kappie

What exactly is done during a pre-delivery?

More importantly, is the $1300 justified? How much should they charge?

MondeoST24

Well in the case of a large Ford dealer here in Adelaide they did the following to my new Mondeo:

-mounted the front number plate 5cm off centre on the front bumper

-mounted the rear number plate with self tappers into the steel boot lid instead of using the lug nuts built into the boot

-forgot to take out the spacers placed in the suspension springs (placed in there to give more ground clearance for shipping)

Not happy..... Would have rather had it delivered with all the plastic on the seats etc and done it myself.

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'00 Mondeo ST24 2.5l Duratec V6
custom CAI incl K&N pod filter, flowed throttlebody, exhaust, Koni Sports shocks, EBC Greenstuff pads, Whiteline rear swaybar.... Mondeo ST24 Information Site

61sg

$1300 would be the dealer delivery charges not the pd itself.

PDs consist of a list of checks on the vehicle:check doors,windows lights work,check for leaks in exhaust cooling system,road test etc etc

IPhido

It would be a nice idea if you could take direct delivery of a Ford vechical (say ordered from the internet) and then take it to a certified mechanic of your choice from a list, and get them to do all the checking. Effectively outsourcing the dealer checks.

$1300 seems far far too much for what they have to do. How much labour are they doing? 26 hours worth? There was advice in drive or a newspaper or a magazine that if you pay more than $90 for dealer deliveries, you are paying for a very expensive car wash..

RAPTOR

Basically stuff all or, as in MondeoST24 case, stuff you'd rather they hadn't done.

Good luck if your trying to get out of it. This is where they make their profit I reckon. Haggle all you want and maybe get some concessions on RRP and options, then BANG!. Plus $1300 or whatever on top, no negotiation.

I reckon all advertised pricing should be drive-away-no-more-to-pay then you are comparing like-with-like.

Think of it as a new car tax.

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Falchoon

Fleet buyers get it for $745 in ACT, private people have to pay $1500. I tried to haggle on this and they wouldn't budge.

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You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.'So that was nice.

____o00o_=^..^=_o00o____

61sg

the $1300 is not just for the PD. about $70 of it would be for the PD. the rest is for insurance, shipping and other expenses incurred by the dealer. their would be a flat rate they apply to all new cars sold and that helps to cover other ones.

its up to that dealer how much they charge some are as low as $700.00 ive heard of other up around $1900 best to shop around.

as for buying on the internet it sounds good but who would arrange the deal paper work,licencing,the transport,insurance and then when it arrived what if their was travel damage or a fault found on PD who would organise warrenty and the paperwork that would go with the claim or do any recall/upgrades(as the local servo dosent get recall or technical service bullitans).......ford? they only build the cars. thats what the dealers are for and the delivery charges that go with it.

but i agree prices should just be drive away.

IPhido

Ford could email you directly with technical documents and recalls. Any delivery dammage would be noted by the truck driver.

It is done overseas. So it is possible.

But yes, drive away prices.. Or atleast recomended retail charges on dealer delivery in say CBD areas.

dave_au

Pre delivery may also with some models retrofit aircons, cruise and alarms, as well as some limited "servicing" eg reinstall broken windows etc, but this changes dealer to dealer. Also retrim cars.

61sg

youre right anything is possible and i think there would be a market for it too. however it wouldnt be in fords best interest imo
the recent BA recall for drive shaft clips for instance called for a stop shipment. emailing customers directly may not be relieble(people might not check their emails for a few days) plus it could cause panic.

its just a lot simplier to let dealers sort out any promblems/damage and make sure the vehicle is 100% before its delivered "act as a safety net for ford" hopefully getting you off to a good ownership experience.i stress hopefully!!

i wouldnt want to run around organizing a mechanic to do a PD and fix travel damage etc before i even got my new car? how would you test drive them,just use up the local dealers stock?

the other issue is obviously ford dont want other people touching their cars.
with BA falcons for instance you cant even fit cruise control without a WDS which you will only find at a ford dealer.

but i think you hit the nail on the head IPhido with recomended dealer delivery charges as i would be unhappy with a 1300.00
charge.
how much have other people here paid??