What information should i get from dealer?

VdubRich · May 22, 2014

Hi all. My name is Richard and i have put a deposit down for a new cali 180dsg 4motion last week. The site has been a great tool for research and finding out peoples opinions, so thank-you all for that. The family is really excited. My question is when should i get build date info. Its been over a week since i placed order and have nothing to show for it, i.e. order number, build date, invoice, order confirmation, receipt for deposit. I did place order over the phone and the dealer seemed quite vague. Just wondered what you guys received and when you received it. Thanks in advance.

Allstarrs · May 22, 2014

Congrats on the purchase. Don't hold your breath, we didn't find out for 4-6 weeks. We ordered ours on 23rd Feb and we got build week 19, which was the 5th May. So about 10 weeks to be built. This week we heard the van is at port and is expected in 2-3 weeks at the dealer. The original estimate of 14-16 weeks was pretty accurate for us. Not counting chickens though - as this assumes no shortage of haulage or not losing the van altogether :?

Stu · May 22, 2014

I don't know if Track Your Order works for commercial.

VdubRich · May 22, 2014

Thanks for the reply. We hoped we would get ours for the 1st September. So this maybe possible as that would be about 16 weeks. I must admit I have found the VW van dealers to be not the most enthusiastic of sellers, strange when you consider you want to part with over £50,000 of your money. I expected them to be more willing and helpful. I felt I was almost troubling certain salesman when enquiring about the Cali.

skinnywhippet · May 22, 2014

We ordered early March and then there was silence for a month until we were given a build of week 20 and promise of delivery during June. I asked the dealer this week for an update, and they just said they'll tell me more when they know more. It's a all a bit secretive, or maybe a very clever marketing tactic. To be fair I haven't chased much as we already have a holiday booked this Summer.

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Allstarrs · May 22, 2014

From other forum posts and first hand, I know it's hit and miss with the dealers. The first dealer we tried was pretty rubbish, so on advice we went elsewhere and have been kept up to date whenever there has been a change. Also, the dealer set our expectations around what and when we would hear. I would go as far to say that they have been proactive and helpful.

Larkrise · May 23, 2014

Yes, I would say that the dealer updating is very variable. For us it was not proactive at all- we had to phone/ email all the way to check status. The online tracker is a VW cars facility and they have no connection to the van dealers (at least that is my experience).
We never had any contact from our dealer after sales either, two months now from delivery. We had a VW customer services call a week after delivery and they asked if the dealer had been in touch and seemed surprised that they hadn't, but they never did call- not that we have any issues at all with the Cali.