New T6.1 order delays

[Begize]

Previously on "where is my van?"

Ocean 150 ordered 30th June 2021
Dealer says that on 1st June, system shows Status 20 - Week 20 (had done since early May and still does afaik)
Received an email on 3rd July from VW to say van was in production

Today I decided to try VW Customer Services via chat. Explain dealer is getting no info because factory not updating systems correctly atm.

Told they cannot access the factory system and to contact dealer for information on what is causing the problem.

Explain that have done this and dealer getting no information is the problem.

Get standard copy and paste response about issues getting parts.

Explain that I know what the issues are, I want an update on my order which the dealer cannot give as they don't have any information.

Told to contact dealer.

Explain again I have already done this several times and they cannot give me information they don't have. This is not good enough and I want someone to do something.

Finally they tell me there is an "escalation process" the dealers have with VWCV directly via the Sales Manager / Senior Team at the dealers and that (copied from transcript) "It would confirm what the reason of delay is and if you're eligible for any goodwill, as if you are these will confirm the process of this and if not they will provide you with your options."

They said once this is done they (Customer Service) "can follow this up at a later date".

So I've chased the dealer again and politely asked for an escalation.

 

[couplands]

Previously on "where is my van?"

Ocean 150 ordered 30th June 2021
Dealer says that on 1st June, system shows Status 20 - Week 20 (had done since early May and still does afaik)
Received an email on 3rd July from VW to say van was in production

Today I decided to try VW Customer Services via chat. Explain dealer is getting no info because factory not updating systems correctly atm.

Told they cannot access the factory system and to contact dealer for information on what is causing the problem.

Explain that have done this and dealer getting no information is the problem.

Get standard copy and paste response about issues getting parts.

Explain that I know what the issues are, I want an update on my order which the dealer cannot give as they don't have any information.

Told to contact dealer.

Explain again I have already done this several times and they cannot give me information they don't have. This is not good enough and I want someone to do something.

Finally they tell me there is an "escalation process" the dealers have with VWCV directly via the Sales Manager / Senior Team at the dealers and that (copied from transcript) "It would confirm what the reason of delay is and if you're eligible for any goodwill, as if you are these will confirm the process of this and if not they will provide you with your options."

They said once this is done they (Customer Service) "can follow this up at a later date".

So I've chased the dealer again and politely asked for an escalation.

I’m pretty sure the tow bar is the cause of our delay build (started wk20 18th May), so I’ll ask for an escalation as per your note. Thanks for that.

 

[Begize]

I’m pretty sure the tow bar is the cause of our delay build (started wk20 18th May), so I’ll ask for an escalation as per your note. Thanks for that.

Good luck. I emailed my dealer this afternoon, no reply as yet. TBH he's not replied to the last three emails I sent, his last reply being a quite terse words to the effect of "I have no more information, I will contact you if this changes".

Feels like I'm banging my head on a brick wall.

 

[two-saabs]

I’m pretty sure the tow bar is the cause of our delay build (started wk20 18th May), so I’ll ask for an escalation as per your note. Thanks for that.

Don’t mean to mudder the waters here but we have a towbar and there was no real hold-up from being built to being in my hands, about 6 weeks

 

[couplands]

Good luck. I emailed my dealer this afternoon, no reply as yet. TBH he's not replied to the last three emails I sent, his last reply being a quite terse words to the effect of "I have no more information, I will contact you if this changes".

Feels like I'm banging my head on a brick wall.

I've just emailed the dealer with the "escalation request" and got an "out-of-office" until Monday 18th July - at which point it will have been 2 months since the van went into build. Based on transport timescales, its likely to be another 4 weeks on top of that at best, before we see it.

The only time I hear from the dealer is when I contact them, I'd feel a whole lot better if they gave me a regular contact - even if it was to say still stuck because of "xyz" issue. I was going to order from SMG Tonbridge as I heard good things about them, wish I had now.

The other issue is that the trade-in value of our car is dropping fast, so that's adding to my frustration!

Aaaaaargh......rant over (for two mins)...;-)

 

[couplands]

Don’t mean to mudder the waters here but we have a towbar and there was no real hold-up from being built to being in my hands, about 6 weeks

To be honest, I'm clutching at straws as ours is a fairly standard Ocean 150, it could be any part in the vehicle that's in short supply. But I have seen others with deliveries already that started build after ours and the only part I could find that was different was the tow bar. With the lack of info from the dealer I have no idea what the holdup is. They said it went into build 18th May, but I've no idea if it did or not.

When did yours start build..?

I guess someone will have had the last part (towbar or any other item) at some point, so the next in line will be stuck waiting.

 

[Begize]

I've just emailed the dealer with the "escalation request" and got an "out-of-office" until Monday 18th July - at which point it will have been 2 months since the van went into build. Based on transport timescales, its likely to be another 4 weeks on top of that at best, before we see it.

The only time I hear from the dealer is when I contact them, I'd feel a whole lot better if they gave me a regular contact - even if it was to say still stuck because of "xyz" issue. I was going to order from SMG Tonbridge as I heard good things about them, wish I had now.

The other issue is that the trade-in value of our car is dropping fast, so that's adding to my frustration!

Aaaaaargh......rant over (for two mins)...;-)

Have a rant - better out than in as they say!

My car is leased and I've had to arrange for it to go back on 1st August as trying to extend it would have meant a minimum 3 month extension at £320 a month (paying £200 atm) and a service at about £350. So, assuming no van by then, I'll be vehicle less.

I've already cancelled two festivals I had planned in the van - one part of a three week trip to Europe with friends. I've re-arranged another, having to use my tent instead of the camper and let down more friends I promised to give the tent to and potentially have to cancel another in August as I'll have no way to even get a tent there. I'll probably lose about £500 in tickets I can't use, but it's mainly that my whole summer is now more or less cancelled and I've had to let friends down. I've done my best to rearrange, resell and even donate the tickets to other people, but VW's inability to perform simple communication means I'm having to wait to the very last minute for everything and that's causing more stress all around.

Don’t mean to mudder the waters here but we have a towbar and there was no real hold-up from being built to being in my hands, about 6 weeks

Yep agreed - seen loads of vans coming through with tow bars around the dates ours went into build and even after. My theory is it's the Terrissina alloys as I haven't seen any coming through with those on but could be they've now arrived and they've run out of side assist bits, tow bars or green paint. To be honest, I don't care what it is, I know there are problems, I'd just like someone in the VW factory to spend a couple of minutes typing something into a computer.

We're not asking for the moon on a stick, just some simple information that they must have somewhere.

 

[couplands]

Have a rant - better out than in as they say!

My car is leased and I've had to arrange for it to go back on 1st August as trying to extend it would have meant a minimum 3 month extension at £320 a month (paying £200 atm) and a service at about £350. So, assuming no van by then, I'll be vehicle less.

I've already cancelled two festivals I had planned in the van - one part of a three week trip to Europe with friends. I've re-arranged another, having to use my tent instead of the camper and let down more friends I promised to give the tent to and potentially have to cancel another in August as I'll have no way to even get a tent there. I'll probably lose about £500 in tickets I can't use, but it's mainly that my whole summer is now more or less cancelled and I've had to let friends down. I've done my best to rearrange, resell and even donate the tickets to other people, but VW's inability to perform simple communication means I'm having to wait to the very last minute for everything and that's causing more stress all around.


Yep agreed - seen loads of vans coming through with tow bars around the dates ours went into build and even after. My theory is it's the Terrissina alloys as I haven't seen any coming through with those on but could be they've now arrived and they've run out of side assist bits, tow bars or green paint. To be honest, I don't care what it is, I know there are problems, I'd just like someone in the VW factory to spend a couple of minutes typing something into a computer.

We're not asking for the moon on a stick, just some simple information that they must have somewhere.

Wow, you’ve had a rough ride. I still have a car and a tent so going away in that ( even away next Sunday - Wednesday in the heat..!).

I too have specced Teresina wheels, so I can add that to my theory of what’s delaying it. I’d take it with steel wheels and fit the alloys later.

Will be interesting to see if either of us get any feedback on the escalation request. I’ll keep you posted.

 

[PhilR]

Good luck. I emailed my dealer this afternoon, no reply as yet. TBH he's not replied to the last three emails I sent, his last reply being a quite terse words to the effect of "I have no more information, I will contact you if this changes".

Feels like I'm banging my head on a brick wall.

Sounds a bit like my dealer. Not much information at all and no replies to some emails. A shame when you’re spending close to £70k. Last new vehicle we bought was a BMW and the process was completely different from start to finish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (which annoyed some people on here) but VW are nowhere near the quality of BMW and the customer service is very poor in comparison. (Our previous car was a Passat company car so we have experience with VW). If only BMW made a Campervan…..

 

[Corradobrit]

Sounds a bit like my dealer. Not much information at all and no replies to some emails. A shame when you’re spending close to £70k. Last new vehicle we bought was a BMW and the process was completely different from start to finish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (which annoyed some people on here) but VW are nowhere near the quality of BMW and the customer service is very poor in comparison. (Our previous car was a Passat company car so we have experience with VW). If only BMW made a Campervan…..

With the way BMW are going, if they made a Campervan I could see them charging a subscription to raise the pop top or roll out the lower bed......

 

[Van Diesel VW]

The other issue is that the trade-in value of our car is dropping fast, so that's adding to my frustration!

Have a similar concern that trade in values are dropping faster than I would like, particularly with new registration number change in September. Just hope that hold up for another few months.

 

[Richi]

I've just emailed the dealer with the "escalation request" and got an "out-of-office" until Monday 18th July - at which point it will have been 2 months since the van went into build. Based on transport timescales, its likely to be another 4 weeks on top of that at best, before we see it.

The only time I hear from the dealer is when I contact them, I'd feel a whole lot better if they gave me a regular contact - even if it was to say still stuck because of "xyz" issue. I was going to order from SMG Tonbridge as I heard good things about them, wish I had now.

The other issue is that the trade-in value of our car is dropping fast, so that's adding to my frustration!

Aaaaaargh......rant over (for two mins)...;-)

I feel for you guys. There is plenty of unexplained delays with many orders. Our Beach order went into build 18th May(build week 20). Was in build for nearly 4 weeks. No tow bar, no side assist. Then I had promissing email from my dealer that our Cali is status 30(awaiting transport from factory). Boom. To early excitement. Another 4 weeks same status. Can’t get in to my had why it was sitting somewhere for 4 weeks after it was built. I’m sure plenty of Californias with build week 20 already done hundreds or even thousands of miles. Me, zero. Luckily our Beach is already with the dealer but we are going on holiday so won’t be able to pick it up next week. But 5th of August I’ll be first by the door before they open.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

https://www.thelocal.de/20220714/shipping-disruption-expected-as-german-port-workers-strike/

 

[Begize]

Sounds a bit like my dealer. Not much information at all and no replies to some emails. A shame when you’re spending close to £70k. Last new vehicle we bought was a BMW and the process was completely different from start to finish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (which annoyed some people on here) but VW are nowhere near the quality of BMW and the customer service is very poor in comparison. (Our previous car was a Passat company car so we have experience with VW). If only BMW made a Campervan…..

Would agree - I've only ever bought one car before this from new in my life and that was a Mazda. Even they were better than VW (and they weren't amazing).

Obviously atm I understand there have been problems caused by things outside of their control and the situation is still far from normal. There's an argument to say that VW (and many other manufacturers) have not learned lessons from the past such as Fukushima and strengthened their supply chain accordingly.

Regardless, and on a CS level certainly, none of this stops someone picking up a phone, sending an email or just updating a computer system.

 

[Begize]

Wow, you’ve had a rough ride. I still have a car and a tent so going away in that ( even away next Sunday - Wednesday in the heat..!).

I too have specced Teresina wheels, so I can add that to my theory of what’s delaying it. I’d take it with steel wheels and fit the alloys later.

Will be interesting to see if either of us get any feedback on the escalation request. I’ll keep you posted.

First world problems I know - some people on here have been waiting nearly twice as long as us for vans and lots of people can't even afford to eat atm, never mind go on holiday.

I've been lucky this year - managed a couple of trips away by plane, admittedly still trying to settle insurance and compensation claims for both, but then isn't everyone?!

I have a car and a tent atm, I'm doing a festival next weekend with those, my friends who I promised the tent to will have to share. It will be cosy but doable, the £80 I spent on camper pass is money wasted but heh. After that, I'll be car less but I'll manage. I work from home mainly, have a cycle and can get to the office on that if I need to. I can walk to a local supermarket, might even use my festival trolley to bring my shopping back!

At this time I've had no reply to my escalation request either. If I'm honest, I'm not expecting one. I've had too many sleepless nights getting mad at the lack of info and trying to plan as many scenarios as I can for whatever might happen. It's stuff I can't control so I try to put it to the back of my mind and look on the bright side. All the stuff I wanted to do this year will still be there next.

 

[TwoTone-BayLeaf]

I’ve contacted Eurovans by email after reading this (as we ordered exactly the same time) and the message from @AlanThom2022! but I’ve not heard anything. Can I just ask if you both had the towbar or towbar prep with your orders? We ordered towbar prep.

I didn't order towbar or prep

 

[two-saabs]

To be honest, I'm clutching at straws as ours is a fairly standard Ocean 150, it could be any part in the vehicle that's in short supply. But I have seen others with deliveries already that started build after ours and the only part I could find that was different was the tow bar. With the lack of info from the dealer I have no idea what the holdup is. They said it went into build 18th May, but I've no idea if it did or not.

When did yours start build..?

I guess someone will have had the last part (towbar or any other item) at some point, so the next in line will be stuck waiting.

I hear ‘ya… here are my key dates:

August 2021 = Ordered, original eta end of Jan

Sometime in the new year = Build week changes, comes, goes, dealer estimates 3 month delay

Beginning of April = Email from dealer with a build week 18 / beginning of May

May 3rd = I logged in to the VW connect online site and see I have a VIN number

1 week later = Dealer says he predicts mid June in my hands

June 10th = Dealers says it’s coming through customs

June 13th = Dealer confirms it’s near by and we arranged pickup 18th June

June 18th = Pick up ! All good

Note mine is a LHD Beach (Edition Spirit) ordered and received in Switzerland, quite a few options like electric roof, electric driver seat, heater, towbar, fancy seat cover upgrade, white…

for a better investigation I could list every option from the signed order sheet, but then would need everyone to do the same + their times to see if there are any patterns.

Not sure how far we want to go here, but let me know if there’s more info I can give.

So if we use my timeline as a benchmark you’re 3 weeks behind me which would mean delivery now

 

[Begize]

I hear ‘ya… here are my key dates:

August 2021 = Ordered, original eta end of Jan

Sometime in the new year = Build week changes, comes, goes, dealer estimates 3 month delay

Beginning of April = Email from dealer with a build week 18 / beginning of May

May 3rd = I logged in to the VW connect online site and see I have a VIN number

1 week later = Dealer says he predicts mid June in my hands

June 10th = Dealers says it’s coming through customs

June 13th = Dealer confirms it’s near by and we arranged pickup 18th June

June 18th = Pick up ! All good

Note mine is a LHD Beach (Edition Spirit) ordered and received in Switzerland, quite a few options like electric roof, electric driver seat, heater, towbar, fancy seat cover upgrade, white…

for a better investigation I could list every option from the signed order sheet, but then would need everyone to do the same + their times to see if there are any patterns.

Not sure how far we want to go here, but let me know if there’s more info I can give.

So if we use my timeline as a benchmark you’re 3 weeks behind me which would mean delivery now

Beach is the key thing here - VW jumped all the remaining Coasts and a lot of Beaches up the queue to keep the lines running when they couldn't get parts for the Ocean.

I ordered my Ocean at the end of June 21 which I think @couplands did too.

I was told "officially" VW were saying 9 months wait so probably March / April delivery.

Dealer said in Jan 21 my build was showing estimated for week 20 (May) but he thought that would would move forward a bit as they all seemed to be doing at the time.

Build does indeed change to status 20 (confirmed) for early March, but then Ukraine happens and, as far as I can tell, it never actually made it into build. No status changes until early May when it changes to confirmed week 20 which it has been every since.

I got an email directly from VW to say van in production two weeks ago, can only assume no change on dealer system as he said he would contact me when it did and he's not replied to emails asking for any updates.

Seems to be a general thing that the factory is just not updating systems correctly at the moment.

 

[two-saabs]

Beach is the key thing here - VW jumped all the remaining Coasts and a lot of Beaches up the queue to keep the lines running when they couldn't get parts for the Ocean.

I ordered my Ocean at the end of June 21 which I think @couplands did too.

I was told "officially" VW were saying 9 months wait so probably March / April delivery.

Dealer said in Jan 21 my build was showing estimated for week 20 (May) but he thought that would would move forward a bit as they all seemed to be doing at the time.

Build does indeed change to status 20 (confirmed) for early March, but then Ukraine happens and, as far as I can tell, it never actually made it into build. No status changes until early May when it changes to confirmed week 20 which it has been every since.

I got an email directly from VW to say van in production two weeks ago, can only assume no change on dealer system as he said he would contact me when it did and he's not replied to emails asking for any updates.

Seems to be a general thing that the factory is just not updating systems correctly at the moment.

Hopefully turning up for you in the next few weeks then?

 

[Begize]

Hopefully turning up for you in the next few weeks then?

Hope so, assuming the email from VW is correct, the typical 6 weeks it takes from then would be mid August. Got a festival at the end of August so fingers crossed for that after missing everything else!

 

[couplands]

I hear ‘ya… here are my key dates:

August 2021 = Ordered, original eta end of Jan

Sometime in the new year = Build week changes, comes, goes, dealer estimates 3 month delay

Beginning of April = Email from dealer with a build week 18 / beginning of May

May 3rd = I logged in to the VW connect online site and see I have a VIN number

1 week later = Dealer says he predicts mid June in my hands

June 10th = Dealers says it’s coming through customs

June 13th = Dealer confirms it’s near by and we arranged pickup 18th June

June 18th = Pick up ! All good

Note mine is a LHD Beach (Edition Spirit) ordered and received in Switzerland, quite a few options like electric roof, electric driver seat, heater, towbar, fancy seat cover upgrade, white…

for a better investigation I could list every option from the signed order sheet, but then would need everyone to do the same + their times to see if there are any patterns.

Not sure how far we want to go here, but let me know if there’s more info I can give.

So if we use my timeline as a benchmark you’re 3 weeks behind me which would mean delivery now

Thanks for the detail. I guess the fact you’re in Switzerland is one factor and that yours is a Beach. Our daughter lives in Geneva, maybe I should ask her to buy it for me…

Yours was delivered on my birthday too, that would have been great for ours…,

 

[couplands]

Hope so, assuming the email from VW is correct, the typical 6 weeks it takes from then would be mid August. Got a festival at the end of August so fingers crossed for that after missing everything else!

I’m impressed you got a direct email from VW….!

 

[.Billy Ocean.]

I’m impressed you got a direct email from VW….!

Spooky! Within an hour of ‘agreeing’ with your post, we received a direct email from VW. They really didn’t need to bother though as it told us absolutely nothing, other than contact our dealer for updates which is the biggest joke going. Still, always reassuring to know that we are somewhere in their shitty systems

Your order is in progress but it might take a little longer to be built than previously anticipated. Like many other car manufacturers and industries we are currently experiencing some supply chain issues. Due to the global shortage in semiconductor chips and the crisis in Ukraine, our production capacity is currently reduced. While our primary concern is for the humanitarian crisis in the area, delivery times for some of our models may be longer than we’d hope. Please be assured we are working hard to deliver your chosen vehicle as quickly as possible and your Retailer will keep you up to date with what’s happening. If you are experiencing difficulties due to the delay, please don’t hesitate to contact your local Retailer who will work with you to find the best solution, and can advise on the limited supply of new vehicles which are available from stock. We’ll be in touch with further updates and your Retailer will notify you to let you know when your vehicle is due to arrive with them.​

 

[Begize]

I’m impressed you got a direct email from VW….!

To be fair, so was I, I'd only had a couple before, one confirming the order and another "sorry for the delays". As far as I could tell, other people were getting all sorts of other ones.

 

[Begize]

Spooky! Within an hour of ‘agreeing’ with your post, we received a direct email from VW. They really didn’t need to bother though as it told us absolutely nothing, other than contact our dealer for updates which is the biggest joke going. Still, always reassuring to know that we are somewhere in their shitty systems

Yep had that one.

Oh the irony that the dealer seems to have less info than I do and VW tell me to contact my dealer to find out why