Wait times for new cars

During one of the lockdowns we went to order a new car (a Volvo) to discover that the spec had changed, delivery was approx. a year and trade in and purchase price were also only approximate. We declined the offer and are sticking with the current one till things calm down.

My son just took delivery of a new Honda hybrid that he ordered in March. It was supposed to be delivered in July but there were supply chain issues and it just kept getting later and later.

There is a global shortage of parts, in particular computer chips.

Toyota delivery times are now a year and over for some models. Some of the RAV4 specs are no longer available either.

Delay in getting new cars has been the norm in the UK for over a year. So much so the the price of second hand cars have rocketted and the most recent secondhand cars are selling for more than the same model, new. It has its plusses and minuses. DD recckoned that when she replaced her car early this year, she paid a third more for the 5 year old car she bought, than she would have done a year before.

On the otherhand, when someone drove into my 20 year old Toyota Yaris earlier this and wrote it off, I was amazed just how much my insurance company gave me for it. I expected around £500 and got over £1,500, without any haggling.

A lot of the chips and other parts are produced in China.

China still has a zero policy towards Covid, consequently there is a delay in all supplies coming out of China.

This is also now hitting the new iPhone and iPads.

If you listen to dealerships, you get a different picture. I wanted to trade in a fourteen month old, top of the range unblemished hybrid CRV recently with under four thousand miles on the clock and the Honda dealer told me they had similar on their forecourt and couldn’t shift them so they were reluctant to take another one. Buyers were prepared to wait for new models. The Mini dealership said the same thing about resale and new models, but still gave me a very acceptable trade in price for it.

I'm waiting for one too. I've already negotiated on the colour to get it quicker but the estimation is 4 months because there is a delay in some of the components. The sales guy said some of their cars are taking @8 months, even more

Grannygravy is right too. The obvious solution seems to stop being so reliant on China

We managed to get a new Juke hybrid a couple of weeks ago when the dealer was doing and offer for regular customers otherwise there was a long wait. Little choice of colour or spec but we are very happy with what we have and the monthly fuel bill has gone down by about £50 as we are now achieving 50+mpg

how are you finding it Bertha? it's what I have ordered too!

Last June we were told by two main dealers not to bother ordering a new car because they had no idea when the order would be fulfilled, but it would be at least a year.
We searched the internet for a newly new model with the spec we wanted and the main dealer had it delivered so we could test drive it. There was no obligation to buy, but we did.

My SIL has been waiting for ever for a new electric Peugeot 3008. I think it is being delivered this week. I'm sure he ordered it nearly a year ago.

I drove on a very busy M6 on Saturday and only saw one 72 plate. Must be rare things everywhere.

I have a top of the range car, very low mileage and a sought after model apparently?

I am receiving at least two emails a week from the dealership asking me to consider selling it back to them and go on the waiting list for a new model.

I'm sticking with my petrol Volvo V70 - first registered 2006 and counting! - even though the road tax is high. I bought it a few years ago for £8,500 and it's only done 80,000 miles. Why waste hard-earned money on a new car and add to factory pollution?

Grantanow I am with you, until recently I had a Toyota Yaris, which I bought when it was 4 years, ran it for 15 years, and would still be running it, if someone had not driven into it and written it off.

I expect its replacement, a Hyundai i20, 10 years old, with 65,000 miles on the clock, to run for as long as I ran my Yaris, assuming I live that long.

Here the dealerships have plenty of cars in stock

At some point, it was hard to find the model you wanted, specially if it was a minivan, very popular in the US

My now just 2 year old Audi, I had to wait 6 months for, difficulties in computer parts getting to Germany.

My son waited 10 months for his new car as well. Good time to sell second hand cars, but replacing that's a different story.

So let me ask you, what do you do when your car breaks down and cannot be repaired (total loss)?

My old car failed its MOT last year and needed lots of welding work. It was a 2003 model and was very cheap to buy (£375) but I had it for 3.5 years. Scrap value was £211! Replaced with a 2010 car 12 months ago, which cost more but very happy with it.

15 week wait for my new car apparently. The price is locked in as is the trade in for my current car. I'm getting (eventually) a VW Up. It's very small and just what I need for my fairly limited lifestyle.

I was hoping to give my 2007 Corolla to my granddaughter who is 18 early next year but I have to hang on to it because of the long wait.

I always run my cars into the ground in answer to Hithere. When they go for scrap I've saved plenty of cash to buy another good secondhand car because I didn't waste thousands on a new car ever. The costs of maintenance and repairs are trivial by comparison with the vast premium paid for a new car.