General is this really how it happens??

mantababe · Jan 30, 2015

got an email from my dealer today at around 3.30/4.00ish with a list of reg numbers and asking me to choose one and to let him know today

i replied can i let him know monday as im at work at the moment [and it was really busy] he came back saying "no as he needs to let them know it tomorrow" then adding "can i put xxxxxx number plate down"

so i quickly chose a number as i certainly didnt like the one hed picked

but tell me is this really how it works? it was just luck tht i picked up the email as i was having a very quick cup of tea, i kinda want enjoy this new car malky, and yet choosing a big part [the number plate] i felt rushed and pressured......maybe im being silly!

comments please :bang:

TwinAir Newbie · Jan 30, 2015

We got to choose from a range of registration numbers so that in itself is not unusual.

What I suspect is happening, and the reason that you were put under pressure to decide, is that the end of the month is looming and the dealer wants to get that car put in for this month.

I'm sure if any of the posters here know more, or correct me, they will chip in.

cd1yat · Jan 30, 2015

You don't always get a choice, I haven't on either of the last two. Just enjoy picking it up, it's the best bit!

mantababe · Jan 30, 2015

its not the choosing of the number plate but the rushing of it...im guessing TA newbie is poss near the point and explains the pressure, really disappointed in the service

mantababe · Jan 30, 2015

i hope hes telling the truth and it will be here next week as i wont be happy if it arrives in march thus could have had a 15 plate?????

JTD_Liam · Jan 30, 2015

As mentioned above, he'll be under pressure to register it before the end of January to get it into this months figures. A certain large Fiat dealer group I used to work for used to do it all the time and it wound me up a treat.

Fair enough if the customer is actually going to get their car in a few days but if it's still a couple of weeks away I used to tell the salesperson to phone the customer to ask if they were ok with that before I registered it. Even if they didn't phone them it cleared my conscience a bit.

I'd hold the salesman to the delivery date now. It's next week. If he moves the goalposts I'd get straight onto Fiat (00800 3428 0000). It's a shifty practice I know all about and I don't think dealers should be allowed to do it. Unfortunately Fiat, like most/all manufacturers, give monthly and quarterly targets so this sorta thing is bound to happen, but I think they should register a couple of demo's to reach the targets and if they still can't do it, then tough.

Shouldn't be messing with people's orders unless the delivery is imminent, no no no!

mantababe · Jan 30, 2015

JTD_Liam said:
As mentioned above, he'll be under pressure to register it before the end of January to get it into this months figures. A certain large Fiat dealer group I used to work for used to do it all the time and it wound me up a treat.

Fair enough if the customer is actually going to get their car in a few days but if it's still a couple of weeks away I used to tell the salesperson to phone the customer to ask if they were ok with that before I registered it. Even if they didn't phone them it cleared my conscience a bit.

I'd hold the salesman to the delivery date now. It's next week. If he moves the goalposts I'd get straight onto Fiat (00800 3428 0000). It's a shifty practice I know all about and I don't think dealers should be allowed to do it. Unfortunately Fiat, like most/all manufacturers, give monthly and quarterly targets so this sorta thing is bound to happen, but I think they should register a couple of demo's to reach the targets and if they still can't do it, then tough.

Shouldn't be messing with people's orders unless the delivery is imminent, no no no!

thats brilliant advice thank you. i dont mind it being reg now if its going to arrive say next week, but if it comes in march and i could have had a 15 plate i shall be livid

mantababe · Jan 30, 2015

so should i tell him NOT to register it????

JTD_Liam · Jan 31, 2015

I'd tell him if it's definitely here next week then fine, but if it turns up after half way through February you'll be cancelling it because you'd have waited for 15 plate at that point.

Should make him pull his finger out in making sure he contacts you as soon as it arrives, if nothing else.

Luckily (I think) Fiat's system will only let them register cars that are on the boat, maybe even at the docks, so you should be ok, but things can sometimes take a couple of weeks from the docks, so if it's still on the boat it could be 3 weeks away as a worst case.

Just let him know you're watching him - it's your car and your money being spent on it - not his!

mantababe · Jan 31, 2015

JTD_Liam said:
I'd tell him if it's definitely here next week then fine, but if it turns up after half way through February you'll be cancelling it because you'd have waited for 15 plate at that point.

when you say cancel it do you mean the registration or the car???

Cadwest · Feb 1, 2015

First thing hi everybody, been loitering round the forum for a few years and thought it was time I signed up.

Ordered a new 4X4 last Monday and delivery is due this coming Wednesday and like yourself they wanted to register it on Friday for January's figures. I did not even get to choose a registration but can't say I'm to bothered, was more concerned with getting the extras I wanted fitting on PDI check. Having been a salesman for twenty years I fully understood that they would want it registered for Jan as your only as good as last weeks sales.

This will be my fifth Panda, had one MK1, two MK2's and now on my second Mk3 with this being my first 4X4. As I spend my days off in the mountains I decided it was time I got one after getting stuck in snow a couple of weeks ago, very excited about getting it.

cheers everybody

Palio · Feb 1, 2015

Cadwest said:
First thing hi everybody, been loitering round the forum for a few years and thought it was time I signed up.

Ordered a new 4X4 last Monday and delivery is due this coming Wednesday and like yourself they wanted to register it on Friday for January's figures. I did not even get to choose a registration but can't say I'm to bothered, was more concerned with getting the extras I wanted fitting on PDI check. Having been a salesman for twenty years I fully understood that they would want it registered for Jan as your only as good as last weeks sales.

This will be my fifth Panda, had one MK1, two MK2's and now on my second Mk3 with this being my first 4X4. As I spend my days off in the mountains I decided it was time I got one after getting stuck in snow a couple of weeks ago, very excited about getting it.

cheers everybody

Hello & welcome :wave:

I'm sure you'll enjoy the mk4 Panda especially being your first 4x4

Make sure you post plenty of pics when you get it - we like photos!!

4x4Panda · Feb 1, 2015

When mine was delivered in 2013, i was given a choice of about 6 reg numbers, but not much time to choose, because mine was not the only car being delivered to an expectant new owner.

just be thankful they even asked you

mantababe · Feb 1, 2015

i would have been thankful if he had given me more than 2hrs to choose it in, it was only by chance that i saw the email, he new the end of the month was coming so surly he could have organised it a bit better, but i feel he wanted to leave it as late as poss so that i had no time to question it, so sorry find it very hard to be thankful as hes totally doing it all for his own benefit

poor customer service in my books

i really dont think my dealer expected me to pick up the email and thus he was just going to put any number thro

varesecrazy · Feb 1, 2015

I didn't get to choose..

BUT the car was in the pound in Mid- Jan, and I got a 1st March plate..so along with the minus £4K from list I wasn't going to complain..,

as stated delivery / collection day is the biggie,

shame it all goes downhill from there ( as a customer - NOT as a FIAT Driver

)
Charlie

gar074 · Feb 1, 2015

4x4Panda said:
just be thankful they even asked you

My wife wasn't given a choice when she bought her first new car back in 1996 - a VW Polo. She was horrified to see, when she went to collect it, that they'd given it the registration P*** ONG

But she turned it around and called the thing Pongo. It stayed with us for 10+ years and did over 130k miles.

Since then, I've always insisted that the dealer contact me before registering a new car - one Pongo is quite enough, thank you very much!

mantababe · Feb 2, 2015

anyway this thread has missed the point of my complaint, it wasnt so much the fact that i didnt have much time to choose my number plate it was the case of is hat normal...not being given much time, to find out that hes done it to get it through on jan figures AND my car prob wont be ready for weeks yet which means i could have possible had a 2015 plate

its the getting a 2014 plate in the 2015 time that im am annoyed about.

portland_bill · Feb 2, 2015

If he is asking you to choose a plate, then he has the registration document and can register the car. The date he does that will be the date of first registration for ever, and will therefore not be close to the date of delivery to you.
The first registration document can be issued by Fiat UK from the time the car is released from the factory but it would be more normal to do so once the car is landed in the UK and is OK. Whilst the dealer can register the car with the document, he should really wait until he has the car, to ensure it is as expected and undamaged and working. He takes a risk if there is anything significantly wrong and you reject it, as it is no longer new, but a one-owner car. This risk is much less now than it was in the 70s-80s when I was dealing with Rover Group products.

The dealer will be given incentives to sell and register a number of vehicles each month, with often good financial gains. Your deal may be dependent on this, so choosing to wait until March might cause a renegotiation, so careful with that one.

The salesman giving you a short time to choose was just him in a rush. It is likely that the sales manager had prompted all his staff to check what documents were available for imminent deliveries, to tip them over the threshold for a bonus.

If the car is not here within a week, but is now registered, you have a bargaining tool. Mats, first service free, full tank of fuel (if not already included), etc. Smile and make the best of it. Enjoy your new car, it is a special experience.

mantababe · Feb 2, 2015

thanks portland bill for explaining all that, being new to this i really have no idea how it all works. not helped by the fact tht the saleman doesnt keep me up to date with the order. i keep reading bout ppl saying their car is at 30, 20. or whatever yet im not told any of that

be interesting to see if i do get any extras as im sure hes not going to be keen to give me any.

Palio · Feb 2, 2015

When I bought my Punto back in 1998 I was offered a choice of reg by the dealer - all the letters were the same but they were just off to Oxford to register 510-525 (I think). Did I have a preference as it would just be allocated that day otherwise. Didn't make any difference to me!

I didn't (and don't) see the rush as an issue - I thought it was nice to be given an option before the numbers were put on the different cars - I've not been given a choice since.

There is more of an issue with registering it in January if it's not ready, but do you know this has actually happened? If it was registered Jan 31st I'd want it on my drive within a week or so, and that's not unreasonable. If it's going to drag on for weeks I'd want to know why it was registered early. Although I don't believe the change of reg makes a huge difference now that it's twice yearly (especially if you're keeping the car for several years - people don't care which number it's on when it's 5 years old), I'd definitely want a late Feb car delayed until 1st March.

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