Waiting and waiting and... Sent DC an email!

[mklucas]

I know that some of you have been waiting a great deal longer than myself, but I thought that before the wait gets to be much longer I would start to make the wheels squeaky at DC with the following email. Doubt it will do much, but if we all sent something off like this it will get difficult to ignore. I will let you all know what they have to say...



Copy of email:



I placed an order for a new Ram 3500 on 2-13, order entered 2-16. Truck went KZ status on 3-23 where it still sits today. My dealer ETA is 4-16 which IF it gets to the dealer by ETA, will exceed your maximum eight week waiting period for ordering a vehicle. I seriously doubt that the vehicle will arrive at the dealer by 4-16, or even a week later as it still sits in Mexico waiting. This would put my timeframe from order to delivery around the ten week mark which is unacceptable! Something needs to be done about this! If not for my sake but for future vehicles. I also ordered a Ram 2500 back in '97 and the wait time on that vehicle was 10-12 weeks. One would think that in seven years someone at DC could figure this out.

There are some individuals/dealerships here in southern California taking delivery of vehicles in 4-5 weeks. How should the rest of us be expected to wait 9-10, or even more?

A friend placed an order for a new Ford a week after me. His dealership told him 4-5 weeks. Three weeks later he was driving his new truck, and has been for almost a month now!!!

These unacceptable waiting periods have me seriously looking at the competition - GM and Ford...



Sincerely, a repeat customer,

Merlin K. Lucas

 

[EObermeyer]

Sounds like you and I have vehicles in the same spot. My order for a new Ram 3500 was placed on 2/14. Truck went D1 on 3/12 and Plant Release (KZ status) on 3/25. It has been sitting there ever since with no change in status. I was hoping that it was loaded on a railcar and that "Insight" was just not up to date, but I guess that was just wishful thinking. This waiting is just the pits!!!



Ed

 

[cummins600]

I ordered on 2/16 and when I called the 800 number they told me the build date was 4/19. The dealer also told me 6 to 8 weeks. What was the DC email adders

 

[mklucas]

I couldn't find a DC email address, so I sent it off via the Dodge.com site. Go to "For Owners" then under "owners" choose "contact dodge" then choose "I need customer assistance. "

 

[s.hale]

I ordered my 1 ton dually. 4x4 on 12-31, went D-1 on 3-09, KZ on 3-24.



According to the dealer web site, which I monitor regularly, it has never been loaded on a railcar in Saltillo, Mexico.



Must be a train strike, huh?



13 weeks + and waiting.

 

[Camp]

Wow, I thought I was a little bent about this same thing. I feel bad for you guys. I ordered a 3500 4x4 DRW on 2-27. My truck is on the rail system but, not getting here very fast. I was bent because they called me on Monday and said it left somewhere in TX on Saturday and I should have it Wednesday. Yesterday they finally found it and it left OK at 7:15am. Now they are saying Monday for it. I was just bent about the call that it would be here and now it is not. I was not in a hurry for it but, once you have dangled the carrot, I want the truckOo.

 

[SP Diesel]

It must be where you all are located I guess, my 2500 went D1 3-12-04, KZ 3-26-04 and mine is sitting on a railcar in the port of Vera Cruz, VL waiting to be shipped to Baltimore right now.

 

[NSperduto]

Just an fyi, they don't update that computer system every day. I know when I was calling, one day it was listed in the rail car and two days later it was in Baltimore. I don't know if there's a seperate status for when it actually gets onto the ship.



Nick

 

[Torque King Jay]

mklucas - I understand your situation. I ordered mine on 12/30 it was built sometime at the beginning of March and who knows where it is now. I sold my other truck at the end of the year last year and I needed to have it replace by the beginning of March. We're into April and I'm going to have to go out and buy something else because DC has a bad case of Alzheimers disease. Race season started back in Feb. and my bike hasn't left the garage yet. I'm pretty disappointed.

 

[Moterhead]

The experience I had with my order and from what I've read on this board, seems like the trucks that have to go thru Vera Cruz, then by ship are the ones that are sitting a long time. I think they wait for a full load before they leave port. Mine sat on that stinkin' railcar for three weeks. FYI, when I was tracking mine, Insight was updated every day. I saw when it was loaded on the ship, when it arrived in Tampa, when it left Tampa, when it arrived at the dealer. It took a week to get from Tampa to my dealer in Key West, 400 miles. Only took three days to cross the Gulf of Mexico on the freighter!!

 

[mklucas]

Insight has been changing everyday for me as well. It keeps sitting in bay at facility waiting to be loaded on a railcar. Everyday I check back that date gets pushed back another day. KZ 3-23, first loaded on railcar 3-25, now it says 4-2, AND my ETA was just pushed back from 4-16 to 4-19 today.



Like I said before, I doubt it will do much good (the email I sent), and DC certainly met my expectations in their reply:



Dear Merlin,



Thank you for your recent email to DaimlerChrysler Motors Corporation.



It's always of concern to learn that a customer is dissatisfied. Over

the past few years, DaimlerChrysler Motors Corporation has made

tremendous gains in improving customer satisfaction. In your case, we

apparently have not met your expectations.



Our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may be causing.

I hope we will have another chance to restore your faith in us.



Thank you again for your email, and have a good weekend.



- I'm not really seriously considering another brand simply because of the cummins. But this waiting has me thinking, "Is it worth it?"

 

[EEdmondson]

I am so sick and tired of people saying they're sorry for their company's screwups and not doing anything about it. Mklucas, you were just given the "I'm sorry brush off". If they cared, they would find out what the hold up is and do something about it.



Mklucas, fill in your location in your user profile so we know where your truck is being shipped.



My truck is on a train car in Del Rio, TX as of this afternoon. Check my signature for other dates.

 

[mklucas]

I am in Marina del Rey CA, but I ordered my truck from a dealership in Oregon. I couldn't find any here that wanted to deal. But now that I have seen quite a few orders get here so quickly, it may have been worth $2000 to only wait 4-5 weeks.



Truck still sits in Saltillo...

 

[Spooled-up]

It's pretty sad that Boyd Coddington can make a Hotrod from SCRATCH in 6 weeks and you guys have to wait longer for a truck off of the assembly line!

 

[MHalberstadt]

I'm in the same boat you guys are.

Ordered Feb 28

Built March 23

Still sitting in Saltillo.



I called my dealer who said he would notify his district manager but said they really couldn't do much.



This will be my first diesel. Currently have a 97 V10.



Maybe if I didn't check insight every hour.

 

[Mopar4u]

orderd on 2/28 , D1 on 3/11, KZ on 3/24/ waiting to be loaded

 

[KCJackson]

Originally posted by mklucas Copy of email:



I placed an order for a new Ram 3500 on 2-13, order entered 2-16. Truck went KZ status on 3-23 where it still sits today. My dealer ETA is 4-16 which IF it gets to the dealer by ETA, will exceed your maximum eight week waiting period for ordering a vehicle.

This is not meant as a flame, as I understand the frustration of those who are waiting patiently/impatiently for their new rigs, but I do not ever recall any documented "set in stone" 8 week maximum for delivery by ANY manufacturer, let alone DC. They allocate production space based on the dealer's ability to move inventory, they have no control over supply shortages to build, and they can't fix issues within contractors who transport the finished vehicles. Manufacturers would go broke paying claims on delays if they had a set maximum delivery time.



My 96 took 13 weeks, and that was sooner than I expected. I'm different, I guess - I saw no need to track the process every day/week. When I order my 2005 this fall, I'll do so with no time frame in mind - I'll drive my 96 until my salesguy calls like he did in 96 and says "it just rolled off the carrier. "



Just a differing opinion on the process...

 

[WMcGuire]

waiting

Dodge dealers here in central CA are getting the new 600's on their lots now, still a lot of the earlier 2004's unsold though, you have to believe that DC is going keep thier dealers happy first and fill custom orders second, all the manufacturers operate on production "Runs", it saves a lot on inventory, also explains why on some of the trucks certain parts were left out, it costs a ton of money to slow or stop the line for anything, including custom orders.