The 199 (204) order club

[Corradobrit]

I can only think there is a difference in spec between a LHD Cali built to EU standards vs the UK, thats affecting weight and taking it over the front axle limits.

 

[JandA]

To be honest I am at a loss to understand anything that has gone on with VW and the Cali...I doubt we will ever get the truth unless there is some legal action taken against them by someone who cares that much. Had it been a normal year (without COVID) I do think the client voice would have been much louder and more aggressive as it is why spend a lot of money if you can only have a staycation down the drive or just look at, better hand onto the cash till you can get out there and have fun. In respect of the specification I may get the call this week telling me there has to be a change but I did get it confirmed by VW that it was fine. I guess 3 months down the road when thing get back to some normality this blog will go quiet...I do hope so for us all. Best wishes to all and keep buying the essential bits...lol

 

[JandA]

Photos show Rockingham being used to store thousands of unwanted cars


https://mol.im/a/9277951

no Californias here but lots in Grimsby

 

[Corradobrit]

Thats a couple of miles from where my parents live......I grew up in Corby.

 

[FOUNTI]

Hi All
I'm new to the site having ordered a new Cali in the 1st week of Dec.
I have a few questions and unsure where to post and thought this group is as good as any.

So my questions...
I've been lucky to have bought a few new cars in the past and my experience with VW is a little different. Having placed a deposit on a vehicle with VW van centre, I have only been given a receipt for my deposit but no order number.. is this usual?
I am in touch with them and they have said the usual bumf re. Being provided lists from VW UK so they can allocate a build slot for my order.
Is there something I should be asking for here ie. An order number?

Additionally, .. I have seen a lot of peops mentioning VW Chat to get an update... where do you access this and what info do I need to supply them?

Sorry for all the Qs just trying to get an angle on whether I should have been given further info for my order.

Cheers

 

[66tim99]

Hi All
I'm new to the site having ordered a new Cali in the 1st week of Dec.
I have a few questions and unsure where to post and thought this group is as good as any.

So my questions...
I've been lucky to have bought a few new cars in the past and my experience with VW is a little different. Having placed a deposit on a vehicle with VW van centre, I have only been given a receipt for my deposit but no order number.. is this usual?
I am in touch with them and they have said the usual bumf re. Being provided lists from VW UK so they can allocate a build slot for my order.
Is there something I should be asking for here ie. An order number?

Additionally, .. I have seen a lot of peops mentioning VW Chat to get an update... where do you access this and what info do I need to supply them?

Sorry for all the Qs just trying to get an angle on whether I should have been given further info for my order.

Cheers

Hi and welcome. Great choice of vehicle, but not the greatest car manufacturer for customer service perhaps.
You should receive a sheet (mine is titled ‘Vehicle Detail’ showing your options (some may be indecipherable except for a factory code) and an order number (mine has 8 digits).
You can access VW commercial chat here, but they’ll ask for an order number. I suppose they may be able to help find your order, but your dealer would be the first port.
Patience is a virtue and VW expect you to be exceptionally virtuous...

 

[FOUNTI]

Morning...
Many thanks for the quick response.. thought is was strange not having the usual paperwork for the order of the vehicle but when asked for further paper work, they provided a brochure for the California and email of the extras I've chosen. ... quite bizarre really as I'm used to the dealership (other manufacturers) furnishing me with a spec sheet, with my name at the top and a cost sheet displaying the associated charges right down to the on the road price.

I'll get onto them today and request the relevant info.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[Jandy61]

Morning...
Many thanks for the quick response.. thought is was strange not having the usual paperwork for the order of the vehicle but when asked for further paper work, they provided a brochure for the California and email of the extras I've chosen. ... quite bizarre really as I'm used to the dealership (other manufacturers) furnishing me with a spec sheet, with my name at the top and a cost sheet displaying the associated charges right down to the on the road price.

I'll get onto them today and request the relevant info.
Thanks again for the help.

Maybe your order hasn’t been sent to VW yet because salesman/ dealer wants to process it in a later month for their bonus scheme, you should of had an email or hard copy of order form with your spec by now.
Dealers seem to be taking the **** with customers because of high demand, I would call them today and ask form them to email a copy this morning. Without the order, you aren’t even in the queue, let alone at the back of the queue for a build date.

 

[jMacdent]

Hi All
I'm new to the site having ordered a new Cali in the 1st week of Dec.
I have a few questions and unsure where to post and thought this group is as good as any.

So my questions...
I've been lucky to have bought a few new cars in the past and my experience with VW is a little different. Having placed a deposit on a vehicle with VW van centre, I have only been given a receipt for my deposit but no order number.. is this usual?
I am in touch with them and they have said the usual bumf re. Being provided lists from VW UK so they can allocate a build slot for my order.
Is there something I should be asking for here ie. An order number?

Additionally, .. I have seen a lot of peops mentioning VW Chat to get an update... where do you access this and what info do I need to supply them?

Sorry for all the Qs just trying to get an angle on whether I should have been given further info for my order.

Cheers

Hi Founti,
you should have been provided with/sent an order form with probably an 8 digit number which is your order number. You need this when contacting VW Commercial Vans online. Click on the white chat bubble bottom right. The rest will be obvious.

VW Commercial Customer Service UK | Contact Us | VW Vans

Got a question? Talk to one of our experts at your local Volkswagen Van Centre or contact us by phone. Check our FAQs for all answers to your questions.

www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk

 

[FOUNTI]

Well.. Ive had a word with my dealer, who have sent through the order number on email although still no sign of spec sheet order but I have requested it.
Apparently, I am due a call at the end of the week where (they tell me) I should have a confirmed month..... lets wait and see.

Thanks for the info all. Cheers

 

[66tim99]

Well.. Ive had a word with my dealer, who have sent through the order number on email although still no sign of spec sheet order but I have requested it.
Apparently, I am due a call at the end of the week where (they tell me) I should have a confirmed month..... lets wait and see.

Thanks for the info all. Cheers

A confirmed build month after a week would be tremendous service.
We all used to wait for a provisional build week (Chat refer to it as Code 10 sometimes), which changed for many regularly (I had six different code 10 weeks allocated) before it became a confirmed build week (Code 20. I never got a Code 20).
But there's been a lack of consistency in when orders became Code 20, and recently "a list" has been released by the factory to dealers allocating build months, in order of order accepted. These build months are apparently a commitment from the factory, but ominously they stay at Code 10 (provisional, subject to change...).
I ordered a 150ps Ocean in October and have been told my build month is April (May delivery). VW chat did let on to me that the build months are also influenced by the quota your dealer has available...which is ominous as my dealer (Eurovans in Crawley) has over 100 Californias on order...
So it may be that you'll be luckier than me because your dealer has more quota available. Beaches also seem to be coming through quicker than Oceans (especially 204ps Oceans which are backed up due to delays in the RDE2 upgrade certification, but now coming through).
What have you ordered?
Good luck. Appreciate you keeping us posted.

 

[FOUNTI]

A confirmed build month after a week would be tremendous service.
We all used to wait for a provisional build week (Chat refer to it as Code 10 sometimes), which changed for many regularly (I had six different code 10 weeks allocated) before it became a confirmed build week (Code 20. I never got a Code 20).
But there's been a lack of consistency in when orders became Code 20, and recently "a list" has been released by the factory to dealers allocating build months, in order of order accepted. These build months are apparently a commitment from the factory, but ominously they stay at Code 10 (provisional, subject to change...).
I ordered a 150ps Ocean in October and have been told my build month is April (May delivery). VW chat did let on to me that the build months are also influenced by the quota your dealer has available...which is ominous as my dealer (Eurovans in Crawley) has over 100 Californias on order...
So it may be that you'll be luckier than me because your dealer has more quota available. Beaches also seem to be coming through quicker than Oceans (especially 204ps Oceans which are backed up due to delays in the RDE2 upgrade certification, but now coming through).
What have you ordered?
Good luck. Appreciate you keeping us posted.

Hi
Not quite up to speed with all the codes etc.. and when I've enquired with the dealership they are have not quoted me this way. ... Only "The vehicle hasn't been allocated a build slot yet". They have mentioned the list however, so apparently once worked through they can (apparently) designate a month at the end of this week.
I put a deposit down for one of the dealership stock order vehicles being the Ocean 199PS (now 204PS with some extra bits & bobs) with the receipt date of the 30th Nov although when contacting the VW Chat, they said the order has been on their system since 30th Sep ... with no build slot allocated and I should contact the dealer about this. It's worth noting that the order number is not linked to my name but under the dealership's... so dont know if this makes a difference in the delivery schedule. (i.e if VW UK think its a dealership stock order and to service orders allocated a person's name first)..
Who knows ... will have to wait and see at the end of the week.
Good Luck too... we may need just a little.

 

[IainB]

Just received call from the dealer, our van has arrived and is undergoing its PDI. Hopefully get some pics from them later today. Collection mid next week. Excited mutchly

 

[Kevin Isaac]

Hi Iain, when did you place your order? We ordered ours early October and hope to take delivery next month

 

[IainB]

Hi Iain, when did you place your order? We ordered ours early October and hope to take delivery next month

We placed our order at the dealer near the end of September, the order was confirmed by VW mid October. It arrived at the port of Emden on 18th March, so has taken about 4 weeks to get from there to the dealer.

 

[Mrstu2u]

For those of us that have been lucky enough to take delivery of our 204ps Cali's how are we finding them ? I'm liking mine I have to say it has plenty of get up and go about it and seems to drive very well indeed.