CAR buyers are suffering lengthy wait times for new cars as the global chip shortage and supply chain problems drag on.
It’s currently not uncommon to wait for a year for a new motor, but the wait for some new electric cars is closer to two.
Sam Price from Sandwich in Kent had his eye on a new Volvo XC40, but multiple calls to local dealers revealed he’d be waiting around six to nine months.
“I wasn’t ready to go for the fully electric model, but was keen on using electric for shorter journeys,” he said.
“That left the plug-in hybrid one, but chatting to Volvo direct I always found it was a huge wait.
“The best I could find was six months via Volvo’s subscription service at the time.”
“There were cars available, but they weren’t the ones I wanted – when you’re spending this sort of money you don’t want to just settle for anything.”
But Sam eventually managed to cut the wait for his car to just one month after a bit of searching.
He said: “I started looking on carwow and was initially disappointed that despite choosing my preferred car and there being ‘five available’ it was still a huge wait when you clicked through, due to semiconductor shortages.
“I wanted to buy using PCP finance, but if I clicked on the ‘Buy it Now’ section instead it showed the cars in stock I could buy with cash.
“That’s when I contacted Doncaster Volvo who had cars there ready to go.
“After a chat, it turned out they would arrange PCP finance anyway, so I didn’t need to suddenly find all the cash.
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“And the best bit was the car was with me in Kent from Doncaster in a little over a month.”
With the current wait times, it’s a good idea not to be too fussy on colour and optional extras.
But don’t be put off if you can only find cash-deal cars in stock – give the dealer a call and discuss your options.
Most dealers may list stock as cash-only but will be open to the idea of finance too so just ask.
Finally, just because a car might be hundreds of miles away that doesn’t mean the deal isn’t possible.
Most dealers deliver and your car can be worked on at any local dealer.
