Anyone else bump down from an ST3 to an ST2?

[DardenUnited]

I had been thinking about it for a while and finally pulled the plug last week. Had a TS ST3 (no moonroof) on order and after some thinking decided that if I was going to bump down, I'd get a PB ST2. Which is exactly what I did, much to my original dealer's chagrin, so if you are interested in picking up an ST3, let me know and I can pass information on to you. Sad I lost the camera, but I view it as a nice bonus; so no bonus - I'm still at baseline instead of in the negative.

My original reasoning behind wanting an ST3 were the heated seats. Was really bummed about the partial leather Recaros not being heated even though I like the bi-color look a lot more (and I don't like leather period). I figured that I could live without the other options and save myself a couple of grand in the process. Plus, a couple of extra months of breaking 'er in without the possibility of snow. Some 300+ miles later I'm very happy I made that choice.

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[Schroeder02]

I did the same I had an ST3 on order with a sunroof. The dealer that I had originally ordered form received the same color st2 with nave and sunroof. So I went and looked the car over last Friday and though about it for a few hours. I took the money I saved from the st3 package and put it towards the extended warranty.
I wanted the HID’s and the leather but like you I also like the non leather seats they will hold my butt in a little better when I take in the track.

Over all I’m still very happy with the decision to take the st2, the navigation system was on of the major factors for me picking the st3 in the first place.

[DardenUnited]

Originally Posted by Schroeder02

I did the same I had an ST3 on order with a sunroof. The dealer that I had originally ordered form received the same color st2 with nave and sunroof. So I went and looked the car over last Friday and though about it for a few hours. I took the money I saved from the st3 package and put it towards the extended warranty.
I wanted the HID’s and the leather but like you I also like the non leather seats they will hold my butt in a little better when I take in the track.

Over all I’m still very happy with the decision to take the st2, the navigation system was on of the major factors for me picking the st3 in the first place.

Yeah, I've been really happy with the nav. The only frustration I've experienced with MFT so far is that Bluetooth sometimes works in a weird way with my iPhone - about half the times it won't let me control the songs with steering wheel buttons and the display will freeze on one track while another one is playing. Hopefully there's a fix for that in the future.

[Schroeder02]

Originally Posted by DardenUnited

Yeah, I've been really happy with the nav. The only frustration I've experienced with MFT so far is that Bluetooth sometimes works in a weird way with my iPhone - about half the times it won't let me control the songs with steering wheel buttons and the display will freeze on one track while another one is playing. Hopefully there's a fix for that in the future.

I haven’t gotten my Girl friend to set that up for me being that I'm Technologically challenged.

[DardenUnited]

Originally Posted by Schroeder02

I haven’t gotten my Girl friend to set that up for me being that I'm Technologically challenged.

I haven't really had a chance to play with it all that much. Have been using the voice nav function on and off (it doesn't always seem to recognize street names) and the bluetooth audio command (that one works better with voice).

[rgonyer]

Originally Posted by DardenUnited

I had been thinking about it for a while and finally pulled the plug last week. Had a TS ST3 (no moonroof) on order and after some thinking decided that if I was going to bump down, I'd get a PB ST2. Which is exactly what I did, much to my original dealer's chagrin, so if you are interested in picking up an ST3, let me know and I can pass information on to you. Sad I lost the camera, but I view it as a nice bonus; so no bonus - I'm still at baseline instead of in the negative.

My original reasoning behind wanting an ST3 were the heated seats. Was really bummed about the partial leather Recaros not being heated even though I like the bi-color look a lot more (and I don't like leather period). I figured that I could live without the other options and save myself a couple of grand in the process. Plus, a couple of extra months of breaking 'er in without the possibility of snow. Some 300+ miles later I'm very happy I made that choice.

Kinda of a bummer you did that to your original dealer- It wasn't their fault that the car is late.

[Sonic_HedgeHog]

Originally Posted by Schroeder02

I haven’t gotten my Girl friend to set that up for me being that I'm Technologically challenged.

Your dealer is supposed to Sync your phone before you drive away... Fail

[DardenUnited]

Originally Posted by rgonyer

Kinda of a bummer you did that to your original dealer- It wasn't their fault that the car is late.

I agree and I disagree. No, it definitely is not their fault. Yes, they spent considerable time with me over the summer working out the details of the order and yes, they expected a sale out of me. Don't think the appreciation for their involvement is lost on me. But when I e-mailed back asking how long it would take if I switched my order to the ST2, I didn't get a definitive answer. They then did get an ST2, but not the one I would have wanted (different color/package). So I searched in the area and found the one dealer that did.

What would you have me do instead? Bottom line, between the time I discovered my ST2 on the second dealer's lot and the time I went and picked it up (5 days), my first dealer could have done absolutely nothing to get me in an ST. So even calling him ahead of time to cancel (which I didn't want to do on the off chance I couldn't get financing in time and someone else would have bought the ST2 but I would no longer have the original ST3 order anymore) wasn't really an option. The car I wanted was sitting on the lot, ready to be purchased. How much do I owe it to the original guy to keep waiting (whether for the ST3 or for a replacement ST2) in that circumstance? I actually wanted to send him a bottle of wine or something, but thinking about it more and more, the way he chewed me out on the phone when I called to cancel, was more than enough satisfaction for him, as far as I am concerned. And, actually, my car was in the exact same situation - someone ordered it, then changed his mind. It's not like the original dealer should have much of a problem selling the ST3 once it gets there (assuming he's unable to get it deleted from the order bank), considering the attention the car has gotten.

Plus, I lost a couple of free oil changes (well, one - the other dealer offered me my first one free as well) and the GoPro. So as far as I am concerned, we each came out having lost something out of this situation. This is one of those where either way it turned out on the extremes (on one end me having to wait for an extra couple of months and possibly losing the advantageous % APR through my credit union that may not be available later but making the dealer happy and on the other precisely what ended up happening) would make someone unhappy without a good middle ground (unless you can come up with something that I haven't thought of).

[rgonyer]

I hear you - and it's probably not a huge deal as I'm sure they will sell it, but again it's about peoples word which seems to mean less and less every day.

Were you in a situation that you NEEDED a car now? If so, I can understand - but still only to a point. They fact is Ford never promised these cars on any date other than "Fall 2012" so if you ordered it and expected to have it by a certain date - again that's on you.

I'm also VERY excited to get my ST, but I placed an order and I'll wait until mine arrives. It's only another few weeks.

Just my opinoin!

[DardenUnited]

Originally Posted by rgonyer

I hear you - and it's probably not a huge deal as I'm sure they will sell it, but again it's about peoples word which seems to mean less and less every day.

Were you in a situation that you NEEDED a car now? If so, I can understand - but still only to a point. They fact is Ford never promised these cars on any date other than "Fall 2012" so if you ordered it and expected to have it by a certain date - again that's on you.

I'm also VERY excited to get my ST, but I placed an order and I'll wait until mine arrives. It's only another few weeks.

Just my opinoin!

The reason I feel compelled to keep answering is because I actually do feel badly about it. A little bit, anyways.

Did I need a car right now? Not really. This isn't really about "needs" as nobody needs an ST. Did I want it before first snow hit the ground? You bet. Two extra months of driving it, considering how long I've waited for an ST to come stateside, is a HUGE deal to me. I was one of the first to order, so naturally I expected to be one of the first to get the car (not for the distinction of being among the first, mind you, but for the purposes of actually having it as close to the release date as possible).

What clinched it for me was the situation with the car I am driving right now. Two things: need to sell it (obviously) and it's coming up on its 60K mile service. As you may know, those aren't cheap for any vehicle, leave alone Europeans. So throwing away north of $500 for the 60K and then driving the car for only a month or so before selling it didn't make any sense to me. Plus, I found a buyer for it right now (fingers crossed that he comes this weekend) and would much rather have a car to drive when the old one is gone than ...do what?.. for two months. All of this, of course, is not information the first dealership cares about (as well it shouldn't, I suppose).

Like I said, I doubt the dealership will lose money on my order (especially if the experience of my second dealer is any indication - took less than a week from the first guy backing out for me to drive it away). And if the guy wasn't such a dick on the phone, I would have gone an extra mile to make it worth his while and show my appreciation (which I'm still kinda doing, having mentioned on numerous forums now that I have a canceled order which someone could possibly take over and still get the Go Pro). If nothing else, it increases their chances of selling the car to a non-A-plan member (not sure if they make any more money or if Ford kicks some over their way for selling to a plan customer anyways), although that might be a reach given that in SE MI everyone seems to be a plan customer of some kind. Like I said - I feel badly about the situation, but not overly so.