I want what I want and I want it now!
What's the heck is going on then?
It's amazing that I'm still finding people who have no idea whatsoever of whats happening to supply chains the world over in all sorts of industries unless they have been directly affected.
I have customers in all sorts of industries from logistics, to roofing, computing, building and even offshore maintenance of wind farms!
All are reporting disruption or carnage.
And that's the same in the car industry. Ford producing vehicles with some of the electrical spec suspended so at least they can keep throughput up to some sort of levels. BMW the same. Suzuki with loads of cars arriving without entertainment systems, so dealers installing after market ones for people.
Globally production lines are shutting down several days a week due to lack of parts. Some manufacturers have stopped taking orders on certain vehicles as they are all ready at maximum capacity given the circumstances. ( Ford Connect - from today Ford will not accent orders for at least 3 months while they catch up)
There's huge compounds in the Far East with cars 9/10 built, lacking engine management systems due to the semiconductor shortage.
VW Group just announced that due to Uncle Vlad having a bit of an excursion into Ukraine, where a LOT of their engine parts come from, production will be further disrupted. AND they will be putting in a new price rise on April 1st
That's the tip of the iceberg, but you get the idea!!
So what's the best way of navigating all this?
First, accept a big dose of reality. Very simple.
There simply aren't fields of cars, vans and trucks just waiting for you.
If you need a car in a hurry, be realistic and if someone says 'there aren't any' ...... there aren't! Choose something else.
If someone has gone to the effort of digging out something for you, a cancellation, or the last of a small batch of cars ...... 'can I let you know after the weekend?' will put you bottom of the pile for EVER.
In the fleet and leasing world, nothing can be held for you. It's an incredibly fast moving scenario now where 10 cars can go in 5 minutes so you need to be ready to make a decision there and then.
You'd be a looney to go making offers on loads of houses if you hadn't even got a mortgage offer in principle. Well, it's similar now in the car world.
If you need a car quickly or any time in the next 4 months, have a chat with someone who can guide you as to what might be available in the timescale and budget you need. If you feel you need to go test drive anything, do it beforehand, or do it then.
Most people in the business now will only start digging around for 'quick cars' when you are ready to go. Expect to be asked to complete an application ready to use BEFORE they go on the hunt for you. Why? Because in the time you might take to fill one in later, the car they've found for you could well have been snapped up by someone else.
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So what's the best thing to do?
Plan ahead. Oh heck yes, plan ahead.
I'm currently sorting out cars for customers that are looking for deliveries all the way through to November! Most manufacturer lead times are 4 months plus, lots are 6 months and a significant number like Audi/VW are 42 weeks or more. Jaguar/Land Rover - realistically a year at least now
Planning ahead is golden as the only way the prices are going is UP!
Be nice, above all be nice
Remember everyone involved is under immense pressure and probably understaffed in a rapidly changing environment. They still turned up to work today, so be nice to them
They can't go out and build you a car themselves because you want a black one and there's only blue in the timescale you want.
They can't help it if a manufacturer suddenly says they cant build X model now.
They can't fly a Chinook to Holland and steal your car from a compound because bad weather in the channel or the dock strikes ( Not heard about them? Yep its been suppressed in the news) have meant the RoRo ships cant dock or the logistics companies can't pick the cars up and move them to the delivery hubs and you are going to be inconvenienced for 2 days. Everyone is inconvenienced right now
Just remember to be nice.
What next?
If you are changing your car, van or pickup any time in the next 12 months get onto someone NOW!
Beat the price rises all coming in April and get your car ordered NOW.
Be realistic, understand there's been dozens of price rises and tax rises since you last got your car.
But, remember the 'be nice' ?
Yep my team and I will ALWAYS have time for nice folk and we'll be happy to guide you to the sweet spot cars, the finance company specials, the batch deals. We'll make sure you get the right car the right way and on the best deal we can put together for you.
JB + The Team