MTWA
New Member
- Joined
- August 22, 2019
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 5
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2020 Explorer ST
Finally received my Explorer and ready to share the whole story…
I followed the announcement and progress on the early orders for the new Explorer, but decided to wait until I could see and drive one in person (already made that mistake with the Focus RS). I have a close relationship with my local Ford, and was able to see and test drive the first one in the Seattle area.
I was really trying to hold out for the new Bronco, but I got the wife’s approval to upgrade if I want in a few years.
Anyways, as I pondered back and forth about getting the Explorer, I started lurking the forums, watched all the reviews, and started looking at more in person as they were arriving. I was able to see all the colors in person except for black, and decided I liked Atlas Blue the most.
Now that I knew which color I wanted, super easy to choose the options I wanted. Technology package, moon roof, and streepack.
There were 2 that matched my color and specs in stock out here (different dealerships), but they wanted full MSRP, and had the front plate brackets installed. Here is where the detective work begins, to see if I could find one sitting on a lot somewhere before deciding to custom order one and deal with the delays. I talked a lot with my dealership, and they had an Atlas Blue incoming that matched my specs (plus the DVD screens), but it had the front plate bracket installed. Being that it’s a $50k car, I held my ground and decided not to settle.
Since my preferred dealership is Autonation, they are part of a huge network of national dealers. I went on their website, searched for all Explorer STs they had listed (they list in-stock and on order), then filtered down to my color. Great, so I had over 60 STs, but there’s no way to filter down the specs. This is what makes the forum so awesome.
Autonation lists the VIN number on their website with each vehicle. Using the Window sticker tool, I manually search over 60 ST VINs and made a spreadsheet to annotate the options. Unfortunately, most of the VINs didn’t turn back a window sticker, as they hadn’t been assigned a production date yet.
From all the Explorers in my spreadsheet, only 1 of them fit my specs, and DIDN’T come with the front plate bracket installed from the factory. Event better, I used the order tracking tool, and this Explorer hadn’t left the factory yet, and was “In Production”. To a complete outsider, seemed simple enough to get it rerouted since it hadn’t been shipped yet. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, after 2 days of the dealer trying to get it rerouted, production had finished, and it was shipped to the dealer, which was located all the way across the country in Georgia.
Going back to the order status tool, I checked daily, waiting for the status to change from “Received Rail” to “Delivered”. Well, after 5 days, it arrived at the dealership in Georgia. I started with a call to my dealership to inform them it had been “Delivered” and for them to start the dealer transfer paperwork, something that they couldn’t do until it had been delivered/invoiced. After talking to my dealer, I called the dealership in Georgia to confirm they received it, and reminded them not to do the PDI. By the end of that day, I got confirmation that the order had been transferred, and they would arrange shipping.
To my surprise, I got a call the next morning that the Explorer was being loaded on to the truck, and should arrive in a week. 5 days later, the Explorer was delivered late at night, so I had to wait until the next day to go pick it up and do all the paperwork. 2 hours of paperwork while they did the PDI, and I was out the door. SUPER smooth purchase, with extra negotiations. Throughout everything, I worked with the fleet manager and GM at my dealer, not a regular salesperson.
Deal:
$57203 X Plan pricing
1750 Rebate
2311 Autonation Savings
750 Ford Performance offer (generated via Ford Partner website)
Total price of car: $52,392
Additional Incentives I found on the website while doing paperwork:
2.9% for 60 months
$500 Bonus Cash
$1000 trade assist
I followed the announcement and progress on the early orders for the new Explorer, but decided to wait until I could see and drive one in person (already made that mistake with the Focus RS). I have a close relationship with my local Ford, and was able to see and test drive the first one in the Seattle area.
I was really trying to hold out for the new Bronco, but I got the wife’s approval to upgrade if I want in a few years.
Anyways, as I pondered back and forth about getting the Explorer, I started lurking the forums, watched all the reviews, and started looking at more in person as they were arriving. I was able to see all the colors in person except for black, and decided I liked Atlas Blue the most.
Now that I knew which color I wanted, super easy to choose the options I wanted. Technology package, moon roof, and streepack.
There were 2 that matched my color and specs in stock out here (different dealerships), but they wanted full MSRP, and had the front plate brackets installed. Here is where the detective work begins, to see if I could find one sitting on a lot somewhere before deciding to custom order one and deal with the delays. I talked a lot with my dealership, and they had an Atlas Blue incoming that matched my specs (plus the DVD screens), but it had the front plate bracket installed. Being that it’s a $50k car, I held my ground and decided not to settle.
Since my preferred dealership is Autonation, they are part of a huge network of national dealers. I went on their website, searched for all Explorer STs they had listed (they list in-stock and on order), then filtered down to my color. Great, so I had over 60 STs, but there’s no way to filter down the specs. This is what makes the forum so awesome.
Autonation lists the VIN number on their website with each vehicle. Using the Window sticker tool, I manually search over 60 ST VINs and made a spreadsheet to annotate the options. Unfortunately, most of the VINs didn’t turn back a window sticker, as they hadn’t been assigned a production date yet.
From all the Explorers in my spreadsheet, only 1 of them fit my specs, and DIDN’T come with the front plate bracket installed from the factory. Event better, I used the order tracking tool, and this Explorer hadn’t left the factory yet, and was “In Production”. To a complete outsider, seemed simple enough to get it rerouted since it hadn’t been shipped yet. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, after 2 days of the dealer trying to get it rerouted, production had finished, and it was shipped to the dealer, which was located all the way across the country in Georgia.
Going back to the order status tool, I checked daily, waiting for the status to change from “Received Rail” to “Delivered”. Well, after 5 days, it arrived at the dealership in Georgia. I started with a call to my dealership to inform them it had been “Delivered” and for them to start the dealer transfer paperwork, something that they couldn’t do until it had been delivered/invoiced. After talking to my dealer, I called the dealership in Georgia to confirm they received it, and reminded them not to do the PDI. By the end of that day, I got confirmation that the order had been transferred, and they would arrange shipping.
To my surprise, I got a call the next morning that the Explorer was being loaded on to the truck, and should arrive in a week. 5 days later, the Explorer was delivered late at night, so I had to wait until the next day to go pick it up and do all the paperwork. 2 hours of paperwork while they did the PDI, and I was out the door. SUPER smooth purchase, with extra negotiations. Throughout everything, I worked with the fleet manager and GM at my dealer, not a regular salesperson.
Deal:
$57203 X Plan pricing
1750 Rebate
2311 Autonation Savings
750 Ford Performance offer (generated via Ford Partner website)
Total price of car: $52,392
Additional Incentives I found on the website while doing paperwork:
2.9% for 60 months
$500 Bonus Cash
$1000 trade assist