Price Protection

Vauxhall have toady announced another price rise of, on average, 2.2% on all cars ordered from 3rd August 2009.

As with most manufacturers, Vauxhall do offer Price Protection on orders before that date, but what does that actually mean? To understand this we must first review how dealers order cars from the manufacturers

To simplify we'll need to generalise across all car makes but recognise there are some differences.Dealers buy in 1 of 3 ways

1. Stock - they pre order likely vehicles. often they have to commit to certain model mixes in order to secure bonuses from the manufacturer. Also they have to commit to their orders well i advance
2. Pack deals - this is where the manufacturer goes out to their dealers and offers bundles of cars, usually with some nice bonus discounts. the dealer hast o commit to the cars and doesn't get choice on colours etc
3. Factory order - the dealer orders a customer specific vehicle direct with the manufacturer. the dealer will have a limit as to how many they can order in a specific month. This volume is generally agreed in advance either quarterly or annually.

It is factory orders that buyers looking for price protection must be most aware. If a dealer does not have the allocation left to order before the price rise cut off then the car will not qualify for the price protection

So when ordering your car, ask your dealer if they have allocation to order a car then and there and if not when they will be able to and secondly get it in writing that your car will be price protected