- First Name
- Jeff
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2022
- Threads
- 17
- Messages
- 502
- Reaction score
- 1,233
- Location
- Out of the country until late 2025
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Bronco Badlands
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
I've been one of the folks waiting patiently for years, watching Bronco concept vehicles teased at auto shows, reading the print and online articles about the Bronco development. Anxiously awaiting the day Ford made it official that the Bronco was actually returning. My first Bronco was a 1973, midnight blue metallic with a 302 and 3spd on the column. At its end of life there was more daylight showing through the rusted out body and floorboards then through the windows themselves, but that thing would go anywhere and do anything. When the Bronco release became official, I was, like most people, ecstatic. I could finally have a Bronco again.
When the reservation banks opened, I was one of many that were jammed in the online traffic and unable to get there. As such, I ended up being a day 4 reservation holder... having booked a 2 door, antimatter blue Wildtrak.. I did a screenshot from Build and Price which has been my "desktop" on my home and work computers every day since.. giving me the opportunity to dream a little during some downtime. Unfortunately, my reservation automatically linked to my closest dealership, Malloy Ford in Winchester, VA. A dealership I've known all my life, under various names, with the level of service declining each time the dealership changed hands. It's ok, I thought, all I need to do is to get them to push the paper through. I'll suck it up. That changed starting September 2020 when my 2018 Raptor needed warranty work. over the course of 3 months they destroyed my truck trying to fix it and refused to make it right in any way. That's a story for another time, but bottom line is that I despise them so much for how they handled the situation I won't so much as buy a bottle of water from the vending machine in the customer lounge. I cancelled my order with extreme prejudice, vowing to not give them a dime, or another minute of my time. I was beyond dejected.
As COVID ran rampant and the deliveries became delayed, I was less frustrated. I knew it was going to be years before I got my Bronco and had accepted an overseas assignment that was going to take me away until late 2022 anyway. It all works out I told myself. And then we evacuated my post on 30 Aug 2021. So here I was. No assignment. No Bronco. I continued to watch and read of the issues in delivery. The incessant delays. The MIC recall. The 2.7 engine issues. Maybe its all for the better that Malloy destroyed my Raptor and I cancelled my order I tried to convince myself.
As I continued to watch and read, I also passed the time doing nationwide searches for available vehicles. Seeing more and more Broncos on the road and on dealer's lots I began to have a little more faith that the delivery system was improving. I'll try again, I told myself. So in November 2021 I walked into a dealership (that was NOT Malloy Ford) and proclaimed "I'm here to order my Bronco!!" Only to find that antimatter blue had been discontinued. Bad Karma is my callsign for a reason I told myself as I hung my head and walked from the dealership and climbed into my recently purchased Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe (having sold my previous Jeep in preparation for my recent "overcome by events" overseas assignment.)
As nights passed and we began a new year, I continued to read, dream, and search. Finding Broncos that were available on dealers lots that would do, but not exactly what I wanted. Found one that was close to what I would have ordered, in Carbonized Grey (the same color as the previously deceased Raptor, although they called it "Magnetic" then.) It was a relatively short drive away. Looked promising. And then the fine print revealed the markups. Nope. Not happening. The Jeep will just have to do (at least until my wife takes it on HER overseas assignment later this spring anyway.) I needed to find something.
And then it happened. At 0238 EST on 22 February 2022, I found my Bronco. It's as close to what I had originally reserved as anything I'd ever seen. Two door. Antimatter Blue. Lux Package. Sasquatch, Leather. It's a Badlands instead of a WildTrak, but I was on the fence initially anyway between the two and the Badlands could not be perceived at all as settling. The dealership's custom shop had done some basic mods (Ford Performance fender flares, FP hood scoop, leveling kit. Some Fuel wheels with Nitto Ridge Grapplers.) It, in my eyes was damn near perfect. I called. It was available. Talked to them a little more. Damn... some markups, but they worked with me.
Bottom line: I pick it up tomorrow.
For all the trials and tribulations that it took to get to this point, It seems like I'll be getting 99.8% what I was looking for, for the price I wanted, and likely a year or more earlier than had I waited on my original reservation/order. Hang in there folks. I know it sucks, more than words can fully describe. But there's reasons for it, and things will work out. Whether that means they get back to the normal parts vendors instead of whoever they can find that can make stuff. Whether that means they change things up to where they add something you like better. Or ultimately put out a better, more reliable product, It will happen.
Don't lose faith yet.
When the reservation banks opened, I was one of many that were jammed in the online traffic and unable to get there. As such, I ended up being a day 4 reservation holder... having booked a 2 door, antimatter blue Wildtrak.. I did a screenshot from Build and Price which has been my "desktop" on my home and work computers every day since.. giving me the opportunity to dream a little during some downtime. Unfortunately, my reservation automatically linked to my closest dealership, Malloy Ford in Winchester, VA. A dealership I've known all my life, under various names, with the level of service declining each time the dealership changed hands. It's ok, I thought, all I need to do is to get them to push the paper through. I'll suck it up. That changed starting September 2020 when my 2018 Raptor needed warranty work. over the course of 3 months they destroyed my truck trying to fix it and refused to make it right in any way. That's a story for another time, but bottom line is that I despise them so much for how they handled the situation I won't so much as buy a bottle of water from the vending machine in the customer lounge. I cancelled my order with extreme prejudice, vowing to not give them a dime, or another minute of my time. I was beyond dejected.
As COVID ran rampant and the deliveries became delayed, I was less frustrated. I knew it was going to be years before I got my Bronco and had accepted an overseas assignment that was going to take me away until late 2022 anyway. It all works out I told myself. And then we evacuated my post on 30 Aug 2021. So here I was. No assignment. No Bronco. I continued to watch and read of the issues in delivery. The incessant delays. The MIC recall. The 2.7 engine issues. Maybe its all for the better that Malloy destroyed my Raptor and I cancelled my order I tried to convince myself.
As I continued to watch and read, I also passed the time doing nationwide searches for available vehicles. Seeing more and more Broncos on the road and on dealer's lots I began to have a little more faith that the delivery system was improving. I'll try again, I told myself. So in November 2021 I walked into a dealership (that was NOT Malloy Ford) and proclaimed "I'm here to order my Bronco!!" Only to find that antimatter blue had been discontinued. Bad Karma is my callsign for a reason I told myself as I hung my head and walked from the dealership and climbed into my recently purchased Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe (having sold my previous Jeep in preparation for my recent "overcome by events" overseas assignment.)
As nights passed and we began a new year, I continued to read, dream, and search. Finding Broncos that were available on dealers lots that would do, but not exactly what I wanted. Found one that was close to what I would have ordered, in Carbonized Grey (the same color as the previously deceased Raptor, although they called it "Magnetic" then.) It was a relatively short drive away. Looked promising. And then the fine print revealed the markups. Nope. Not happening. The Jeep will just have to do (at least until my wife takes it on HER overseas assignment later this spring anyway.) I needed to find something.
And then it happened. At 0238 EST on 22 February 2022, I found my Bronco. It's as close to what I had originally reserved as anything I'd ever seen. Two door. Antimatter Blue. Lux Package. Sasquatch, Leather. It's a Badlands instead of a WildTrak, but I was on the fence initially anyway between the two and the Badlands could not be perceived at all as settling. The dealership's custom shop had done some basic mods (Ford Performance fender flares, FP hood scoop, leveling kit. Some Fuel wheels with Nitto Ridge Grapplers.) It, in my eyes was damn near perfect. I called. It was available. Talked to them a little more. Damn... some markups, but they worked with me.
Bottom line: I pick it up tomorrow.
For all the trials and tribulations that it took to get to this point, It seems like I'll be getting 99.8% what I was looking for, for the price I wanted, and likely a year or more earlier than had I waited on my original reservation/order. Hang in there folks. I know it sucks, more than words can fully describe. But there's reasons for it, and things will work out. Whether that means they get back to the normal parts vendors instead of whoever they can find that can make stuff. Whether that means they change things up to where they add something you like better. Or ultimately put out a better, more reliable product, It will happen.
Don't lose faith yet.
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