[davidw]

I have been busy complaining to all and sundry about ordering on the 3rd March and getting week 26 production.


The recent VW response was priceless:

<<

Thank you for your most recent email dated 24 May 2012.

I can understand your disappointment with this matter and I aplogise for the inconvenience caused.

Your vehicle order was placed on 13 March and was accepted by the Factory in the same week. At the time of placing the order, the lead time of 12 weeks supplied by the retailer was an estimate and is subject to change, mainly due to supply and demand.

However, I can confirm that your vehicle has been upgraded from model year 12 to model year 13.

I trust this information proves useful.

Thank you for contacting Volkswagen UK.

>>



I don't think that VW understand that information flows more freely these days

 

[Vdoug]

The year 13 model has a few extra features on it such as Hill Hold Control etc, so all in all a bit of a result for you there.

 

[idletony]

even so, its a **** of a wait from placing an order at the begining of March.
VW need to do better for customers like this, who have shown a lot of faith placing an early order

 

[willowaz]

lol, seems they didnt understand your complaint at the fact that its too long to wait and why it was so long...

i guess the new model is an up side... (sorry couldnt not use that pun.!)

 

[M5 SUT]

Our order date was 10th of march and build week 21 so I can see why you're a bit Pxxxxd OFF!

 

[davidw]

There were 2 bits that annoyed me:-
<<the lead time of 12 weeks supplied by the retailer was an estimate and is subject to change, mainly due to supply and demand.>>



However it is clear from comments on the forum that it is the individual dealers "supply and demand"



<< I can confirm that your vehicle has been upgraded from model year 12 to model year 13>>



Which is them trying to make a positive spin on a late delivery.



I will have waited almost 5 months by time that the car is ready for collection, however it is the lack of honesty that I dislike most.

 

[911sse]

It's time to get the freebies. Service Pack, Mats, fuel and more...

 

[Leif]

There were 2 bits that annoyed me:-
<<the lead time of 12 weeks supplied by the retailer was an estimate and is subject to change, mainly due to supply and demand.>>



However it is clear from comments on the forum that it is the individual dealers "supply and demand"



<< I can confirm that your vehicle has been upgraded from model year 12 to model year 13>>



Which is them trying to make a positive spin on a late delivery.



I will have waited almost 5 months by time that the car is ready for collection, however it is the lack of honesty that I dislike most.

Then contact VW and tell them why you are unhappy. Tell them you know other people who ordered after you, and are waiting much less time. Tell them you think their response to you was dishonest, and that it is not up to the standard you expect from VW. Tell them you do not like being given false information, and you will consider cancelling the order if they do not explain why your order has been delayed for so long, compared to other people. If you don't tell them, they won't know why you are unhappy, and will think you accept their brush off. The Gods help those who help themselves.

Last year I was screwed by a Ford garage. They refused to show me the MOT certificate, and when I eventually got to see it, after paying for repair, I discovered that at least half the faults were advisories. It was very very hard to get hold of that certificate, and the third time I tried, I shouted very loudly until he gave me it. So a year later when I bought my brand new Up, I sent a photocopy of the sales receipt, and an explanation of why I will never deal with them again. A few days later a chap in big Ford and a salesman suit drove by, and peered closely at the number on my house, and clocked the Up in the drive. It could be that the assistant I dealt with got a carpeting, as he made a short term gain, but lost a potential new car sale, and subsequent servicing as they are just up the road from me.

 

[yapmaul]

My delay hasn't been quite as long as this (ordered 16 march build week now week 25) but I emailed VW a few days ago to ask them to explain how they decide who gets what when. The response so far has been two calls to my mobile which I think must have been from them (number withheld). I'm very underwhelmed by the experience of buying a new VW so far and will tell them so eventually.

 

[tweeter1980]

Well we ordered our High Up last weekend and were told that there was one on the system and should be able to get at it for the second week of June, which we thought was very optimistic. We were also told by the salesman would call and let us know if the finance was successful and would give us a delivery date. Well by yesterday we had heard nothing so I gave them a call and was told oh yes the finance was fine but we may only now get a car in July. From what I knew from a lot of people no matter what manufacturer you go for there is usually a 12 week wait for new cars.I will keep all informed. I hope it is soon because me getting a new job does all come down to me having wheels.

 

[vwild1]

I will have waited almost 5 months by time that the car is ready for collection, however it is the lack of honesty that I dislike most.

I ordered mine the very first day the up was available here in Switzerland (Feb. 25), the dealer told me straight up it would take about 5 months for the car to arrive. It arrived a week short of 3 months. The dealer said he was hoping it would arrive in 3 months but he didn't tell me that because he didn't want me to be disappointed if it actually did take the full 5. It's honesty like that that has kept me a loyal customer of this particular dealership nearly 10 years now and many more to come.

 

[techwork]

My up! White was to take 2 weeks and actually has taken 4 weeks (nothing like the waits on here of course but still it's DOUBLE what they told me) This was very annoying as I told VW that I needed a car soon as I'd sold my old car and couldn't be carless for too long.

They also could NOT tell me exactly when it'd arrive - they said it was to arrive last Monday and it only arrived today.

I can track a parcel for a few pounds online....why can't they track and work out where a car is and when it'll be delivered????

 

[Leif]

My up! White was to take 2 weeks and actually has taken 4 weeks (nothing like the waits on here of course but still it's DOUBLE what they told me) This was very annoying as I told VW that I needed a car soon as I'd sold my old car and couldn't be carless for too long.

They also could NOT tell me exactly when it'd arrive - they said it was to arrive last Monday and it only arrived today.

I can track a parcel for a few pounds online....why can't they track and work out where a car is and when it'll be delivered????

I wrote some of the software that Parcel Force use to track parcels. That was 15 years ago, when I was at IBM. It was a large project, costing a lot of money. It needed both software and hardware. When parcels are moved, they are scanned, and the status is updated. For VW to track cars they would need to have installed appropriate tracking software and hardware, and trained staff to use it. I suspect that these days you can buy off the shelf software and hardware, so it is not that expensive. Still, it does require investment. If they get lots of "Where is dearest Daisy" requests, they might well think it worth spending a fortune to track 'Daisy'.

Me, I'm just a cynic. I buy a car as I buy a fridge or a spade. Perhaps I should assign it a gender, and a name, such as Whoopsy.

 

[techwork]

...but why shouldn't they get requests from buyers as to where their car IS?

When I'm spending thousands of pounds on something I'd quite like to know when it's going to arrive.....

These forums show that buyers do want this info....

 

[yapmaul]

I think they can get away with it because most people buy a brand new car only rarely, and usually they don't have this kind of wait. If they do have to wait, as we all have, they're so pleased to get the car that they forget what they wait was like. Doesn't make it right of course - or any easier to wait!

 

[kirstyr]

Ford quoted my uncle a wait of 5 months for an automatic new car the other day... the 9 week wait for my up! seems insignificant compared to that. (i was quoted 12 weeks by my dealer, who was totally upfront about the situation)

 

[tweeter1980]

I guess it is expected with a car that was built from the ground up. I saw my 3rd white coloured up on the road this afternoon on the way to Newhaven, just can't wait for ours. I have heard rumours that one or two of the Skoda Counterpart the Citigo have been spotted on the road now. Our dealer still says that well if you have the Skoda badge there is still stigma but I think he might have just been wanting the deal because I know people who owned VW then when car change time went for Skoda and were happier with the service and believe their Skodas to be of far better overall build quality. We chose the VW because the Citigo was not yet available to test drive.

 

[Manacee]

The Skoda Citigo, Seat Mii and VW up! are all built in Bratislava so I wouldn't expect any difference in build quality for these cars. I do, however, wonder whether the increasing build delays are due to up! demand or possibly the ramping up of production of the other two?

Not heard a bad word about Skoda and I can't believe that there would still be a stigma as they've been quality for a good few years. Styling on some models might be an issue though (as per the new Ibiza from Seat!).

 

[tweeter1980]

Seems like the interior of most of the Seat these days seem pretty poor though.

 

[MarkyMark]

Patience is a virtue and the up! is worth the wait. I ordered in January and didn't get mine until April 28th. I do feel for you with the wait but have no regrets in holding out