Late delivery

[RandomX]

i dont think i'd ever wait for a car to be delivered, i'm too impatient...

every car ive purchased is off the lot, or brand new out of the showroom... (thank christ)

when i purchased the polo gti there was a 14 month wait for the same car... luckily i came across a cancelled order

the dealer would be best over estimating the delivery... then when the customer gets it early, the dealer is a hero!

cheers,

josh

[richokinetic]

How long have you been waiting for the car in total? Weeks? Months?
Also, shame on the dealer for not using their head, and explaining the 31/12 is a tough time of year - that's the worst week of the year to get anything done that relies on other people and businesses

[Lemonskin]

Ah so it was an estimated time? Then you don't have any recourse really.

Personally, If I was quoted 31/12 as a delivery date I wouldn't be expecting delivery then. Its a nightmare time and many poeple are on holidays anyway. Mid Jan would have been my bet

[AC74]

I feel for you Nugget! My car arrived in the country on Friday and is sitting in the Patricks yard with probably a couple of thousand other cars awaiting compliance and delivery to the dealer. My contract doesn't even have an Estimated Delivery Date on it - one of the conditions of sale that I stipulated was that delivery to me must occur in January or February 2013 (ordered July 2012) and this is printed on the contract. Unless something goes drastically wrong they will hit just about dead centre of that delivery window.

My salesperson has been brilliant and she's been more than happy to provide information (VIN and engine no. so I could stalk my car using Vessel Tracker/Marine Traffic) and answer all of my annoying questions. She's also been very good at managing my expectations regarding delivery date and hasn't wavered from their official line that it will be a maximum period of four weeks from arrival in the country to delivery to me. I'm hoping it will be here in three weeks and she hopes that will happen for me but has never suggested it will.

I think what has happened in your case is that your salesman has been a little careless in not recognising your expectations and explaining what the Estimated Delivery Date on the contract means and what the variables are, which is a shame. That said, if the exchange you provided is verbatim I don't think it reflects particularly well on the salesman and is in stark contrast to the communications I've received. It's a snapshot without a lot of context though so I don't want to be too hard on the guy. We all have a crap day now and again and perhaps aren't as helpful as we could be.

Anyway, I'm sure once you actually get your car the extra waiting time will be forgotten as you'll be having too much fun!

Congrats on your new Polo when you do get it (I'll still be waiting, dammit!) and make sure you post some photos.

Cheers, Andy

[2muchcoffeeman]

Unless your contract states a delivery date, it's subject to variation and you have to cop it. It's currently a week beyond ETA and you're coming down like a tonne of bricks?

It's holiday time. Chill, grab a beer and a swim. Stop whinging.

[reww]

I got my polo from the exact same place as you are getting yours. But my situation was the exact opposite. They caught me completely off guard about 3 weeks before the due date and called me its ready for pick up.

[AC74]

Come on guys, ease up a bit. It's easy to tell someone else they're being unreasonable when the car you want is in your garage and the keys are in your pocket.

Nugget, I think you're well within your rights to ask questions. I'd be disappointed too if I was led or allowed to believe I would have my car on a certain date and it didn't happen and it was up to me to find out what was going on. It's not your fault if no one has explained to you how it works and what might happen to affect the actual delivery date.

The other posters make valid points about delays being within normal tolerances and they're spot on that there's really nothing the dealer can do, but you should be hearing that from your sales person, not us.

What are you supposed to do, sit around and wait for the call? How long until you ring them - a month? Don't think so.

Play nice with your sales guy, be polite but firm and make sure he understands what you expect. Ask him to call you on an agreed day for an update - I don't think that's unreasonable. I got an unsolicited update from my salesperson on 2 January just to let me know nothing had changed and they were expecting to have the car very late January. A two minute email with no news still makes a customer feel looked after.

[pologti18t]

Some people will whinge about anything... The salesman gave the answer to the original question. "It should be here in 2 weeks". It was the OP who continued the whinge after that. And judging by the OP's post it was all done by texting (how very modern and impersonal)

Have a look in your contract.... you have no recourse for quite a few more than 1-2 week past the ETD.

Oh, just read the OPs first ever post... he bought the car on the 26/12/12. So he hasn't had to wait much at all.

[AC74]

Some people will whinge about anything... The salesman gave the answer to the original question. "It should be here in 2 weeks". It was the OP who continued the whinge after that. And judging by the OP's post it was all done by texting (how very modern and impersonal)

Have a look in your contract.... you have no recourse for quite a few more than 1-2 week past the ETD.

Oh, just read the OPs first ever post... he bought the car on the 26/12/12. So he hasn't had to wait much at all.

I'll agree with you on one point, communicating by text can make you sound like a whinger even if you're not. Save it for people who know you well enough not to misinterpret what you're on about - like your partner/ spouse, because they would never misinterpret a txt and blow up at you

[ill0gitech]

the dealer would be best over estimating the delivery... then when the customer gets it early, the dealer is a hero!

I do this at work - but the problem in business is if you say [x+hero delay] and some other dealer says [x] or even [x-BS] then you're first dealer may lose business.

I see two issues here - the delay - it happens, and not much you can do.
The attitude - Given one side of the conversation we've seen, it's not great customer service. If I felt the salesperson didn't give a crap anymore, and felt I wasn't being treated well, I'd speak to the manager - in person, or at the very least, by phone.

I work in customer service, and don't tolerate ****ty sales staff - but in my experience, someone who is very apologetic may sound like a tool in email and SMS - it's hard to get the context, mood, and emotion from a few SMSs