Ordered an XC40 Inscription Pro over a month ago and dealer called yesterday to say it had been cancelled. Not best pleased! Is it worth waiting until Jan 1st or do you think I should just go ahead and look for something else. My next choice would have been the X1 but that’s gone off the list too!
Hi Bob. So sorry to hear that. It sounds as though your dealer had not placed the order with the manufacturer before it was pulled from the scheme, which is infuriating. Given how close we are to Q1 it would clearly make sense to wait now. We were fortunate as we got our first choice car (X1) in the summer, but the XC40 was our second choice and, as you say, neither are available now so, like you, we would be snookered now. In fact of the six cars on our shortlist, five are no longer available and the one that remains (Ford Kuga) we didn’t like when we viewed it (it was big enough, but the quality didn’t match the other cars on our list).
I am not as optimistic as some that Q1 will magically resolve the current issues as the chip shortage (which is the cause of most of the removals from the scheme) is far from over. As the XC40 is having a tweak, there’s possibly more chance of it returning than some others. Mercedes may return in Q1, but will that include the GLA? Nobody knows. Frankly, it’s all guesswork. Doubtless some cars may well return, but I think it will be a trickle not a flood. Finally, it’s worth remembering that cars come on and off the scheme on an almost daily basis, so if a car that you want doesn’t appear on 1st January there’s nothing to say that it won’t appear days, weeks or months later. The quarter changes seem to be almost irrelevant now.