RE: Alpine A110: Driven
Discussion
apex_mb said:
I dread to think how long the wait will be for my reservation, but it is slightly frustrating that they haven't been able to communicate better with regards to when the centre will be open, test drives possible, final order time frames etc.
My dealer (Winchester) said they would require those with deposits to confirm orders by May 14th and they were going to get in touch with us in the next day or so. Can't see how that is either reasonable (no UK demonstrators until June or July) or enforceable as we have 6 MONTHS to make our minds according to the terms of our deposit.My position is that I don't buy cars I haven't had the chance to drive. If they want people to place an order blind and then flip if they find they don't like it, they are going the right way about it.
Edited by bcr5784 on Friday 27th April 15:10
bcr5784 said:
My dealer (Winchester) said they would require those with deposits to confirm orders by May 14th and they were going to get in touch with us in the next day or so. Can't see how that is either reasonable (no UK demonstrators until June or July) or enforceable as we have 6 MONTHS to make our minds according to the terms of our deposit.
My position is that I don't buy cars I haven't had the chance to drive. If they want people to place an order blind and then flip if they find they don't like it, they are going the right way about it.
Is this actually enforceable? Shall we check what the app says? ;-)My position is that I don't buy cars I haven't had the chance to drive. If they want people to place an order blind and then flip if they find they don't like it, they are going the right way about it.
Edited by bcr5784 on Friday 27th April 15:10
Prestonese said:
Is this actually enforceable? Shall we check what the app says? ;-)
The App says we have 6 months to make our mind up after it goes on sale. Since we didn't have a price until this week, it could hardly have been said to be on sale. Alpine have said that they expected it to take 6 months to sell the PEs and were taken by surprise by the huge demand - and presumably didn't think the 6 month clause was a big deal. But whether this deadline is a dealer thing rather than an Alpine thing I don't know. I expect I'll find out fairly soon, I've made my feelings very clear.
bcr5784 said:
My dealer (Winchester) said they would require those with deposits to confirm orders by May 14th and they were going to get in touch with us in the next day or so. Can't see how that is either reasonable (no UK demonstrators until June or July) or enforceable as we have 6 MONTHS to make our minds according to the terms of our deposit.
My position is that I don't buy cars I haven't had the chance to drive. If they want people to place an order blind and then flip if they find they don't like it, they are going the right way about it.
Agreed. And it better not be 15 minutes around the city either...My position is that I don't buy cars I haven't had the chance to drive. If they want people to place an order blind and then flip if they find they don't like it, they are going the right way about it.
Edited by bcr5784 on Friday 27th April 15:10
Well I’ve heard nothing from the dealership so if they think they are going to be getting me to drop more cash and sign in the next 14days I’ll be swapping dealers (again). Build your dealership, get some demo cars, give me a test drive and then ask me. It might just be a dealership thing- trying to free up some PE allocation they can flip for a premium.
Miserablegit said:
Well I’ve heard nothing from the dealership so if they think they are going to be getting me to drop more cash and sign in the next 14days I’ll be swapping dealers (again). Build your dealership, get some demo cars, give me a test drive and then ask me. It might just be a dealership thing- trying to free up some PE allocation they can flip for a premium.
+1 like you I'll swap dealership if push comes to shove. That said It would surprise me if Alpine were happy with that approach by a dealer - unless, of course, they were behind it. If you were a cynic (which of course I'm not) you might just wonder if the creation of a flippers market with PEs going for 10 or 20k over list might have a lot of appeal to Alpine marketing...It seems weird to me that you guys have been getting all excited about buying an "all new car" from an "all new dealership network" and telling everyone how it's going to be the "best thing since sliced bread" - and then start complaining you're expected to put your money where your mouth is.
Rockin, none of us could give a s
t for your opinion based as it is on your inability to comprehend simple facts.
I don’t think anyone has said they have a problem with the price. I have a problem with being asked to pay up front for something I haven’t yet test-driven or been given a delivery date on. Given the hopeless communication from Alpine I think people are entitled to be annoyed and anyone dropping £50k is entitled to expect a certain level of customer service but, hey, if you want to be an internet troll then enjoy yourself but entering a car-specific thread to berate potential owners does mark you out as a weapons-grade bell-end.
t for your opinion based as it is on your inability to comprehend simple facts.I don’t think anyone has said they have a problem with the price. I have a problem with being asked to pay up front for something I haven’t yet test-driven or been given a delivery date on. Given the hopeless communication from Alpine I think people are entitled to be annoyed and anyone dropping £50k is entitled to expect a certain level of customer service but, hey, if you want to be an internet troll then enjoy yourself but entering a car-specific thread to berate potential owners does mark you out as a weapons-grade bell-end.
There are plenty of issues I have with the process thus far, as well as some good points, but I am a little surprised by some of the recent comments about test drive/lack of
Don't get me wrong - it's a perfectly reasonable stance to say you won't commit to a car you haven't driven first. You'll likely miss out on a PE A110, however it's a personal decision and a reasonable one to make. But it's not reasonable IMO to have a go at Alpine for not being able to test drive first. Have a go at them for the delays and the lack of communication fine, but not because you are being asked to commit before test drive
That's not how the majority of limited ed new car launches go - nobody will have driven pretty much any Porsche GT product before the allocation is fully made and buyers have committed. There are plenty of other examples. As for 'this is a £50k car I expect a minimum level of....', Aston have 150 people each committed to spending over £2M on a Valkyrie, each having put down a non refundable £500k deposit, when at the time of commitment they didn't even know what it looks like or what the engine will be !
I expected my PE Alpine to be delivered by now but I never expected a test prior to committing. If you want to wait for a test drive first, buy a pure or legende for delivery next year
There are pros and cons to being an early adopter - at least in this instance, unlike the Porsche GT example I give, you have an option of buying a car that is mechanically identical to the PE car if you wait for the test drive
Oh and swap dealerships all you like, but I'm getting the impression this is an Alpine UK thing, not an individual dealership policy. Manchester where my order is have told me the same thing - commit by mid May, but no test drive available before then
Don't get me wrong - it's a perfectly reasonable stance to say you won't commit to a car you haven't driven first. You'll likely miss out on a PE A110, however it's a personal decision and a reasonable one to make. But it's not reasonable IMO to have a go at Alpine for not being able to test drive first. Have a go at them for the delays and the lack of communication fine, but not because you are being asked to commit before test drive
That's not how the majority of limited ed new car launches go - nobody will have driven pretty much any Porsche GT product before the allocation is fully made and buyers have committed. There are plenty of other examples. As for 'this is a £50k car I expect a minimum level of....', Aston have 150 people each committed to spending over £2M on a Valkyrie, each having put down a non refundable £500k deposit, when at the time of commitment they didn't even know what it looks like or what the engine will be !
I expected my PE Alpine to be delivered by now but I never expected a test prior to committing. If you want to wait for a test drive first, buy a pure or legende for delivery next year
There are pros and cons to being an early adopter - at least in this instance, unlike the Porsche GT example I give, you have an option of buying a car that is mechanically identical to the PE car if you wait for the test drive
Oh and swap dealerships all you like, but I'm getting the impression this is an Alpine UK thing, not an individual dealership policy. Manchester where my order is have told me the same thing - commit by mid May, but no test drive available before then
Edited by jonby on Monday 30th April 10:44
Edited by jonby on Monday 30th April 10:45
jonby said:
There are plenty of issues I have with the process thus far, as well as some good points, but I am a little surprised by some of the recent comments about test drive/lack of
Don't get me wrong - it's a perfectly reasonable stance to say you won't commit to a car you haven't driven first. But it's not reasonable IMO to have a go at Alpine for not being able to test drive first. Have a go at them for the delays and the lack of communication fine, but not because you are being asked to commit before test drive
That's not how the majority of limited ed new car launches go - nobody will have driven pretty much any Porsche GT product before the allocation is fully made and buyers have committed. There are plenty of other examples
I expected my PE Alpine to be delivered by now but I never expected a test prior to committing. If you want to wait for a test drive first, buy a pure or legende for delivery next year
There are pros and cons to being an early adopter - at least in this instance, unlike the Porsche GT example I give, you have an option of buying a car that is mechanically identical to the PE car if you wait for the test drive
Oh and swap dealerships all you like, but I'm getting the impression this is an Alpine UK thing, not an individual dealership policy. Manchester where my order is have told me the same thing - commit by mid May, but no test drive available before then
With a Porsche GT product you have a pretty good idea of what you are going to get if you've driven other Porsches before. Not the case with Alpine.Don't get me wrong - it's a perfectly reasonable stance to say you won't commit to a car you haven't driven first. But it's not reasonable IMO to have a go at Alpine for not being able to test drive first. Have a go at them for the delays and the lack of communication fine, but not because you are being asked to commit before test drive
That's not how the majority of limited ed new car launches go - nobody will have driven pretty much any Porsche GT product before the allocation is fully made and buyers have committed. There are plenty of other examples
I expected my PE Alpine to be delivered by now but I never expected a test prior to committing. If you want to wait for a test drive first, buy a pure or legende for delivery next year
There are pros and cons to being an early adopter - at least in this instance, unlike the Porsche GT example I give, you have an option of buying a car that is mechanically identical to the PE car if you wait for the test drive
Oh and swap dealerships all you like, but I'm getting the impression this is an Alpine UK thing, not an individual dealership policy. Manchester where my order is have told me the same thing - commit by mid May, but no test drive available before then
In any case it's quite clear in the terms under which we placed our deposits that we would have 6 months in which to confirm an order - not 2 weeks. In this case I have offered twice to go to France to test the car and I made it clear to the dealer months ago that I wouldn't be confirming my order before a test drive and repeated it since. No mention that this might be a problem untll last week.
The deposit is not placed with Alpine UK so I'm not sure how they can (in effect) amend the terms of the contract I have with Alpine. I haven't had any formal communication yet so I'll see what happens next. I shall certainly talk to Alpine France direct if UK dealers collectively take this stance.
Good post Jonby and I see your point but I think the A110 is different to the limited editions that you are referring to.
Any limited-run Porsche is a flipper's-delight. The mechanical platform is establised and tested and is know to "work" so there is no risk.
Anyone spending £2m on a car clearly has resources to deal with any issues if they arise but I'd say there are different factors that come into play when buying a strictly limited-run vehicle of which no more will be made that also has a £2m price tag.
Alpine asked us to put deposits down for their new car. As a thank you we got the chance to buy a PE. We've had no communication whatsoever from them or the dealers. To find out in an internet forum that I'm meant to be committing further funds in two weeks is poor form especially when the dealerships aren't all built and we've got no idea of a delivery date. Nor do we know what they've done to fix some of the teething troubles.
I have the use of other vehicles but this isn't going to be something I want/can afford to "hide away as an investment" if it turns out to not suit my driving style. On the investment side of things I doubt very much it is going to be in the same camp as genuine limited-model runs. I estimate a £10-15k premium over list for a PE before the other models roll out. Alpines have not performed that well compared to pork of the same age. That isnt a problem for me as I'd rather they were driven by enthusiasts but we're not going to have the comfort that we won't make losses if we dont like the car- a very different situation when comparing with the limited-run vehicles you were referring to.
I had understood there were meant to be trips to the factory etc but that all seems to have fallen by the wayside.
I do hope this sorts itself out. Does anyone have contact details for Alpine? I've tried a few email addresses for the press office but no response.
Any limited-run Porsche is a flipper's-delight. The mechanical platform is establised and tested and is know to "work" so there is no risk.
Anyone spending £2m on a car clearly has resources to deal with any issues if they arise but I'd say there are different factors that come into play when buying a strictly limited-run vehicle of which no more will be made that also has a £2m price tag.
Alpine asked us to put deposits down for their new car. As a thank you we got the chance to buy a PE. We've had no communication whatsoever from them or the dealers. To find out in an internet forum that I'm meant to be committing further funds in two weeks is poor form especially when the dealerships aren't all built and we've got no idea of a delivery date. Nor do we know what they've done to fix some of the teething troubles.
I have the use of other vehicles but this isn't going to be something I want/can afford to "hide away as an investment" if it turns out to not suit my driving style. On the investment side of things I doubt very much it is going to be in the same camp as genuine limited-model runs. I estimate a £10-15k premium over list for a PE before the other models roll out. Alpines have not performed that well compared to pork of the same age. That isnt a problem for me as I'd rather they were driven by enthusiasts but we're not going to have the comfort that we won't make losses if we dont like the car- a very different situation when comparing with the limited-run vehicles you were referring to.
I had understood there were meant to be trips to the factory etc but that all seems to have fallen by the wayside.
I do hope this sorts itself out. Does anyone have contact details for Alpine? I've tried a few email addresses for the press office but no response.
lemmingjames said:
Are you really expecting them to go for alot over book though if being flipped?
There is only one that I have actually seen sold . The buyer paid 74k Euro (against a list of 58.5) so there probably is a few K to be made. Difficult to know whether British cars would fetch as much - French prices for the Alpine are much more competitive relative to Porsche than here.
Has anyone else heard about this 14th May deadline from their nominated dealer? I‘ve heard absolutely nothing from Solihull... Is this just in relation to the PE as I missed out on that when I made my reservation? Surely the Pure and Legende specs can’t be justified as ‘on sale’ in the UK seen as you can still only make a generic reservation with no facility to individually tailor a spec (I know the options are limited but still...). I read the 6 months as beginning from the point at which your nominated dealer communicated directly that they were accepting orders for customer specified cars (excl . PE)...
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