Dealership Delivery Issues

[ClaveMan]

What are the "gotcha's" when buying a new Energi that the Ford dealership would be in control of?
 
Here a few I am concerned about:

• I am looking at a FFE that has been on the lot sitting there 3, 6, and even one at 9 months.  What happens to the Lithium Ion battery when it just sits there on the dealer lot?  How important is it to get a "fresh Energi"?
• Are there Energi specific accessories I can buy from the dealer? (I want to pre-negotiate as much as possible).  For example:  Is there a 240v charging cable and wall outlet (or some kind of package)?  I can't find it through the ford.com site.
• What items does the factory put in the car that aren't nailed down?  I am terrified some idiot salesman or prep dude is going to leave my XXX on the floor of the shop as I drive away (or a salesman took my floormat to give to another buyer).  Is there a checklist?

[murphy]

There should be an air compressor with a "goo" cartridge and a 120 volt EVSE (sometimes improperly called a charger) in the trunk.  There should also be a plastic funnel in the trunk.  It is used to manually put fuel into the gas tank.  Carpeted floor mats come with the car.  The rubber (plastic?) ones are an extra cost option.  If it has been sitting for a long time the 12 volt battery will have gone dead.  9 times out of 10 a completely discharged wet cell lead acid battery is damaged by being discharged.  The HVB should be okay since it is completely disconnected when the car is off.

 

240 volt EVSEs are available aftermarket.  I have two Leviton EVSEs in my garage.  There are several manufacturers of EVSEs to choose from.

[ClaveMan]

Thank you so much.  Working with a non-dealer associated "auto conceirge" service tomorrow to find a FFE Platinum somewhere within the Mid West.  Sorry for all the questions murphy.  I do appreciate.
 
To Summarize.  A new FFE properly "prepped" by the dealer should have these items:

• Air compressor with a "goo" cartridge [12v I assume]
• 120 volt EVSE (sometimes improperly called a charger) in the trunk.
• Plastic [Gasoline] funnel in the trunk.  ("deal killer" ha)
• Carpeted floor mats come with the car. 
• Dead 12 volt battery (I will insist they test it.  I've killed 5 baby batteries in my Honda Insight over 7 years).

You mentioned:

"The HVB should be okay since it is completely disconnected when the car is off."

 

I know there are gigabytes of discussions on the HVB to trudge through. But I will ask here even if a duplicate..

 

Are you saying there is nothing to fear in buying a FFE with the "7.6 kWh lithium-ion battery" sitting for 3, 6, 9, 12 months? 

 

So "born on date" is not the most important factor in me choosing from 6 never-titled (new) FFE Platinums?  This is a very likely scenario for me (I expect to be given a platter with some new FFE's close, some far, some recent, some sitting on the lot rotting for months).

 

Thanks Again

[ClaveMan]

240 volt EVSEs are available aftermarket.  I have two Leviton EVSEs in my garage.  There are several manufacturers of EVSEs to choose from.

I kind of like the look of this 240 volt EVSE I saw on the Ford web site (Leviton is mentioned as manufacturer). The Ford badge is pretty dim in this snapshot from a video on charging the FFE at owner.ford.com

 

I don't see it in the Ford accessories catalogue. I was thinking of asking the dealer to "throw it in" or get a super discount on car purchase.

Are the "Leviton" EVSE's you mentioned  in your garage stamped as "Leviton" or "Ford", etc?

 

 

 

[murphy]

 

I kind of like the look of this 240 volt EVSE I saw on the Ford web site (Leviton is mentioned as manufacturer). The Ford badge is pretty dim in this snapshot from a video on charging the FFE at owner.ford.com

 

I don't see it in the Ford accessories catalogue. I was thinking of asking the dealer to "throw it in" or get a super discount on car purchase.

 

Are the "Leviton" EVSE's you mentioned  in your garage stamped as "Leviton" or "Ford", etc?

 

 

 

They are both stamped as Leviton.  I bought them from Amazon.

[murphy]

Thank you so much.  Working with a non-dealer associated "auto conceirge" service tomorrow to find a FFE Platinum somewhere within the Mid West.  Sorry for all the questions murphy.  I do appreciate.

 

To Summarize.  A new FFE properly "prepped" by the dealer should have these items:

• Air compressor with a "goo" cartridge [12v I assume]
• 120 volt EVSE (sometimes improperly called a charger) in the trunk.
• Plastic [Gasoline] funnel in the trunk.  ("deal killer" ha)
• Carpeted floor mats come with the car. 
• Dead 12 volt battery (I will insist they test it.  I've killed 5 baby batteries in my Honda Insight over 7 years).

You mentioned:

"The HVB should be okay since it is completely disconnected when the car is off."

 

I know there are gigabytes of discussions on the HVB to trudge through. But I will ask here even if a duplicate..

 

Are you saying there is nothing to fear in buying a FFE with the "7.6 kWh lithium-ion battery" sitting for 3, 6, 9, 12 months? 

 

So "born on date" is not the most important factor in me choosing from 6 never-titled (new) FFE Platinums?  This is a very likely scenario for me (I expect to be given a platter with some new FFE's close, some far, some recent, some sitting on the lot rotting for months).

 

Thanks Again

The HVB is segmented into to two sections.  A hybrid portion which my ancient memory says is 1.5 kWh and an EV portion.  When the EV portion is depleted the car switches to hybrid mode.  In hybrid mode it tries to keep the hybrid portion at the 50% point.  There is no problem with the EV portion being empty since that happens in normal operation after driving about 21 miles in EV Only mode in the summer.  When the car is off a pair of contactors open that completely isolate the HVB.  There is nothing connected to the battery that could cause it to drain so only self discharge is possible.  The HVB and the rest of the hybrid unique components have an 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty.  A good dealer would be keeping the batteries (12 volt and HVB) charged.  If at all possible determine if the dealer is a certified electric dealer.  They are required by Ford to have people trained in the operation and servicing of electric cars.  Since the cars you are interested in are new the dealers are probably certified since Ford won't let uncertified dealers buy an electric car.

[ClaveMan]

If at all possible determine if the dealer is a certified electric dealer.  They are required by Ford to have people trained in the operation and servicing of electric cars.  Since the cars you are interested in are new the dealers are probably certified since Ford won't let uncertified dealers buy an electric car.

Thank you again! Now this is getting interesting.  With a ZIP code you can find dealers who are certified by Ford for electric vehicle repair.

 

My broker (again not working for a dealer) will need to make sure the dealership is certified.  On top of this I assume they would keep a record in their computer of when they cycled (charged) the HVB.   

 

What lingo should we use to the salesman?

 

"We will need to see the charge/discharge record from the shop since that (FFE) vehicle was delivered in May."

 

Sound about right?

 

And most important what would be a proper response from the salesman?

1. "What?  It's an electric?"

2. "I'll get right back to you.."

3. "I'll ask the service manager"

4. "Service Tech says they charged in July".

 

How oftern and what proof of charging should I get from the dealer computer?

 

 

https://owner.ford.com/dealer-locator.html#/?electricVehicleRepair=true

Edited December 12, 2016 at 01:26 PM by ClaveMan

[murphy]

For a car that is not being driven the 12 volt battery should be charged weekly.  That is probably true for every car on their lot.  The HVB can go a few months between checking the charge if the car is not being driven.  I doubt that they keep any charge records.

 

I seriously doubt that more than 0.1% of the salesmen have bothered to learn about how an electric car works or what it needs.  When I picked up my car in April 2013 the salesman made a point of showing me the 240 volt EVSE thay had installed on the outside wall of the building.  I was never able to use that EVSE because they always had cars waiting for service blocking access to it.  They eventually built a new building and the EVSE is no longer there.

[Eric4539]

ClaveMan,

 

Go to this site and enter zip codes near you to find Ford dealers.  If they sell Energi's they should be certified to work on them.  But I would call those dealers and inquire how many Energi's or Focus Electrics they actually work on.  I feel like my local dealer, although Energi certified, is practicing on my car.  I have not had the best service experience.

 

http://www.ford.com/dealerships/locate/

 

The dealer that I purchased my Energi from was fantastic!  This dealer is about 400 miles away from where I live.  My sales guy knew everything about the car unlike other dealers that I spoke with.  I think everyone on this forum knew much more about the Energi before they purchased their cars.  I knew a lot about the car (from researching and from the friends on this forum) before I negotiated with the dealer.  When I took delivery of my Energi, my sales guy spent at least an hour with me going over everything inside and outside the car.  He set up the MyFord Mobile app for me.  While I was sitting in the car I received the 2nd confirmation.  He went over an extensive check list with me as well.  And he also took me on a short drive to demo the Active Park Assist.  This guy also enrolled me in Blink (charging stations) but I have never used them.  He also told me about all the rebates and incentives I was entitled to.  In fact, if I remember correctly, he even completed the paperwork for the California state rebate.  He told me about applying for the HOV stickers, and I just had to enter my license plate numbers once I received those and send a check for the fee.  He even showed me the two 240v chargers that Energi certified dealers were required to have, and he told me I could charge up if I was ever in the area.  My car was on the charger when we did the check out process.  It was all very seamless for me.  

 

The servicing of my Energi is an entirely different story which I will not get into here.  :)