New car ordered

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Silver Moose
Posts: 344
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2018 9:10 am

Post by Silver Moose »

Sounds like bow locks to me.

Unless your dealership is in the middle of an industrial estate with acres of space, the arrival of a transporter is no small deal.

Most dealerships will know precisely when a transporter will arrive - from a safety perspective + the simple logistical excersise of ensuring there's sufficient space.
Real name Carl
T4 Inscription Pro ordered 13/12/2018 - collected 30/3/2019
Bright Silver/Charcoal
Convenience pack, Intellisafe Pro, 360 camera

Skyrimmer
Posts: 248
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 3:14 pm
Location: Norfolk

Post by Skyrimmer »

Don't let your trials and tribulations put you off the car. It's a cracking motor. Really loving mine and spending far to much on accessories.
XC40 Bright Silver T3 Momentum pro with just about every option plus mud flaps and sunglasses holder.
Deleted User 1894

Post by Deleted User 1894 »

In today's instalment, I got an update email (eventually) from the salesperson. I was forwarded a long email exchange from various people at the dealership and Volvo UK. I'll detail what they said, as it shows what happens behind the scenes (which someone may (?) find interesting):

* The order number appears to start with "CON"; that is followed by seven digits.
* The car is in the UK. That's a start. However, there was a weird glitch on their "Vista" system (isn't that a horrid version of Windows?) whereby on 20th June it said that the car had been delivered on the 5th of that month, even though, err, it hadn't.
* The dealership had placed a "hold" on the car with Volvo UK last month. I have no idea why, perhaps because I'd originally said I didn't want it until September (but they went ahead and ordered it from the factory straightaway for some reason). The "hold" in question was a "manual" one; presumably there is an "automatic" one that occurs if there's something seriously awry.
* The dealership only requested that the hold be released on 20 June, which was one day before I had arranged (many weeks before) to pick it up. Per Volvo UK, if the dealer requests the hold to be released, delivery is 3 to 5 days later. So a pick-up last week was never going to happen.
* Several days later, the car was still showing as being with the importer. The dealership chased this up (sales administrator and the sales manager) stating that they were told it would be here by Friday of this week, but the "Vista" system showed a delivery date of 4th July.
* The importer is trying to get the car to the dealer, but is blaming IT issues (ah, that old chestnut) a public holiday in Sweden (even though the vehicle didn't go anywhere near Sweden) and other (unspecified) issues, which were only resolved yesterday.
* Like an episode of the Crystal Maze, the importer has "challenged" something called "CAT" with getting the car to the dealership by tomorrow at the latest.
* The "Car Supply" bit of Volvo UK claims that delivery "should" be tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. They can't say exactly when, though.

So, there we are. The salesperson tacked a message on to this, saying that they would phone me tomorrow morning with an update. They claim that the dealership can carry out all pre-delivery checks, install Polestar, tax, insure and register the car for the afternoon.

As ever with these things, the it's the uncertainty that's annoying. That, plus the fact that my current car is running around on its winter tyres/wheels after a kerbing incident a while ago, so I'll have to sort all that out tomorrow.

Godspeed, little blue Volvo. You'd better be worth it. I wonder if it'll get its own transporter?
Deleted User 1894

Post by Deleted User 1894 »

The eagle has landed (by 8:30 this morning). Collection is on for 2pm.
stu22
Posts: 260
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:36 pm
Location: Colchester

Post by stu22 »

Ours is currently showing as the 12th July but the dealer has gone very quiet. Apparently some paperwork is being sent out to us on Monday but that's the only communication received.

Our Tiguan goes on Tuesday so have to hire a car between Tuesday and when the XC40 finally arrives :roll:
ChrisLF
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:21 am
Location: Heart of England

Post by ChrisLF »

Good news at last. As you say it's the not knowing which is annoying. Whilst the delay would still be annoying they could have mitigated it by at least sharing the communications with you earlier so you'd know some of the problem wasn't just with the dealer.

What blue are you going for?
2023 B4 Plus Dark FWD in Silver Dawn. Tinted Rear Windows. Spare Wheel & Tow Bar dealer fitted.

Gone - 2019 T4 R-Design FWD in Bursting Blue. Winter & Convenience Packs, Power Seat, Front Park Assist, Rear Camera, Spare Wheel & Tow Bar.
Deleted User 1894

Post by Deleted User 1894 »

Well, I'm back home now, and I am now a Volvo owner! I was at the dealership for about 90 minutes, of which most were spent going through paperwork. This was followed by a brief run-through of the main functions of the car. My drive home was a bit fraught, in an unfamiliar car that handles much differently to the previous one (C-Class coupé). I managed to connect my iPod without problem and (just about) figure out how the buttons for adaptive cruise worked, but had to stop off in a car park on the way to fill up as I didn't know how to reset the trip computer.

The salesperson was very apologetic about the palaver prior to collection; as a goodwill gesture, they gave me the three year service plan for free, which was far more than I was expecting. They'd managed to apply Polestar as well, but there was still bits of protective plastic wrapping they'd missed due to a shortage of time; the back seats were still covered up, and I spotted a few bits more when I got home. The car wasn't valeted at my request; I was hoping to detail it tomorrow but as it's going to be very hot, I'll leave it until a more suitable day. The paint is quite rough, so I shall be applying tar and fallout remover, which should sort things out nicely. I have cleaned the windows and I'll sort out the interior this evening.

First impressions of the car are generally very positive. Build quality is very good (perhaps not as good as my Mercedes was, but very close) and there are lots of nice touches, like the ticket holder in the front windscreen and the wiper service position function. It's rather novel being able to sit in the back seat without bending down. The underfloor storage and folding boot floor (I opted for the convenience pack) are great.

However, nothing is ever perfect:

* Road noise is quite bad. There's a fair amount of tyre roar. The tyres on the car are Pirelli 20"s with the "VOL" marking. The EU tyre rating is B/B/70, so they're not terrible so far as tyres go. Hopefully the noise will settle down once the tyres have a few miles on them. I'm hoping I won't have to fork out on some quieter tyres (e.g. Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 3s, which are are have a 69 noise rating - one bar, instead of two).
* The view from the rear camera isn't brilliant. It's mounted in the bottom of the boot, so part of the view is of the bumper. The 360 degree view is very good, though.
* I find the parking brake a bit of a faff. I'm used to my Mercedes releasing it automatically when I put it into "D", which doesn't occur with the XC40 (perhaps I need to read the manual). It took me a few seconds to work out why the car wasn't going anywhere when I first fired it up.

Pictures (of yet another Bursting Blue XC40) will follow once it's been detailed.
Deleted User 1894

Post by Deleted User 1894 »

It will be a week since I picked up the car tomorrow. Generally, I like the car, especially the way it looks inside and out. There are a few things I don't like, however:

* Fuel consumption is pretty bad. The display is showing around 37mpg. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to get 350 miles out of a tank. Given this, 54 litres doesn't seem very much.
* The gearbox/engine seem slightly mismatched, particularly in lower gears. It tends to rev too high before changing (usually about 1-2 seconds after moving off) and the gear change isn't always very smooth. There's some hesitation when initially moving off as well. I'm hoping it will get better as the car loosens up. Perhaps I just need to take it for a long run for a few hours. This is in "comfort" mode, incidentally.
* As mentioned on the 360 degree camera thread, I'm not too impressed with the cameras. The resolution doesn't seem particularly high, the view is too small (shrink the buttons!) and the reversing camera shows too much of the bumper and rear number plate. It could do with some better lines as well - do they show the centre of the tyre, the outside edge or the inside edge?
* The driver's seat is giving me backache. It's not horrific, but I've tried playing around with the lumbar support, all to no avail.
* I've had two tyre pressure warnings (briefly) and a "needs a service" error of some description in the centre console. When I tried to look at the error detail, it didn't show anything at all.
stu22
Posts: 260
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:36 pm
Location: Colchester

Post by stu22 »

Ours has finally arrived, typically the day after we hired a car for 10 days due to the late delivery!
We now collect on Saturday morning - best it was worth the wait.....

Hopefully your few little niggles will get resolved - most things are sorted by a software update but from experience with my Mercedes, you often have to be specific and ask for exact systems - they don't do it automatically.
senwar
Posts: 290
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:58 pm

Post by senwar »

Septercius wrote: Thu Jul 04, 2019 6:23 pm It will be a week since I picked up the car tomorrow. Generally, I like the car, especially the way it looks inside and out. There are a few things I don't like, however:

* Fuel consumption is pretty bad. The display is showing around 37mpg. At the rate I'm going, I'll be lucky to get 350 miles out of a tank. Given this, 54 litres doesn't seem very much.
* The gearbox/engine seem slightly mismatched, particularly in lower gears. It tends to rev too high before changing (usually about 1-2 seconds after moving off) and the gear change isn't always very smooth. There's some hesitation when initially moving off as well. I'm hoping it will get better as the car loosens up. Perhaps I just need to take it for a long run for a few hours. This is in "comfort" mode, incidentally.
* As mentioned on the 360 degree camera thread, I'm not too impressed with the cameras. The resolution doesn't seem particularly high, the view is too small (shrink the buttons!) and the reversing camera shows too much of the bumper and rear number plate. It could do with some better lines as well - do they show the centre of the tyre, the outside edge or the inside edge?
* The driver's seat is giving me backache. It's not horrific, but I've tried playing around with the lumbar support, all to no avail.
* I've had two tyre pressure warnings (briefly) and a "needs a service" error of some description in the centre console. When I tried to look at the error detail, it didn't show anything at all.
I very much doubt you will stick with this car.....
XC40 FE | D4 | Osmium Grey |19" wheels
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