2020 Magnetic ST Ordered | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

2020 Magnetic ST Ordered

NPNelson

Active Member
Joined
July 13, 2011
Messages
86
Reaction score
44
City, State
Columbus, OH
Year, Model & Trim Level
2020 Explorer ST
Ordered a 2020 Magnetic ST with Street Pack and Tech Package in mid February. Dealer gave me a VIN but no build date. I checked the Ford Order tracking site and the VIN doesn't come up there yet. I'll update once I find my build date.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Ordered a 2020 Magnetic ST with Street Pack and Tech Package in mid February. Dealer gave me a VIN but no build date. I checked the Ford Order tracking site and the VIN doesn't come up there yet. I'll update once I find my build date.

Didnt want to take over the other guys thread. It is possible to have a VIN and have nothing assigned yet. VINs are issued first so you may be in limbo for a bit.

As far as hoping the dealer just doesn't know how to find a build week, I would find that hard to believe. When they pull up the order, it is right there on top.

20190505_092840.jpg
 






Didnt want to take over the other guys thread. It is possible to have a VIN and have nothing assigned yet. VINs are issued first so you may be in limbo for a bit.

As far as hoping the dealer just doesn't know how to find a build week, I would find that hard to believe. When they pull up the order, it is right there on top.

View attachment 170163


Thanks blwnsmoke! This is the same dealer that I had to convince they could accept a 2020 Explorer order back in February (which I was able to do thanks to your posts), so I'm not convinced that they go out of their way to look stuff up. They do a good job with service, so in the big scheme of things, I shouldn't sweat that they can't get me a build week.

I'm a bit bummed that the VIN doesn't even come up on Ford's retail tracking site. I checked that it was a valid VIN 1FM5K8GC7LGA02284 (I don't mind throwing my VIN out there). I read somewhere that the cutoff for Job #1 orders was Thursday May 2nd. Hopefully CAP is on track to start Job #1 tomorrow (Monday May 6) and that the OK To Buy comes in a month or so. I'm 48 years old and I'm like a little kid at Christmas waiting to get this vehicle. Normally I only hold vehicles for about 100,000 miles, but my 2011 Explorer Limited has 160,000 miles on it and it's definitely time to put her down. The 2020 ST will be a substantial upgrade. In the big scheme of things, it will get here when it gets here and if it is built a little bit later, that might be a good thing, although I would be okay with anything built after OK To Buy.
 






With a VIN of only # 2284, sounds like a dealer stock order. No way a Retail order would be assigned such a low VIN.

I'll have a tracking update for you tomorrow morning.
 






With a VIN of only # 2284, sounds like a dealer stock order. No way a Retail order would be assigned such a low VIN.

I'll have a tracking update for you tomorrow morning.

Is there any difference in quality between the dealer stock order and Retail?
 






Is there any difference in quality between the dealer stock order and Retail?

My understanding is yes and no. It's really a difference of quality of the first few off the line versus after they get into a groove. Retail orders aren't built until they are comfortable they have the process down, which in the case of the 2020 is a completely new process because it is a completely redesigned vehicle. I'd much rather have a vehicle that was built after OK to Buy is given than one before (only dealer stock units are built before OK to Buy is given). All of the units before OK to Buy is given need reinspected and I am sure some will need to have some post assembly fixes that might not be all that desirable.

Retail orders are usually given a higher priority by Ford everything else being equal, but again, they aren't scheduled until OK To Buy whereas dealer stock can be scheduled before OK to Buy. In the future, I am always going to request that the dealer enter it as a retail order. I'm not sure what I am going to do if mine got entered as a stock order. If it gets built in the middle of May, I might just ask them to order another one. If it gets built around OK to Buy, I might take it. Still, a retail order in almost all cases would have shown up sooner, even though the dealer stock orders get built first for Job #1. Retail orders will go straight to delivery, while the first month of stock will be sitting around waiting for re-inspection and possible repairs.

That's my understanding, but there are a few on the forum with definitive knowledge.
 






Thanks blwnsmoke! This is the same dealer that I had to convince they could accept a 2020 Explorer order back in February (which I was able to do thanks to your posts), so I'm not convinced that they go out of their way to look stuff up. They do a good job with service, so in the big scheme of things, I shouldn't sweat that they can't get me a build week.

I'm a bit bummed that the VIN doesn't even come up on Ford's retail tracking site. I checked that it was a valid VIN 1FM5K8GC7LGA02284 (I don't mind throwing my VIN out there). I read somewhere that the cutoff for Job #1 orders was Thursday May 2nd. Hopefully CAP is on track to start Job #1 tomorrow (Monday May 6) and that the OK To Buy comes in a month or so. I'm 48 years old and I'm like a little kid at Christmas waiting to get this vehicle. Normally I only hold vehicles for about 100,000 miles, but my 2011 Explorer Limited has 160,000 miles on it and it's definitely time to put her down. The 2020 ST will be a substantial upgrade. In the big scheme of things, it will get here when it gets here and if it is built a little bit later, that might be a good thing, although I would be okay with anything built after OK To Buy.
Congrats on getting a 2011 to last that long. Reading this forum makes it seem like a minor miracle sometimes. I am at 147000 on my '12 limited. Hoping to go a bit longer while deciding what to get next. Trying to decide if an Aviator is going to be big enough or if I am going to step to Expedition / Navigator territory. Kids are growing and the Aviator has less cargo volume than my '12. The new Explorer is bigger, but I prefer the Lincoln.
 






My understanding is yes and no. It's really a difference of quality of the first few off the line versus after they get into a groove. Retail orders aren't built until they are comfortable they have the process down, which in the case of the 2020 is a completely new process because it is a completely redesigned vehicle. I'd much rather have a vehicle that was built after OK to Buy is given than one before (only dealer stock units are built before OK to Buy is given). All of the units before OK to Buy is given need reinspected and I am sure some will need to have some post assembly fixes that might not be all that desirable.

Retail orders are usually given a higher priority by Ford everything else being equal, but again, they aren't scheduled until OK To Buy whereas dealer stock can be scheduled before OK to Buy. In the future, I am always going to request that the dealer enter it as a retail order. I'm not sure what I am going to do if mine got entered as a stock order. If it gets built in the middle of May, I might just ask them to order another one. If it gets built around OK to Buy, I might take it. Still, a retail order in almost all cases would have shown up sooner, even though the dealer stock orders get built first for Job #1. Retail orders will go straight to delivery, while the first month of stock will be sitting around waiting for re-inspection and possible repairs.

That's my understanding, but there are a few on the forum with definitive knowledge.

Thought you were blwnsmoke for a second reading that. You got it spot on about the difference between stock and retail.
 












Well. I have 6 month to go with my 17 Platinum. My dealer tell me to wait until about August to order mine due to a few reasons. 1. Ford has not released any leasing programs. 2. i'm waiting to see if Ford sends me an early bird return. 3. Most kinks will be worked out by then. I want to know when will the OK to buy be issued ?
 






Well. I have 6 month to go with my 17 Platinum. My dealer tell me to wait until about August to order mine due to a few reasons. 1. Ford has not released any leasing programs. 2. i'm waiting to see if Ford sends me an early bird return. 3. Most kinks will be worked out by then. I want to know when will the OK to buy be issued ?

Typically it is about a month after Job #1 start date, so in this case around June 6, but it just depends on how smooth the new assembly process goes. I think they have to go five straight days without finding a mistake before Ok to Buy is declared. I am not sure how big of a mistake it has to be to count as a mistake to reset the countdown clock, nor do I know historical range of time.

I find the whole process remarkable. They assemble tens of thousands of parts to make a single vehicle and then they can crank out over 250,000 vehicles a year at Chicago Assembly alone once they have the line up to speed. Then, at least in the case of my 2011, the vehicle can have 160,000 miles put on it with minimal problems.

That doesn’t even count what it takes to build the engine, transmission, etc. I know my 2020 ST hasn’t been assembled yet, but I often wonder when will its transmission come off the line, etc.

It’s an amazing feat when you think about it.
 






Typically it is about a month after Job #1 start date, so in this case around June 6, but it just depends on how smooth the new assembly process goes. I think they have to go five straight days without finding a mistake before Ok to Buy is declared. I am not sure how big of a mistake it has to be to count as a mistake to reset the countdown clock, nor do I know historical range of time.

I find the whole process remarkable. They assemble tens of thousands of parts to make a single vehicle and then they can crank out over 250,000 vehicles a year at Chicago Assembly alone once they have the line up to speed. Then, at least in the case of my 2011, the vehicle can have 160,000 miles put on it with minimal problems.

That doesn’t even count what it takes to build the engine, transmission, etc. I know my 2020 ST hasn’t been assembled yet, but I often wonder when will its transmission come off the line, etc.

It’s an amazing feat when you think about it.
I guess that is why many people like to wait for one whole year before ordering a redesign
 






I don't know which color is the best looking but Magnetic is more stealth looking. It will blend in perfectly with the ST trim.
 






Typically it is about a month after Job #1 start date, so in this case around June 6, but it just depends on how smooth the new assembly process goes. I think they have to go five straight days without finding a mistake before Ok to Buy is declared. I am not sure how big of a mistake it has to be to count as a mistake to reset the countdown clock, nor do I know historical range of time.

I find the whole process remarkable. They assemble tens of thousands of parts to make a single vehicle and then they can crank out over 250,000 vehicles a year at Chicago Assembly alone once they have the line up to speed. Then, at least in the case of my 2011, the vehicle can have 160,000 miles put on it with minimal problems.

That doesn’t even count what it takes to build the engine, transmission, etc. I know my 2020 ST hasn’t been assembled yet, but I often wonder when will its transmission come off the line, etc.

It’s an amazing feat when you think about it.

It's "OK to sell" not "OK to buy", not sure who or where that got started.
 












It's "OK to sell" not "OK to buy", not sure who or where that got started.

That term has never been used in all the years I have followed order processing or dealt with Ford announcements. It has always been "ok to buy". I am assuming you are getting that term from the same QC manager that says all vehicles prior to that given are crushed?
 






Thanks blwnsmoke! This is the same dealer that I had to convince they could accept a 2020 Explorer order back in February (which I was able to do thanks to your posts), so I'm not convinced that they go out of their way to look stuff up. They do a good job with service, so in the big scheme of things, I shouldn't sweat that they can't get me a build week.

I'm a bit bummed that the VIN doesn't even come up on Ford's retail tracking site. I checked that it was a valid VIN 1FM5K8GC7LGA02284 (I don't mind throwing my VIN out there). I read somewhere that the cutoff for Job #1 orders was Thursday May 2nd. Hopefully CAP is on track to start Job #1 tomorrow (Monday May 6) and that the OK To Buy comes in a month or so. I'm 48 years old and I'm like a little kid at Christmas waiting to get this vehicle. Normally I only hold vehicles for about 100,000 miles, but my 2011 Explorer Limited has 160,000 miles on it and it's definitely time to put her down. The 2020 ST will be a substantial upgrade. In the big scheme of things, it will get here when it gets here and if it is built a little bit later, that might be a good thing, although I would be okay with anything built after OK To Buy.

Yours is being built May 21st (my birthday).

Scheduled to Day (2019-05-21)

PS, the sales side of your dealership are morons.
 






Yours is being built May 21st (my birthday).

Scheduled to Day (2019-05-21)

PS, the sales side of your dealership are morons.

Thanks blwnsmoke (happy early birthday btw) and CRAP!!! At least it is 12 weekdays from now (not sure if CAP assembles on weekends). Maybe that will give them enough time to work most of the kinks out. That might also explain why they couldn't get my front license plate removed from the order.

Now I need some advice, seems like I'm left with two not so great options. I can take delivery of this one and hope there is no significant rework on it, or tell them I want them to order me a retail one. If I order retail now, it probably wouldn't even be built until late July at the earliest. I'm definitely a little ticked by this, although I made myself a victim by not educating myself on the process soon enough to specify that a retail order be made.

Take delivery of this one, or order another one retail? That is the question.

P.S. I know, but I've also noticed mediocrity across the United States seems to be getting more and more pervasive.
 






Thanks blwnsmoke (happy early birthday btw) and CRAP!!! At least it is 12 weekdays from now (not sure if CAP assembles on weekends). Maybe that will give them enough time to work most of the kinks out. That might also explain why they couldn't get my front license plate removed from the order.

Now I need some advice, seems like I'm left with two not so great options. I can take delivery of this one and hope there is no significant rework on it, or tell them I want them to order me a retail one. If I order retail now, it probably wouldn't even be built until late July at the earliest. I'm definitely a little ticked by this, although I made myself a victim by not educating myself on the process soon enough to specify that a retail order be made.

Take delivery of this one, or order another one retail? That is the question.

P.S. I know, but I've also noticed mediocrity across the United States seems to be getting more and more pervasive.

Don't know what to tell you since it is your vehicle and your purchase. You have to do what is right for you. I don't believe they will have any major issues but you just never know. I'll reference the 2015s SDs.. I had a Retail order placed and one of my contacts is heavily involved with the SD. Long story short, they had thousands of turbos that were bad (2nd Gen 6.7) and had to be replaced. They had wiring issues with the main harness that runs to the back of the truck (if you didn't have rear heated seats) that was causing the backup cameras to not work randomly. They had to probe the harnesses under the truck till they found the point that was faulty cut it out and reconnect it, then taped up (you couldn't tell it was repaired). Ford had to rent space across Louisville to store all the trucks (they won't stop production) until they could go through them all 1 by 1.

The Ranger, had a lot of bed stamping issues with large gaps. The beds were outsourced and when arriving Ford was having to fix them all. They were paying OT to the Ford employees to fix the issues coming in. The line was running about 60% to full production (slow) and took over a month for the ok to buy to be given. Even once given, production was still staying at a slow speed to give people enough time to get their station done before it makes it to the next station. If this was a 2019 over a 2018, well we all know things were fine so if one wanted a Dealer Stock order, I wouldn't see issues.. but I also wouldn't see it taking more then 5 or 6 days of production to give the ok to buy.

Now this is excessive BUT things can happen and they do happen. This is the reason I say to never order Dealer Stock. Now yours could be perfectly fine and even being built on May 21st, it is highly likely you still won't receive it till end of June or later. It all depends on how quickly the Ok to Buy is given which controls the backlog of vehicles piling up in the storage lots.

People complain about things breaking (defects) on their new vehicles that have 5,000 miles.. 10,000 miles etc. They are upset about things having to be taken apart. Comments online of, "it will never be the same" etc. Squeaks, rattles.. I could go on and on. I am not trying to scare you or tell you what to do. This is just the other side of what to think about. Heck, you could wait for it to arrive and see how everything is, take it for a test drive etc. I just want a built once and hopefully right the 1st time vehicle.

Lastly, I'll say, just see how the next couple weeks play out. What happens if they give the ok to buy on the 15th.. then you know all issues have been resolved and you should be good. But then again, Retail orders will take priority after that so your date can change. The build date is NOT set in stone.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





People complain about things breaking (defects) on their new vehicles that have 5,000 miles.. 10,000 miles etc. They are upset about things having to be taken apart. Comments online of, "it will never be the same" etc. Squeaks, rattles.. I could go on and on. I am not trying to scare you or tell you what to do. This is just the other side of what to think about. Heck, you could wait for it to arrive and see how everything is, take it for a test drive etc. I just want a built once and hopefully right the 1st time vehicle.

Thanks for your perspective blwnsmoke. It is a crap shoot. I'm starting to think my dealer is just trying to pull what they perceived to be a harmless fast one. I know Ford had allocated 8 stock units to them before I ordered. Apparently Ford just says these are the 8 you are getting, they don't get to choose trims, options, etc. I'm wondering if my Magnetic ST with Tech Package and Street Pack just happened to match one of their 8 or Ford agreed to modify one of the 8 to match. They still have 35 2019 Explorers in stock and I don't think they are really moving them. They probably didn't want to carry any more inventory than they had to.

Their service department is always busy and they have always taken good care of me on the service side (when the stupid My Ford Touch went out just after Ford's extended warranty ran out, the replaced it for $300 instead of $1,000+, when the EPAS went out just after Ford's extended warranty on that, they replaced it for $300, instead of $2,300+). Still, whenever I walk in there, I just get this creeping feeling of a business in decay. They are doing the things the same way today as they were 15 years ago. I know Ford's ageing lineup has hurt them (although they are looking forward to all these refreshes).

I'm going to chew on this, I'm leaning towards telling them I will subject this vehicle to extra scrutiny and maybe see if I can knock some sort of concession out of them.
 






Back
Top