windguy

Good news! I finally ordered my new TC Van. I want to share my buying experience so perhaps others find this info useful for their TC purchase. What did I order? 2015 LWB XLT Van with rear symmetrical doors and the standard 2.5L engine in silver metallic. Options below: All weather floor mats - front Electric rear window defroster Trailer Tow Package with Trailer Sway Control Fixed rear glass for rear cargo doors (includes privacy glass) AM/FM Stereo with Single CD & Rearview Camera 2nd Row Fixed Glass - both sides (includes privacy glass) Rear LED cargo area light Forward and Reverse Sensing Systems Key fobs (qty 2) Adaptive Cornering Fog Lamps Daytime running lights Front and Rear Mud Splash Guards The Buying Experience Like Oregon Don, I also ordered my van using the Costco Car Buying Program. http://www.costcoauto.com/enterzipcode.aspx?gotourl=%2fdefault.aspx The online Costco program lets you configure the van like the Ford website and provides MSRP and Dealer Invoice pricing. You can use edmunds.com to verify the pricing and the 2015 Ford Ordering Guide to add in the ordering codes for each option. Costco's program puts you in touch with a dealer that has enrolled in the program and is assigned to your closest warehouse. You can switch dealers by calling Costco if there's a dealer that is closer to where you live or one you prefer to work with. I would highly recommend using Costco's service for several reasons. The first is fixed pricing, which happens to be the lowest around. No haggling or games, which I dread. I had checked into using the truecar.com buying program and didn't see a benefit over the Costco program. The second reason is you're dealing with either an Internet Sales Manager or Fleet Manager, so these guys are experienced in doing special orders. The third reason is that after the dealer configures the van online with Ford he provides you with a statement that shows Retail and Dealer Invoice pricing and Ordering Codes. You can verify exactly what you want versus what is going to be ordered. This way there is no question that the dealer is ordering the right configuration. Ford includes two additional charges that's included in the Dealer Invoice pricing, a gas fee for $55 and a regional advertising fee for $402. Edmund's will warn you about the advertising fee, which I assume is higher in larger cities like LA. There's no way around this and Ford passes the cost on through the dealer to the buyer. My only rub is that I haven't seen one print ad in a local paper or TV commercial for a Transit Connect. Plenty for other Ford cars, but not the one I'm buying. It's a bend-over fee that you have to pay and forget about. I guess another way to look at it is that the color brochure I got from the dealer cost me $400. So now comes the hard part. Patiently waiting for the van to be built and delivered. As we've read, 2015 production starts in early September. We know it can take several months so I'm optimistically guessing early January for delivery, assuming the van won't sit in limbo at the import lot in Maryland. Let me know if you have any questions on what I've posted.

thanks 2013TC

nice upgrades. where did you order the sun shade from? where did you order the door pockets from? thanks

when do you think Ford will change the online configuration tool from 2014 to 2015?

@johnyguy - thanks for asking the question @103west43rd - thanks for pointing that out. I didn't see that option either and really like it.

Side Question- how do you embed pics in a post? I've tried the "more reply options" to do an attachment but limits you to only 36KB in size, which is often too grainy thanks

sounds like it. I didn't think the bumpers were painted, just black. maybe that applies to only the Wagon models and not the vans. not sure. ADD-ON - I looked at the configurator again. There is a difference. The XL has more black around the front and rear fender (I think that's what you'd call it) areas but the front and back bumpers are still black on the XLT. So XLT - more painted areas, XL more black areas. They both look nice with a different appearance. I'll make a separate post about my ordering experience. It's been on my TO DO list to share with the group.

I checked into this a few weeks ago. The dealer is allowed to charge a processing fee for filing DMV paperwork. It's probably a bargain considering you don't have to deal with your DMV See the link below http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/what-fees-should-you-pay.html I'm in CA, the max fee a dealer can charge is $80, which is reasonable. Anything above that I would consider too much. Washington's max fee is $150. That number sounds familiar, doesn't? Glad you were able to get this fee removed.

@mustang that van is great looking. thanks for the additional pics. my van will have that same window configuration but in silver. I was on the fence between white and silver. both nice colors. you're lucky to find a van like that on the lot. haven't seen any vans in my area with the 2nd set of windows on the sliders. Funny, I never noticed that partition before. I like how it creates a little bulkhead. Guess you have to add "fishing" to your interests on your profile I'm jealous!

@mustang great looking van. can you post a side view picture? what are the black things hanging from the ceiling? there also seems to be a small partition also hanging from the ceiling behind the rear seats. did you add that? thanks

great news. excited for you. Ford sure did put you through the ringer on this. hope the delivery goes okay and you'll forget about all the turmoil

Robert - some of those options might be included in the XLT version. Did you price out that option instead?

@precisionair - thanks for sharing your source for seat covers. they look very nice. I'd be interesting in getting a pair of these when I get my van. @2013TransitConnect - below is a link to Coverking's website if that helps. http://www.coverking.com/custom-seat-covers/water-resistant-neoprene-seat-cover.html

@keywestles - I like your style. put a little pressure on the dealer and Ford to figure this out. the lack of visibility is bad business on Ford's part. They have a whole organization in charge of importing these vans and processing them. Ford's inventory database knows exactly where each vehicle is and its disposition. wish you the best of luck. please keep us posted

@KeyWestLes sorry to hear your van is in limbo. your theory might be true if you read older articles regarding the chicken tax maneuvers Ford has done. http://blog.caranddriver.com/feds-watching-fords-run-around-on-chicken-tax-riles-customs-officials/ there hasn't been anything written more recently about this so I guess we have to assume it's still being done today. Another theory I thought of is maybe your dealer has a cash flow problem. Ford accepted the order from the dealer months ago when they had their bills paid up but perhaps since then they are behind and Ford won't release any more vehicles to them until they pay down their debt. So maybe they are on a credit hold. This is something you will never get any info on either through the dealer or Ford. Is this a large or small dealer? Wonder if they've gotten deliveries of other vehicles recently? hope things change for you and your van gets delivered. fingers crossed!

@bikinchris, that's a very cool looking van. thanks for posting a pic. looks like you also have splash guards, alloy wheels and maybe forward and reverse sensors. enjoy your new van

@kultulz, glad you were able to get the rails installed. was the cost less than what was shown in the Ford spare parts catalog, roughly $500 per side? I talked to a dealer about that and he said that pricing can't be right and he'd look into it for me. haven't heard back yet. regarding attaching photos, I always get this message that the max file size is something like 35KB, which is really small. if I reduce the image size it gets too grainy sometimes (most of the time). Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

@bikinchris glad you got your van after a long wait. what options did you add? how about a pic of your new van?

are you sure about the payload spec? Ford site shows that as 1,700 pounds http://www.ford.com/trucks/transitconnect/specifications/ It's hard to please everyone when it comes to making cars. I couldn't fit the old design in my garage, so the new design is a winner for me. The van version with two seats in the front and an empty cargo shell in the back doesn't seem like a minivan to me. Does anyone else sell a van with those specs that you can park in a garage? When you combine the TC with the numerous body styles of the full size Transit, Ford has a pretty nice selection of van types available. I like the old style TC but I really like the new style even better.

@tdan, sounds like a nice setup. I prefer the 180deg doors too. The liftgate is very big and heavy. never considered that it would be above the roof line, more just horizontal, but I can see that being an issue. I have only an 80" opening for my garage so I have very limited space to squeeze the van in. This was after I raised the door slightly after another poster suggested doing so. The one advantage to the liftgate is that is provides some shelter underneath if raining. If you have long items on a roof rack above it's in the way. I also parallel park in tight spaces when at the beach so the liftgate isn't ideal. hope the barn doors work out for us. They seem pretty solid when I checked them out at the dealer. Those OEM Contis appear to have a bad reputation as posted by others. I'm really bummed about that. I will need to have a decent tire on there so I can take this van on dirt/gravel roads occasionally. Please share if you have more info on replacement tires other than the Contis.

congrats on your new TC. that's a nice color. sadly they don't offer it in the van model. The 4x8 sheet would fit width wise, but would extend out the door by about a foot. can you leave the door open and tie it down? do you a liftgate or 180deg doors? how about a pic?

that's great news. congrats Don! How about a pic of your new wheels? I checked the Costco program too and so far it looks like the way to go. Hope to get a van on order very soon so we'll see if it measures up.

I think the primary advantage to the factory rails is that the crossbars can be removed when not being used. that's how I use the racks for my wagon. I rarely use the crossbars. The commercial racks seem like a more permanent solution. Not sure having them adjustable is a big advantage. I would always set the crossbars in the same location. the basket option shown in the picture says it's easily removable in the product description. wonder what that means. I guess we'd like to know more about this option. I will PM Bluebox and see if he can share more about his rack.

http://vantech.us/Transit-Connect-2014-On-J-Series_c161.htm Maybe this would be a good resource for racks. they show a 2014 TC option that's very reasonable. Located in Brooklyn, NY They also provide a PDF instruction manual online.

I checked out the Ford parts catalog and see the roof rails you're talking about and 103west43rd posted earlier. LH for LWB - 55122B - $502.30 RH for LWB - 55122A - $521.88 HN1 - nut - $4.00 (will need a bunch of these) Besides the fact that it's insanely expensive, why is the RH more expensive than the LH? Ford really messed up big time on this option. Found this link that shows all roof rack options as an accessory http://accessories.ford.com/exterior/racks-carriers-dv-65.html?ef_id=U7WvEwAABS%400CKtw%3A20140705025704%3As&limit=60&searchid=61190431|2205149551|13921192412 Checking compatibility, nothing shows up for 2014. Perhaps their aftermarket supplier for these hasn't caught up to new van version. Hope that situation changes soon. I do see the Roof Basket option for $775.00, again only up to a 2013 van. You can get all that for $775 yet two rails by itself cost $1,024. http://accessories.ford.com/roof-basket.html