[DaveA]

Originally Posted by JustChris

I'd take it without all 3 of them unless you have your heart set on and of them. The wireless charge is quite slow (but at least works vs the X3 pad).

This is what I have agreed to do...

... and, also, it has allowed me to re-set the deal and price favourably... I am likely going to let WBAC have the golf this weekend, rent for a few weeks, and still be quids in over the deal as it was in April...

Don't get me wrong, that deal in April was great, but WBAC are offering more than 11% more now than they were when I did the deal 4 weeks ago...

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by DaveA

This is what I have agreed to do...

... and, also, it has allowed me to re-set the deal and price favourably... I am likely going to let WBAC have the golf this weekend, rent for a few weeks, and still be quids in over the deal as it was in April...

Don't get me wrong, that deal in April was great, but WBAC are offering more than 11% more now than they were when I did the deal 4 weeks ago...

Result.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by JustChris

Result.

Exactly... I can sell the golf this weekend with +ve equity, have WBAC pay of the finance, save a month's payment on the Golf, rent cars in the interim as I need, and still be quids in over the (admittedly good) deal I did a month ago...

BMW dropping the options and WBAC looking for cars really put the whip in my hand when looking more closely at how to deal with getting rid of the golf and how to minimise finance on the BMW...

[DaveA]

As for current status of my build, and as to what I was told by the dealer was being dropped, I also asked the folk on the BMW live chat, on the web site, and they confirmed the same items are not available (comfort access, enhanced bluetooth and Harmon Kardon)…

I specifically asked what options were being affected by the global semiconductor shortage in respect of the car I have ordered and they were able to look that up for me… Took them a minute or so to get to the info, but they understand the question right away and provided a concise response…

[machman767]

I've never had HK so could be talking complete nonsense but given CD players seem to now be a thing of the past isn't it a waste just to play MP3's? I guess you can play the lossless formats but surely it's a compromise? And a car is certainly not the best in terms of acoustics. I've just had one of the stock under seat subs replaced after a water leak and the sound is very good, Cars sounds particularly beefy with the bass synth sounds.

[MY340i]

Ford have closed all their factories at the moment because of the shortage.

We ordered a few new transit vans a couple of months ago, looks like they'll be delayed for a long while yet.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by machman767

I've never had HK so could be talking complete nonsense but given CD players seem to now be a thing of the past isn't it a waste just to play MP3's? I guess you can play the lossless formats but surely it's a compromise? And a car is certainly not the best in terms of acoustics. I've just had one of the stock under seat subs replaced after a water leak and the sound is very good, Cars sounds particularly beefy with the bass synth sounds.

I don't play MP3's, I stick lossless and hi-res files in (some of which are SACD quality) so nothing I have has any losses introduced because of the file format... Actually, testing the speaker set up today, I think that having some quality files to stick into it helped by giving it a fighting chance...

I was not aware the stock setup actually had drivers under the seat...

... but would explain why I thought the set up sounded more like the old "business' speaker setups used to sound when that was a mid-price option between "stock" and "fancy dan"...

something interesting I noted, and this suggests that there is processing going on in the system, is that the broadcast signal of the same radio station sounded better in DAB than FM... Now, on my tuner at home, that is not the case, as FM sounds far better than DAB (and, indeed, should do, seeing as DAB streams are compressed and lossy).. I was actually quite surprised by this...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Bars111

Ford have closed all their factories at the moment because of the shortage.

We ordered a few new transit vans a couple of months ago, looks like they'll be delayed for a long while yet.

To be honest, I have not ruled out more changes yet... But, right now, we are less than three weeks from scheduled build and I would hope they can see at least that far out in their planning....

My gut feeling is that it is the supply chain who is taking the brunt of it and that certain options have been hit first... with possibly more to come...

[machman767]

@DaveA, just out of interest, which format do you use? Just reading up, might give it a whirl.

[KRS_SN]

what has become of the motoring world and a good old car that a 'semiconductor shortage ' can halt car production

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by machman767

@DaveA, just out of interest, which format do you use? Just reading up, might give it a whirl.

I used to rip everything as Apple Lossless, but converted them to FLAC for the car, as the VW did not recognise the Apple Lossless format... In theory, either should be OK...

A lot of my files are also Hi-Res, so more than CD quality...

I also have a Qobuz subscription and the Qobuz app is available in CarPlay, and you can also download files from that to the app as long as your subscription remains valid, so you are not buying through bandwidth streaming... The Tidal app was similar, but I let my subscription to Tidal lapse...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

what has become of the motoring world and a good old car that a 'semiconductor shortage ' can halt car production

It's not just the motoring world, to be fair.. the world in general... When even your toaster and kettle can have chips...

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by DaveA

It's not just the motoring world, to be fair.. the world in general... When even your toaster and kettle can have chips...

I never thought about it that way. But back on your topic I'm not that convinced by HK on mine. I almost never use wireless charging. Comfort access though yes. I like it.

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

what has become of the motoring world and a good old car that a 'semiconductor shortage ' can halt car production

It is all so complicated now KRS

I took my 840i back in 3 days after I took delivery for them to disable all the 'crap' that it came as standard with.

The Radio muted every time i moved my hand, the steering wheel tugged if I went over a white line, traffic announcements came on every 10 minutes, and to top it off there is no CD player but something called Napster which they explained to me but went straight over my head!!!

How many ways do you need to increase the volume of the radio, I counted 4 in total....... bloody ridiculous

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by DaveA

Exactly... I can sell the golf this weekend with +ve equity, have WBAC pay of the finance, save a month's payment on the Golf, rent cars in the interim as I need, and still be quids in over the (admittedly good) deal I did a month ago...

BMW dropping the options and WBAC looking for cars really put the whip in my hand when looking more closely at how to deal with getting rid of the golf and how to minimise finance on the BMW...

You should try Motorway.co.uk. I just sold my Golf through them to a VW main dealer and got a lot more than WBAC and there are no fees (see your WBAC thread). Outstanding finance paid off and cash transferred to my bank for the remaining.

Dead easy and a no-brainer. Loads of people on trust pilot reviews also saying the same about getting more than WBAC.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

You should try Motorway.co.uk. I just sold my Golf through them to a VW main dealer and got a lot more than WBAC and there are no fees (see your WBAC thread). Outstanding finance paid off and cash transferred to my bank for the remaining.

Dead easy and a no-brainer. Loads of people on trust pilot reviews also saying the same about getting more than WBAC.

I had a look at a number of different options including Motorway and, of them all, the WBAC was the best... They were more than £500 than the Motorway estimated price...

Maybe if I went through the Motorway process I may get a little more... But maybe I would not and as I want to resolve this now ASAP, I have decided to go with the best firm offer I have (subject to inspection)...

I have spoken with M'way and have them as a backup in case the WBAC falls thriugh for any reason...

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by DaveA

I had a look at a number of different options including Motorway and, of them all, the WBAC was the best... They were more than £500 than the Motorway estimated price...

Maybe if I went through the Motorway process I may get a little more... But maybe I would not and as I want to resolve this now ASAP, I have decided to go with the best firm offer I have (subject to inspection)...

I have spoken with M'way and have them as a backup in case the WBAC falls thriugh for any reason...

Fair enough Dave, sounds like a plan.

All seems to be a bit of a moving target at the moment with used car prices.

With Motorway, I got £1200 more than their original estimate once the bidding had finished.

But then a few days later my WBAC quote went up and was not far off the original Motorway estimate! (but still less than what I actually got)

As i say, used prices are all over the place (in the sellers favour!) at the moment.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Fair enough Dave, sounds like a plan.

All seems to be a bit of a moving target at the moment with used car prices.

With Motorway, I got £1200 more than their original estimate once the bidding had finished.

But then a few days later my WBAC quote went up and was not far off the original Motorway estimate! (but still less than what I actually got)

As i say, used prices are all over the place (in the sellers favour!) at the moment.

I had a chat with Motorway and, yup, that's always a distinct possibility that you can do significantly better than their estimate.. but, also, as you say, it's just a big moving target right now and who knows...

I was looking on Autotrader and the WBAC bid is only something like £2/3k less than the prices being asked for cars of my colour/age/mileage, which would be about right for the lower end of what a dealer would look to mark up, so I cannot imagine the trade going too far up on what I am being offered already...

I think if I can get close to what WBAC are offering then I shall take it and walk away happy knowing I got a +ve equity and a better deal on my new car for having done that (like a double positive)...

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by Sennen

It is all so complicated now KRS

I took my 840i back in 3 days after I took delivery for them to disable all the 'crap' that it came as standard with.

The Radio muted every time i moved my hand, the steering wheel tugged if I went over a white line, traffic announcements came on every 10 minutes, and to top it off there is no CD player but something called Napster which they explained to me but went straight over my head!!!

How many ways do you need to increase the volume of the radio, I counted 4 in total....... bloody ridiculous

haha..idrive and controller buttons etc is good the associated gesture and sound and assisted driving wizardry is just annoying.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Fair enough Dave, sounds like a plan.

All seems to be a bit of a moving target at the moment with used car prices.

With Motorway, I got £1200 more than their original estimate once the bidding had finished.

But then a few days later my WBAC quote went up and was not far off the original Motorway estimate! (but still less than what I actually got)

As i say, used prices are all over the place (in the sellers favour!) at the moment.

... and then it changes again... I stuck the car on Wizzle and had an offer from a specialist dealer that was a few hundred quid better than WBAC, all within 5 mins..!

So, WBAC appointment cancelled and doing the arrangements now to sell to them....

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by DaveA

... and then it changes again... I stuck the car on Wizzle and had an offer from a specialist dealer that was a few hundred quid better than WBAC, all within 5 mins..!

So, WBAC appointment cancelled and doing the arrangements now to sell to them....

Good news! And if Wizzle dont charge you (I guess they dont, as Motorway dont, similar set up) you wont be paying the £70 that WBAC want as an admin fee.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Good news! And if Wizzle dont charge you (I guess they dont, as Motorway dont, similar set up) you wont be paying the £70 that WBAC want as an admin fee.

Exactly, no charges from Wizzle... so I am about £300 better off than WBAC and £600 better of then the Motorway initial estimate... and unlikely to have that WBAC sucking of teeth moment where they knock you down a couple of hundred...

Have I maxed out...? Hard to say, but maybe there would have been a little more to squeeze out... but then the deal I have done is £2500 better than WBAC 4/5 weeks ago, and I have been able to remove the -ve equity aspect of doing the deal on the new car into a quite sizeable +ve equity that will fund my finance deposit and the rental of cars to fill in where I need them...

Plus, because I have now been able to remove the trade-in elements of the new car deal, and we have removed some of the spec, my finance payment have come down a full 10%...!!!!!

I mean, this semiconductor thing, if you go into it thinking "how can I make this an advantage rather than a problem", there are ways to do that...