[ajayc123]

Note: Don't Poll before reading Rule 1 below
Rule 1
Poll only if you were(are) in the market for a car in the last 12-18 month and you got one during that period or you are almost getting one. This rule is important, because it will help provide picture of the current times. But then you are not quarantined from this thread, because of the rule 2 (further down).

Music

Things were slow, really slow, back then in the license raj, probably till the late 80s when people happily waited forever (or for years) for their vehicles (even scooters OMG) after booking them. But then, after opening up of the Indian economy in the 90s, with subsequent technological improvements by leaps and bounds, and increase in the purchasing power, we have gradually moved towards instant gratification. So much so, that now we are in the age of NOW. Just wish it, and there’s a Flipkart wish-master to grant your wish, or an Amazon Now, a Swiggy, a BlinkIt, a Zepto, a Dunzo, to get things into your hands in a matter of minutes, or hours, same day, next day. You can even choose delivery slots. I wish these guys could get cars for us. Jokes apart, lets carry on.

When it comes to buying new cars, things have moved backwards. If I recollect my past car purchases, I think it wasn’t as bad as it now. I remember that a couple of decades back (it was 2003), I had casually walked into a Maruti True Value store to get the valuation of my 5 year old car (with a reasonable 78k on the odo), and I was offered higher than what I had expected. I just took an instant decision to exchange my car for a new one (even though retrospectively, the impulsive decision did not turn out to be too much to my liking). The only waiting time was just one or two days to get my cheque cleared. Now, we are in the time of IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) 24 x 7 x 365, where the money gets transferred even before you can blink. Literally instantly (maybe you need a few seconds to wait for the SMS to come for the 2 factor authentication, and a few seconds to key it in, if at all).

Why This Kolaveri Di !

Some of the things that come to the mind:

- Manufacturing and supply chain disruptions due to Covid, especially semiconductor shortage, but it seems to be gradually easing out, or has it
- Huge order backlogs cited by the brands, but how much of that is real (are there bookings that would never convert into a delivery)
- Multiple booking across brands, when you are in the market for car (we are playing our games, fastest finger [dealer] first, how many bookings for 1 car, the more the merrier)
- Creating a perception of huge demand for the product by citing huge waiting list (Perception is reality. I will deliver 2 months later, although I can deliver it now)
- Pent up demand as new car purchases had become a challenge due to covid (aargh! how long can I wait, ‘mera lakhon ka saavan jaye’ )
- Supply control by manufacturers to create scarcity, and thereby protecting margins, and prioritizing shareholders’ interests (who wouldn’t, it’s a business, not charity)
- Zero or minimal penalty for cancellations lead to larger than life order books (brands are happy with a long tail of bookings, dealers are happy with the free financing from the over-bookings for months, you are happy because how does it matters if it sits in the saving bank account or otherwise, anyway, the interest earned for that much amount is a pittance – win brand – win dealer – win you : YAY YAY YAY ! )

I don’t know the truth, why the waiting times for cars seems to be growing. As an individual, with limited understanding, each of us have our world-view, which is the small picture, but then we are always eager to get a hang of the big picture (After all, you need to sound knowledgeable around the water cooler, don’t you? Even more so, since Covid is over, and you are going to be back to office). So I thought, let's create this post to attempt to help improve our collective understanding. But, the picture will be shaped by the BHPians, with me being just the catalyst or the seed. Sometimes engines crank up, and sometimes they don’t, let’s see how and if we get closer to the bigger picture in understanding the car waiting list business. After all, BHPians believe in paying it forward, and am sure a lot of us would be eager and looking for options during the coming festive season kicking off sooner than you know.

I am starting with open hypotheses which could go either ways, but some answer should gradually and “hopefully” evolve. Hopefully, because Fermat’s last theorem (stated in 1637) just took 358 years to solve.

Statistics is always funny because it is always deviates from each individual’s data, but at a collective level, it starts giving a sense that there is a high likelihood that what will happen to most individuals will hover around the answer that statistics provides. Again, statistics itself doesn’t always come with one answer (for example the mean, median, mode, which should be familiar to a lot of us are three different values, moreover it often changes with the model, the sample, and what not). Anyway, the point it, please don’t see the result as cast in stone, but rather a range based on the demographic profiles of TBHP members. So, if it makes some fuzzy sense, then that’s the intent. Moreover, the stories that support the statistics make it much richer.

Of course, the results will come from your contributions, so be trigger happy and take a few seconds to participate in the poll as per the rule (that is, please participate only if you qualify for the poll, no offense meant for those who don't, but there's space for them in rule no 2. TBHP is democratic. )

Never mind. We have to start somewhere, and it starts will you, and as we get more perspectives, something appears to start making sense. And yes, feel free to suggest improvement, after all there’s always a version n+1.

With so many variables, waiting times differ by the car brand / model / variant / colour/and what not, and limited polling features, I have come up with a poll. (Hope that someday, we also move forward technologically, and improve the forum polling features. Has it changed, or it is same as it was a couple decades back ? Not bashing TBHP in anyway, but just musing. After all, TBHP is the elixir for thousands and thousands of souls, and then there are some who come to TBHP, who say they don’t have anything better to do).

I have also been thinking how we can measure something in a way that makes some sense. A lot of thoughts have crossed over the mind as there are always many ways to do something. [Many roads lead to Rome.] But you have to choose one and with the hope that it is better than the others that you had rejected. I don’t have the audacity to bore you with all the options that I considered or the patience to write all of those, as if I clearly remember them all. For brevity (this writeup isn’t actually anything like that, thanks for reaching this far though), I am skipping talking about that.

And thankfully, with the limited polling features in TBHP polls, it should not be that difficult.

Rules

And of course, before the poll, the rule(s) of the thread. Just two:

Rule 1
Poll only if you were(are) in the market for a car in the last 12-18 month and you got one during that period or you are almost getting one. This rule is important, because it will help provide picture of the current times. But then you are not quarantined from this thread, because of the rule 2.

Rule 2
Happily give away your ‘gyan’ to help this world with your experience of your situation, as a response to this thread, even if you don’t meet the poll criteria. And if you do meet the poll criteria, please supplement with your response by elaborating your booking story situation in more details to explain your choice. You can do freewheeling or use the following cues in your story: your choice in the poll / brand / model / variant / year / month / colour / how many booking did you do /how many brands/ your strategy / your tactics / your compromises / your connections / what was the initial waiting time at the time of booking / and when did you actually get the car / and your masala and more masala. After all the TBHP members love to talk.

The Poll

Finally the poll (thankfully, I can't talk till the cows come home.):

When compared to the waiting time estimate provided to you at the time of the booking, when did the actual delivery happen ? Please vote in the poll.

What? Nothing more. It’s your turn to take the driver’s seat.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for sharing!

Great thread idea. Just simplified the poll to 3 options .

[Keeleri_Achu]

I didn't buy a car in the last 12 months. So I'm not going to vote on this poll.

However, I was closely involved with a purchase made by a dear one right from selection and test drive to delivery. So here's my two paisa.

The car was an MG ZS EV. They already had a booking for Creta automatic. Since their use case screamed an EV, I pushed them towards either the ZS or Nexon EV. Nexon was rejected before even a test drive as the person was an ex Indigo owner who was adamant that he wouldn't touch a Tata with a barge pole. Talk about the trauma . The ZS was test driven and they were instant converts. The booking was made in first week of October, 2021 for an Excite (base) variant. The SA promised a delivery by the end of November . Anyway, after a wait of two months and the usual excuses, the variant was upgraded to Exclusive for a speedier delivery. By January they were informed that a Creta was available for delivery. Despite the false promises from MG, they decided to wait for the ZS. EVs tend to have that effect on you after experiencing them. Finally the facelift was launched in February and the showroom manager now promised delivery in April telling them they were first in queue. It went by and they came to know that two cars were delivered ahead of them. The manager got an earful and a booking for Nexon EV was made in haste. I think the trauma from delay was surpassing trauma from an ex ownership experience. Fortunately, the stars aligned and an allotment was made in the end of April. The car was finally delivered in second week of May.

To summarise, promised waiting period was 45-60 days. In reality, it was 200+ days. Had they waited for their original choice of base variant, it would more have been 300+.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

I didn't buy a car in the last 12 months. So I'm not going to vote on this poll.

Hey. that’s useful input. actually, I had put the 12-18 month rule suggestion with the intent of deterring voting for cases where purchases may be much older. And I could have qualified my statement better by suggesting the inclusion of cases where you have been actively invoked in a car purchase decision for near and dear ones, and where the delivery of car was taken.
This should serve as an addendum for other members.

[Akshay6988]

We booked our Creta on 10th August 2020, promised delivery was in October, 2020. 2 price hikes and 2 more months later, got the car delivered on 8th January 2021 ! Delay was expected given the supply chain disruptions, and the model being Creta, didn't help matters either

[Arun Babu]

Hi all,
I had booked Maruti 2022 Baleno alpha ags( amt) model on 23/02/2022. The promised delivery period was within 6-8 weeks. Yesterday only vehicle got despatched from factory and I may get it in another 4-5 days time. So effectively the total time taken for factory despatch in my case is around 17 weeks with a 9 weeks delay from the promised delivery time.

[thanixravindran]

Purchased car in the last 6 months. I booked Skoda Kushaq on 14 Jan and got delivered by 27 Jan. I was promised delivery in a week but got delayed by few days due to a last minute goof up during invoice and intervening Republic day holiday. Even 11 years ago, I got my i10 in a weeks time. Booked on 14 Feb and delivered on 21 Feb.

I have written this multiple times in other threads. There may be n number of things go wrong during long waiting periods in India like tax rate changes, price hikes, feature cuts, dealer shenanigans on allocation changes, family priority changes, etc. So my rule is what I see is what I get and buy only when there is a genuine need.

[SanjayW]

Before the committed delivery date. Booked my tata altroz diesel XZ plus in 2022 Jan end,
was told 60 days waiting period, got delivery within 40 days of booking.

[lsjey]

Got delivery of 5th gen Honda City last Feb. While booking in Jan last year, was told that I'll get my car only in March/April.

Regards,
lsjey

[quantobigboot]

We booked our AX7 Petrol MT XUV700 in the first slot of 25k bookings. Being a petrol variant, the waiting period was significantly less than diesel. The expected date was 15th - 23rd December 2021, and the car had arrived at the dealership by around 13th December.

[Hawk]

We booked a XUV700 AX7L Petrol AT at the first day the booking opened ( We had deposited the booking amount a day earlier) .

We got a slot in the first day of booking itself but did not get a slot in the first delivery batches . Our delivery timeline was June - July of 2022 on the online portal .

We got our car in April , so that is around 2 -3 months earlier.

The delivery times of the XUV700 are exaggerated by 3 - 4 months , but the people who have ordered AWD variants there timelines are unknown as when i asked the guy who was dealing with our car that how many AWD you have delivered, he said none and he also added that none are coming till a month or two .

[condor]

Most of our cars came around the time given - our Indica in 2000, Our Marina in 2004, Sumo in 2005. In 2009, when replacing the Marina with the Ikon, I actually delayed taking the car due to a situation at home. The Storme was ready with the dealer when I booked it, so it was more like an off-the-shelf purchase.

No new purchases in the last 9 years.

Things have of course changed in the last 2 years, and this thread would be more applicable to recent purchases only.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Skoda Kushaq on 14 Jan and got delivered by 27 Jan.

Going by what you say, for low sellers waiting times are pretty sane?

I brought a 1st generation i10 with a similar waiting time (mine was August 2010). At that time, Swifts were at an artificial 6 month and Wagon-R was 3 month waiting times. The reason we chose the i10 at that time.

[rpunwani]

Booked my BMW on 19.02.2021 and did the PDI on 20.02.2021.

Gave the nod to go ahead with the finance; which was completed by 24.02.2021. Paid the balance on the same day.

I was told that the car will be delivered on 03.03.2021. The dealer managed to get the registration number on 27.02.2021 and the car was delivered the next day on 28.02.2021.

[Aviator_guy]

I booked Creta IVT in March 2021 with promised delivery by June-July. Finally got delivery in September after mutliple escalations with higher ups. Chip shortage, high demand for Creta and dealer's don't care attitude didn't help the matter. Going by my frustrating experience, one of my dear ones booked Seltos IVT and got it in 4 months as promised without much follow up.