delivery, the overall build quality and cabin interior. Lots more to learn and experience of course but I’ve seen enough to know this was a good decision. Fun performance when it is wanted, good ride, pretty good control ergonomics and dang great colour!
Thanks for your help, information and support over what has become an almost year long journey.
Best Cheers
Carl
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2203
things have finally moved forward. Eventually in Feb I received a 10 Mar tentative date but it was never stated if that was the delivery date or the production date! Ugh, it was like pulling teeth to get any information out of the dealer. In the end most dealers really are set up to primarily sell what they have on the lot and special orders are clearly an inconvenience to them! In early March I unexpectedly received an e-mail saying that the car would be received “any day now” so apparently the 10 Mar tentative date was for delivery. Of course the week of Mar 10 came and went with no delivery, then the week of 16 Mar, and 23 Mar and 30 Mar, you get the idea! Finally on 7 April I got the treasured e-mail saying the car had been received the evening before and it was being prepared for delivery which, after yet more convolutions, was finally scheduled for Fri 10 Apr. Now don’t get your hopes up because delivery didn’t go smoothly either. Because I live in Quebec and a front license plate is not required I had sent an e-mail what was ultimately 10 days prior to car receipt by the dealer directing that the plate holder NOT be installed and it simply be put in the trunk of the car. I also spoke with my salesman to confirm this which was acknowledged. When I arrived at the dealership I saw the car and was, for a brief period, overjoyed. We were a few moments early so we were asked to wait in the customer lounge which was no problem. When the salesman finally came in he gave me the news that their “detailer” had put the plate holder on the car. While I did not “blow up” I was quite furious over this, especially as it had clearly been done while we were waiting in the lounge. Quiet but very stern words were spoken noting that I had waited 7 months since ordering the car and that this was the only change from the usual PDI. I hadn’t asked that anything more than usual or particularly special be done, just don’t put the front plate holder on which should have actually saved the dealer and PDI staff one step of preparation. So the salesman went away to “see what could be done”. Another 20 minutes later the salesman returned and invited my wife and I out to see the car. Now my wife is a pretty quiet and understanding woman who rarely raises her voice in public but as we received yet another apology and “explanation” she made a comment to the effect of “because an idiot didn’t read his e-mail and couldn’t do his job properly”. And as I had stated in the lounge when first told of the error the inspection confirmed that any “plugging of the holes in the bumper cover would look atrocious! I was on the verge of walking away and told the salesman so. This was followed by comments relating that this is the first new car that I have ever bought so why should I accept anything less than “factory perfect?” I then followed up with the directive that he get his new car sales manager to resolve the problem. Of course the only resolution was a replacement of the front bumper cover which had obviously been worked out in the 10 minutes it took to get the manger out to talk to me as he immediately undertook to replace it, no argument, no excuses, so for the moment that was fine. The replacement part should arrive in a week to 10 days and then hopefully it will be a quick installation, a day or two at the most I’m hoping but the track record to date leaves me circumspect to say the least.
So after far too long sorting out that problem and signing financing papers etc I finally “owned” my FFE and sat down in the car for a basic familiarization with the car sufficient to let me drive it home. Dang this car is even more awesome than I remember from the test drive. 2015 FFE, blue candy with leather upholstery!! There is still so much to learn about the displays, data presentation, getting the car on MFM, sorting out go-times etc, etc, etc. I haven’t put very many kms on the car yet and I’m being quite gentle to try and drive the GOM up to counter the obvious “jack-rabbit” driving done at the factory, the transportation terminals and the off site PDI location. But I have had some fun as well as my usual more sedate driving.
Today a bit more ugly showed up though! My wife and I were at the garage entry and as we looked disgustedly at the two “filled” holes in the bumper cover (one of which is accompanied by an associated large paint chip) I noticed that they had also put 4 plugs in the grill!! As it turns out they must have drilled the front plate holder directly into the grill and put black plastic plugs into those holes which I didn’t see Friday evening in the low light of an overcast day and now leaves me wondering how they put two more holes into the bumper cover????? All I can say is “what the blazes”!! Of course the requirement for a new grill will be amongst the first phone calls to be made tomorrow and followed up with an e-mail. It all certainly leaves a very sour taste over the entire process which should have been a joy but has in many respects become a tedious ordeal that seems simply endless.
But the car itself is everything I remember and more and indeed everything all you guys have advertised. Love the quiet smooth power delivery, the overall build quality and cabin interior. Lots more to learn and experience of course but I’ve seen enough to know this was a good decision. Fun performance when it is wanted, good ride, pretty good control ergonomics and dang great colour!
Thanks for your help, information and support over what has become an almost year long journey.
Best Cheers
Carl