[longwaitlarry]

Reading the various postings on the forum I find that most dealers have been friendly and cooperative with our impatience on getting our new sky's.

However....I paid my deposit on April 14th and the salesman sait there were two deposits ahead of me (making me third in line). Now, two weeks later the salesman is telling me that I'm FOURTH on the list. He claims to not being privy to the number of images that the dealership gets on a weekly basis. The dealership is 25 miles away and it's a chore to keep driving down there. The internet manager has been totally uncooperative and very blunt stating that he cannot answer my questions.

I'm torn between keeping my mouth shut and just waiting, or going to the dealer and asking to talk to the sales manager. I've already agreed that if the salesman will get me an image, I'll buy my wife a Vue Greenline at the same time. Nothing seems to spur him on to doing anything.

To my knowledge, this small dealer has only received one sky. It is a graphite with a manual tranny. It is sold but the buyer has agreed to allowing the dealer to use it as a demo for a period of time. I wonder if I'm wasting my time even having a deposit down or if I shouldn't start calling other dealers in the state (Florida) and find one that is willing to keep me informed.

Have any of you had similar experiences when you put your deposit down? I only call the salesman once a week for an update, but it seems I'm going backward in the ordering process.

 

[RickKappa]

I just started working at a Saturn retailer here in New Jersey, and from my experience, the managers really are more in the dark than they would let you believe. If the car is not built yet, they can't get an image until it is. From what I gather, it's putting in the request, Willmington building it, then have the image available for the dealer, then the car gets shipped a little after that. We have sold 13 SKYs out of our alloted 20 and only have had one shipped to us so far and it he hasn't been in to take delivery of it yet since he is out of the country for now. Someone came in the other day and my manager said he would be second in line for a stickshift car since out of the 12 we haven't recieved yet, only one of those is a stick. My manager told the customer it would be about late June early July. Now if it was an automatic, it would be longer. Even though the list goes in order, manuals seem to have the ability to kind of get ahead of autos since they are in contraint. This of course is just me assuming, guessing, and estimating. Like I said, they seem pretty much in the dark about specifics as well.

 

[longwaitlarry]

Thanks Rick.... The way you have explained the process is exactly opposite from my limited understanding. I thought the image was simply an allocation given to the dealer and then your individual specs were submitted for the car to be built. Wow...If you understanding is correct, then I may never see my sky. Small dealers don't get many images. Even a small amount should be more than the one car they have received.

Thanks for the input.

 

[SkyMan 08]

I just started working at a Saturn retailer here in New Jersey, and from my experience, the managers really are more in the dark than they would let you believe. If the car is not built yet, they can't get an image until it is. From what I gather, it's putting in the request, Willmington building it, then have the image available for the dealer, then the car gets shipped a little after that. We have sold 13 SKYs out of our alloted 20 and only have had one shipped to us so far and it he hasn't been in to take delivery of it yet since he is out of the country for now. Someone came in the other day and my manager said he would be second in line for a stickshift car since out of the 12 we haven't recieved yet, only one of those is a stick. My manager told the customer it would be about late June early July. Now if it was an automatic, it would be longer. Even though the list goes in order, manuals seem to have the ability to kind of get ahead of autos since they are in contraint. This of course is just me assuming, guessing, and estimating. Like I said, they seem pretty much in the dark about specifics as well.

I think you are a little off on your description, Wilmington cannot build a car until there is an Image available for it. the dealership gets his Image, then he cuistomizes it to the custormer's preference(or their own preference) then the order gets placed within the GM system. Each dealer has their own allotment of Images, and depending on the dealeship size and location within their region is when they get their image. My dealership has recieved 2 cars and is expecting 2 more any day now.. all sold. I got mine 4 weeks and 5 days ago. I have nothing but praise for the way my dealership handled my order and car.

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

I think you are a little off on your description, Wilmington cannot build a car until there is an Image available for it. the dealership gets his Image, then he cuistomizes it to the custormer's preference(or their own preference) then the order gets placed within the GM system. Each dealer has their own allotment of Images, and depending on the dealeship size and location within their region is when they get their image. My dealership has recieved 2 cars and is expecting 2 more any day now.. all sold. I got mine 4 weeks and 5 days ago. I have nothing but praise for the way my dealership handled my order and car.

:agree:
Having a deposit really means little. You have to have an image (think of it as a blank order sheet, they "give" one to the dealer to make an order) to order a SKY (any GM car). Once that Image is filled it with color, interior picks - extras - accessories etc... Then it is entered and you (the SOW [Sky Owner in Waiting]) will have an order number (like my GGG802). Then and only then do you really get to wait... This is when the status codes come into play - in effect you see your car heading toward completion. Then it has to be inspected - shipped and prepped.
If you can not get an Order Number from your dealer then I'd be a bit piqued. In most dealers, it seems the General Manager is marshalling the SKY purchases. This may be the person you need to speak to -- Not the Sales Manager -- The General Manager....

Good luck


Or



You walk into a dealer - see on one the floor - and it is not sold and you buy it.... YIKES:thumbs:

 

[longwaitlarry]

Thanks Rick....I guess the real question is....If the dealer will not talk to me about their allocations, would it benefit me to pull my deposit and go elsewhere.

 

[jacwag]

I put my deposit down in Sept 2005, guess how I feel. I've been at 030 for the last 2 weeks, thats something I guess.

 

[bizzsky]

Reading the various postings on the forum I find that most dealers have been friendly and cooperative with our impatience on getting our new sky's.

However....I paid my deposit on April 14th and the salesman sait there were two deposits ahead of me (making me third in line). Now, two weeks later the salesman is telling me that I'm FOURTH on the list. He claims to not being privy to the number of images that the dealership gets on a weekly basis. The dealership is 25 miles away and it's a chore to keep driving down there. The internet manager has been totally uncooperative and very blunt stating that he cannot answer my questions.

I'm torn between keeping my mouth shut and just waiting, or going to the dealer and asking to talk to the sales manager. I've already agreed that if the salesman will get me an image, I'll buy my wife a Vue Greenline at the same time. Nothing seems to spur him on to doing anything.

To my knowledge, this small dealer has only received one sky. It is a graphite with a manual tranny. It is sold but the buyer has agreed to allowing the dealer to use it as a demo for a period of time. I wonder if I'm wasting my time even having a deposit down or if I shouldn't start calling other dealers in the state (Florida) and find one that is willing to keep me informed.

Have any of you had similar experiences when you put your deposit down? I only call the salesman once a week for an update, but it seems I'm going backward in the ordering process.

I put my deposit on April 15th, and on April 20th I hear this news (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=110101). When I asked my dealer he says he doesn't know if my car will be build because GM has not "accepted" the order yet. Once GM accepts the order (meaning they will build it) they send the dealer an image. Once you have an image you can be assured that your car is being built by GM, before that nobody knows...

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

I put my deposit on April 15th, and on April 20th I hear this news (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=110101). When I asked my dealer he says he doesn't know if my car will be build because GM has not "accepted" the order yet. Once GM accepts the order (meaning they will build it) they send the dealer an image. Once you have an image you can be assured that your car is being built by GM, before that nobody knows...

If your dealer got an image -- the car will be built. They are not imaging more cars than they plan to build. I think when these articles say "Sold Out" they mean "Accounted for".
Images were allocated for the order period (adding up to 7-10 thousand). So if your dealer was allocated 25 cars it WILL get 25 images to be built...

 

[longwaitlarry]

Thanks Rick...Looks like the most important question to get answered is "how many allocations did the dealer get" and "how many are remaining to be imaged" You agree?

 

[IslandHopper]

Longwaitlarry-- sounds to me that this dealer doesn't know to much about the Sky sales process. Don't fault him to much, fore many of the dealers don't know how to handle this new hot product. I would let the deposit ride until I found a small dealer in your state or a close state to you. It's going to take time and homework, but it can be done. I also had problems with my hometown dealership before I found one that i was able to do business with. There are over 450 dealerships in this country and your money is good at all of them. Don't give up!!!!! Join our family:thumbs:

 

[futureskyowner]

Thanks Rick...Looks like the most important question to get answered is "how many allocations did the dealer get" and "how many are remaining to be imaged" You agree?

Yes I would question "how many allocations" your Saturn dealer has been allocated. If they are only allocated 4 and you said you were 4th on the list, then I would just wait. If they are only allocated 2 and you are 4th on the list then you will have to probably wait until 2007 to get one or try another dealer.
My dealer stated they have deposits for all 20 of the SKYs they have been allocated. They currently have a waiting list for the next amount they are allocated which probably won't happen until sometime in 2007.

 

[longwaitlarry]

Thanks IslandHopper and Futureskyowner for your comments. Tomorrow is the day for me to contact them for an update and I'll let you all know what they had to say.

 

[SunneySky]

Too bad you couldn't work with Saturn of South Miami-Dade. While they didn't provide much info on when to expect delivery - they were great to work with.