[Demiurge]

He puts down a deposit, and waits almost a year, then experiences multiple delays. He seems to be experiencing multiple issues before he requests escalation. I don't think he opens with escalation request in a second email. His vibe seems to be of someone being ignored and just told to deal with it, and not willing to just accept something less than the original agreement.

What would be a "better" vibe than requesting an escalation? if you buy something and you don't get something you've bought? Just say "oh well, it is what it is"?

[phil21]

Ordering a custom car build from a factory is an experience. These sorts of delays are not uncommon, and there just isn't much anything the US or Canadian divisions can do about it most of the time.

That's for basically what amounts to supercars. I imagine a normal luxury car for the "mass market" like the EX90 is going to get even less attention.

For someone not used to it, I can see it being quite frustrating if their dealer is not totally up-front about what an allocation and build timeframe actually means.

A deposit is really not anything more than giving the dealer a bit of assurance that you will actually buy the car they burned their allocation slot on when it arrives - vs. them using it for a more standard common build that has a wider market for it. You are under no obligation to buy the hot pink on light blue custom color options you ordered should it arrive and you decide it looks horrible, for example.

It's a strange weird scene. I followed this on various car forums when I was planning on ordering a custom spec for my "dream car" a while back, but decided to just get something not quite optioned how I'd like it off the lot instead.

[robertlagrant]

> there just isn't much anything the US or Canadian divisions can do about it most of the time

This sort of thinking about the internals of the business isn't necessary. They're paid to be there; they need to manage their suppliers, internal or external.