I ordered a Anthracite w/Ebony 6MT - Navi TL on 12/31/03. Since it was the last day of the year, the dealer really busy and didnt have any info pertaining to delivery dates, etc.

However I called them today, he indicated that he wont have an anticipated delivery date till early-mid Feb. He also indicated that it would take about 8 weeks from order to delivery. I've seen some individuals around here indicating that they knew build dates. Do/Can the dealers obtain/provide this information once they know? The dealer didn’t seem as forthcoming with information as I would have liked. However I know they are/were busy when I ordered and make my deal.

Any thoughts on this as it's been over 12-14 years since I ordered a car last?


Thanks.

 

Well, according to your post, it's been just over 72 years. Didn't know the TL went back to 1931.

 

You’re right, that’s a long dam wait for a car I guess. That’s what you call fat-fingering the keyboard.

Thanks, I fixed that.

 

they should be able to provide you with a build date at some point

 

I guess my question is AT what point? I don’t want to bug them, I'm not that type of person, but I'm not a very anxious person as well. However I would like to know because I am just the slight bit anxious as I’m tired of driving my wife’s old heap….

 

I ordered my TL the last week in December. At that time, the salesman told me I would get a call from him at the end of January with my VIN #, and could expect delivery the first week in February.

 

greenseed,

IMHO, your dealer requires to give you build date and VIN when you order.

I order mine on the beginning of Sept., and my dealer showed me their computer allocation lists a week later, which has their Oct/Nov/Dec coming TLs out there. Then, I easily picked up the one I like. I chose my TL and get VIN even before TL started to sell and before my car was built.

Also, the most important thing is to have them put VIN and build date on your contract.


If you get your VIN on contract already, call to ask when that will be built. It's obvious they know when you will get the car when you signed it.

If you have no VIN on your contract, it may mean they finally assign a car to you after they figure out when they can get TL you like.



Is it possible the procedure has been changed since Navi models are short? The dealers won't be able to know whether or not they can get Navi TLs by their original schedule.

 

Rets,

I understand what you are saying, but I didn’t get the feeling that mathematical precision was happening behind the scenes. However from what I could tell during my visit/order that they were already preparing what cars they were ordering, and the GM just threw mine into the mix. Now I didn’t ask him this. Just my observations during the closing of my car and how/where he was writing stuff on this large sheet. I definitely do not have a VIN on the contract. The contract lists the agreed price plus trade-in, taxes, tags. etc as well as the Color (interior/exterior), Navi and 6MT.

I left $1000.00 and signed the contract (as I knew I wanted to be committed).

I think I'll give the guy a month and see what’s up then. I'm sure they want to sell a car and close the deal as much as I want the car.

 

I dealt with the salesman that actually places the orders for the dealership. This is the way my order for a February delivery went:

1. Placed order against Dealer's February allocation by 12/12
2. In early January, Acura confirms allocation and commits to a February build date. No specific date provided at that time.
3. By 1/10 or so, Acura provides VIN and target build date in February. The build date was either a 3 or 5 day span and they target the middle.

So, the entire process to order from the start is about 2 months. Dealers can try to "adjust" orders on the books to match color preferences and that allows them to shorten the window by about a month. With this method, a February delivery is still ordered by the dealer in December. However, if a customer goes to the dealership in early January, the dealer can take a stock order and try to adjust it to match the customer's color preferences. I don't recall whether they can adjust transmission or nav at that point.

 

I ordered my WDP Non-Nav Quartz Friday, 1/2, and the dealer showed me a printout of when the car would be manufactured (1/15-1/19) and I was told to expect delivery 1/24-25. Also said I'll get a call this week with the VIN number.

Although it wasn't mentioned Friday, I've heard that Honda/Acura paints certain colors different weeks of the month, which may result in the delay of some colors. Makes sense to send a bunch of cars down the assembly line & paint them the same color.

 

That is a bit scary for me ... My Desert Mist seems to be a 5% or less color selection. That means it could be even longer before I get mine.

Has anyone who ordered one of the (supposedly) less popular colors (Deep Green, Redondo Red, Desert Mist, Abyss Blue) and went through the entire "order-build YOUR car-delivery" timeframe seen a longer than 2 month period between their contract date and the delivery date? Note: This means no dealer trades, no "previously ordered by your dealer" that comes into stock.

 

Thats exactly what the GM at the dealership told me as well in our brief converstation...

 

93SHOcar --

Thanks for your feedback. At this point, I can only assume that this is what's (or will be) happening in my case. And that they are not relaying this info to me.

I'll check up on them in a few weeks by stopping in. That way I can avoid a "shortened" phone call.