Conference terri::cars_uk

    Hi,
    
    Very similar experience in ordering my company car. I used the old
    paper method, got my managers signature, faxed and posted the form
    to leaseplan. It got stuck there for about a week, until I got an
    e-mail from them saying my manager did not have sufficient authority.
    It took a mail from my manager, and cc of a mail from his manager, and
    his manager, saying that the responsibility of signing car forms had 
    been delegated down to my managers level. A lot of people who I work
    with agree that it is stupid.
    
    Regards,
    
    Alan.

    That happened to me too, except Leaseplan couldn't mail me ( I don't
    have All-in-1 ), so it wasn't until I phoned to check the progress when
    they said my immediate manager couldn't sign it.
    
    I had so many problems ordering a car, I couldn't even begin to discuss
    them here, but the icing on the cake was being delivered to wrong one.
    
    
    Cheers,
    
    Chris
    

    Chris,
    
    What an absolute nightmare. Being delivered the wrong car must be 
    everyones worst scenario, except if it was a Ferrari!
    
    Regards,
    
    Alan.

    Come on, you can't leave us dangling like that!
    
    What did you order and what did they actually turn up with? What was
    your reaction.. etc. etc. etc.
    
    Tony I

    Oh - dear, this will be a bit of an anticlimax....
    
    Well,  I had about 1 year to decide what to order (as "they" said I
    couldn't go on the scheme for a year - graduate you see ), I went
    through phases of wanting an Astra Sport, Vectra, Astra Conbertible,
    but when Rover released there 216 (the new model) I thought I'd check
    that out.  Well the driver price was less then the Astra Sport and the
    list price was about �1000 cheaper to.   
    
    With this lovely information I ordered my a 3 door 216Si (With metallic 
    paint - charcoal and a cream interior).   I ordered this in February and 
    was given a delivery date of mid April.  In March - I got a phone call 
    saying that my car was ready - I double checked that it was the new 
    Rover 216 (not the old version) and that it was charcoal and had cream 
    seats.  Everything looked good so far.  
    
    The car was delivered during my lunch hour and signed off by one of the
    members of the team.  This same team hid that car at the bottom of the
    car park - in order to get cream cakes out of me..."Cream Cakes or the
    car gets it" etc etc.  
    
    Anyway when I finally got to look at the car, it dawned on me that it 
    had 5 doors and not 3.  Now to some people, this may not be an issue, 
    but after waiting over a year for that moment I was pretty miffed.  I 
    ordered 3 doors, as I wanted 3 doors (not 5) and thought the 3 door 
    version looked more, well, sporty.
    
    After a phone call to Leaseplan and the dealer this issue was resolved and
    my car was taken away.  I'm now expecting this to be delivered in May,
    but the garage have tried really hard to make ammends.  They've lent me
    a 416i and a 623SLi - and all I'm paying on that is the tax at the
    moment, so I'm happy.
    
    
    Told you it was an anticlimax,
    
    
    Chris
    

    I got my new car from Lease Plan (I'd just like to add what a smashing
    bunch of folks they are :-) ) without any hiccups. However, because
    I had a bad experience with the order of my first company car I had,
    I followed the order every step of the way. I make sure I had the
    approach of 'checking on the order process' rather than 'chasing' it.
    
    I too had Mick's problem of CC manager approval. This took a week to
    get cleared. The next step is checking with Lease Plan what garage is
    to place the order and get their phone no. I gave the garage a quick
    ring just to check they reveiced the order from LeasePlan. The garage
    were fine about it but LP were a little hesitant in giving me their
    number as I guess they thought I would pester them. Once I had
    established the had the order I was then happy to sit back and wait.
    
    The danger is if you make an order and just sit back you may find
    several weeks down the line no one is doing anything ! Be warned.
    
    Royston

    ... still worth a read, though. 
    
    However I was hoping that you would have had a big row with the
    delivery driver, refused to sign for it, phoned the garage straight
    away, demanded the correct car be delivered today, sue leaseplan or
    something like that! 8*)
    
    cheers, 
    
    Tony I

    Has anyone ever had a car refused by their manager (or manager's
    manager's manager?)
    
    just curious.
    
    Tony I

      <<< Note 2512.5 by COMICS::SUMNERC "OpenVMS Counter Intelligence" >>>
                      -< Abstract :  I ordered 3 doors & got 5. >-
    
        Oh - dear, this will be a bit of an anticlimax....
    
        Well,  I had about 1 year to decide what to order (as "they" said I
        couldn't go on the scheme for a year - graduate you see ), I went
                                               ^^^^^^^^

    When I ended up ordering the Rover Cabriolast time and the Frontera
    this time, I verbally checked with my manager at the time of the
    likelyhood of me getting their authorisation for a Mini Cooper. The
    first time I got an "Er, no I don't think so" and the second time
    hysterical laughter and comments about company rollerskates.
    
    So I suppose I can answer yes, Tony.
    
    Andy 

    Re .9
    No - It's that old chestnut - quick entry note, or a well written note
    which takes more time to check.
    
    Re. Being refused a car.
    We were only allowed to order cars with a driver price up to 20% of our
    salary.
    
    For people on the scheme, you have the allowance and are allowed to
    contribute 20% of your base salary towards it.
    
    Cheers,
    
    Chris.
    

    I was wondering whether anyone's actually gone through the rigmarole of
    choosing a car and filling in all the paperwork only to have it
    rejected "official like".
    
    cheers, 
    
    Tony I

    Chris,
    
    You really should have ordered the Astra Sport, I got my 3 door 
    in about 10 days from ordering. (once signed etc.)
    
    Alan.

    Alan,
    
    I think I've made the right choice (it's the same 0-60 as the Sport). 
    The higher list and driver prices made my decission in the end, but it
    was close.  I'd have opt'ed for the Yellow Astra.
    
    Cheers,
    
    Chris
    PS. The "free" demonstrator cars are making the wait worthwhile.

    Chris,
    
    Only having a laugh. I'm also a recent graduate take-on, and I've
    never gone through so much thought about what company car to have.
    I think I changed my mind every day of the week for about the last
    year. 
    I'm supprised that the 216i has the same performance as the 2.0i Astra.
    
    Regards,
    
    Alan.

    >>Only having a laugh.
    
    Er - sorry - should have added some smileys, as Roystie would tell you,
    I never really take anything to heart/seriously.
    
    >>I'm supprised that the 216i has the same performance as the 2.0i
    >>Astra.
    
    Oh no, the 2.0 knocks the socks of the 216, but that was released after
    my order.  The 216Si does 0-60 in 9.5s, where the 2.0 does 0-60 in
    8.5s.
    
    I first spent much time asking people whether it was worth joining the
    scheme (I found a 50/50 split).  I then set about working out the
    actual differences.  For the mileage I do, there was no real
    difference, well it cost a little more to join the scheme, but I
    managed to bend my results in that direction.   
    
    After waiting this long, I'd better like the car.  :-}
    
    Chris
    
    

    How often have you travelled from 0-60 ? (or is it 62).
    
    There is a lot more to a fast/sport/whatever car than how fast if get
    to 60. An extra gear change at 58mph can knock 1/2 second or more off
    the time but in reality you'll not notice it. I'd rather have a car
    which is slower to 60 but had better mid range torque and free reving
    top end + rear wheel drive. At the end of the day a car can be quick
    and not feel quick or slow and feel rather rapid.
    
    My old 1.4 Civic did 0-60 in about 10 seconds but you'd think it was
    taking off when you dropped the clutch. The new toy, 2.8 BMW sports
    will do 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds but feels positively pedestrian
    unless you really give it some right foot.
    
    70-90 in the lowest gear that can do it is - IMO - a better reflection
    of overall performance. (70-90 in 3rd happens in the blink of an eye in
    the BMW)
     
    Rik

    Rik,
    
    I understand your point. I also looked at the 50-70 mph figures in
    5th for my Astra Sport, I think its about 6.5, but also at what
    revs you get the most power, and what torque at what revs. 
    I unfortunately don't have the figures at hand, but I know its most
    "torquey" at about 3500rpm.
    
    Like the sound of the 328 though.
    
    Alan. :-)

    
    	Chris,  have you worked out the Tax you will pay?  I was doing
    (much) less than 2,500 company miles PA when I came out of the Cocar
    scheme.  I found that after the initial shock of deposit and insurance
    for my new car, it all became cheaper.
    
    	In fact, the last time I updated my spreadsheet, about two weeks
    ago, my total running costs over 30,000 miles and 29+ months has been
    15.998p per mile (just under 16p anyway, going by memory) on my Diesel
    Xantia.  The does not include depreciation or loss of interest on the
    capital involved, otherwise it is all costs, even including the retro-
    fitting of Cruise Control (just under �500.00) as a running cost.
    
    	Mind you, if you are going to do more than 18,000 company miles PA,
    that would be a different Tax story.  The bit you can't put a price on,
    of course, is the hassle factor, not that there is much anyway with my
    milage.
    				Malcolm.

    re. 17
    
    Believe me, after a 1.5 Metro Diesel, 0-60 is very important,
    especially over the roundabouts of Basingstoke.   :-}
    
    Chris. 

    Chris
    	You reminded me. Another factor in car performance is is it a
    diesel - avoid at all costs unless you can measure the cars weight in
    bags of sugar :-)
    
    	Rik

   > My old 1.4 Civic did 0-60 in about 10 seconds but you'd think it was
   > taking off when you dropped the clutch. The new toy, 2.8 BMW sports
   > will do 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds but feels positively pedestrian
   >unless you really give it some right foot.

Odd migration path! Scrabbling front drive (but feels fast) to full blown, rear wheel drive, mean 
machine.

Just jealous

 

    I know, intermediate cars have been "the wife's" company cars (see
    3.547 for a potted history)
    
    	Rik

        <<< Note 2512.21 by HIPS::WATSON "DARK IN HERE, ISN'T IT?" >>>
                       -< Westfield make a nice diesel I think >-
       			  ^^^^^^^^^	        ^^^^^^
    
    	'fraid you got that wrong Rik, it's Quantum who make a nice Diesel
    Sports car, they also make some pollution mobiles too.
    
    				Malcolm.

    
    Hmmm..
    
    		Glad to see I'm not alone in the ordering quagmire. I just
    wouldn't start ringing garages/dealers to progress-chase the order,its
    really not my job,and slightly OTT in my opinion. What does bother me 
    is that sooner or later my lease car wil start costing the company
    money because it wasnt replaced in a timely fashion.Multiply it by 100
    a month,and there goes a lot of dosh,maybe even our bonus ?
    
    RE the last 10 or so,isn't it curious how in this notes conference,
    regardless of the subject of the base note,sooner or later the string 
    will end up on the merits of "this car vs that car" or "petrol vs
    diesel" etc etc... Good reading all the same though !
    
    				Cheers Mick 

RE:.0
�    Reality is,you can order electronically via LPDirect,and look up prices
�    for any car,with any option,and then order it.

	How did you find this out?  I got a mail from Leaseplan this morning
	telling me to start the order process, but there is no mention of
	LPDirect.

	Ian.

Ian,

	Were you as impressed as I was with the mail? I found the way they
were shouting out my name a little inapropriate as was the lack of further
information to assist in the order.

-dg-


Total message :-

===========================================================================
   DAVE GOODWIN, the lease period for car L562ECF will expire on 16/08/96. 
Please make arrangements to order a new car now to ensure delivery by that
date. Consult HR @REO if you wish to withdraw from the scheme. 
Regards, Lease Plan.
============================================================================

	DAVE GOODWIN,

	Very unimpressed, and disappointed. If I didn't already know
	about LPDIRECT (and in fact have a "back door" method in) then
	I still wouldn't. Is anyone using the facility officially? If
	so, how did you find out about it?

	IAN WEGG

    I got the same mail today.
    
    What happens if you put an 'x' against the model in LPDIRECT, do you
    get a list of the extras or do you order the car ?
    
    By the way, Mondeo prices have gone up from those in 2290.something.

    Dave Goodwin,
    
    When I was due to order my car, I tried doing it electronically via
    ALL-IN-1. I could never get connected. I never bothered to chase it
    up with IS because I just thought, "Well, it doesn't work so I'll
    use the tried and (sort-of) tested method."
    I would have probably been waiting for a response for ages anyway.
    
    Regards,
    
    Alan. :-) if your from IS.

	I tried to order my car via LPDIRECT but the order got bounced as
my manager couldn't authorise it via LPDIRECT so I resorted to the paper
method.

	The actual link to LPDIRECT has been functioning for over a year. I 
suspect that there are problems with the 'process' that prevent the service
going live. If you do have a problem accessing LPDIRECT (ie you don't get to
the login screen), log a call on 830-3030. Most of the problems are down to
the AS400 (but I have to say that, don't I)

	Note that you don't have to go thru ALL-IN-1 to access LPDIRECT. From
a VMS system running UCX, the following works -

	$tn3270 lplan.reo.dec.com 2301

	I'm sure there's several other ways from terminal servers, UNIX, etc.

regards,
	Ian

    I was told about LPDIERECT by Pru of LP - she used to be in our own Car
    Fleet.  Unfortunately the first time I tried the link was down, which
    she said was a problem at their end.  The second time I tried it didn't
    work as I was using a PC with a VT emulator and the key mappings aren't
    quite right.  So I went for the paper method - except that I'm in
    Holland at the moment.  So the order form was faxed to LP and I
    followed it up with an ALL-IN-1 mail confirming what had been written
    down.  Now I'm waiting for the approval of my manager's manager.  In
    about 2 weeks I'll call LP and check that the management approval has
    been forthcoming.  I'll use that opportunity to find out who it's been
    ordered from so I can arrange a mutually convenient delivery date - my
    excuse being that I have to schedule it with working on-site in Holland
    and getting the old car back to the UK by ferry.
    Nick

I used the electronic way and it worked fine. Ordered it about 6-8 
weeks ago.

Alan

    I ordered my car by looking through LPDirect at what I wanted and what
    price it would be. I then asked my manager if I could order it direct
    but he insisted that it be done by Fax. Leaseplan then mailed me back
    asking whether I had had a quote (I ordered a Saab) to which I replied
    that I had used the prices listed in LPDirect on the date of my order.
    They then used those figures to process my order. All in all I think
    that Lease Plan did a great job of ordering the car.... It was only the
    dealer that got me a little annoyed with rescheduling delivery 4 times.
    
    Alastair.
    
    PS Gary, have you been up to see Paul Gooch yet with your Merc?
    Let me know what colour green he goes!
    

    
     I agree with .27 re. the style of communication from LeasePlan,
    I nearly choked on my Coco-Pops when this message hurtled out
    at me.
    
    Brian
    

    
    A postscript to .0
    
    My car order was finally placed,only after I extracted my order details
    from LPDIRECT,mailed them to my manager's manager,who then forwarded to
    to his manager's secretary asking her to get it specially approved by
    her boss,and mailed to Leaseplan.
    
    Miraculously,after a few days my order status changed to LIVE with
    dealer,and in about 2.5 months time,I will be the proud driver of a 
    shiny new VW Golf Estate,my present car will be on 70K miles,and 
    probably costing my CC extra in penalty clauses.. Yes delivery date
    15th August..
    
    Thank heavens for Just in time manufacturing...
    
    				Mick

	I ordered my car (an ASTRA LS Estate) through the LPDIRECT system 
	on the afternoon of Friday July 5th.  Wadham-Kenning phoned me last
	Wednesday to tell me it was in. That's 12 working days from order 
	to delivery. 

	This is the first internal system that has exceeded my expectations!

	Ian.

    I guess it means you missed a pee!
    
    Jc
    

�    I guess it means you missed a pee!

	Well no actually. I said the car had been delivered - but they
	won't let me drive it until 1st August. That's not the system's
	fault though, in fact it's even more impressive as this is the
	time of highest demand.

	Ian.