Newbie - Delivery Date suddenly brought forward

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Kim H
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:08 pm

Post by Kim H »

Hi all, first post after being a lurking reader for the last few months.

I test drove a Born in September and loved it, and after some high-pressure self-questioning paid a £500 deposit to Citygate Twickenham to secure a V1 (Aurora Blue / Heat Pump) before the price rises at the start of October. Due to specifying a heat pump I was given an expected lead time of 18-44 weeks, with the paperwork saying 31 March 23 as the expected delivery date.

Despite some niggles with Citygate I managed to get my order in at the pre-Oct price. (Their initial invoice was the wrong price but when I questioned it they insisted it was right. They then sent me another invoice a week later without any preamble or contact which had the correct price, and when I queried it was told "The factory won't accept your order if the price is wrong"... )

At the start of December I had an email saying "Your order has been accepted by the factory, we'll let you know when we have a build slot." No further details or timing but as I wasn't expecting anything before March, I wasn't surprised.

On Saturday morning I got a one line email from the Citygate salesperson:
"I have some exciting news your car has now arrived at the UK port so this should be with us in 2 weeks. If you have any questions or queries for me please do let me know."


Presumably someone has cancelled an order that has already arrived here!

It's been a long time since my test drive so I had been thinking about going back at some point to check it was what I wanted with another test drive, but haven't ordered cables, wallbox or anything as I thought I'd have a bit longer to sort those things out once I had a build slot. I'd also hoped for a bit longer to save - I'm buying cash and it's eating a huge chunk of my rainy day savings.

I've never bought a new car before (current car is a 2006 Polo bought secondhand!) so was hoping to take a family member with me on the day to help me ask the right questions etc (I'm disabled and my memory isn't always great under pressure). I don't even know how you pay that much money to a dealer!

So, if anyone can help me with the following questions, I'd hugely appreciate it!

  • What should I be asking Citygate to tell me?

    As you can guess from the above, they really haven't given me any guidance about the process and I'm feeling very bemused by the salesperson's minimal comms - I was thinking of asking to deal with someone else on the sales team if that's reasonable?
  • What should I get in terms of kit - I'm thinking Granny charging cable while I work out which wallbox to get and possibly a cover (my mileage is a bit lower than I'd like right now due to my disability)
  • I've seen the link to GAP insurance so will get that myself. What's the feeling on any service deals if they offer them?
  • What will I need to do on the day I collect? I have spotted the posts about double-checking the transport blocks so will definitely ask for that
  • Is it worth asking Cupra for a part exchange on my ancient Polo? Back when I was doing test drives MG looked it up and quoted between £700-£1200 although it's likely to fetch £2k in a private sale - are Cupra likely to be open to negotiations or just offer the book price and tell me to sell privately if I want closer to the price I could get
Thanks :)

Savage
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2022 3:46 pm

Post by Savage »

Salesman are mostly like that, there are exceptions but to most you are just part of their job.

They should run through everything with you at handover, so anything you need to know they don't tell you just ask.
From your point of view just check over the car thoroughly for any imperfections. Taking someone else is always a good idea, particulary if they are a very fussy person ;)

You don't need GAP insurance if you are buying outright or financing a considerable amount under the rrp.
Most insurance companies will replace/pay out for a brand new if the car gets written off in the first year.

You will need a proper wall charger, buy it yourself and get an electrician or get a supply and install quote from an ev install company to give you a quote and timescale. Anything from £800-£1400 for supply and fit should be in the right ballpark, no more unless you have a particularly old consumer unit/fusebox or long way from fusebox/tricky install.
Everyone has their preference, but thats a different thread !

Cupra wont give you a part ex, it will be the dealers, and really you should have asked that at the time of order. But there is no harm asking them to give you a trade in price, if you are not happy with that contact somewhere like motorway to buy your old car.
You can get an idea of trade value by going to We buy any car website, entering details (you can make up email etc as their price will come up on screen). Probably best not to sell to WBAC as they are known to find reasons to lower their value afterward.
Cupra Born V2 58KWh AFV 230 Auto E-Boost with Tech Pack L in Geyser Silver.
Kim H
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:08 pm

Post by Kim H »

Thanks Savage, that’s incredibly helpful.

Really good to know about not needing the GAP insurance, I wasn’t aware of that.

I have a tame sparky and I know he has installed wallboxes in the past so that is good news. I’m looking at probably an Ohme but as you say, another thread!


Ironically I did ask the dealer salesperson when I made the order about part-ex, they just said I should leave it until nearer the time… good tip on WBAC, thanks!

Really appreciate your help here, and I’ll definitely be taking a friend/family member to the pick-up 😊
alanjs
Posts: 151
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2022 3:14 pm

Post by alanjs »

You've had good advice above and it looks like you've done a good job on your research so I can't add much.
I'm in the same boat (possibly literally) as you in that my car has recently arrived at a UK port and hasn't reached the dealer yet but I have done a fair bit of research as switching to an EV is a major shift in many ways. I've had a Zappi installed as I am planning to get solar panels fitted. At the moment I'm on a fairly low electricity tariff until October, and I have calculated that it's cheaper for me to stick with that tariff and pay full rate than it would be to change to an EV-type tariff where my normal domestic usage would be much more expensive.
Just in case you haven't already done it, read up on the issues around charging to 80% rather than 100% every time. I'm astonished at the number of people on various EV car forums who throw a tantrum over "not being allowed" to charge fully and then panicking that they won't have the range the car maker promised. It's simple guidance but dealers need to explain it better.
Born V3, Aurora Blue, Tech (M) pack, Firestorm wheels, Pano roof
Ordered 21 June, 2022, delivered 17 Jan 2023
Savage
Posts: 91
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2022 3:46 pm

Post by Savage »

Yes, if you have a while to wait your trade in value will decrease, normally they give you an idea and warn you of possible depreciation, but with wait times for build as they are now, I can see why they might not.
My trade in for the cupra, I checked how much similar age/mileage cars of the same type were going for from main dealers, got a WBAC valuation, and negotiated to somewhere between the 2.
I was on good grounds as my trade in was low miles, bought from them, serviced by them (as it came with 3 years servicing) and they knew, other than a wash, it wanted for nothing !

This is my first foray into EV's so in 2 years time I will decide if it the way forward for me or not.

Regarding charging, stick to 80% max when you are on short runs, if you have a longer journey ahead, charge to 100% and plan for a top up charge on route, something before you are likely to be in range anxiety mode with a few close by back up sites, preferably 50kw+
zap-map.com may come in handy for that ;)
Cupra Born V2 58KWh AFV 230 Auto E-Boost with Tech Pack L in Geyser Silver.
Kim H
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2023 10:08 pm

Post by Kim H »

Thanks Alan and Savage. Yes, I’ve done lots of research and also read up on the 80% thing so feel fairly prepared apart from the short turnaround. I’ve messaged my tame sparky and he will fit in an install when I’m ready, so hopefully all good 🤞

I’ve taken a browse around Zapmap and it looks like a retail car park not far from me still has free charging - admittedly 7kw and often broken, but will definitely check that out.

Unfortunately my disability means I can’t drive much more than half an hour in one go at the moment, which means I shouldn’t have to worry too much about public chargers or pushing it above 80% very often but of course a big shame given it’s a lovely car to drive!

Good tips on trade-in - my one advantage is that my car is so old that the trade-in value is unlikely to have declined since September 😆
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