[Lou]

Good morning,

I ordered my vehicle at the beginning of November with an estimated collection of the March but this has been pushed back to the end of April. I have not been given a VIN and have been informed they do not yet have one does this sound right? I was also asked to pay a deposit (half of the A.P) and one of the package costs when I ordered as they would not allow me to pay in full on collection. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Topic

[Martinod]

You pay the full AP on collection , did you have pay a lot .

[Lou]

Hi Martinod, yes I paid 2900 when I ordered. I asked if I could pay it all in full upon collection and the dealer told me they need a deposit and one of the packages paid for there and then to secure my order

[BigDave]

Personally, I would say a ‘deposit’ of £2900 is somewhat excessive. But it does rather depend on how much of that is for your chosen optional extras/package (which the dealer can ask for).

Motability do state:

‘Some dealers do ask for a holding deposit when you place your order, but any deposit paid will be deducted from the Advance Payment you pay when collecting your car’.

https://www.motability.co.uk/about/how-the-scheme-works/payment-and-cost-for-cars/

Albeit it is a quite ‘grey’ area – some dealers do and others don’t

A worry is that, as the deposit doesn’t form part of Motability’s Advance Payment, it is held by the dealer (until it is deducted from the AP on collection date) if the dealer ceases trading or goes into administration/liquidation during the intervening period – particularly if it is over a period of months, you may lose out. You would be just another unsecured creditor.

It is one area Motability kindly ‘absolve’ themselves from as they do not guarantee to indemnify you should the dealership cease trading, hence I personally would refuse to pay any deposit and go elsewhere.

The only other recourse is to totally demand that any such ‘deposit’ is paid by credit card, thus you may be covered by Section 75 or 75A of the Consumer Credit Act. Even paying by debit card can be risky as a ‘chargeback’ is subject to a 75 to 120 day ‘window’ once the transaction is carried out. Thus, if waiting months, you could exceed these limits and be left not being able to ‘chargeback’ if the dealership ceases trading.

Sorry to sound gloomy, but in these uncertain times, I do think a £2900 deposit is somewhat unreasonable for the dealer to ask for.

[Lou]

Thanks BigDave that’s exactly what I was thinking. What I am concerned about is I have asked for an indication of when I will be given a VIN number and had no correspondence as yet but everything else has been discussed quite promptly. Being a new member I feel quite in the dark with everything, my dealer stated he would be in contact fortnightly with updates but this sadly hasn’t been the case for me unless I make contact with a query.

[Clipped wings]

Hi Lou,

I would call Motability to seek their guidance and check the status of the order. I have found their service excellent. Good luck. I have been waiting 6 months, car built but delivery estimates vague.

[Lou]

Thankyou for that advice! I had no idea I could contact motability regarding this so that’s very helpful, thankyou

[Slimtrim]

From my understanding a vehicle is assigned a VIN number a few days before production, as you ordered in November with expectant pick up in March/April, I doubt the vehicle has been built let alone dealer having the number on their system. That being said, they are ways to track vehicle production status which your dealer can advise.

 

[matt]

what car did you order?

[Southamman]

You won’t get a Vin number until the car goes into production and near end of build

 

 

[Lou]

Thanks for everyone’s help i ordered the X1. I contacted bmw after querying things with motability and have been informed it is not yet in production which I expected under the current conditions. I thought there was a live chat option on the website but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere, I have been quite confused and anxious about it all as I’m new to the scheme. How or when would I be able to track the vehicle production status please?

[Glos Guy]

Lou wrote:

Thanks for everyone’s help i ordered the X1. I contacted bmw after querying things with motability and have been informed it is not yet in production which I expected under the current conditions. I thought there was a live chat option on the website but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere, I have been quite confused and anxious about it all as I’m new to the scheme. How or when would I be able to track the vehicle production status please?

Hi Lou. You have already received a lot of great advice from others, so I won’t repeat it all again, but it’s not a VIN number you want, it’s an order number. It’s been over 5 years since I last ordered a new BMW, but their order tracking wasn’t great back then. Hopefully it has improved.

The reason it’s always important to get an order number is that many dealers don’t actually order the car for a month, or sometimes a few months, after you think you have ordered it. Dealers have build allocations per model each month or quarter and will not willingly tell you if they have used up all of their allocations, as they don’t want you to go elsewhere. VW dealers are terrible with this.  I always ask about where they are versus their build allocations when I consider placing an order and then chase them relentlessly until they give me an order number, as only then am I convinced that they’ve actually placed the order with the manufacturer!

You are where you are with the deposit. I find that dealers often want optional extras paid up front, as that’s where they are ‘at risk’ if the customer subsequently pulls out but, as with everything, it’s a negotiation.

[Lou]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Thanks Glos Guy, I think it’s the VIN and order number that I’ve been getting confused which explains a lot. I have paid 1 of the packs so would this be non refundable if I decided to go elsewhere? It’s quite bad that customers aren’t given the order number when they request it.</p>
Would the extra month wait added to my estimated collection time be due to them not having enough slots allocated or simply due to covid?

I have been emailing the dealership fortnightly but I’m aware now that I have been asking for the wrong information so il see if they have an order number yet.

Massive Thankyou for your help

[Glos Guy]

Lou wrote:

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Thanks Glos Guy, I think it’s the VIN and order number that I’ve been getting confused which explains a lot. I have paid 1 of the packs so would this be non refundable if I decided to go elsewhere? It’s quite bad that customers aren’t given the order number when they request it.</p> Would the extra month wait added to my estimated collection time be due to them not having enough slots allocated or simply due to covid? I have been emailing the dealership fortnightly but I’m aware now that I have been asking for the wrong information so il see if they have an order number yet. Massive Thankyou for your help

You will never know the true reason for the delay now, especially if the dealer sat on your order for a while (as many do). Car dealers and the truth sadly don’t go hand in hand! The key is to get your order number and track it. You might have a bit of a battle getting the deposit back (if you cancel) but I’m sure you would get it if you stood your ground. Good luck. Delays waiting for new cars are always infuriating, but BMW’s are well worth waiting for.

[Clipped wings]

Hi again. Motability lease you the car, not the dealer. In my experience, they are the best people to talk to, even though my VW dealer is possibly one of the better ones. I too had to chase them up for an order number so that I could track it in my Vw app. However, the app has proved to be useless, as months behind the process. My original delivery estimate was for next week, but have just had a letter from Motability extending my current lease until March 28.

[Lou]

Motability have been fantastic and faultless from day dot, they made a lot of things much easier to understand and put me at ease (aswell as all the help & advice Iv got from everyone here), I previously had a privately owned 1 series which i loved but it wasn’t accommodating my needs sadly…they are certainly worth waiting for.

oh how frustrating clipped wings does that mean your next vehicle is also delayed?

[Clipped wings]

Hi Lou, due COVID and everything shut down, we were all given 6 month extensions to the normal 3 years. That suited me, because the Allspace SEL tsi dsg only came onto the scheme in Q3 and I put my order in straight away. The delivery estimate was now which is just within the 6 month extension. The car was built in November in Mexico and delivery times are notoriously slow as they go to Germany first. I’m not at all worried as I’m very happy with my current Touran SEL and mileage minimal as “extremely vulnerable”. It’s been a tough year for most and let’s hope the delivery times improve next year. Wishful thinking, perhaps.

[Clipped wings]

Just to add that this forum has taught me a lot on a large range of issues and is a great place for kindly advice, especially as the Touran was my first Motability lease. There are a few Gotchas that might pass you by. Eg don’t wire a dash cam into a fuse box which is the standard fitting at Halfords etc.

[Author]

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