Need some general information please :)

Hey guys, my name is Tori and I am working on a college project and thought I could reach out via this forum to get some general information. Below I have listed some general questions if anyone can give any input to just one of them it would be much appreciated :)

1. How does Factory Five obtain a new customer?
2. What type of processes does Factory Five use to make the ordering process easy for customers?
3. What makes a customer pick Factory Five vs. the real car or competition?
4. How long from purchase of the kit does it take for the customer to receive the product?
5. How does Factory Five assist customers with assembly of their kits?


Thanks everyone!

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Originally Posted by hotrodhotty

Hey guys, my name is Tori and I am working on a college project and thought I could reach out via this forum to get some general information. Below I have listed some general questions if anyone can give any input to just one of them it would be much appreciated :)

1. How does Factory Five obtain a new customer?
2. What type of processes does Factory Five use to make the ordering process easy for customers?
3. What makes a customer pick Factory Five vs. the real car or competition?
4. How long from purchase of the kit does it take for the customer to receive the product?
5. How does Factory Five assist customers with assembly of their kits?


Thanks everyone!

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1) Factory Five's best salesmen are it's existing customers. FFR gladly sends brochures and DVDs to existing customers and we in turn give them to anyone interested in our cars enough to strike up a conversation about it. They also advertise in car enthusiast magazines like Hot Rod and Car Builder. They travel nationally to different events throughout the year and set up big booth displays. The cars featured in their booths are sometimes local customer cars and the customers are invited to chat with new prospects. They also periodically have magazine articles published about them and will occasionally participate in TV network car enthusiast shows.
2) FFR has a online catalog with an ordering form filled with all the options for ordering a kit. They have a good technical staff that can help with ordering a kit as well.
3) FFR customers - for the most part - want to build their own cars. The price point is a lot lower than competing kits and semi-completed cars. An original Cobra is over a million dollars! A commercially built "modern" cobra frequently costs in excess of $100,000. A top-of-the-line FFR is maybe $50,000 - $60,000.
4) I'm not keen on what their current backlog is but from ordering to leaving the factory is generally about 6 weeks.
5) FFR has a dedicated Tech team that is a phone-call away. They also maintain a Tech forum here. Most of the time though a builder will simply post a question to the forum and a fellow builder will answer it. Again, FFR's best salespeople (and quickest tech support <sometimes>) are it's existing customers.

Good luck with your paper. What is the course you are taking?

:)

Thank you so much David you've helped a lot! I am taking a senior level operations management course in Massachusetts where Factory Five headquarters is located.

No problem. I did forget to mention that they maintain a presence on all relevant social media outlets. Details can be found on their website, factoryfive.com

:)

PS Oops also forgot to mention that they have partnered with Mott community college to support a three-day build school. This helps new guys without much experience learn what it takes to build one of their kits.

David pretty much summed it up.

1) I always wanted an AC Cobra, but a real one is not reasonable to obtain. I saw a nicely done Factory Five Cobra at a local car show. I was shopping around for a new Mustang, and became frustrated with the sheer amount of money I had to throw at dealers, banks, etc. I then decided to go ahead and build a kit for a much reasonable price. So reiterating what David said, it was a builder (customer) that lead me to Factory Five.
2) Free Color Brochures and an easy to navigate website. All the information is right there in front of you; they tell you what you get, and tell you what you need to get. Easy.
3) Kit cars are notorious for being "bad" in regards to their looks/appeal. Factory Five had favorable reviews by popular magazines. After visiting the forums, and experiencing the community here, I was sold on a FF Kit. The community surrounding the building of these kits is incredibly friendly and helpful. I've really never experienced anything like it actually. And from this as well, I learned (probably biased opinions) that Factory Five's kits were real quality. The price was competitive and often less than other kit makers.
4) The completion of the kits is probably within a month...delivery is something else. The buyer gets to choose the delivery method, and this affects the acquisition date.
5) I've read/used both Factory Five's forum and the forums on FFCars.com (which is dedicated to FFR kits mainly). You are quick to get an answer to any question on these forums. For me, calling the factory can be a little bit of a pain, since there is a three hour difference in time. This isn't Factory Five's fault, and each time that I have called them ... I received a warm body to speak to, before the 3rd ring of the phone.

Thank you!

Hey David, you wouldn't know how many total cars the company has sold by any chance?

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Originally Posted by hotrodhotty

Hey David, you wouldn't know how many total cars the company has sold by any chance?

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Not sure, but if I had to guess I'd say it's probably between 9,000 - 10,000 kits total, across all models. If you call FFR they may have a better idea.

Guessing here...
7500 Roadsters
200 Challenge Series Roadsters
500 Hot Rods
500 GTMs
300 Type 65 Coupes
400 818s
41 Type 65 Spyders

Quote:

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Originally Posted by David Hodgkins

Not sure, but if I had to guess I'd say it's probably between 9,000 - 10,000 kits total, across all models. If you call FFR they may have a better idea.

Guessing here...
7500 Roadsters
200 Challenge Series Roadsters
500 Hot Rods <> Hot Rod #799 has been sold so that should be a closer number for those
500 GTMs
300 Type 65 Coupes
400 818s
41 Type 65 Spyders

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David
I fixed the 33 quantity for you
Dale Hemi 33