Black Diamond 4-Door Bronco Delivered! Surprise from the Wild and Wonderful State! Buying experience and owner first impressions.

[RDUBronco]

Surprise from the Wild and Wonderful State!

Short version of the story:

Black Diamond Sasquatch 4 Door 2.7 Soft Top with Mid and Tow Packages
Reserved July 13th around 10 P.M.
Ordered from Stephens Auto Center in Danville WV. Not a priority build.
Originally given 6/7/21 build date that was moved back to 6/28/21
Window Sticker Available on 6/15/21 with Blend Date of 6/22/21
Got Confirmation from Ford that Build was completed on 6/23/21. Delivery states 41 days but also has July 11 as Est. delivery date
Bonnie Arrived at Stephens Auto Center in the early morning hours 6/25/21
John Holstein from SAC calls and emails around 9 a.m. New Ford email states delivery 7/4 - 7/11.
Bonnie enters her stable 6/26/21

Long Version of the Story:

Let me start by saying how fortunate I and my family feel to have a Bronco in our garage right now. I know a lot of people are frustrated, and reading about our experience may or may not help.
If you read the “quick and dirty” version above, you have a pretty good idea of high the process played out. Not a lot of communication from Ford. When I did get email updates, they weren’t exactly accurate in regards to timing. I tried to avoid calling the dealership as much as possible, but when I did, they were very helpful.
The whole experience was a lot like having a child that took 11 months to get here. Lots of anticipation and waiting. Then boom, ready or not, her she is! We had planned to fly in to Charleston and spend 2 days driving her back. What we ended up doing was leaving our house at 3 a.m., driving 800 miles round trip with a break for lunch (Pies and Pints in Charleston) and getting home around 6 p.m. the same day. Wanted to do a bunch of photo ops, but we were in a hurry and pretty worn out. By the way, rental car companies are not doing 1 way rentals in our area, so we drove the Yukon.

Stephens Auto Center
@StephensAutoCenter

John, Jeremy, and Chase were great! John was my primary contact throughout the process. I can only imagine how exhausted he is from dealing with obsessed Bronco fan boys like me all day. Jeremy sealed the deal and made this the quickest/ easiest vehicle purchase of my life. Got a good deal on an 8 year 100k ESP warranty that I rolled into the loan. Guys in the shop did a great job cleaning her up. The dealership waited for confirmation from me prior to removing any plastic. Extremely careful and considerate! Dealership was less than 30 minutes from I-64.

Financing

We went USAA’s 1.89% @ 60 months. USAA’s rates are not normally this good, but a fortuitous advertisement caught my attention. Very easy application process. Jeremy at SAC said that USAA is great on their end too. Approval is good for 30 days. I’d say you can get the whole thing done in 48 – 72 hours. No surprises. $1000 under invoice price on my original build sheet. Doc fee is $500.

EDIT: SAC has a DOC Fee correction worked into the deal for Bronco Reservation Holders.

Insurance

Adding Bonnie as our 3rd vehicle raised our USAA insurance by $432 for 6 months.

The Ride

So the important part…. After 404 miles, I’m in love. This is my first soft top and my first truly capable off-road vehicle. I’ve owned sporty coupes, F 150, Ridgeline and a Yukon XL currently. Acceleration is great for a SUV. Slight vibration at first that I imagine is associated with the 35’s. Rides so smoothly at any speed including I 64’s 70 mph. Wind sounds like background white noise. Engine sound is not pronounced. Any engine noise I’ve heard has been a pleasant one when driving at low speed around town. Loud vehicles and motorcycles on the interstate were very noticeable though.
Be prepared to drive defensively. People stared, took photos, recorded video while driving with their toes the whole 6 hours home. One guy was trying to talk to me while videoing at 65 mph. He had to cross 5 lanes of traffic to not miss his exit ramp. Prepare yourself.
Very happy with the turning radius. Charleston has a busy downtown area. Much more pleasant driving around/ parking in the Bronco vs the Yukon XL.
Getting in and out is easy for my teenage sons and I. My wife is 5’8” and thankful for the grab handles. As stated before, the rock rails are not useful as a step. We might have AMP’s in our future.

Holding off on the off-roading until after we get back from Austin.

I plan to stay on this forum. Bronco6G gave me something positive to fixate upon during one of the more unpleasant years in human history. I can’t wait to see what everyone does with their rigs and the adventures they take them on. I’ll do my best to answer questions. I’m heading outside to clean off the bug guts. Thanks everybody!

BDubBronco

So after a week or so living with the Bronco, are your initial impressions of the on-road ride characteristics and noise levels of 35 inch tires remain?

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[BdubBronco]

So after a week or so living with the Bronco, are your initial impressions of the on-road ride characteristics and noise levels of 35 inch tires remain?

Took the doors off last night and still really happy with the tire noise. I don’t believe you hear us coming from miles away. Handles great too! I really feel like a kid. I keep turning on the lights in the garage and checking on her.

 

[CKXVII]

John took care of it at order conversion time.

@StephensAutoCenter How’d you add the onboard storage bags for this Black Diamond order?

Me & my dealer tried to troubleshoot this over the phone, but he said that the system wasn’t permitting him to add them to my order bc it conflicted w/ the mid package equipment group.

 

[GO_SOONERS_TXSUX!]

Surprise from the Wild and Wonderful State!

Short version of the story:

Black Diamond Sasquatch 4 Door 2.7 Soft Top with Mid and Tow Packages
Reserved July 13th around 10 P.M.
Ordered from Stephens Auto Center in Danville WV. Not a priority build.
Originally given 6/7/21 build date that was moved back to 6/28/21
Window Sticker Available on 6/15/21 with Blend Date of 6/22/21
Got Confirmation from Ford that Build was completed on 6/23/21. Delivery states 41 days but also has July 11 as Est. delivery date
Bonnie Arrived at Stephens Auto Center in the early morning hours 6/25/21
John Holstein from SAC calls and emails around 9 a.m. New Ford email states delivery 7/4 - 7/11.
Bonnie enters her stable 6/26/21

Long Version of the Story:

Let me start by saying how fortunate I and my family feel to have a Bronco in our garage right now. I know a lot of people are frustrated, and reading about our experience may or may not help.
If you read the “quick and dirty” version above, you have a pretty good idea of high the process played out. Not a lot of communication from Ford. When I did get email updates, they weren’t exactly accurate in regards to timing. I tried to avoid calling the dealership as much as possible, but when I did, they were very helpful.
The whole experience was a lot like having a child that took 11 months to get here. Lots of anticipation and waiting. Then boom, ready or not, her she is! We had planned to fly in to Charleston and spend 2 days driving her back. What we ended up doing was leaving our house at 3 a.m., driving 800 miles round trip with a break for lunch (Pies and Pints in Charleston) and getting home around 6 p.m. the same day. Wanted to do a bunch of photo ops, but we were in a hurry and pretty worn out. By the way, rental car companies are not doing 1 way rentals in our area, so we drove the Yukon.

Stephens Auto Center
@StephensAutoCenter

John, Jeremy, and Chase were great! John was my primary contact throughout the process. I can only imagine how exhausted he is from dealing with obsessed Bronco fan boys like me all day. Jeremy sealed the deal and made this the quickest/ easiest vehicle purchase of my life. Got a good deal on an 8 year 100k ESP warranty that I rolled into the loan. Guys in the shop did a great job cleaning her up. The dealership waited for confirmation from me prior to removing any plastic. Extremely careful and considerate! Dealership was less than 30 minutes from I-64.

Financing

We went USAA’s 1.89% @ 60 months. USAA’s rates are not normally this good, but a fortuitous advertisement caught my attention. Very easy application process. Jeremy at SAC said that USAA is great on their end too. Approval is good for 30 days. I’d say you can get the whole thing done in 48 – 72 hours. No surprises. $1000 under invoice price on my original build sheet. Doc fee is $500.

EDIT: SAC has a DOC Fee correction worked into the deal for Bronco Reservation Holders.

Insurance

Adding Bonnie as our 3rd vehicle raised our USAA insurance by $432 for 6 months.

The Ride

So the important part…. After 404 miles, I’m in love. This is my first soft top and my first truly capable off-road vehicle. I’ve owned sporty coupes, F 150, Ridgeline and a Yukon XL currently. Acceleration is great for a SUV. Slight vibration at first that I imagine is associated with the 35’s. Rides so smoothly at any speed including I 64’s 70 mph. Wind sounds like background white noise. Engine sound is not pronounced. Any engine noise I’ve heard has been a pleasant one when driving at low speed around town. Loud vehicles and motorcycles on the interstate were very noticeable though.
Be prepared to drive defensively. People stared, took photos, recorded video while driving with their toes the whole 6 hours home. One guy was trying to talk to me while videoing at 65 mph. He had to cross 5 lanes of traffic to not miss his exit ramp. Prepare yourself.
Very happy with the turning radius. Charleston has a busy downtown area. Much more pleasant driving around/ parking in the Bronco vs the Yukon XL.
Getting in and out is easy for my teenage sons and I. My wife is 5’8” and thankful for the grab handles. As stated before, the rock rails are not useful as a step. We might have AMP’s in our future.

Holding off on the off-roading until after we get back from Austin.

I plan to stay on this forum. Bronco6G gave me something positive to fixate upon during one of the more unpleasant years in human history. I can’t wait to see what everyone does with their rigs and the adventures they take them on. I’ll do my best to answer questions. I’m heading outside to clean off the bug guts. Thanks everybody!

BDubBronco

Congrats!

 

[WuNgUn]

They were considerate enough to ask if you wanted the manufacturering plastic coverings left on, but shamelessly slap on their dealer stick to the tail gate

 

[StephensAutoCenter]

They were considerate enough to ask if you wanted the manufacturering plastic coverings left on, but shamelessly slap on their dealer stick to the tail gate

The vinyl decal on the back is easily removed with no residue. All of our vehicles are decaled before they leave our lot unless the customer specifically asked they not be.... feel free to ask, we'll make every attempt to stop it from happening, however, the decals, as I said above, are easily removed with no residue or damage to the vehicles.


/john

 

[Nowherefast0294]

So awesome congrats we all are extremely jealous hahaha. But thanks for the review on highway noise that made decision to hold out for the MIC I have young kids that like to take naps on car rides.

 

[Bogeybekk]

The vinyl decal on the back is easily removed with no residue. All of our vehicles are decaled before they leave our lot unless the customer specifically asked they not be.... feel free to ask, we'll make every attempt to stop it from happening, however, the decals, as I said above, are easily removed with no residue or damage to the vehicles.


/john

John, what about the bracket for the front plate? Do we need to let you know not to install it?

 

[StephensAutoCenter]

We have them in stock and ready, just takes few minutes to get them installed. You can advise us before you get here and we'll get 'er done.



/john

 

[Mike777]

Surprise from the Wild and Wonderful State!

Short version of the story:

Black Diamond Sasquatch 4 Door 2.7 Soft Top with Mid and Tow Packages
Reserved July 13th around 10 P.M.
Ordered from Stephens Auto Center in Danville WV. Not a priority build.
Originally given 6/7/21 build date that was moved back to 6/28/21
Window Sticker Available on 6/15/21 with Blend Date of 6/22/21
Got Confirmation from Ford that Build was completed on 6/23/21. Delivery states 41 days but also has July 11 as Est. delivery date
Bonnie Arrived at Stephens Auto Center in the early morning hours 6/25/21
John Holstein from SAC calls and emails around 9 a.m. New Ford email states delivery 7/4 - 7/11.
Bonnie enters her stable 6/26/21

Long Version of the Story:

Let me start by saying how fortunate I and my family feel to have a Bronco in our garage right now. I know a lot of people are frustrated, and reading about our experience may or may not help.
If you read the “quick and dirty” version above, you have a pretty good idea of high the process played out. Not a lot of communication from Ford. When I did get email updates, they weren’t exactly accurate in regards to timing. I tried to avoid calling the dealership as much as possible, but when I did, they were very helpful.
The whole experience was a lot like having a child that took 11 months to get here. Lots of anticipation and waiting. Then boom, ready or not, her she is! We had planned to fly in to Charleston and spend 2 days driving her back. What we ended up doing was leaving our house at 3 a.m., driving 800 miles round trip with a break for lunch (Pies and Pints in Charleston) and getting home around 6 p.m. the same day. Wanted to do a bunch of photo ops, but we were in a hurry and pretty worn out. By the way, rental car companies are not doing 1 way rentals in our area, so we drove the Yukon.

Stephens Auto Center
@StephensAutoCenter

John, Jeremy, and Chase were great! John was my primary contact throughout the process. I can only imagine how exhausted he is from dealing with obsessed Bronco fan boys like me all day. Jeremy sealed the deal and made this the quickest/ easiest vehicle purchase of my life. Got a good deal on an 8 year 100k ESP warranty that I rolled into the loan. Guys in the shop did a great job cleaning her up. The dealership waited for confirmation from me prior to removing any plastic. Extremely careful and considerate! Dealership was less than 30 minutes from I-64.

Financing

We went USAA’s 1.89% @ 60 months. USAA’s rates are not normally this good, but a fortuitous advertisement caught my attention. Very easy application process. Jeremy at SAC said that USAA is great on their end too. Approval is good for 30 days. I’d say you can get the whole thing done in 48 – 72 hours. No surprises. $1000 under invoice price on my original build sheet. Doc fee is $500.

EDIT: SAC has a DOC Fee correction worked into the deal for Bronco Reservation Holders.

Insurance

Adding Bonnie as our 3rd vehicle raised our USAA insurance by $432 for 6 months.

The Ride

So the important part…. After 404 miles, I’m in love. This is my first soft top and my first truly capable off-road vehicle. I’ve owned sporty coupes, F 150, Ridgeline and a Yukon XL currently. Acceleration is great for a SUV. Slight vibration at first that I imagine is associated with the 35’s. Rides so smoothly at any speed including I 64’s 70 mph. Wind sounds like background white noise. Engine sound is not pronounced. Any engine noise I’ve heard has been a pleasant one when driving at low speed around town. Loud vehicles and motorcycles on the interstate were very noticeable though.
Be prepared to drive defensively. People stared, took photos, recorded video while driving with their toes the whole 6 hours home. One guy was trying to talk to me while videoing at 65 mph. He had to cross 5 lanes of traffic to not miss his exit ramp. Prepare yourself.
Very happy with the turning radius. Charleston has a busy downtown area. Much more pleasant driving around/ parking in the Bronco vs the Yukon XL.
Getting in and out is easy for my teenage sons and I. My wife is 5’8” and thankful for the grab handles. As stated before, the rock rails are not useful as a step. We might have AMP’s in our future.

Holding off on the off-roading until after we get back from Austin.

I plan to stay on this forum. Bronco6G gave me something positive to fixate upon during one of the more unpleasant years in human history. I can’t wait to see what everyone does with their rigs and the adventures they take them on. I’ll do my best to answer questions. I’m heading outside to clean off the bug guts. Thanks everybody!

BDubBronco

This is so similar to my build, but I do have one question. After driving it for some time what are you thoughts on the 8 inch screen? There hasnt been many reviews on it and asthetically how it looks....That was the only reason I was thinking of going Badlands, but wasn't worth it I thought after the 3k price increase. Do you feel you're missing out without the 12 inch screen?

 

[BdubBronco]

This is so similar to my build, but I do have one question. After driving it for some time what are you thoughts on the 8 inch screen? There hasnt been many reviews on it and asthetically how it looks....That was the only reason I was thinking of going Badlands, but wasn't worth it I thought after the 3k price increase. Do you feel you're missing out without the 12 inch screen?

Absolutely not. Even my 16 year old son said he liked the simplicity of the dash setup. I’m 41 and love tech, but the BD setup just feels right. Now, hard core trailing in tight spaces is not in my future. If it was, I would want all those cameras and big display. I’ve seen the big screen in person and it’s sweet, but just didn’t fit the vibe we were going for…….

 

[BdubBronco]

As I'm sure most of us will..... But what kind of gas mileage were you getting in your 404 miles lol There's no embargo here... Post it up haha

16.8. Highway. I’m running premium for now too.

 

[Mike777]

16.8. Highway. I’m running premium for now too.

Yikes was that doing 80-90 the whole way?

 

[GSchmitz]

Thanks for the write up on your experience, gives me hope. Beautiful ride. 1 question in your opinion how do you think it will be in the winter with the soft top.

 

[BdubBronco]

Thanks for the write up on your experience, gives me hope. Beautiful ride. 1 question in your opinion how do you think it will be in the winter with the soft top.

Just spent 2 days in the Texas sun in a soft top at Off-rodeo. Kept the cool air in pretty well, not sure about keeping it out.

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