[mrbuick]

The dealer I have been dealing with for 4 Buicks so far says he gets 6 Enclaves per month.
He seems to be truthful. Has any one else asked their dealer this question, and what was their response?

 

[GoTerps]

Mine had None

During a conversation with my dealer on the day I picked up my Enclave, he was open about telling me that he had zero allocations with up to five customers wanting to order an Enclave. He indicated that he has some long conversations with the Regional folks, but it still took a long time for him to get allocations. What upset him is that Buick had indicated to dealers before the Enclave was introduced for sale that they were no going to use the allocation system on this car. Then they went and did it 'the way they always do'. The dealers are as frustrated with this allocation system as customers are.

Ya know, I hate to pass judgement on anything without hearing the other side of the story. Does anyone know why they use this system? It can't be a reward system for the big dealers, because that puts dealers ahead of customers. I wonder if dealers brought this on themselves by orderting too many cars, only to have to have fire sales at the end of the model year. But then again, if a customer orders a car, that wouldn't fit the hording scenario. Anyone know what trigged this system?

GoTerps!

 

[desgnconcpts]

I know several of us have discussed this allocation system since for most, if not all of us, had no idea of how GM was meting out Enclaves to Buick dealers. Since we haven't had the (good) fortune to have any Buick dealers join us to give us the inside scoop, several of us have done our own research into this very odd way of doing business. After seeing this thread, I did a little more "googling" of the gm dealer allocation processs and was amazed at what I found. There are forums for other "hot" cars -- the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice -- every new generation of Corvette (now the C6) have all got some great threads to read about this arcane process. The difference, though, that I see is that other forums ARE populated by dealership folks in the know -- either GM or ownership that understand the why and how of the process.

Evidently, the allocation process has been a way for GM to clear out old inventory and provide a "payback" to dealers in the process. I came across examples in Corvette forums when the new gen was announced -- the old gen would just tank. But the smart dealers loaded up on those current generation Corvettes because GM in turn used the allocation system to pay back the dealers that ordered/sold the most units previously. The dealers would discount current models -- knowing that it would pay off big time when the new gen Corvette would be released. GM used that same allocation system and then allowed those dealers with the highest unit orders/sales to get the most NEW GENERATION Corvettes.

And in every thread I've read, it's the same -- all about dealers NOT telling the truth, NOT disclosing whether or not they have allocations or how many, keeping customers in the dark. So, for all of us that have experienced this pain and process -- don't expect it to change. GM has obviously been using this "carrot and stick" approach for years and they don't seem too likely to change it.

Here's a bit more info on the allocation process that I think could be useful to everyone that has ordered or plans to order -- this was culled from some recent Corvette forums where dealers DO participate and have come "clean" about the process.

Every Buick dealer gets a report called a "Final Allocation by Week" report.
It positively shows whether or not they have an allocation for Enclaves.
Ask for it and your dealer will likely "s**t".
Also be sure to get your actual order number (a combo of 6 letters and/or digits) - you can call Buick's hotline, give them the order number and have them give you the status of the order.

My understanding is that each month, generally during the last week of the month a dealer gets an 'estimated shipment report' for the next consensus period, which is a month long.
Consensus appears to be a process where a dealer has an allocation in a given week during the month and agrees to place an order against that allocation.
After consensus is reached, GM will finalize production for the following month.
Your dealer will also "s**t" if you ask for this report! Regardless, if they refuse to give you a copy, cancel your order and shop elsewhere!

ORDER STATUS EVENT CODES
1100-Order placed at dealer
1101-Order accepted by GM
2001-Order generated to dealer
2005-Order replaced with GM Prospec order
2050-Order changed
2500-Order sent to production, preferenced
3000-Order accepted by production control
3100-Order available to sequence (now the tpw becomes more stable)
3300-Order selected for production by assembly plant
3400-Order broadcasted for production
3800-Vehicle produced
4150-Vehicled invoiced to dealer
4200-Vehicle shipped
5000-Vehicle delivered to dealer
6000-Vehicle delivered to customer

A status code of 1101 means only that your order has been entered into and accepted by VOMS (vehicle order management system).
It does not mean that your order has been "picked up".
When your order gets picked up depends upon when your dealer gets an allocation that they use to fill your order.
That could happen tomorrow or months from now, depending on your dealer's previous Buick sales volume.
The clock doesn't begin to tick until your dealer gets allocation and your status code changes to 2500.

Once that happens, though, things will change quickly. Upon hitting 2500, you can expect:
...to receive your TPW within a week.
...your TPW to be 3 - 4 weeks from when you hit 2500.
...your car to be released to Allied for shipping within 1 - 2 weeks after production. (Barring problems, it could very likely be within a few days of coming off the line.)
...your car to arrive at your dealer 1 - 2 weeks later.
The big thing to note here is that until your dealer gets allocation and your status code hits 2500, your order is simply sitting in wait and there's no way to predict when you'll get your car. Once you hit 2500, though, you'll likely see your car in 6 - 8 weeks.

We've seen evidence of this last part being very true -- some folks have ordered, their dealers have allocations, they've put into the system and then 6 to 8 weeks later, they have their Enclave.

 

[buckeye1]

I asked my dealership's sales manager about the allocations - he has had the most Enclaves in the northern Ohio area - he stated that his allocation was based on prior year's Rendezvous sales, and since they moved the most of those, they now get the best allocation for the Enclave. Don't know how true that is, but the fact is he's got six Enclaves on his lot as of today, and had nine last weekend when I purchased mine.

 

[mrbuick]

The owner of my Buick dealer said that the allocations are based on his history of Rendezvous sales (or maybe not). He said it is a mystery to him how they REALLY assign the number. Right now, as I said, he gets 6 a month, but could easily sell 2-3 times that. Based on the number of Lucernes and LaCrosses he has sold, I don't doubt that. He currently has 29 Lucernes and 24 LaCrosses in stock, but only 3 Enclaves.

 

[nascarfan]

Just ordered my Enclave today. dealer sales manager told me the allocation is not only past sales of that dealership but also the number of luxury suv's sold in a market area. Does not appear to be a simple formula. Local dealer told me he could not accept new Enclave orders as they (the dealer) were on hold from GM.

 

[GoTerps]

Just ordered my Enclave today. dealer sales manager told me the allocation is not only past sales of that dealership but also the number of luxury suv's sold in a market area. Does not appear to be a simple formula. Local dealer told me he could not accept new Enclave orders as they (the dealer) were on hold from GM.

Absolutely mindboggling! :banghead:

 

[mrbuick]

The dealer was on hold from GM, what does that mean???They can't place ANY orders?

 

[nascarfan]

Yup! Cannot even place a retail sold order. I am guessing it's an allocation thing