[np2411]

Hi guys
Happy Diwali and a Happy New Year!

At the beginning of 2022, we began our search for a new car to replace our 7 year old Toyota Corolla Altis. We began the search by checking out the only 'executive' sedan available in the Indian market, the Skoda Octavia. While the car was everything that one would want, the suspect history of Skoda aftersales service coupled with our fantastic experience with Toyota vehicles over the last 15 years, we decided against the Octavia.
With no other option in sight, we decided to replace our BMW X1 instead of the Altis, in the hopes of having more alternatives when we finally decide to replace it.

We now began researching replacements for the X1 and decided on two models. The Volvo XC40 and the Range Rover Evoque. As you can infer from the options, the budget was flexible but the size was more or less confined to a Compact SUV sized vehicle due to parking constraints. The gulf in quality between the two (understandably so considering the price difference) was big enough for us to go ahead and book the Evoque.
We booked a Silicone Silver, Petrol variant in April, 2022.

Herein begins the long and arduous ordeal.
It has been 6 months since we booked the vehicle, but are yet to receive any concrete update regarding the vehicle status.
The sales agent contacted us a few times in the last six months to ask us to reconsider either the colour or change to a diesel vehicle.
While changing to a diesel is a dealbreaker, we provided the dealer with another colour - Portofino Blue - as a secondary choice.

We finally received a call 10 days ago with the information that the semiconductor issues are on the mend and that we should receive the vehicle by mid November.
The joy however was short-lived since we received an email yesterday (26.10.2022) stating that due to semiconductor issues, our build date is yet to be confirmed and that the build date may be reviewed in 8-12 months time.
The entire post-booking process has been a shambles. We have rarely received any update, and any update that we have received has usually been to either take a White coloured petrol variant, or to change our variant to a diesel - both of which are no-goes.
The JLR website states that the waiting period now is 4-6 months, but despite this, we have waited over 6 months and are now being asked to wait for another year.

Could any of the members here assist us in contacting a JLR India representative? Our city dealer has been extremely unhelpful in this regard.

This entire ordeal has left us with a bitter taste. While we would still be elated on purchasing the Evoque, we have no other option but to consider other vehicles as our X1 replacement.
It would be great to hear your options that we can consider as well in and around the 80L budget. Cars much larger to the Evoque would be an issue for us.

Thanks for reading this long post and here's hoping to finally getting some clarity on our booking through the power of this community.

[np2411]

Hi Guys

Further to the ordeal with JLR India and the local city dealership, please find below the screenshots of the emails sent by JLR's customer service teams two months apart.

The customer service and responses from JLR India has been abysmal.
Upon asking for further clarification as to why the dealer is receiving unsold (vehicles with no booking) instead of a vehicle booked 6 months ago, we are yet to receive any justification.

We would greatly appreciate any member here to provide any contact with JLR India who can give us a clear indication of the issue and based on that, we can take a call whether or not to cancel the booking.

Thanks again!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[reppy]

Any reason for not considering a Porsche Macan?

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by np2411

Could any of the members here assist us in contacting a JLR India representative? Our city dealer has been extremely unhelpful in this regard.

I'm sure someone can assist with your request but the question is, if the dealer is this unhelpful before selling the car, what hope do you have of good support when something goes wrong?

I think your Skoda dealer might be a better bet than this one. They have given you solid proof that they couldn't care less about the customer.

[Y@SH]

There is a shortage certainly and Cars are allocated to dealers based on number of preferences which I do not want to get into rather cannot share. If your local dealer is unable to get you one whilst waiting for over six months, try a bigger dealer say in Delhi or Mumbai.
They are getting most allocations for JLR vehicles currently.

Keep this booking, book another vehicle say with AMP motors or Navnit and be patient. This only if you are certain of the Evoque as your replacement.

Tip: Ask the dealer which colour/spec has most bookings for, book that exact specification, if someone who made the booking cancels then you have your car sooner than expected!

If not, then just stretch your budget for the Macan or see the Lexus NX300h.

[GTO]

I think you should have been flexible on the colour. White looks good on the Evoque too and you would have had your car by now. It is a seller's market & there is a genuine shortage of parts. Either change your colour to whatever the dealer can arrange, or wait for another couple of months (if you really like the Evoque).

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

I'm sure someone can assist with your request but the question is, if the dealer is this unhelpful before selling the car, what hope do you have of good support when something goes wrong?

I disagree with this statement, generally. The person / department selling you the car is entirely different from the person / department servicing your car. Service income is huge for authorised workshops and they prioritise it. Plus, there are always other dealerships to service your car from, if unhappy with the current one.

Of course, Land Rover / Range Rover after-sales is a hit or miss, but that's unrelated to the sales experience.

[np2411]

Absolutely love the car and would have been the first choice (after stretching the budget) - however the family isn't too keen so earmarked it for the future.

Thanks for this!
Regarding the Macan - absolutely love it, but the family isn't keen so its a no-go.
Lexus NX300h - Was a strong option but Delhi dealer told us that the waiting time is 2 years and we do not have a dealership in Calcutta.


Regarding a bigger dealership - Wasn't sure how the system works if i book a car with a dealership in another city. Is the registration process smooth? Or does booking the car in another city simply imply that my local dealer gets the inventory from them since the allocations at a bigger dealership would be quicker / on a priority basis from the principle?

Thanks again!

[AROO7]

Originally Posted by np2411

Regarding a bigger dealership - Wasn't sure how the system works if i book a car with a dealership in another city. Is the registration process smooth? Or does booking the car in another city simply imply that my local dealer gets the inventory from them since the allocations at a bigger dealership would be quicker / on a priority basis from the principle?

Thanks again!

Actually you should check with dealers in a nearby metro city if they have stock or a model in transit that can be allotted to you or a cancelled booking. This might increase your chance of getting the car early.

In case you are required to compromise on car color to get it early, you always have the option of changing its color to your choice using car wraps. While road less taken is also getting it repainted at a reputed paint shop. But the latter won't be the option I would suggest or take myself.

Coming to your other query, the dealer you would contact will get the car and not the one at your place. The former will help you with registration formalities, no hiccups here. Also this is not a deal breaker, in 2010 when I was going to book a VW Polo, I was informed that they have showroom only in Lucknow and Agra in entire Uttar Pradesh. But both the showroom regularly got bookings from adjoining/ nearby or even far off cities in Uttar Pradesh.

Also for a better understanding you can go through this thread where one BHPian got his Volvo from Kolkata while he lives in Ranchi.
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/2021-v...hip-experience

[Ravi Parwan]

Slightly Off Topic.

Originally Posted by np2411

Thanks for this!
...
Lexus NX300h - Was a strong option but Delhi dealer told us that the waiting time is 2 years and we do not have a dealership in Calcutta.
...
Thanks again!

Doesn't two years waiting period sound fishy?
I remember my dad booking Bajaj and Vespa scooters with 5 years waiting in the 1980's, but in today's day and age is the shortage so bad almost a year and a half after things have gotten back to normal?

Here is an analysis of annual car sales till 2020, from TBHP.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...-car-sales.png

Here is the link to the full thread.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-analysis.html (2020 Report Card - Annual Indian Car Sales & Analysis!)

Here is another from Statista.
<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/608392/automobile-industry-domestic-sales-trends-india/" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/608392/automobile-industry-domestic-sales-trends-india.jpg" alt="Statistic: Sales of automobiles in India from financial year 2011 to 2022, by type (in millions) | Statista" style="width: 100%; height: auto !important; max-width:1000px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;"/></a><br />Find more statistics at <a href="https://www.statista.com" rel="nofollow">Statista</a>

It seems we are still way off from the sales peak seen in 2018. semiconductor shortage seems a very difficult to justify reason for this.

Would request learned members to pitch in with more insights.

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by np2411

T
Lexus NX300h - Was a strong option but Delhi dealer told us that the waiting time is 2 years and we do not have a dealership in Calcutta.

You mean 350h right? The 300h was replaced 2 years ago and may be there was a disconnect in your conversation. Anyway, I am checking with my source in Lexus Bangalore and will let you know.

I think you should check for 350h from your end as well.

My contact in Lexus says there is a 14-month waiting period for the NX350h tentatively and could change. So nothing changes drastically because you’ve waited for over 6 months and you’ve to again wait for over a year.

What are your parking constraints? At home/work? Is there a way you can work around it by renting or buying another parking slot - because with the budget you have, a lot of great options would open up if you could manage parking. Also, at that price point, space is a good thing to have in the car.

[np2411]

Yes, we have reached out to other dealers (Delhi and Mumbai) and asked them about the availability of the vehicle with a range of acceptable specifications from within their incoming shipments. We are waiting to hear back.
The dealers however, informed us that they would not be able to register the car in our city due to a territorial conflict (since a JLR dealer already exists here).
We are trying to find a workaround.

Thanks again for your inputs!

[np2411]

Yes, it does sound strange considering the semi conductor issues have been resolved to a large extent. We re-confirmed the waiting period with both the Delhi and Hyderabad Lexus dealers - while the waiting period isn't two years, it sadly still is 15-18 months.

[np2411]

Originally Posted by AROO7

Actually you should check with dealers in a nearby metro city if they have stock or a model in transit that can be allotted to you or a cancelled booking. This might increase your chance of getting the car early.

In case you are required to compromise on car color to get it early, you always have the option of changing its color to your choice using car wraps. While road less taken is also getting it repainted at a reputed paint shop. But the latter won't be the option I would suggest or take myself.

Coming to your other query, the dealer you would contact will get the car and not the one at your place. The former will help you with registration formalities, no hiccups here. Also this is not a deal breaker, in 2010 when I was going to book a VW Polo, I was informed that they have showroom only in Lucknow and Agra in entire Uttar Pradesh. But both the showroom regularly got bookings from adjoining/ nearby or even far off cities in Uttar Pradesh.

Also for a better understanding you can go through this thread where one BHPian got his Volvo from Kolkata while he lives in Ranchi.
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/2021-v...hip-experience

Originally Posted by HighRevving

You mean 350h right? The 300h was replaced 2 years ago and may be there was a disconnect in your conversation. Anyway, I am checking with my source in Lexus Bangalore and will let you know.

I think you should check for 350h from your end as well.

My contact in Lexus says there is a 14-month waiting period for the NX350h tentatively and could change. So nothing changes drastically because you’ve waited for over 6 months and you’ve to again wait for over a year.

What are your parking constraints? At home/work? Is there a way you can work around it by renting or buying another parking slot - because with the budget you have, a lot of great options would open up if you could manage parking. Also, at that price point, space is a good thing to have in the car.

Thanks a lot for verifying the waiting period with your Bangalore source.
Post reading your reply, i checked with the Delhi and Hyderabad dealer again and they confirmed a waiting period of 15-18 months.

We have parking constraints at work. It unfortunately cannot be resolved. That being said, we are now looking at cars which are bigger and would love your inputs on the options.
We are now considering the Velar (however we are not confident with our local dealer), E-Class and the GLC (waiting for the new model to be confirmed for India). We are looking at only petrol vehicles and will be researching more in the coming few days to create our shortlist.

[praveen_n]

Originally Posted by np2411

Yes, it does sound strange considering the semi conductor issues have been resolved to a large extent. We re-confirmed the waiting period with both the Delhi and Hyderabad Lexus dealers - while the waiting period isn't two years, it sadly still is 15-18 months.

I would disagree. Issues are still not resolved. I had verified with dealers in UAE for JLR and they have a waiting period of minimum 7 months for most models.
Again these are tentative and might go up. This is not just with JLR .