GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi there, I am pretty new to the forum but I can perhaps shed some light on the frustrations involved with the long wait time for Vibes. Trust me GM is concerned about this, they know that a possible Vibe customer could just as easily cross the street and buy a Matrix. I personally share your frustration on the issue, I ordered my Vibe in early April and have yet to even hear of a build date. I was hoping to have the car in time for my graduation from my medical internship in 2 weeks. Since that obviously isn't going to happen, I am buying one from one of the lots in Detroit instead. Jwnmt
[Modified by Jwnmt, 3:37 AM 6/21/2002]

Jon, what is/was your GTs Pontiac order number?

I don't know, I ordered it from a dealer in Detroit. The local Pontiac dealership here was less than friendly. I will have one in 2 weeks since we are just going to take one from the one of the Detroit dealers. Now all I have to do is decide between Neptune and Abyss. On a side note, here is some good news........According to my dealer here, all GTs are now being produced with the monotone paint scheme. No offense to anyone out there but I never liked the plastic fenders. Jon
[Modified by Jwnmt, 3:39 AM 6/21/2002]

quote:On a side note, here is some good news........According to my source at Pontiac, all GTs are now being produced with the monotone paint scheme. No offense to anyone out there but I never liked the plastic fenders.No offense to anyone, of course, but I believed that the GT's should have in the first place had the Monotone Appearance Package by default being you are receiving an "upgraded" GT model.I do, however, like the grey cladding on certain Vibe colors (don't want to offend anyone)...

I just had another talk with GM about the Vibe I ordered on March 8 (told to expect delivery in 9 weeks). My build date has been pushed back from June 17 to July 8.My recommendation: DO NOT BUY A VIBE OR ANY OTHER GM! There are a lot of great vehicles out there that can be bought without waiting 20-25 weeks.

GM needs to get some factory aftermarket performance mods.

They also need to learn a few things about customer service.

Bob, are you still going to receive the Vibe you ordered or did you cancel the order? I would like to know your experiences on this issue (unless you posted this earlier), let me know.

Personally, I still stand behind GM and their products. It's quite obvious that GM has made some mistakes in the demand for certain packages and models of the vehicle. You still can buy from the dealer you know (which is what I am doing now instead of waiting for my order, the only thing that will be different is the color). These things happen in every industry there is. I realize that is little comfort but I hardly think that waiting longer for exactly what you want is grounds to give up on the largest auto maker in the world........Just my two cents. Jon

Is the long wait for the Vibe because people want certain things/colours on their Vibe? I look at the inventory of the dealers in Ottawa quite regularly and they all have Vibes... but only one has the sport package and power package (which I want) but not the colour I want.

With all new things you are bound to see problems. This car isn't even a year old yet. Give it some time and the problems should be wrinkled out. This car is in high demand and its going to take a while to get one. Just take a look at the example of when VW came out witht the new Bug, some people where waiting 2 years to get one built for them. -Just a thought

I haven't cancelled the order yet. I didn't order anything special on the Vibe just the power and safety packages an auto tranny and a upgraded stereo. I ordered the Shadow color so I didn't bother with the monotone option.I used to be a strong supporter of GM products, I wouldn't be bashing them so much if their customer service wasn't so pathetic. I sent GM another request for information, hopefully I'll have something of interest to post later today.

Bob, what is your Pontiac order number?

........According to my source at Pontiac, all GTs are now being produced with the monotone paint scheme. Dang...I wonder if they would retrofit my GT....

Bob:See http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=203 My salesman is sending me my order number...He isn't calling what I have a build date but a preferrence. Have you ever heard that term anyone?_______Cheers Ken

Hi Ken:When you place your order it goes to the GM National Order Center and is placed on a "LIST", which means your order has been accepted by GM.The next step is to get your order on the "PREFERENCED LIST", which means your order takes preference over dealer stock orders, since your order is a confirmed sale.Then a BUILD WEEK (also known as Build Date) is the next step. This will be the production week for your vehicle. Production Control "Usually" establishes this date 2-3 weeks prior the production week of the ordered vehicle. The following week your vehicle is shipped by truck and/or rail to your dealership. Shipping is usually 2-3 weeks.LETS HOPE FOR THE *** L O N G *** WAIT, IT DOES NOT FALL OFF THE TRUCK!PS. When I recieve my vibe, it will be my LAST GM car. They know nothing of customer service or committment. I will post my story later in the fourms.

Thanks Ottawa 1234 Good luck with your order

Spoke to GM again this morning. Now they are giving me the 3rd week of July as a build week. I'm giving myself some time to cool down then will likely call the dealer and cancel the order. I'll buy something just as good from a competitors lot.Here's an update: My dealer called the factory and they say it will be built the week of June 24. I'll wait until the end of June and see if they have it built. I was also told to expect 15 working days for delivery (California to Edmonton).
[Modified by Bob, 9:44 AM 6/21/2002]

Bob: Were you ever given a date that your car was preferenced or do you think it was preferenced?

My order has been on the preferenced list basically since I ordered it. All it means it that it is supposed to get a build date before orders that aren't pre-sold. I think it's a load of bull. If it was true there shouldn't be any Vibes on dealers lots, they would just be building the preferenced cars until they caught up on the backlog.

Bob:An Excellent point. How can dealers still be getting stock Vibes, when the Vibe production is backed up the Yang Yang????GM never gives a straight answer!

That's true... my local dealerships are getting new stock Vibe's in on a weekly basis. Makes you think....

Spoke with my dealer about this. Apparently the cars are built in blocks with the preferenced ones being built first. Say March is one block and April is another. The preferenced cars in ordered in March would be built before the ones heading to the dealer's lots. But all the cars ordered in the March block would be built before any, preferenced or not, were built from the April block.I heard back from GM that mine definetely won't be built until sometime after the 2nd week of July. Told the dealer I will likely come in and cancel my order tomorrow unless he can do something about it.

Cool! Thanks for that info!What are the repurcussions of cancelling an order? Do you lose your deposit? What are the details on this?I don't know if there are different procedures in Canada than the US but would be interesting to know.
[Modified by NSimkins, 4:04 PM 6/21/2002]

In my case cancelling the order won't be a problem, my full deposit will be returned. My dealer has been helpful, it's GM that I have the problem with. I'll let you know what I decide.

Well Bob I hate to see you not get your Vibe. If you don't get it are you going to go with a Matrix? I have heard they are having the same problems.

No, I don't really like the look of the Matrix. Not sure what I'll buy but it won't be a GM.

It's not that it's a new car with high demand causing delays thats bugging me and others that are waiting (patiently?) for our Vibes. For me, it's the lack of answers and the constant run-around that's driving me crazy. I called me dealership and discussed my situation. They supposedly made a few calls and told me the car was now preferenced. After a week or so I called the GM Customer center to find out if a build date was assigned, they told me it was still on "manual order"! When I called the dealer back to complain, they said it would be preferenced this week! So, which is it?Anything that is new and in demand will be delayed, but if you're told difference stories, you can't help feel fustrated. I ordered this car April 8, MIGHT get it mid August. (This from June, then July, August.... but what year?)

Finally some good news. Talked to GM today and they say my Vibe will be built this week before they shut down the factory for 2 weeks. After the trouble I have experienced I won't believe it until the keys are in my hand.

Bob,That's great to hear. I've been following your story on this site by reading the old messages, and it's sad to see GM is still waffling around like this. When I ordered my Trans Am in 1998, I went through the same bit. I waited 6 months for that car. On several occasions, I was warned that it may never be built due to A) parts shortages, B) worker strikes, and finally C) problems at ASC with the Ram Air conversion. Could never find out for sure what was going on. Got a different story every time I asked. I didn't blame my salesperson though because he could only tell me what the GM network was feeding him.At least when I finally got preferenced, everything went fine from there. One odd thing they did do to me though. My dad ordered a T/A about a week after me, exact same options, just a different color. His car got preferenced, built and delivered a MONTH earlier than mine! Wack!I tell ya...If I didn't love GM's product so much, I too would be turned off by the somewhat strange sales practices.

It may show that the cars are available on the website....But from my experience(I'm in Ottawa too)...These cars are already sold or not even at the lot yet.

Yeah, I noticed that some Buypower managers update their inventory alot more efficiently than others. Sometimes Buypower will say there are 10 vehicles on the lot for a month when there are only 1.At least you can get an idea of what is on the lots around and who does get more of a selection when they do actually have them on the lot.

I've been finding that too. I've spoken to two dealers about cars I spotted on GM BuyPower.com, both of whom told me those specific cars weren't even there. But I just got lucky yesterday -- I found a dealer who told me the car I saw on the website was being delivered in July, so I have a chance to put a hold on it.