No final spec lockdown

[Tim bo]

fk fkity fking stting fkarse christing arse biscuits



stty stting st fk

OPC just called. My 718 Cayman S is in build and should be shipped by the end of the month.

I DIDN'T GET A FINAL fkING LOCKDOWN

The spec I want is significantly bigger than when I made the downpayment.

I didn't originally spec PASM, Sport Chrono, Sport Tex Leather, PDSL LEDs, Dual Climate Control, Automatic Wipers, Connect +. These are all things I was going to spec in final lockdown after discussing and thinking about them after I put down deposit.

What the fking fk. Was it wrong of me to expect the OPC to call me up and discuss final lockdown? We never discussed this, I just assumed it was part of the process.

What can I do? Is rejecting the car an option at this stage?.

fk I'm beyond apoplectic now.

Edited by Tim bo on Wednesday 9th November 15:04

[eybic]

Not sure how OPC's work but surely if you put a deposit down then figures etc were agreed at the time therefore as a dealer I would consider that to be the agreed spec/ car. Have you signed a contract?

[981UK]

Ah man

I'm sure you can reject the car - have you checked everything to make sure it hasn't gone into your spam folder or the like?

Just ensure you cover all the bases before rejecting / requesting your deposit back.

Regardless of the email, they could have called you and confirmed. Very very poor imo.

Also, what is the spec? Could you live without a few of the things you wanted? Could you use it to negotiate a discount or similar?

[Malo]

If you signed the order, then that's what the SE thought you want. If I was going to change my mind I would not sign anything till the last moment, or in your terms, final lockdown. You ma be able to sell the car to the dealer, but will then be to the back of the queue again.

[Cheib]

I'm amazed you didn't get told at lockdown. I've just paid the initial deposit on a Cayenne....OPC Salesman was very specific about it being a holding deposit and has actually said they will ask for a second deposit before it goes to lockdown (probably because of the box ticking frenzy on my part ).

Whatever the result its very poor from the salesman. I assume your order has been brought forward ?

[Tim bo]

eybic said:

Not sure how OPC's work but surely if you put a deposit down then figures etc were agreed at the time therefore as a dealer I would consider that to be the agreed spec/ car. Have you signed a contract?

Malo said:

If you signed the order, then that's what the SE thought you want. If I was going to change my mind I would not sign anything till the last moment, or in your terms, final lockdown.

I suspect you're both right.

I paid £3k downpayment, we discussed finance terms, they drew up a credit agreement based on original spec, and my signature is on the New Vehicle Order Form with a price which matches that original spec.

It has been my goddamn assumption that there is always a final spec lockdown before build commences. There are a lot of conversations about how people will spec for lockdown etc.

But that's all it is - an assumption. There is nothing in all my paperwork which states that a 'final spec lockdown' will be discussed prior to build. I never explicitly talked about a change to that original spec with OPC.

I'm st outta luck.

[Tim bo]

Cheib said:

I'm amazed you didn't get told at lockdown. I've just paid the initial deposit on a Cayenne....OPC Salesman was very specific about it being a holding deposit and has actually said they will ask for a second deposit before it goes to lockdown (probably because of the box ticking frenzy on my part ).

Whatever the result its very poor from the salesman. I assume your order has been brought forward ?

Really??

Seems different dealers work in different ways. There was no discussion about this when I paid the downpayment. I thought the downpayment was just to secure the slot, and the discussion of spec at the time was just to get an idea of numbers. You then get a chance before build to finalise spec, agree actual numbers, and sign on the dotted line.

It seems not.

[cowboyengineer]

What did the opc say?

[eybic]

I suspect that as a credit agreement was drawn up then they considered it to be the final spec as changing stuff will alter finance figures

[Twinfan]

Sounds like it was your mistake. If you knew you wanted changes, why were you hanging back with them? I made an initial spec on my GTS, then adjusted it slightly a few days later. Another week or so later I decided to add a few things and contacted my sales guy straightaway. After that, no further changes.

Builds get brought forward and they can lock it down sooner than originally estimated, which may have happened here so it might not be a poor sales person.

Golden rule - always keep your spec up to date.

[Tim bo]

cowboyengineer said:

What did the opc say?

When OPC called with a delivery date and I found out that the car is nearly built, I was in shock and told him that this is a problem, the spec I wanted is rather different to that on the original order, and that I thought I had an option to lockdown final spec before build.

He is going to go away and find out if anything can be done at the factory, like if it is not yet complete can they change the seats? The Climate Control? The lights? That sort of thing.

He has not been communicative with me throughout this process, so am not holding out much hope that he can do much now.

Am thinking a call to the dealer principle is probably in order.

[Cheib]

Tim bo said:

Cheib said:

I'm amazed you didn't get told at lockdown. I've just paid the initial deposit on a Cayenne....OPC Salesman was very specific about it being a holding deposit and has actually said they will ask for a second deposit before it goes to lockdown (probably because of the box ticking frenzy on my part ).

Whatever the result its very poor from the salesman. I assume your order has been brought forward ?

Really??

Seems different dealers work in different ways. There was no discussion about this when I paid the downpayment. I thought the downpayment was just to secure the slot, and the discussion of spec at the time was just to get an idea of numbers. You then get a chance before build to finalise spec, agree actual numbers, and sign on the dotted line.

It seems not.

This is from the email I got from the dealer

"I’ve updated our ordering system so the car is ordered but to confirm please can you sign page 5 and email back to me please. I have attached our bank details as I need to take an initial deposit of 3k , then just before the car goes into factory lock down we are required to take a final deposit (10% top up) which will be another £5,800- This will then conclude the contract between us"

I don't think that that the latter is standard...I think it's because I've ordered a very high spec car and they don't want to get stuck with it.....

I also got a phone call confirming/explaining all of the above. He also stressed that if you change the spec of a car just before lockdown it can often put an order back...one customer had changed the spec of car the week before to include an alcantara roof lining which put the order back two months.

Maybe they wanted to get your car delivered in Dec. Hopefully that is not the case and it was an admin error.

[Tim bo]

Alright. Calmed down a bit now.

This is the original spec:

Sapphire Blue Metallic
Black Standard interior
Park Assist front and rear
6-speed Manual Box
Sports Exhaust
20 inch Carrera Classic wheels
Cruise Control
Sports Seats Plus (2-way electric)
Passenger footwell storage net
PCM Navigation Module
BOSE stereo
Digital Radio


I wanted to add:
Sport Tex leather (black)
PASM
PDSL LED Headlights
Sport Chrono
Auto dimming mirrors with Rain Sensors
Dual Climate Control
Connect+
... and I was still deciding on alloys but likely to spec Carrera S in Platinum Satin


On the plus side I guess I saved £6k or so :/

Edited by Tim bo on Wednesday 9th November 16:07

[ikonic]

I feel for you. Seems like a case of very bad luck as a result of the dealer not being communicative enough.

For what it's worth, when I ordered my car, the dealer actually put in a dummy spec for me as I wasn't decided yet. He was very clear that he'd be in touch later once a build slot is confirmed to update it for my desired spec.

I'd be pretty furious if my car suddenly turned up with that dummy spec!

[23AJK]

Do yourself a favour, give the salesman/lady a call and see if they can reorder your car to your revised spec. They may be able to place the incoming car to another customer who doesn't want to wait, lead times are 3-4mts as I understand, got to be a compromise in here somewhere. Explain it's your first Porsche (I assume) and you want it to be perfect. You'll soon find out how good they are.

[Twinfan]

Tim bo said:

Agreed. My mistake. And a big lesson learned here. I really just thought Final Lockdown was an actual step in the process, and all I do is sit back and wait for them to get in touch with me to make that step.

It is an actual step in the process but it's factory based and they lock it when they need to in order to start the build. It's not a fixed date and can move both forwards and backwards. Sales people aren't notified in advance of the actual lockdown as far as I'm aware, but they have an estimated one in the system once an order is placed. This can change as I've said.

I think a trip into the OPC will be worthwhile - have a chat with them and see what can be done,

[Tim bo]

ikonic said:

I feel for you. Seems like a case of very bad luck as a result of the dealer not being communicative enough.

For what it's worth, when I ordered my car, the dealer actually put in a dummy spec for me as I wasn't decided yet. He was very clear that he'd be in touch later once a build slot is confirmed to update it for my desired spec.

I'd be pretty furious if my car suddenly turned up with that dummy spec!

Thanks.
Yes my sales guy was not at all communicative - I emailed and called around five times over the intervening months to get updates. His response was always vague and non-committal.

Fortunately my original spec wasn't too far off what I finally wanted - but I'm still not happy to be missing some bits.

[Tim bo]

Twinfan said:

I think a trip into the OPC will be worthwhile - have a chat with them and see what can be done,

I think this is a good idea. Will see if I can get over there tomorrow.

[981UK]

Tim bo said:

Alright. Calmed down a bit now.

This is the original spec:

Sapphire Blue Metallic
Black Standard interior
Park Assist front and rear
6-speed Manual Box
Sports Exhaust
20 inch Carrera Classic wheels
Cruise Control
Sports Seats Plus (2-way electric)
Passenger footwell storage net
PCM Navigation Module
BOSE stereo
Digital Radio


I wanted to add:
Sport Tex leather (black)
PASM
PDSL LED Headlights
Sport Chrono
Auto dimming mirrors with Rain Sensors
Dual Climate Control
Connect+
... and I was still deciding on alloys but likely to spec Carrera S in Platinum Satin


On the plus side I guess I saved £6k or so :/

Edited by Tim bo on Wednesday 9th November 16:07

The base is a good spec - out of the extra things, would you use Sport Chrono, plus the PDSL LED lights seem a lot for what is a cosmetic change.

Its a lovely colour, wheel combination i.e. the blue with carrera classic wheels.

Hopefully they will allow you to change it - especially if you start talking about rejecting it, and or a lack of communication.

[DJMC]

Might this help?...




From: http://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/ow...

It confirms 100% that between their taking your deposit and THEIR confirmation of your car’s final specification, you can change things.
I found it as a sub-menu of "Placing your order" here: http://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/ow...

I talks about, at this post deposit, pre-confirmation of spec ("lockdown"), stage "a further level of personalisation direct from the factory".

You have the power...

PS. Copy the linked pages via screen prints asap.

Edited by DJMC on Wednesday 9th November 16:41