One change in procedure that I would like to see would be the publication of the new ‘next quarter’s’ Advance Payments at least five days before the end of the previous quarter. That would get rid of some of the worry if you were wondering whether to place an order today or hold on for a possible reduced AP in a few days time. The current system creates a nervous lottery for people who are already coping daily with disability and can do without the extra stress. Would it be workable?
I think that’s a very good idea. I can’t see it being a negative for dealers as for every winner, price wise, there’s often a loser, so it would balance out. It would also save them having to deal with cancelled orders and amended orders, such as when people place their order at the end of a quarter (just in case a car is removed or the AP increases) but then cancel if something better comes up next quarter – or ask the dealer to amend to the lower AP.
The biggest fly in the ointment is the fact that quarterly price changes aren’t really what they were back in the good old days when we had around 5 times as many cars on the scheme. Changes don’t just happen every 3 months. As we know from the excellent daily changes thread, cars come on and off the scheme on an almost daily basis and the quarter changes day can often be an anti-climax these days.