2016 Platinum Late Production?

[Sgt1411]

BlueFlame16 ......Look at the very bottom of your sticker directly under the UPC bar code you will see 20150730

 

[Exit32]

I found my window sticker thanks to info supplied by JDraper. Is the date 7/23/15 the build date.

If you look at the very bottom of your window sticker, you'll see the numerical sequence "1201507304926" printed in bold type. Disregard the first digit and disregard the final four digits. That leaves "20150730" which I believe means your Explorer Platinum was scheduled to be produced on July 30, 2015.

BTW, if you Google your VIN, you'll see your Explorer is for sale at Dana Ford. If you ordered it, I wonder why they show it as part of their for-sale inventory.

 

[JethroXP]

I visited my dealer today to place my order. It was all going well until I told them I wanted the Ebony black interior. It's marked as "Late Availability". The salesman went to go talk to his manager, came back and said that the Ebony Black was "job 2" and that it might not be available until December :-(

Now my quandary, do I wait another 5 months or just order now and hope that the ceramic cream interior can stand-up to normal wear and tear from two boys?

 

[almost-chic]

My car was built today! Lets hope I get this vehicle in the next 4 weeks I cant stand it anymore!

 

[Blue1ce]

I visited my dealer today to place my order. It was all going well until I told them I wanted the Ebony black interior. It's marked as "Late Availability". The salesman went to go talk to his manager, came back and said that the Ebony Black was "job 2" and that it might not be available until December :-(

Now my quandary, do I wait another 5 months or just order now and hope that the ceramic cream interior can stand-up to normal wear and tear from two boys?

Something tells me that they'll start building them in September or October. Two months ago, sales people from Ford were telling me that the Platinum's were not coming out until October/November. They don't care about selling you future cars. They want to sell you what is on the lot NOW, not tomorrow.

 

[JethroXP]

Now my wife is saying that Ebony black would be too hot on the inside. My concern is that the ceramic color of the seats will show wear marks a lot more than black will.

 

[AggiePhil]

Now my wife is saying that Ebony black would be too hot on the inside. My concern is that the ceramic color of the seats will show wear marks a lot more than black will.

Unless the marks are actual cuts in the leather, that stuff can all be cleaned or repaired easily.

 

[Tremor2014]

Now my wife is saying that Ebony black would be too hot on the inside. My concern is that the ceramic color of the seats will show wear marks a lot more than black will.

Keep in mind that the seats are cooled. I live in Arizona and always buy black interior. You are probably right that wear will show up more on the lighter color.

 

[Blue1ce]

Keep in mind that the seats are cooled. I live in Arizona and always buy black interior. You are probably right that wear will show up more on the lighter color.

Once Ford realizes that a lot of people will be waiting on the black interior, they're going to want to move to bring it to production quicker than December or risk losing business to brands like Volvo. The XC90 is not that far off in price from the Platinum and you can get it in any interior color you want.

 

[cgertz]

Just ordered my Platinum for a NOV 15th delivery since I am overseas. What do you think the chances are that it will come in when requested?

 

[majadr]

Ordered Explorer Platinum

In reading many of the threads, I had a few comments.
1. I ordered a 2016 Explorer Platinum a few weeks ago and I got notice from the dealer that I have a VIN and a "Production Start Date" of Sep 14. I assume that is when many of the Platinum's will be in production. He says I should expect delivery in late Oct early Nov; later than I had thought.
2. I ordered it in Caribou, which seems to be a hard color to find on a dealer lot. It's the first time I ordered a color, sight unseen. But white is common an my 2005 is black, so I tried to go with something different. Plus I thought it would go well with the interior color.
3. Speaking of interior color...the Nirvana leather comes in one color. I see people saying its available in black, but I think that there may be confusion with the color of the dash and other trim, which is black. The dealer kept telling me that to make sure I understood that the interior (other than the leather seat and trim) is black.
4. I got the dealer down to $49,300, including the cross-bar option of $140. This included a $500 rebate. I did this by shopping mostly online and by email to get to what I thought is a good price. I am interested in hearing what others have paid to see if this is in the right ballpark. Of course by the time you add tax, registration and doc fees, it's higher.
5. Can anyone shed light on how Ford is doing the production? Is it one trim level at a time? I was able to test a Limited but there were no Sports or Platinum's to be seen.
6. I have asked my dealer for a web site to track the progress of the production. I have seen a few posts, but I am not sure which is most valid. Any guidance is appreciated.


Like everyone else that has posted a comment, I am anxious to get this one. It will be my 3rd Explorer. I usually keep them for 10 years, so this will be a leap in technology no matter what. It's also the most I ever paid for a vehicle. I did look at the GMC Yukon, but it was huge along with a huge price tag; over $70k. Prices are insane. It's nice that Ford is upping their game, but they need to upgrade their dealerships along with it. Most are old and not very inviting. Just compare the waiting room of a typical Ford/Lincoln dealer with a Lexus or other brand. Big difference.

I welcome your comments.

 

[almost-chic]

I agree 100% about the dealerships. I've said many times that if I could buy this same vehicle from a Lexus or other luxury car dealer, id do so and pay a bit more for it.

 

[Tremor2014]

In reading many of the threads, I had a few comments.
1. I ordered a 2016 Explorer Platinum a few weeks ago and I got notice from the dealer that I have a VIN and a "Production Start Date" of Sep 14. I assume that is when many of the Platinum's will be in production. He says I should expect delivery in late Oct early Nov; later than I had thought.
2. I ordered it in Caribou, which seems to be a hard color to find on a dealer lot. It's the first time I ordered a color, sight unseen. But white is common an my 2005 is black, so I tried to go with something different. Plus I thought it would go well with the interior color.
3. Speaking of interior color...the Nirvana leather comes in one color. I see people saying its available in black, but I think that there may be confusion with the color of the dash and other trim, which is black. The dealer kept telling me that to make sure I understood that the interior (other than the leather seat and trim) is black.
4. I got the dealer down to $49,300, including the cross-bar option of $140. This included a $500 rebate. I did this by shopping mostly online and by email to get to what I thought is a good price. I am interested in hearing what others have paid to see if this is in the right ballpark. Of course by the time you add tax, registration and doc fees, it's higher.
5. Can anyone shed light on how Ford is doing the production? Is it one trim level at a time? I was able to test a Limited but there were no Sports or Platinum's to be seen.
6. I have asked my dealer for a web site to track the progress of the production. I have seen a few posts, but I am not sure which is most valid. Any guidance is appreciated.


Like everyone else that has posted a comment, I am anxious to get this one. It will be my 3rd Explorer. I usually keep them for 10 years, so this will be a leap in technology no matter what. It's also the most I ever paid for a vehicle. I did look at the GMC Yukon, but it was huge along with a huge price tag; over $70k. Prices are insane. It's nice that Ford is upping their game, but they need to upgrade their dealerships along with it. Most are old and not very inviting. Just compare the waiting room of a typical Ford/Lincoln dealer with a Lexus or other brand. Big difference.

I welcome your comments.

That seems like a long time if the build is really mid September. Perhaps, the color is a factor. The interior is available in all black (late availability). The Sports are out there. I was at my dealer yesterday and was sitting in one.
The 16 Sport feels pretty much the same inside as the 15. It is hard not to notice the materials are far more upscale though. I put the radio on and MFT still seems as laggy as ever. With real buttons and knobs, its much simpler to deal with.
I found the window sticker for my Expedition today at http://researchmaniacs.com/VIN-Number-Lookup/WindowSticker/Ford.html

 

[Goair4se]

I saw Platinum thru fence

I drove over to the factory today 8/1/15 hoping to see an empty lot with Platinums already shipped. Not so! None have shipped according to two nice workers who thought I was some industrial spy peering through the fence. They are on hold due to some interior issues. Their quality reviews are in progress and they won't ship any until perfect. On top of shipping hold, they are 4 days behind production due to the super hot humid weather we have had in Chicago for the last 8 days. Workers are burning up and coming off the line or not showing up for shifts. They showed me a stack of window stickers and said the scheduled production dates are all wrong and they will not produce more stickers until they catch up production of x's with printed stickers. I saw several Platinums and will try to post a picture to prove they exist. They were parking all model types and colors while I was there so it seemed the line does not produce one model at a time but I could be wrong. I told the guys, my sticker said build last Tuesday and they doubted it has been built yet with the delays. They were glad to see a customer eager enough to come watch their lot. One had over 45 years at the plant and the other over 20. I appreciated their insight and would of loved to dig further but they were on the clock and had to get those stickers on some windows.

 

[Blueflame16]

If you look at the very bottom of your window sticker, you'll see the numerical sequence "1201507304926" printed in bold type. Disregard the first digit and disregard the final four digits. That leaves "20150730" which I believe means your Explorer Platinum was scheduled to be produced on July 30, 2015.

BTW, if you Google your VIN, you'll see your Explorer is for sale at Dana Ford. If you ordered it, I wonder why they show it as part of their for-sale inventory.

WOW! Your right! WTF! I'll be heading over to dealer as soon as they open to find out what's going on. Thanks for the heads up. They even have my window sticker with the extra wheel locks that I purchased. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Blueflame16]

I drove over to the factory today 8/1/15 hoping to see an empty lot with Platinums already shipped. Not so! None have shipped according to two nice workers who thought I was some industrial spy peering through the fence. They are on hold due to some interior issues. Their quality reviews are in progress and they won't ship any until perfect. On top of shipping hold, they are 4 days behind production due to the super hot humid weather we have had in Chicago for the last 8 days. Workers are burning up and coming off the line or not showing up for shifts. They showed me a stack of window stickers and said the scheduled production dates are all wrong and they will not produce more stickers until they catch up production of x's with printed stickers. I saw several Platinums and will try to post a picture to prove they exist. They were parking all model types and colors while I was there so it seemed the line does not produce one model at a time but I could be wrong. I told the guys, my sticker said build last Tuesday and they doubted it has been built yet with the delays. They were glad to see a customer eager enough to come watch their lot. One had over 45 years at the plant and the other over 20. I appreciated their insight and would of loved to dig further but they were on the clock and had to get those stickers on some windows.

Great information. Thanks

 

[Exit32]

In reading many of the threads, I had a few comments.
1. I ordered a 2016 Explorer Platinum a few weeks ago and I got notice from the dealer that I have a VIN and a "Production Start Date" of Sep 14. I assume that is when many of the Platinum's will be in production. He says I should expect delivery in late Oct early Nov; later than I had thought.
2. I ordered it in Caribou, which seems to be a hard color to find on a dealer lot. It's the first time I ordered a color, sight unseen. But white is common an my 2005 is black, so I tried to go with something different. Plus I thought it would go well with the interior color. <snip>

My sales guy informed me that my Platinum is scheduled to be built during the week of August 24. I was disappointed with this news because I placed my order before Christmas last year. My wife selected Caribou as the color of our new Explorer, so perhaps color choice affects production scheduling?

I agree that Caribou goes well with the interior color, and Caribou seems to be rare in that I've never seen a Caribou Explorer in stock at a dealership. In a hotel parking lot during a recent business trip, I admired a 2015 Limited in Caribou, and it looks really sharp -- very classy in my opinion.

 

[Blueflame16]

Great information. Thanks

I spoke to my dealer and the Platinum explorer they have on their website is sold to me and I'll be contacted as soon as it arrives. I purchased mine with the X plan through my employer benefits program. Vehicle price was $51,893.26 plus tax and all that other stuff that they throw in.

 

[majadr]

My sales guy informed me that my Platinum is scheduled to be built during the week of August 24. I was disappointed with this news because I placed my order before Christmas last year. My wife selected Caribou as the color of our new Explorer, so perhaps color choice affects production scheduling?

I agree that Caribou goes well with the interior color, and Caribou seems to be rare in that I've never seen a Caribou Explorer in stock at a dealership. In a hotel parking lot during a recent business trip, I admired a 2015 Limited in Caribou, and it looks really sharp -- very classy in my opinion.

Well I am glad to see I am not the only one to order that color. Thanks for the commentary on the color, I never saw it on any vehicle, let alone the Explorer. I think it will definitely be unique.
It looks like yours will arrive before mine, so I will be curious to see how long it takes from that production date, as I am about a month behind yours. Please let me know how you're progressing and when you actually get the vehicle. Good luck!

 

[blwnsmoke]

If you look at the very bottom of your window sticker, you'll see the numerical sequence "1201507304926" printed in bold type. Disregard the first digit and disregard the final four digits. That leaves "20150730" which I believe means your Explorer Platinum was scheduled to be produced on July 30, 2015.

BTW, if you Google your VIN, you'll see your Explorer is for sale at Dana Ford. If you ordered it, I wonder why they show it as part of their for-sale inventory.

That date on your Window sticker is not the date it is scheduled to be built. It is the date that the window sticker was created. The only 2 window stickers that show the correct build date are the ones that are listed on dealership websites and the one that is taped to your window.

Also, typically dealers will post the sold orders on their website to drum up interest. There is nothing wrong with that as long as the dealer doesn't sell the same vehicle twice. By showing an order on their site, if someone is interested, they'll contact and that is a way to get another order made or close a future sale.