Anyone got confirmed news Re Fiat Ducato build delays

[royandsharont]

Hi, I am awaiting a new Adria PVC which should have been here last October but keeps on getting put back on a monthly basis. Now end of June and I don’t believe it will come then if I’m honest. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if it finally arrived in 2023!

Trying to get any information of the true delay situation from the manufacturers, let alone information that you can trust to be correct and up to date, I am finding impossible. Nothing on the news for Europe but some in America Re shifts being closed at factories there from 2 to 1 a day, but that is about Stellantis car plants I believe.

The delays all appear to revolve around Stellantis production in Italy at their Sevel plant but still none the wiser as to specifically why. Saying the Pandemic repeatedly does not do it for me now.

I would just like to get some honest understanding of why the monthly delays continue and I think all Fiat based manufacturers are pretty much the same.

I wanted to start this Thread for comments from anyone who has got confirmed news or information, rather than rumours and speculation, although if my experiences are the same as others no one will be able to confidently add an update, but here goes

Regards in advance if anyone can add anything

 

[GMLS]

Its a Rapido with the 9 speed auto

Mine was a dealer preorder last October and originally due March 2022. We were then told October 2022 now told March 2023 so you've done better than me

 

[Greeners]

Ordered our standard Ducato van from Fiat Oxford August 2021, delay on top of delay due to chips not being available.
Had a heads up phone call from the dealer August 2022 that I will be receiving an email from Fiat Europe....which promptly arrived.
Cancelling my vehicle on order and I was to contact my dealer for a refund of my deposit....which took 6 weeks to get back
Reason being, Fiat had decided to cancel all series 8 vans in build moving instead to concentrating on the new model 9 (hope I have the series numbers correct?)
I was one of the unlucky ones who had their order cancelled.........12 months of my time wasted....and no compo, just go away
Look at the email from time to time from Fiat, wondering how they could treat customers as an insignificant consequence....oh well live and learn.

 

[GMLS]

Ordered our standard Ducato van from Fiat Oxford August 2021, delay on top of delay due to chips not being available.
Had a heads up phone call from the dealer August 2022 that I will be receiving an email from Fiat Europe....which promptly arrived.
Cancelling my vehicle on order and I was to contact my dealer for a refund of my deposit....which took 6 weeks to get back
Reason being, Fiat had decided to cancel all series 8 vans in build moving instead to concentrating on the new model 9 (hope I have the series numbers correct?)
I was one of the unlucky ones who had their order cancelled.........12 months of my time wasted....and no compo, just go away
Look at the email from time to time from Fiat, wondering how they could treat customers as an insignificant consequence....oh well live and learn.

That is my biggest fear.We as consumers have the dealer and converter in between us so going legal on the basis of breach of contract would be impossible.

 

[dash300]

Well my Rapido Dreamer is in the UK and will be at dealers this week, just as we leave on a 2 week cruise round the Canaries.
Still having waited 15 months what's a couple of weeks! Dealer says the Rapido's are coming through on a daily basis now so presumably Fiat has released the log jam of orders at long last which hopefully will work through to all convertors.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[beachwomble]

Well my Rapido Dreamer is in the UK and will be at dealers this week, just as we leave on a 2 week cruise round the Canaries.
Still having waited 15 months what's a couple of weeks! Dealer says the Rapido's are coming through on a daily basis now so presumably Fiat has released the log jam of orders at long last which hopefully will work through to all convertors.

I'm going down the M5 tomorrow. I can stop at Highbridge and see if there is a Living Van in the yard! Can take some pictures and put them here if you want.

 

[dash300]

I'm going down the M5 tomorrow. I can stop at Highbridge and see if there is a Living Van in the yard! Can take some pictures and put them here if you want.

That would be nice, thanks.

 

[GeorgeyB]

Mine was a dealer preorder last October and originally due March 2022. We were then told October 2022 now told March 2023 so you've done better than me

Not really, we are looking at April 23 now. Ours was also a dealer preorder in October 21 and like you our delivery date was moved to October 22 then December 22 then March 23 and the latest is April 23.

 

[tufty]

Well my Rapido Dreamer is in the UK and will be at dealers this week, just as we leave on a 2 week cruise round the Canaries.
Still having waited 15 months what's a couple of weeks! Dealer says the Rapido's are coming through on a daily basis now so presumably Fiat has released the log jam of orders at long last which hopefully will work through to all convertors.

Brilliant news. You've been very patiently waiting. Nice van too

 

[dash300]

Not really, we are looking at April 23 now. Ours was also a dealer preorder in October 21 and like you our delivery date was moved to October 22 then December 22 then March 23 and the latest is April 23.

I guess it all depends when the dealer got their pre order in and how many they ordered. My Order was August 21 for following April delivery then given fairly early on an End October date and that never changed. Just week or so slippage.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[dash300]

Brilliant news. You've been very patiently waiting. Nice van too

Thanks. P and O Cruises have been the financial beneficiary of my delay!! My dealer said they had quite a few aggressive conversations with buyers over the delays which I just don't understand. The dealers have been equally frustrated as it was all beyond their control and the full commission only gets paid the the sales staff when the vehicle drives out of the gates. I think the second hand market kept them going.

 

[tufty]

Thanks. P and O Cruises have been the financial beneficiary of my delay!! My dealer said they had quite a few aggressive conversations with buyers over the delays which I just don't understand. The dealers have been equally frustrated as it was all beyond their control and the full commission only gets paid the the sales staff when the vehicle drives out of the gates. I think the second hand market kept them going.

No point taking it out on the dealers, they must be having a nightmare with all the delays. We rang Highbridge this week about ours (still on order even though we bought an excellent second hand one in July - Carthago compactline138 & apart from the comformatic we love it!). They haven't rung back yet so will give them another call as they haven't updated us since July when they told us Oct (I wasn't convinced it would materialise hence the purchase of the second hand one). They probably get fed up with people calling but I want to know the position now as we want to get an inverter fitted before going to Spain in the new year & no point spending out on that if we are going to change again....Hymer exsis 474 on order so fiat chassis. Decision time for us keep what we've got & spend a bit on it or wait.....maybe a v long wait.
Enjoy your cruise & something exciting to come back to.

 

[Lenny HB]

Hymer exsis 474 on order so fiat chassis. Decision time for us keep what we've got & spend a bit on it or wait.....maybe a v long wait.

If you go from a Carthago to a Hymer I think you will be very disappointed. Carthago build quality is far superior.

 

[tufty]

If you go from a Carthago to a Hymer I think you will be very disappointed. Carthago build quality is far superior.

Our last van was a Hymer exsis 414t and we loved it. Sadly it was involved in a rear end collision & was written off Sept 2020. Tbo it was an absolute nightmare & I could write a book on the agro with the insurance.

We were really happy with the Hymer & had no hesitation in buying another, no quality issues. It was always for us between a Hymer Exsis & Cathago Compactline (though we also toyed with idea of a panel van at one point). We had a previous Carthgo chic in 2007, also a super van just a tad bigger than what we needed so went for the narrower shorter options after that one.
We may have been very fortunate with all our vans never having any real problems with any of them. We haven't really noticed any discernable difference in quality with either brand.

If our Carthago 138 didn't have the comformatic gearbox (it's working well as it should but would much prefer the auto 9) & lost the 2nd bed above the cab it would be perfect for us. The twin beds in the Hymer & bathroom layout, auto 9 transmission & lighter interior are slightly preferable to the Carthago for us but not dealbreakers. Don't really want the oven that's included in the Hymer tho' & the fridge is the tall narrow one that opens both sides which I don't think is as good as the one we have in the Carthago with separate freezer.

Just come off the phone to Highbridge, gosh I feel sorry for these dealerships atm with all these delays. Anyway apparently our van is about to go into build & looking like mid Dec for delivery. They sounded a bit more confident than previous conversations. Also said we may have the option of not taking it till March when new reg come out & still at our agreed '21 price. This is now going to force our dilema if it materialises.
Decisions decisions

 

[beachwomble]

That would be nice, thanks.

No Dreamer Living Van in the yard. If it has arrived it may have been in the workshop for its PDI. They had a freshly delivered Dreamer Camper 5 though.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[dash300]

No Dreamer Living Van in the yard. If it has arrived it may have been in the workshop for its PDI. They had a freshly delivered Dreamer Camper 5 though.View attachment 686754View attachment 686756

Thanks for that. At least it does show they are coming through giving hope the log jam has been eased. Interesting that they have ordered a base model with 15" steel wheels in white! Nevertheless it will have a very happy buyer!

 

[beachwomble]

Thanks for that. At least it does show they are coming through giving hope the log jam has been eased. Interesting that they have ordered a base model with 15" steel wheels in white! Nevertheless it will have a very happy buyer!

It had a name on, so sold. That retractable step is soon going to get damaged on a 6.36m and 15" wheels!

 

[dash300]

It had a name on, so sold. That retractable step is soon going to get damaged on a 6.36m and 15" wheels!

That's a good point. However it will still be a bargain for the new owner having probably ordered it at a 2021 price.

 

[royandsharont]

It had a name on, so sold. That retractable step is soon going to get damaged on a 6.36m and 15" wheels!

What makes you say the step will get damaged, am I not seeing something beachwomble

 

[dash300]

What makes you say the step will get damaged, am I not seeing something beachwomble

When I specified my Van the heavy chassis required a 16" wheel which raised the van by 2.5 cm which I guess might be a significant clearance factor if the step was low enough to be vulnerable. This I took to be his point.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[royandsharont]

Thanks dash300 that makes sense. Mine is obviously the new chassis and is the light version but as an auto I’ve got the new 16” alloys as standard.

 

[beachwomble]

What makes you say the step will get damaged, am I not seeing something beachwomble

Should be fine as long as you stay on hard tarmac but could easily touch if going on a rutted surface.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Our MWB has 15" wheels and the retractable step has never grounded. The 6m and 6.4m LWB share the same wheelbase length, but I doubt if the step is a grounding problem for them, and have never come across it on any forum.

 

[PDrill]

Latest news from the dealer. All Fiat-Hymers have been delayed even further, our current eta is 'up to latter part of the year 2023'. So it will be around 2½ years waiting time then.

Then I started thinking about the new versions of the Hymer's Fiat-based 'Nationalpark series' which have just been announced last month. They advertise that they will be starting selling in early 2023. Up to now I've been very calm with all this s**t but if I see them really delivering the new models way earlier than ours is coming, THEN I'm going to be very, very, VERY angry. Not that it makes any difference, but still.

 

[GMLS]

Latest news from the dealer. All Fiat-Hymers have been delayed even further, our current eta is 'up to latter part of the year 2023'. So it will be around 2½ years waiting time then.

Then I started thinking about the new versions of the Hymer's Fiat-based 'Nationalpark series' which have just been announced last month. They advertise that they will be starting selling in early 2023. Up to now I've been very calm with all this s**t but if I see them really delivering the new models way earlier than ours is coming, THEN I'm going to be very, very, VERY angry. Not that it makes any difference, but still.

I'm fully expecting a call at sometime to say sorry we cannot fulfill your order and cancelling after 18 mths waiting. This happened to a mate waiting for his Alpha Romeo.The trouble is the dealer who our contract is with will be powerless.Its an easy escape for the manufacturers to blame Fiat (force majeure) and clear the back log in one go

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Drexl]

Feel sorry for all you folk playing the waiting game for your orders.
The cynic in me suspects that as time rolls on the dealers may use any legal excuse to dump customers who have pre-inflated fixed price orders and sell to new customers at inflated prices.

 

[GMLS]

Feel sorry for all you folk playing the waiting game for your orders.
The cynic in me suspects that as time rolls on the dealers may use any legal excuse to dump customers who have pre-inflated fixed price orders and sell to new customers at inflated prices.

Yup and then the Internet will be alive with their names

 

[Blue Moon]

I'm fully expecting a call at sometime to say sorry we cannot fulfill your order and cancelling after 18 mths waiting. This happened to a mate waiting for his Alpha Romeo.The trouble is the dealer who our contract is with will be powerless.Its an easy escape for the manufacturers to blame Fiat (force majeure) and clear the back log in one go

This is exactly what I fear. Ordered in Aug 21, delivery already put back 4 times, latest date Jan 23. I am aware of many people that have had this scenario happen and the dealer has been powerless.

 

[Dave7]

I’ve just been looking at motorhomes on line and came across a 2023 model up for sale
We are still waiting for our 2022 model which has just been put back again

 

[Dave7]

Having said that I’ve looked at another photo and think I can see a handbrake and smaller screen which is different to how it should be so make be false add but I will enquire for peace of mind as they are advertising a few 2023 models

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Blue Moon]

Having said that I’ve looked at another photo and think I can see a handbrake and smaller screen which is different to how it should be so make be false add but I will enquire for peace of mind as they are advertising a few 2023 models

That is an old model. The badge is wrong on the wing. Probably an old stock photo being used.
You say yours has gone back again. Can I ask the latest date for production. As we have ordered similar spec vehicles I can the expect a similar call from my dealer.