Why the hell is my car taking so long?

[dominii]

I've heard rumors about production being cut and what not. Maybe I'm off on my judgement, but it seems like something isn't right with my timeline.

I ordered my 128 the last day of April (30th). The dealer told me '6-8 weeks'

It's now been 7 weeks and 2 days. I did get my production number about 2 weeks ago. However, it still says "Scheduled for production with no confirmed production date" according to BMWUSA's phone number (following the instructions from the ultimate delivery/tracking post).

So my car isn't in production yet. From what I gather, it will be at least 4 weeks from production scheduling to delivery (I'm picking it up in SC).

Am I being irrational, or am I getting the brown end of the stick?

Thanks for your input.

[gio]

It's usually 6-8 once you get your production number. I don't know why it took you 5 weeks to get a production number, though. Dealers usually have only a certain number of allocations per month. I'm guessing you were misled and your dealer wasn't actually able to order your 1 right away because he didn't have any free slots. Most here got their production number the same day or within a few days of ordering (I got mine 3-4 days later). You are not alone though, many others have had to wait a month or more for their car to go into production. Once you get your number, it usually too long until it is scheduled and you get a completion date (I'm not sure why it's so long for you). It usually takes a little over a week to build, then a few days to get to port, some time waiting at port (can be up to 2 weeks), a week to get to the east coast (longer to the west) and then up to another week till you get the car. Read the sticky threads here. I've found they have been quite accurate.

I would call your dealer and find out if they have any more information. There probably isn't anything they can do about it but they might have an explanation or more up to date information as to your status.

Originally Posted by dominii

I've heard rumors about production being cut and what not. Maybe I'm off on my judgement, but it seems like something isn't right with my timeline.

I ordered my 128 the last day of April (30th). The dealer told me '6-8 weeks'

It's now been 7 weeks and 2 days. I did get my production number about 2 weeks ago. However, it still says "Scheduled for production with no confirmed production date" according to BMWUSA's phone number (following the instructions from the ultimate delivery/tracking post).

So my car isn't in production yet. From what I gather, it will be at least 4 weeks from production scheduling to delivery (I'm picking it up in SC).

Am I being irrational, or am I getting the brown end of the stick?

Thanks for your input.

[dominii]

They did specifically tell me 6-8 weeks. Both the sales rep and the sales manager.

I've had my production number for 1.5-2 weeks now, and it still says is unconfirmed date. And even better, it still shows up as an Alpine White 2005 X3 on BMWUsa.com

[Severious]

Originally Posted by dominii

They did specifically tell me 6-8 weeks. Both the sales rep and the sales manager.

I've had my production number for 1.5-2 weeks now, and it still says is unconfirmed date. And even better, it still shows up as an Alpine White 2005 X3 on BMWUsa.com

Production numbers are recycled. Your specs wont come up on the website until your car starts production.

[Brandon26pdx]

If I were in your positition I'd cancel it and wait for an 09 allocation...this rate it'll be August by the time that cars shows up, and the 09's will be damn near ready to show up on the lots.

This might be something more people ought to complain to BMWNA about. Dealers shouldn't be allowed to mislead customers into thinking their car will show up in 6-8 weeks when they know they don't have an allocation to give right at that moment. They should be required to disclose that even if the customer fails to ask. Then if the customer chooses to stick with them (and allow them to hold their deposit money!), there's no hard feelings or sleight of hand going on. The jerky dealers realize this would put some leverage into the hands of the customer to bargain for a better price, and they'll give you the end run-around in order to avoid that possibility.

So yeah, I'd tell them to shove it and go shop somewhere else if at all possible, especially if they've got you paying anywhere near MSRP. Doesn't sound like they've been treating you very cool.

[Severious]

Well, if they have a production number for you your better of just waiting the 5-6 weeks for your delivery. Then never go back to the dealership again. Because, if you cancelled it now, you would just have to wait for where ever you go to get you an all new production number, so by then your looking at 7-9 weeks too get your car.

If you didn't have a production number I would tell you to cancel the order.

But seeing that you have one, your probably better off just sticking out the next month or so for delivery, and then leaving a nasty review of the dealership, go to the BBB and report it, call BMW-NA and tell them your not happy about one of there dealerships business practices, and/or do any too all of the above.

Had to deal with this same problem personally today......

[Nice1]

If you have a production number, just call the 800#, speak to a live rep and they will give you your production week #. That way, you don't need to second guess.

[dominii]

Anyone have any ideas for how to turn this on the dealer?

I specifically asked at signing if they could get the car to me in '6-8 weeks'. Both the sales rep and the sales manager said they could.

At this point, I'm going to stick with them since I don't want to wait any more, but I figure this should leverage me some kind of dealing room. Any ideas how to bring it up to them?

I'm thinking..
1) Talk about poor review / BBB complaint
2) Bring up that they won't be getting my return business
3) I was planning to buy the car after the lease if everything went well, now I might look to get one from another dealer.

I *feel* like I'm already getting a pretty good deal. $34,755 MSRP 128i at 383(with tax) / mo + $4000 down. 12k/yr, 24-month. I don't know how much more they'd be willing to give me.

Thanks for the insight.

[Uptown Bully]

Took me about a month to get the production number, took almost two weeks to go into production, the production process took a week, the trip to the port took about a week, and it's been at sea now for over a week. The ship docks tomorrow though.

[blackbubblebum]

Me I ordered May 20ish still no production number and i paid 1000$ deposit already....

[acivick]

Originally Posted by dominii

They did specifically tell me 6-8 weeks. Both the sales rep and the sales manager.

I've had my production number for 1.5-2 weeks now, and it still says is unconfirmed date. And even better, it still shows up as an Alpine White 2005 X3 on BMWUsa.com

Sorry to hear that. Of course I can't find it now, but I thought I saw somewhere on this forum that they delayed production/reduced allocation of 128's to favor 135's. I would treat that as pure speculation, since as I said I can't find it now. Not trying to kick you while you're down or anything, but as a comparison, I ordered my 135 on 6/9, got a production on 6/12 or 6/13, went into production 6/19, and is scheduled to be completed 6/26. I had the car info on the website wrong too (listed as a 2001 740iL) until about 6/20, so I would definitely call the 800# and speak to a live rep to figure out what's going on if it's not updated by tomorrow.

I hope it all works out for you soon.

[lib]

Originally Posted by gio

I don't know why it took you 5 weeks to get a production number, though.

From what I've been hearing BMW isn't producing enough 128i coupes to meet the demand. Production slots for 135i's & 'verts are apparently easier to come by.

Having been to Gainsville I doubt the two BMW dealers within 50 miles of the OP are big enough to get more than 1 or 2 production slots a month. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the smaller dealers didn't get any 128i coupe production slots in certain months.

[jb2178]

I ordered my 128 coupe on March 24th, took 2 days to get my production number. Had a delay in production and ended up getting a new production number. I will be picking up mine today - 1 day short of 3 months. My opinion is 6-8 weeks is optimistic to say the least.

[tkbr0wn]

Originally Posted by dominii

Anyone have any ideas for how to turn this on the dealer?

I specifically asked at signing if they could get the car to me in '6-8 weeks'. Both the sales rep and the sales manager said they could.

At this point, I'm going to stick with them since I don't want to wait any more, but I figure this should leverage me some kind of dealing room. Any ideas how to bring it up to them?

I'm thinking..
1) Talk about poor review / BBB complaint
2) Bring up that they won't be getting my return business
3) I was planning to buy the car after the lease if everything went well, now I might look to get one from another dealer.

I *feel* like I'm already getting a pretty good deal. $34,755 MSRP 128i at 383(with tax) / mo + $4000 down. 12k/yr, 24-month. I don't know how much more they'd be willing to give me.

Thanks for the insight.

I know others have said this on other threads before and since the deal isnt done yet, I dont feel bad telling you. Please do not put 4k down on a lease. Put the money in the bank and use it to pay the difference in the payments. It really is not a good idea to put anything down on a lease.

[Brandon26pdx]

Originally Posted by tkbr0wn

I know others have said this on other threads before and since the deal isnt done yet, I dont feel bad telling you. Please do not put 4k down on a lease. Put the money in the bank and use it to pay the difference in the payments. It really is not a good idea to put anything down on a lease.

Yeah, that's alot of money to wash down the crapper.

[warmtoes]

I ordered mine on April 7th and I pick it up today. That's exactly 11 weeks. A bunch of it is the slow delivery to Vancouver by rail so your 6 to 8 is pretty optimistic.