Hi, first post and wanted to see if others found themselves in the same situation...
We ordered an XC40 Recharge Pro on August 22nd as an outright purchase. Since then we've had no updates from CbV except for bad news:
- first they cancelled the leather option and we had to pick an alternative. Supposedly a £50 gift voucher to say sorry but that never arrived.
- then they told us the charge point wasn't guaranteed by end of March, and did we want to pay the £350 ourselves when the government grant ended or just cancel it
- now they've told us they're not making that model car any more, and do we want to get a lower spec (single motor/FWD) or wait until the order book opens for the new model and create a new order which at this stage would be next summer at least before it arrives
If this is the future of how they want to run their business then its an omni-shambles. The chip shortage is not their fault, but the way they're managing this is appalling. Trying to call them today: "all advisors are busy on training, please leave a message"
We currently own 2 Volvos already, the big family XC90 and my wife bought an XC40 Hybrid as a stop-gap until the full electric arrived. I don't feel like there's many options right now except hold out for the car we want, but its leaving an incredibly bad taste.
Did anyone else get the same email with the news about starting from scratch again?
CbV shambles
Actually the impact of the chip shortage may well be their fault as many car manufacturers cancelled their chip orders at the start of the pandemic as a cost saving measure… Beancounters running businesses…
Used to have an XC40 T5 Recharge Inscription Pro MY21 with Polestar and useless Pilot Assist
Welcome to the club. I include below my first post on this issue at the beginning of August. Since then I have provided updates and further thoughts on a couple of different threads. But yes, CbV has shown itself to be utterly incompetent. They keep telling me that they have introduced a new way to buy a car, and do not seem interested when you tell them that the new process is problematic. Lack of information is appalling. Lack of appropriate response to complaints is appalling (they don't seem to care - just tell you to complain to the Financial Ombudsman). I've been given build/delivery dates and seen them slip by months on the app - no information from CbV unless you call or e-mail them (whereas those who order non-P8s from dealers seem to get regular updates from the dealers). CbV has made clear that the only other source of information is the app, even though it does not provide adequate or up to date information ( I would have expected a bit more than that when paying upwards of £60K for a car). A month ago I was given a new firm build date (they made it out that they had just found a match to my car, even though this just returned it to one of the original timeframes (I subsequently found out that I got this 'earlier' build date because I have complained so much). That slipped. The car was supposed to have been delivered to the dealer today. I am still not sure whether it has been built yet. The app is still showing March delivery even though theoretically I will be getting it next month I will believe it when I see it... I have taken it to Volvo International but they are not interested. And now I seem to spend most of my time waiting for promised calls from somebody at the top of the executive office which never come. I have lost count of how many promised calls have not materialised. Every time I try to call he is in a meeting. Am promised a call back, but it never comes. As you say, utterly shambolic and shockingly miserable treatment of customers. I will now start preparing a case for the Financial Ombudsman. In my submission I will make reference to the complaints I have seen on this forum. So if anybody else wants to pile on, please do!
I also got that e-mail, even though I had previously tried to cancel the order (and had also received another e-mail previously). I have gone ahead and installed another charger. If I had waited for New Motion, it is now looking like it would have been at least 10-12 months from originally providing the requested information, and months after receiving the car.
Original post:
Hi, am new to Volvo and this forum. Has anybody ordered the Recharge Twin full electric? If so, what kind of delivery timeframes have you been given? I placed an order (outright purchase, Pro trim level) in late June, but getting accurate, concrete information has been a nightmare. The guy at the dealer told me that it could be as little as a month if it was a stock car, or 'later' (helpful...) if not. I didn't hear anything for a week after ordering online, so called Care by Volvo. They told me 4-5 months, could be affected by the chip shortage. Subsequently told that it would not affected by ship shortage, and then told by someone else at CbV that it might be affected, but 3-4 months if not. Most recent info is build between 31/10 and 14/11 (only got this info after going through a complaints process). This is problematic since from late September will need a reliable car for commuting until delivery. Looking at INTO for short term rentals. Anybody have experience with them or other similar companies?
It turns out that the only 1 month delivery cars are available on the subscriptions, and then only some Core models and one Plus model (black). Unless you enter the website in the right way, you do not get this information.
It appears to me that the introduction of CbV online ordering has led to a worse customer experience. The dealers are cut out of most of the process and have no real incentive as far as I can tell to be proactive - and don't have enough information. The dealer does not have my order details, and apparently won't get that until much closer to delivery (although CbV says something different). The dealer said that if I was purchasing a car through them, they might have been able to provide a loaner (although none available at the moment), but now with CbV, it is Volvo who should deal with this. CbV of course sends me back to the dealer. I have provided extensive feedback to CbV on changes they need to make to their website and other procedures to provide greater clarity for customers. At this point, it seems they really only want to do the subscriptions - not outright purchases.
Lots of other issues because of lack of communication between CbV and dealers, and am currently deciding whether to continue my order. But would be interested to hear other people's experiences.
I also got that e-mail, even though I had previously tried to cancel the order (and had also received another e-mail previously). I have gone ahead and installed another charger. If I had waited for New Motion, it is now looking like it would have been at least 10-12 months from originally providing the requested information, and months after receiving the car.
Original post:
Hi, am new to Volvo and this forum. Has anybody ordered the Recharge Twin full electric? If so, what kind of delivery timeframes have you been given? I placed an order (outright purchase, Pro trim level) in late June, but getting accurate, concrete information has been a nightmare. The guy at the dealer told me that it could be as little as a month if it was a stock car, or 'later' (helpful...) if not. I didn't hear anything for a week after ordering online, so called Care by Volvo. They told me 4-5 months, could be affected by the chip shortage. Subsequently told that it would not affected by ship shortage, and then told by someone else at CbV that it might be affected, but 3-4 months if not. Most recent info is build between 31/10 and 14/11 (only got this info after going through a complaints process). This is problematic since from late September will need a reliable car for commuting until delivery. Looking at INTO for short term rentals. Anybody have experience with them or other similar companies?
It turns out that the only 1 month delivery cars are available on the subscriptions, and then only some Core models and one Plus model (black). Unless you enter the website in the right way, you do not get this information.
It appears to me that the introduction of CbV online ordering has led to a worse customer experience. The dealers are cut out of most of the process and have no real incentive as far as I can tell to be proactive - and don't have enough information. The dealer does not have my order details, and apparently won't get that until much closer to delivery (although CbV says something different). The dealer said that if I was purchasing a car through them, they might have been able to provide a loaner (although none available at the moment), but now with CbV, it is Volvo who should deal with this. CbV of course sends me back to the dealer. I have provided extensive feedback to CbV on changes they need to make to their website and other procedures to provide greater clarity for customers. At this point, it seems they really only want to do the subscriptions - not outright purchases.
Lots of other issues because of lack of communication between CbV and dealers, and am currently deciding whether to continue my order. But would be interested to hear other people's experiences.
P.S. Given that leather was a £900 option, they should be giving you £900 off the car, not a £50 voucher. At one point they tried to give me a £100 voucher for an 'experience', which would have ended up costing me money, even of there was something I wanted. And the £350 for the charger is just really, really insulting. But par for the course at CbV.
Ouch - sounds like your experience has been dire. Well done on continually trying to chase them. We've pinged off emails but trying to speak to an actual person is very difficult. I agree on the paltry £50 voucher offer for the lack of leather... manufacturers have been making a big deal about how luxurious and premium their leather interiors are for decades now, so suddenly removing it with no warning is poor form. At the very least they should be honouring it for orders already in their queue, not changing the goalposts halfway through the process. I'm sure their legal T&Cs have various get-out clauses around being able to change the spec, but as far as I'm concerned when I put a deposit down then I want the exact item I ordered... they surely can't be surprised to get a string of complaints if this is how they want to do business.
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Deleted User 3629
Got a lot of time for Volvo - as still do, but do feel their recent success is moving the business ethos to a take it or leave it attitude, perhaps they should remember when they were close to extinction and who saved them - ultimately it was the customer???
A further update. I called CbV first thing this morning. Was told that the car was still showing as in production - still in the completion zone - but still showing as to be completed today. Then immediately the chip shortage was mentioned when I pointed out that the supposedly firm timeframes keep slipping. But obviously Volvo's problems go far beyond the chip shortage. The individual I talked with agreed that the app is not good (which raises questions about why CbV keeps telling us that the app is the main source of updated information...). She recognised that I had been "messed around" - finally honesty from a CbV employee! Said she would get back to me.
A couple of hours later I received the invoice (which thus indicated that the build had been completed) - I only seem to receive these things when I call... The invoice showed estimated delivery date of Christmas, which is obviously ridiculous. So back to CbV and talked with the same person. She confirmed that I would definitely be getting it before Christmas. It is at the port. Turns out it is in the UK, but she couldn't tell me which port. Any ideas what it might be? I am in Scotland so not sure whether it would come in to Rosyth from Zeebrugge or go somewhere down south first. So it had obviously been built a while ago. It is too bad that they had not actually been able to communicate that to me earlier. It is clear that their systems are messed up. Anyway, once I transfer the money, it will take 24 hours to clear, and then the car should be with me within two weeks. Again, if this vital piece of information had been communicated to me sooner, along with the updates, I could have been ready (getting almost £60,000 together in one place and transferring it is not necessarily a trivial exercise). So, it appears things are finally on track, after a massive amount of chasing and stress. I would not wish dealing with Volvo on my worst enemy...
A couple of hours later I received the invoice (which thus indicated that the build had been completed) - I only seem to receive these things when I call... The invoice showed estimated delivery date of Christmas, which is obviously ridiculous. So back to CbV and talked with the same person. She confirmed that I would definitely be getting it before Christmas. It is at the port. Turns out it is in the UK, but she couldn't tell me which port. Any ideas what it might be? I am in Scotland so not sure whether it would come in to Rosyth from Zeebrugge or go somewhere down south first. So it had obviously been built a while ago. It is too bad that they had not actually been able to communicate that to me earlier. It is clear that their systems are messed up. Anyway, once I transfer the money, it will take 24 hours to clear, and then the car should be with me within two weeks. Again, if this vital piece of information had been communicated to me sooner, along with the updates, I could have been ready (getting almost £60,000 together in one place and transferring it is not necessarily a trivial exercise). So, it appears things are finally on track, after a massive amount of chasing and stress. I would not wish dealing with Volvo on my worst enemy...
I used CbV subscription to source my XC40 a month ago and my experience was without fault. I was kept informed, the app tracked progress and they delivered within the proposed timeframe. Couldn't ask for more.
XC40 MY24 B4 Ultimate Dark, Black Leather, Crystal White, 20" Rims
Lincolnshire England.
Lincolnshire England.
The ferry sites quote Hull from Zeebrugge, but I thought that route was only P&O and they'd cancelled it?
Sounds like a nightmare dealing with Care by Volvo. I thought it was a monthly subscription deal?
Sounds like a nightmare dealing with Care by Volvo. I thought it was a monthly subscription deal?
Mike. West Yorks.
MY22 B4P R Design 8 sp auto, Thunder Grey with Climate, Park Assist, Android Auto, Car Protection & mudflaps, Service Plan.
Ordered 02/11/21, collected 17/11/21
MY22 B4P R Design 8 sp auto, Thunder Grey with Climate, Park Assist, Android Auto, Car Protection & mudflaps, Service Plan.
Ordered 02/11/21, collected 17/11/21
