2 year Ordeal is over

[whvt01]

Picked the car up at 11am today.

Still had the plastic and every sticker in
place. They removed while waited and home it
went. 3 miles showing. Mother will bring
it over in the morning so I can clean it up.

Did find a couple of small scratches but
nothing to require a repair.

JimmyFitz - That Blue Prem really looks
good.

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[tbird]

Originally posted by whvt01:
Picked the car up at 11am today.

Still had the plastic and every sticker in
place. They removed while waited and home it
went. 3 miles showing. Mother will bring
it over in the morning so I can clean it up.
good.

Sounds like your dealer did a poor job doing the PDI (Pre-delivery inspection). A new car should never be delivered with 3 miles on it. As I matter of fact, I'm fairly certain that it is required by FMC for the franchise to do this once the car has arrived. It should have had at least 8 miles on it for safety reasons.

Did anyone else get a car with less than 6 miles on it new?

 

[whvt01]

It got the state inspection sticker so guess
did what was needed.

I know when take my trucks in for the
inspections they only drive it
around the block if that much.

Mother said it drove just fine on the way
home so all fluids must have been ok. I will
double check tomorrow.

As for low miles. My Avalanche didn't even
show 1 when I picked it up. As was leaving
the lot glanced down and was all zeros. On
the paperwork it showed 5-10 like you say
but the truck didn't have that much.

 

[Gobird]

I can't remember for sure but I think mine had at least 6 to 8 miles on it when I picked it up back in Jan. of this year.

------------------
02 T-Bird 9293
69 Vette
73 MGB
97 F-150 4x4
2-Seadoo Jet Skies
Live Long and Prosper!

 

[Tbird Lover]

Mine had 6 when I took it for the test drive.

 

[HeelBird]

Congrats, WHVT--just wait until you see the blue with water beaded up on it---looks like emeralds!

I believe Amadeus had about 20 miles in him when I took delivery....had 100+ when I parked him that night in the nest for the first time---all of it tooling around town.

 

[thenewtbird2]

whvt01, besure to check out my topic about my vin coming in - jt2233 left a note there for you.

Congrats! on making it to the end - you had your share of worries about this whole ordeal. Let us know how your Mom enjoys the car.

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by whvt01:
It got the state inspection sticker so guess
did what was needed.

This has nothing to do with state or local inspections. The dealership service department is trained by FMC to inspect new cars when they come in for saftey reasons, problems that arise during transport, building etc. The state is not going to know what things to look for. I am surprised a dealership let a car like this out without at least a 2-3 mile drive by the service manager. Even if you were picky, they would normally take you along. I've seen brand new Lincoln Town cars unloaded from the transporter with cracked dashes that needed replaced. Look at all the Ford Explorer's that were recalled because when they retooled they did not make the rails wide enough, and it cut the tires. This is the type of stuff they found out about from the service departments during PDI.

 

[whvt01]

Tbird I have no idea about the FMC
inspection, all that discussed was what was
needed to be done for the state inspection.

Said if ran across something to bring it
back.

 

[Blueoil1]

Congrats on receiving your new Bird. Best of luck with it.... Hope that you have many years and many miles of enjoyment.

------------------
Triple Black
Premium
#1760

 

[JimmyFitz]

Like I said on the other thread, underneath that plastic you will find the most beautiful car you ever imagined. Congrats! Hope you and your mom enjoy it as much as I have. Dot, you're next.

 

[tr cruiser]

Just in time for Mother's Day! I know she appreciates all the effort you went through. Think you might want one for yourself some day?

 

[whvt01]

With wait finally over now she can start
enjoying the car. I'm glad we saw Jimmy's car since she is very pleased with the Blue
package. The yellow is nice but changing to
the blue was a good move for us.

As for the cars I think we have a good
combination. 2 great names in the auto
industry "Corvette and Thunderbird. I'm
not planning on thinking about another
car for while.

Tomorrow is Zaino day

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by whvt01:
I'm
not planning on thinking about another
car for while.

I've heard that one before! 🙂

 

[whvt01]

Ha Ha Tbird

With the Vette being an 01 and the Avalanche
an 02 I should be able to state a
definite "No". But I know better than that.

Never can tell when the "I gotta have fever
hits".

 

[JimmyFitz]

Whtvt01:
Don't forget to check the tire pressure. Most of them come with 40 psi in the tires and the dealer is supposed to set it properly. So you should check it.

 

[k2hawks]

I picked up my bird early april and I believe it had 1 mile on it (330ish now). I did take a ride with the service manger to get a full tank of gas and he explained some things about the car. That got the milage up to 3 miles if my memory doesnt fail me

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by k2hawks:
I picked up my bird early april and I believe it had 1 mile on it (330ish now). I did take a ride with the service manger to get a full tank of gas and he explained some things about the car. That got the milage up to 3 miles if my memory doesnt fail me

I think that it is really ignorant for a dealer to completely disregard it's legal liabilities just because a special car arrives. We were never allowed to even call the customer to tell them the car was there until it went through PDI. I've seen all kinds of problems including a Lincoln Town car with a cracked dash and broken radio. Driving a car right of the car hauler before it's been check out by a professional is not a good idea IMO. These cars go through quite a lot from the holding yard to the dealership lot. Have you ever seen them secure them down on the hauler?

Would you buy a house without a home inspection?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a reason why FMC has a sheet that is to be checked off item by item before the car is on the lot to drive. Of all the dumb paperwork associated with the car, I'd say this is one of the most important that the consumer does not see.

 

[LON O'CONNELL]

I whole-heartedly agree that any new car should be completely PDI'd and test driven before the owner gets the car. Besides what tbird has mentioned, I have see real safety related issues pop up in the PDI. Missing cotter keys in steering linkages, power steering & transmissions with no fluid in them (really). But there is also another problem and that is dealers who pencil whip PDI's. There are a lot of dealers who wash the car fill up the tank and fill out the PDI check sheet sitting at the desk. Most Ford PDI's pay the dealer between .5 hrs & 1.5 hrs depending on the model of vehicle. These dealers who pencil whip the PDI's fill the form out in 2 minutes and the customer drives away in a potential time-bomb. I think the T-Bird is really scrutinized at the factory and has little to no defects from the factory, but models like the Taurus are just pushed out the door. The factory people see problems with cars like the Taurus but push them out saying let the dealer fix it during the PDI. Ok if it is PDI'd but awful if it goes through a pencil whip dealer.

------------------
Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V

 

[Leonk]

The T-Bird is just a $40,000.00 vehicle and, in my opinion, gets the same once over before it leave the factory as any other car.
Especially now that they are pushing out as many as possible to make the 25,000 for the 2002 model year.
A great salesman will do a better job scrutinizing (sp) the vehicle prior to delivery and correct, or note any defects.
It's still one UNIT sold at the dealership. The big difference here is that it never sits in inventory..it comes in and it goes out.
By next year, when the frenzy is over, every large dealership will have a couple of cars in stock.