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California Ocean Delivery Delays

Just heard my van is built and on its way to port of departure. Dealer reckons 2-3 weeks. That's more like it!
Just been notified ours is built and on the way to Emden to ship. Have to say I am super excited now!
 
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Very pleased for those about to get their van in time for summer!! Just heard we have a build week of Nov 22nd (ordered in mid March) for our 4 motion ocean, that’s Christmas sorted :)
 
Just been notified ours is built and on the way to Emden to ship. Have to say I am super excited now!
I genuinely hope you don't have the same experience as I've had with my 4Motion.... sat at Emden from 22nd March till 26th April (5 weeks) UK port from 26th April till 4th may (8 days) Dealership from 4th May till today sorting a tailgate which was rejected on PDI. Due to be finally delivered next Weds 9th.... approx 2 AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER IT WAS BUILT!!!
 
Very pleased for those about to get their van in time for summer!! Just heard we have a build week of Nov 22nd (ordered in mid March) for our 4 motion ocean, that’s Christmas sorted :)
Mid March here too. 150 Ocean, although i’m still going by the dealer’s guesstimate of Feb ‘22. Wonder if something improved in the supply chain?
 
I genuinely hope you don't have the same experience as I've had with my 4Motion.... sat at Emden from 22nd March till 26th April (5 weeks) UK port from 26th April till 4th may (8 days) Dealership from 4th May till today sorting a tailgate which was rejected on PDI. Due to be finally delivered next Weds 9th.... approx 2 AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER IT WAS BUILT!!!
Hearing quite a few reports of delays at the ports etc. The dealer has advised as long as the status changes to at port waiting shipping by the 9th June then we should have delivery this month. He did say things seemed to be improving slightly. Sounds like you had an absolute mare!!
 
Status updated to waiting to ship (38). All being well the dealer thinks the Cali should be shipping over the weekend and be in the UK Monday/Tuesday. Then its up to the dealer to chase for transfer from port of Tyne. Fingers crossed we will be taking delivery very soon.
 
Status updated to waiting to ship (38). All being well the dealer thinks the Cali should be shipping over the weekend and be in the UK Monday/Tuesday. Then its up to the dealer to chase for transfer from port of Tyne. Fingers crossed we will be taking delivery very soon.
The best news for the weekend!
 
Status updated to waiting to ship (38). All being well the dealer thinks the Cali should be shipping over the weekend and be in the UK Monday/Tuesday. Then its up to the dealer to chase for transfer from port of Tyne. Fingers crossed we will be taking delivery very soon.

Hi how do you find out the status?


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Hi how do you find out the status?


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Usually via a frustrating online chat with VWC
Click on the speech bubble at the bottom of the page
_[Range]_[All]_[None]_[Exact]_[EN]_[Cons]_[CV]_[Pure_Brand]-UK_UK-Google&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnueFBhChARIsAPu3YkR2TFuSGAfvEMnTAF9KKLXTgJqPakV4EJmYo2YrRQVYYvbp6FArtIsaAsAjEALw_wcB

But please take with the require pinch of salt, as it easier to herd cats than get any sort of info that will add any sort of positivity to your weekend ;)
 
Hi how do you find out the status?


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VW chat and the dealer both confirmed the status. It's the first time I have had accurate information since September to be honest. Pretty sure VW chat are sick of hearing from me!
 
Californias have always had a long lead time but they are taking longer than usual at the moment.

We ordered ours late September and it went in to build last Monday, and we expect 6 to 8 weeks from here to have it sat here at home. It will be worth it, our last Ocean took ages too and was brilliant.

I just wish there was more granular status information from VW. BMW have a similar status system (and online chat) and theirs is much more transparent.

I hope you get the van soon :)
Picked up the van today after the nine months gestation period, delighted with it !!
 
Find it like driving a car and most impressed with the smooth ride and lack of rattling that had with my previous low profile motorhomes. Well pleased.
 
I realise that I am not alone but.............

I ordered a very high spec VW California Ocean on 24th of September 2020 and was given an estimated delivery date of February 2021. In order to finance the Ocean I intend to sell my car. Having been given approximate delivery dates of February, then March, then April 20th, I have now been told that although my vehicle has been built it cannot be delivered due to the shortage of silicon chips required for my tow bar fitting. The dealer from whom I ordered the vehicle is now unable to give me a delivery date or even an estimated time for the delivery.

Whilst VW may argue that this is something outside its control I would contend the reason in this specific case is because of the inefficiency of VW in not ordering sufficient chips to build the vehicles that they had on order. The (almost universal) excuse of the current pandemic is no excuse whatsoever because if VW had not the parts to build vehicles then they should not have accepted the orders. This seems to me to be the current situation leading to the long lead periods. VW gave me a lead period of 5 months and I am still waiting after 8 months with an indefinite delivery date.

I therefore contacted VW customer care (which quite clearly is a misnomer) with the following point:

Delays in delivery of vehicles can cause actual financial loss for customers of VW. in my case had the Company delivered the van on time value of my vehicle (equivalent to a part exchange price in normal circumstances) would have been approximately £27000 whereas currently the price is £25,000. As time continues this price will decrease whilst the price that VW expect for the California remains altered. As they are, at least in part responsible for the delay, my contention is that VW should compensate me – at least in part– for this loss by adjusting the price of the California. I am quite prepared to forward the email valuation I have from ‘we buy any car’ valuing my vehicle at this present time.

As VW is still unable to provide a delivery date for the vehicle am I expected to continue to pay for then going inefficiency of this multinational Company?

Their answer from VW appears to be yes!


By way of compromise I said that I am prepared meet the loss between February and now but that any further loss should be met by a reduction in the price of the California (purchased for just south of £70,000). In this, I think I was being reasonable but I am told by customer services that VW will not agree to this and that I should do nothing until the van is delivered which on an extreme analysis could be 2022 or even 2023. Of course as I was not born yesterday I realise that once I accept delivery my option can only be to rely on the goodwill of VW which from this scenario appears to me to be non-existent.

As I know that the van has now been built I offered to accept it without the tow bar which I could have retrofitted (at my own cost of course) once the van had been delivered and enjoy some of the summer. Of course, that’s not possible because it doesn’t fit in with VW’s building schedules where specifications cannot be altered once the build has started

Customers wanting a California (or any other VW product for that matter) have no option but to put up with a company that could not give a damn about their customers and are purely motivated by profit regardless of service.
Just to give you another perspective, as I work within another industry. There is a worldwide shortage of Silicon chips due to 2 factory fires in the main producers in Japan. This has meant delays across the board for all users of Silicon. In this instance VW are not at fault or liable for things out of their control. I say this even though Im not a huge fan of their customer support. A bit more back ground FYI is that prices are rising sharply. as happens when a shortage occurs. To compound the problem, Tesla are reported to have secured next years production, by offering a substantial increase in their buy price. This will all filter into price increase of most modern products and maybe we will see inflation return with a vengeance .
 
Hey! Was it 2-3weeks?

Hi o picked it up on 24th June, it having arrived at the dealership on Monday 21st….so yes it was about accurate….GracieVan is beautiful by the way!!


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Hi o picked it up on 24th June, it having arrived at the dealership on Monday 21st….so yes it was about accurate….GracieVan is beautiful by the way!!


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I’m where you were, the van arrived at port of exit today! I’m glad you love GracieVan! We can’t wait to meet Nimbin!
 
I’m where you were, the van arrived at port of exit today! I’m glad you love GracieVan! We can’t wait to meet Nimbin!
You won’t be disappointed- what colour is Nimbin?
 
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