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That wasn't my experience when I tried to buy a new Qashqai in November. I wanted a 2.0 dCi in Cayman Blue (with black as an alternative) and no dealer could find one. I was only offered silver or Faded Denim. I ended up buy a black 6 month old ex-Nissan staff car.
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Depends on the manufacturer;Ford,for example,will not build unless they have an order for the car.
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will not build unless they have an order for the car.
I love seeing that statement - do you think the workers stand around waiting for a customer to sign an order and the salesman to 'phone it through?
All cars are built to order - but the orders are phantom / dummy etc until converted into real customer orders. If that never happens then the car is still built and it goes into a big car park somewhere.
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No;an order from a dealer or a chain of dealers but NO cars built unless ordered.I have ordered a car from a dealer to an unusual specification,and yes,it had to be built,and,yes,I had to wait.
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In my case they wouldn't even take a order unless they could match it up to a car they had already built. I was prepared to wait for the exact car to be built but dealer would not agree.
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So a case of you'll have what we say you can have or sling your hook ?
Look forward to seeing their windows boarded up and the tumbleweed blowing across the forecourt.
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I have ordered a car from a dealer to an unusual specification and yes it had to be built and yes I had to wait.
Me too. But most orders are from dealers to a spec. that they think will be popular or a spec. that the factory tells them to take.
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A year ago when cars were being sold in record numbers, I'm sure many cars were built to order - I doubt the same is true today.
Customer - can I have a Civic with a 1.6 engine, green leather and yellow paint
Honda Dealer - our car factory is shut down for 4 months, so we should be able to supply your order in July
Customer - No thanks
MVP
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The faintly ridiculous thing about these pictures is the unspoken assumption that normally there are never cars sitting around waiting for buyers. This is, AFAIK, not true. Anyone with inside knowledge care to comment?
What would be more useful than dramatic but meaningless pictures is statistics showing how many cars are normally sat waiting for new owners (or to be exported in a batch, etc), say averaged out over the last 5 years or so, and how many are waiting right now.
Doesn't make such a good picture story though eh?
Lies, damned lies and convenient pictures...
Edited by TheOilBurner on 20/01/2009 at 14:48
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20+ years ago I lived near Sandwich, Kent, and VAG had a massive car park of newly (?) imported cars in the shadows of the towers of nearby Richborough power station . The cars were covered in some kind of clear grease to protect them from the fall out. Interestingly, and with a small motoring link, googling turned up this info:
In 1989 the plant underwent a major refurbishment and in 1990 trials were started on an experimental new fuel called Orimulsion.
Orimulsion is a cheap heavy oil and water based emulsion produced form natural bitumen in Venezuela, initial results suggested it would make a cheap clean fuel alternative to oil...
The "Orimulsion" bubble was burst when a local farmer claimed damages against the plants owners powergen for the loss of his crops. Around the same time local people began to notice damage to the paintwork of their cars - linked to acid rain coming form sulphur emissions form the plant."
(from www.abandoned-britain.com/PP/richborough/1.htm )
I'm also sure that there is a huge new car storage area somewhere around Bristol, visible from the M4, which has been there for some years.
So the storage of new cars is not new. Good point, Oily.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 20/01/2009 at 18:56
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In late 1993 whilst searching for a used Golf GTI I was offered a brand new unregistered one for an absolute giveaway price. The problem was it was a pre-facelift Mk2 model (non big bumper for GTI insiders), so not built later than 1990. The dealer admitted he didn't know its real age and goodness knows where it had spent the previous 3 or more years. Things like this happened regularly after the last recession and I guess this time will be no different.
Edited by Webmaster on 21/01/2009 at 00:37
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The faintly ridiculous thing about these pictures is the unspoken assumption that normally >> there are never cars sitting around waiting for buyers.
...and, if you look at the picture of Nissan's in the OP, there's maybe 2000? cars there - that's probably less than a week's production from the Sunderland factory.
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Interesting post Smokie. A friend of mine had a last of the line Scirocco 'Scala' of that era in Helios Blue metallic. In places, the lacquer was peeling and bubbling off the base coat - looked very odd.
Lots of new (presume imported) cars are stored at Avonmouth docks near Bristol - these are clearly visible from the M5.
Edited by Marc on 20/01/2009 at 18:25
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