Sadly, I just canceled my order :(

[MAPC]

you ordered a high demand vehicle before it started production, of course you are going to wait. Production started Nov 1, 2018, so you have been "waiting 21 days". When a new iphone comes out if you run down to the mall there is gonna be a line, its same for any high demand item.

Wranglers have been beating all time sales records month after month after month, sure it sucks if you want a special order, but it also means 50,000 other people had same idea

I think you are missing my main point. The point is that they have pushed me out at least 2 times so far and can give me no explanation why nor can they tell me if it really will be build in December. Even if it is, it will be, at best, 4 months+

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[Sidhu]

Bottom line is that I don't want to wait an indefinite amount of time and Jeep won't give me real information so I am moving on.

ORDERED: Sept 12
WENT TO D1: late September
DROPPED BACK TO D: early October
ORIGINAL BUILD DATE: 10/29
FIRST DELAY BUILD DATE: 11/19
SECOND DELAY BUILD DATE: 12/17

Even if they meet this date, I wouldn't see the Jeep until mid-January. Totally absurd....and sad.

If anyone wants a Sky Power Roof Sahara 6 speed, let me know- I know a dealer who will want to get rid of one some time in January!

I also ordered rubi 4 door with sky one touch power roof on 19/10,if i track online not find any thing window sticker or built sheet,after all i call my deler and they said my jeep is in D1 status and gonna ship out on 12/6.that means they not regularly uptade online. Hope im gonna get my jeep before Christmas.

 

[Capt-Zoom]

Supposedly the rail head is very backed up. Basically they cant get the rail cars they need to ship jeeps. So everyone can expect further delays.

 

[PavementWarrior]

I think you are missing my main point. The point is that they have pushed me out at least 2 times so far and can give me no explanation why nor can they tell me if it really will be build in December. Even if it is, it will be, at best, 4 months+

No I get your point, however there are about 50,000+ people in line with you (maybe more), thats a crazy amount for a complex product. In todays manufacturing you get alot of your parts from 3rd parties that can also struggle with demand or have defects found that require fixes that can stop/slow manufacturing.

I get your frustration, and if choose not to wait or cant cause you need a vehicle thats totally understandable. I am just pointing out its not an easy thing they are doing, and are breaking their all time sales number each month. Its amazing the demand is staying so high and the order rate has not dropped

 

[JohnP]

I’m surprised by the number of people taking issue with the OPs original assertion, and I think the point of this thread is subtle but important.

The issue here is not with the fact that a custom ordered vehicle is going to take time. It’s about appropriately setting expectations.

As a former VP who ran customer care centers for large companies, my opinion is that Jeep is underperforming in terms of both expectation setting and customer interaction. They have produced tens of millions of vehicles and have had a very long time to develop processes to provide accurate and transparent information to their dealers, and ultimately us. Clearly it’s not where they’ve spent development resources.

Many things could improve the process. But here are three:

1. Don’t provide inaccurate information! The OP here was given three bad dates. So was I. So have many people... It’s clear the dates were fictional. They should stop doing that. No date is better than a bad date. Ask Tesla.
2. Be transparant. Share good news about record numbers of orders, and record production, but also share the challenges that might be slowing down orders for some people. Honesty + Problem Solving = Brand Loyalty.
3. Find little ways to keep people happy and looking forward to receiving their order. For example, after an order goes undelivered for 6 weeks send an email with some upbeat messaging, and maybe some kind of semi-accurate info about where the vehicle is in “line”. After 8 weeks send an update saying “Sorry it’s taking so long, how about some SWAG on us?” And let people pick out a free T-shirt or hat or something... And the longer it takes, you keep escallating contacts, and doing things to keep people happy and motivated to wait.

No company can keep everyone happy, but they can all certainly avoid simple pitfalls that needlessly upset customers. And I wish @JeepCares would take note of the failures and send ideas up the chain to remedy the shortcomings. They need real empowerment to keep people happy!

Finally, from a mathematical perspective no matter how good sales are Jeep shouldn’t be losing orders for problems so easy to fix. Think of it this way...

• Assume 100 people get sick of this process and abandon the idea of getting a Wrangler this year.
• Assume average order is $45,000, and average FCA margin is 20%.
• $4,500,000 in missed revenue - 20% of which are Engineering, R&R, Assembly and other labor + 20% margin
• $1,800,000 = 40 full time employees @ $45k annual loaded labor rate

So for roughly every TWO cancellations, one Jeep employee loses a job. That makes every single sale important.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I’m surprised by the number of people taking issue with the OPs original assertion, and I think the point of this thread is subtle but important.

The issue here is not with the fact that a custom ordered vehicle is going to take time. It’s about appropriately setting expectations.

As a former VP who ran customer care centers for large companies, my opinion is that Jeep is underperforming in terms of both expectation setting and customer interaction. They have produced tens of millions of vehicles and have had a very long time to develop processes to provide accurate and transparent information to their dealers, and ultimately us. Clearly it’s not where they’ve spent development resources.

Many things could improve the process. But here are three:

1. Don’t provide inaccurate information! The OP here was given three bad dates. So was I. So have many people... It’s clear the dates were fictional. They should stop doing that. No date is better than a bad date. Ask Tesla.
2. Be transparant. Share good news about record numbers of orders, and record production, but also share the challenges that might be slowing down orders for some people. Honesty + Problem Solving = Brand Loyalty.
3. Find little ways to keep people happy and looking forward to receiving their order. For example, after an order goes undelivered for 6 weeks send an email with some upbeat messaging, and maybe some kind of semi-accurate info about where the vehicle is in “line”. After 8 weeks send an update saying “Sorry it’s taking so long, how about some SWAG on us?” And let people pick out a free T-shirt or hat or something... And the longer it takes, you keep escallating contacts, and doing things to keep people happy and motivated to wait.

No company can keep everyone happy, but they can all certainly avoid simple pitfalls that needlessly upset customers. And I wish @JeepCares would take note of the failures and send ideas up the chain to remedy the shortcomings. They need real empowerment to keep people happy!

Finally, from a mathematical perspective no matter how good sales are Jeep shouldn’t be losing orders for problems so easy to fix. Think of it this way...

• Assume 100 people get sick of this process and abandon the idea of getting a Wrangler this year.
• Assume average order is $45,000, and average FCA margin is 20%.
• $4,500,000 in missed revenue - 20% of which are Engineering, R&R, Assembly and other labor + 20% margin
• $1,800,000 = 40 full time employees @ $45k annual loaded labor rate

So for roughly every TWO cancellations, one Jeep employee loses a job. That makes every single sale important.

So, yeah, FCA is underperforming in the areas you so eloquently laid out. So what? Would I give up the vehicle I want because its delivery is delay a couple/few months? Nope! (And, in fact, I didn’t. I waited 6 months for my preorder to get built and delivered!) I’d regret that decision every time I saw one on the road.

Everyone’s different. Patience is a virtue. Just my $0.02.

 

[MAPC]

John- THANK YOU---this was EXACTLY my point. It is the miscommunication, dropped balls, unreturned calls (where they committed to get me a response in 24 hours, etc). that is my issue.

 

[nerubi]

Why are you guys playing a deposit? My dealer took my order no questions asked. He shook my hand and said "thanks for the order and I'll call when it's in".

Same for me - no deposit. He knows he can sell it if I don't take it and he gets one sooner than if he ordered for stock. Also at the beginning dealers do get some stock orders ahead of customer orders so they can have something on the lot. My dealer is the largest Jeep dealer in Nebraska (I know, not the same as the largest Jeep dealer in California, but more Jeeps are sold by Dave Smith in northern Idaho than any other dealer in North America so size of state isn't the main criteria) and they only have three 2019 Wranglers in route to the lot.

 

[Ocotillo Boy]

Also, don’t take it off road or your warranty becomes null and void. That’s straight from FCA.

Huh? Say what???

 

[PavementWarrior]

I’m surprised by the number of people taking issue with the OPs original assertion, and I think the point of this thread is subtle but important.

The issue here is not with the fact that a custom ordered vehicle is going to take time. It’s about appropriately setting expectations.

As a former VP who ran customer care centers for large companies, my opinion is that Jeep is underperforming in terms of both expectation setting and customer interaction. They have produced tens of millions of vehicles and have had a very long time to develop processes to provide accurate and transparent information to their dealers, and ultimately us. Clearly it’s not where they’ve spent development resources.

.

Most get it and went through a 6+ month wait already, we just did not give up BUT most totally agree with what you are saying.
People love the Wrangler despite FCA's struggles (both in quality and order line management, esp after the the first 6 months where the record orders could catch any company by surprise)


Imho there will be a lot of used wranglers for sale soon, the Wrangler has always been a specialty vehicle with passionate owners willing to over come FCA, on going tweeking/modding and maintenance vs a new wave that will have higher expectations based on what they paid (with no need for anything more than a kia can do offroad)

I keep expecting them to make some sort of tweener model with removable top and ifs, tradeoff some offroad for more turn key for mass market that liked the removable top.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

So, yeah, FCA is underperforming in the areas you so eloquently laid out. So what? Would I give up the vehicle I want because its delivery is delay a couple/few months? Nope! (And, in fact, I didn’t. I waited 6 months for my preorder to get built and delivered!) I’d regret that decision every time I saw one on the road.

Everyone’s different. Patience is a virtue. Just my $0.02.

Perhaps if FCA was providing a quality product their arrogance might be warranted. However, that is far from the case. Toyota can make a quality off road vehicle and ship them timely. And for less money too. Knowing the difference between an excuse and a reason is critical. Most people can’t identify the difference. JohnP said it correctly. They have not spent any time working on customer the service experience.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Perhaps if FCA was providing a quality product their arrogance might be warranted. However, that is far from the case. Toyota can make a quality off road vehicle and ship them timely. And for less money too. Knowing the difference between an excuse and a reason is critical. Most people can’t identify the difference. JohnP said it correctly. They have not spent any time working on customer the service experience.

I had a case manager and she provided excellent customer service. I received updates as they were available, and once my Jeep was built she called me to apologize for the long delay and to offer compensation which I happily accepted.

Toyota has had their share of problems like every other auto manufacturer. Rusted and recalled frames, for example.

<shrug>

I got a great vehicle and received excellent service. I suspect there are many like me, but happy customers don’t flock to forums to express their happiness. Unhappy customers, on the other hand...

I’m by no means an FCA fanboy. This is my first Chrysler. The experience was pretty much the same as I had with Ford when ordering a highly sought after Gen I vehicle (Raptor).

Anyway, we’ve all got our own experiences and points of view. Mine is that OP should have just waited a couple of months and gotten what he wanted.

 

[lagunajim]

Perhaps if FCA was providing a quality product....

Wow - I'm awaiting delivery of my third Jeep. 2006, 2011, and now 2019. The first two were VERY high quality products and I expect the same from the third.

In 6 years of ownership the 2011 had exactly one warranty repair -- a miniscule leak in a weld in the radiator appeared in year 2 and we only noticed it because of the slight milky-white dry residual left. It was so small that the water level never changed.

I wouldn't throw around judgments like yours here... there is a reason Jeeps are among the top-selling vehicles in America, and it isn't because consumers are stupid.

 

[lagunajim]

Jeep fans are like Apple fans, no matter what BS they are served, they not only make excuses for it but act like it is a positive thing...

What is going on with production is a joke. A sold order takes no priority over a dealer order. You have people that ordered early September that haven't been built, while people who ordered in late October have received their jeep.

Because we have no real visibility into how things are scheduled at the factory, you cannot make the assertions you offer.

Perhaps one part caused other vehicles to be built before another. I've ordered before from the plant and had delivery in 6 weeks flat. That experience was not at the beginning of any new generation run, or even at the beginning of a year-change.

But let's not throw around unsubstantiated claims.

 

[lagunajim]

I think you are missing my main point. The point is that they have pushed me out at least 2 times so far and can give me no explanation why nor can they tell me if it really will be build in December. Even if it is, it will be, at best, 4 months+

Ordering a new vehicle is not like ordering on Amazon. We get little reliable information until the vehicle shows up.

It would be awesome if we did have constant, real-time visibility into the FCA factory computers -- but we don't. They haven't evolved to the level of some other industries.

If that is not one's expectation then he is not a candidate to order a vehicle from the factory. Buy off the lot.

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