UK Order v Delivery Dates

[MikeS]

Frustrating isn’t it! I wonder why the order process in UK is so opaque? Just looking on this thread you can see the wide spread of order to receive times.

 

[pastyboy]

Is there a way of tracking the order in the UK? I ordered in March, was told delivery would be September, which immediately slipped to October, upgraded the spec and was told November and just this week the dealer told me it is back to September. We want to offload an old GTi before servicing, MOT, etc. is due so want the car in September.

 

[RJSATLBA]

Prior to amending my order (to add HK), I sought and received an assurance from a senior level within BMW UK that a change would only cause slippage if I were to add something for which there was a delay in the supply chain. So perhaps pastyboy added something with a bottleneck which has now cleared.

 

[jadnashuanh]

While the factory increased the capacity, they have also been rolling out sales to more areas in the world (the USA and Canada for one - production started in April). Each country negotiated for a certain percentage of the production and if their projection was not correct, their deliveries will slip, while those in another country may be able to fill their needs in a timely manner. Until the CFRP production increases (the factory in Washington ramped up to double what they were originally producing, and BMW just committed to $200M US to expand, but that takes longer), and all of the suppliers can ramp up as well, there may be shortages. I've heard that those choosing the all-leather interior may be most affected, as there seems to be a shortage of naturally tanned leather of sufficient quality. That's just speculation, though.

My dealer was able to find a vehicle at another dealership, and I got mine, as desired, in less than a week once I committed. I was at another dealership a couple of days ago, and they'd sold their entire allocation, but had been able to find a few more to satisfy customers. THey were not sure if they'd be able to continue to do that, and they've only been available in the USA for about 2-months. As more get onto the roads, more people may decide they want one, and it could get as tight as it currently is in the UK.

I've been told that changes, even up to a few days before production is scheduled to begin, do not generally affect the end delivery date (IOW, do not normally bump it back) unless it is for an option that is in short supply (that could change on a daily basis). BMW factories work on a JIT scheme...the materials to build your car are not likely in the plant until maybe as late as that day. They literally have a continuous stream of trucks arriving to feed the plant. THis lets them keep more space for actual production, rather than warehousing.

 

[mrsmith]

My Jan 7th order is on the ship/train now. Expected to be available for collection around 20th July.

My British Gas 32amp wall box ordered on 13th June with be installed 4th August. Still going t be funded by Govt. just costing me the £99 extra for the higher capacity.

Re: the charger the BG sales person was really trying to convince me to get the cableless, socketed version (for another £30-40 I think), I declined and went for type 2 tethered cable.

 

[FrancisJeffries]

Re: the charger the BG sales person was really trying to convince me to get the cableless, socketed version (for another £30-40 I think), I declined and went for type 2 tethered cable.

I think he must've got his numbers wrong!
I got the Polar (ChargeMaster) 32Amp unit fitted, and the tethered and socketed units were the same price. Since the cable costs £165 (and a chunk of that is the plugs), the socketted version should be cheaper, not dearer. For future-proofing I got the socketted version and will buy a lead in due course. I can use the lead away from home, too.

 

[mrsmith]

I think she meant the 32amp socketed version was £40 more than the free 16amp version. As you say the cables are not cheap so it didn't add up to me!

I reckon a type 2 cable will be compatible for some time anyway.

 

[Davegables]

Ordered mine 25 november 2013
Pick up on monday 7th july 2014
Absolutely bloody awful length of time to wait

 

[jadnashuanh]

Ordered mine 25 november 2013
Pick up on monday 7th july 2014
Absolutely bloody awful length of time to wait

Blame BMWUK for not negotiating enough of the build capacity, and, I guess, you could blame BMW for not guessing how popular the vehicle would be...they didn't want to have a huge factory only working part-time to supply the demand, they built it to supply what they thought people would buy. BMW has had their suppliers ramp up CF raw material production, and recently pumped $200M-US to expand it to another production line, and has ordered more equipment to be able to build more vehicles, but that takes time. The lead time for ordering to delivery of the industrial build equipment is not weeks, it's many months, and expanding the factory doesn't happen overnight, either. It's probably better to keep the production level down and the quality up than trying to rush things before they're ready. Hopefully, the wait will be worthwhile!

The USA negotiated a fair amount of vehicles, and I was able to get one quickly. That seems like it may not be the case in awhile (they only started to receive vehicles for sale in early May). One dealer I stopped at had already sold all of their allocation, but had been able to get a few from other dealers. The USA is so big and spread out, there are areas where the vehicle will not be that popular since it is so far between things, and those vehicles, rather than sitting on their lots, may be scooped up by dealers in more dense population areas. How long it takes for the supply/demand to hit a critical situation here is unknown, and it may approach that of the UK fairly quickly. The bigger normal range of temperatures across the country may also limit the 'sweet' spot for users. Time will tell.

 

[mrsmith]

Ordered 8th January
Delivery arranged for 24th July

 

[DanB]

Ordered late August 2014
Expect delivery mid December 2014

 

[crossie]

I'm in Ireland.

Ordered Late August, Delivery estimate is January 2015.

 

[Dee123]

Does anyone know if the DC charging wiring is supplied by BMW themselves? If it is, perhaps adding it late won't delay my build?

I'm thinking of adding the DC to my order but am concerned it could bump things back again. Already had a three week back bump because I changed spec to a suite interior

 

[dvemer]

After much pondering we decided to change our car from a BEV to a REX... and just in time! Our BMWi guy told us the BEV was going into production this week! But now our delivery is pushed out till Jan or Feb 2015.

I suspect BEV deliveries will speed up & REX ones slow down as higher numbers order off the REX production line. ( Which I take it is a separate line from the BEV one, with it's own assembly program )

At Dee:- I have no idea about the DC wiring harness, but I suggest you do get it - if only to add to the resale value. You may well be selling the car sometime in the future when DC charging is standard issue on the roads, and not having it may break the deal.

 

[Dee123]

Spoke to BMW UK. They can offer no guarantees on the effect o. Build date.
A dealer told me it's complex wiring and will most likely delay build.

Not sure it's worth the trouble getting my build delayed for a feature I doubt I will ever use for the sake of resale value in 3 years time...

Thoughts please?

 

[jackt]

@Dee123 definitely get DC option, I absolutely regret not getting it. Ecotricity are rolling out CCS units way faster than they did chademo. The M1 will be almost completely covered by end of year.

Also the delivery dates are very much a moving target, mine ended up being 2months earlier than quoted... :S

 

[MikeS]

But many of the DC charging points seem to be very expensive to use so maybe better to go with REX?

 

[jackt]

The Ecotricity stations should be free to use until at least Jan 2016. Chargemaster have priced themselves out of the market, at some point they are going to have to reduce the prices to something sensible like what York Council have. The whole Milton Keynes experiment has proven to be a disaster, as usage has dropped off a cliff since pricing was introduced.

 

[Dee123]

Unfortunately, EV charging infrastructure isn't that much of a priority where I live and I'm pretty fine charging at fast AC home and work. The only two CCS chargers I know are not along my commute but useful if I need to travel. The strategy of the council is to place AC in car parks and DC on travel routes. Well, we have a second car so I won't be travelling with the i3.

Just thinking of adding the DC for future resale value. it may be someone in Yorkshire buying my i3 in three years time... No DC no sale :?:

 

[crossie]

Unfortunately, EV charging infrastructure isn't that much of a priority where I live and I'm pretty fine charging at fast AC home and work. The only two CCS chargers I know are not along my commute but useful if I need to travel. The strategy of the council is to place AC in car parks and DC on travel routes. Well, we have a second car so I won't be travelling with the i3.

Just thinking of adding the DC for future resale value. it may be someone in Yorkshire buying my i3 in three years time... No DC no sale :?:

From what I've seen of Nissan Leaf resale values, those without DC rapid charge support don't sell very easily. I spoke to one guy who had no less than 14 people express interest his Leaf that dropped out when they heard it hadn't got DC charge.

Here in Ireland we have 46 rapid DC chargers installed (and free!) and about 2/3s have already been upgraded to CCS. Ecotricity in the UK are getting funding from the EU to extend their rapid charger network across north wales to connect with the Irish network.