The Leaf orphan thread

[LakeLeaf]

with a bunch of deliveries supposed to take place over the next couple of weeks - I suppose it's time to also start to track any orphans that end up with dealers.

Orphans:
Who has them.
Vehicle specs - color, trim, options
Asking price
Selling price
Time on lot

 

[Gonewild]

There will be no orphan LEAF's, PERIOD. Not until the roll out ends. Any car "ORPHANED" will be routed to the person on the list.

 

[dlich18]

There will be no orphan LEAF's, PERIOD. Not until the roll out ends. Any car "ORPHANED" will be routed to the person on the list.

That doesn't sound right. If a Leaf is manufactured to order, delivered to the dealer, but delivery is not taken by the buyer, how can it be allocated to the "next" person on the list? The next person has already ordered his/her own Leaf, so the next "unordered" person would have to be someone who hasn't even placed an order yet, which would allow that person to "jump" up several months as long as he/she was willing to accept the configuration of the "orphaned" Leaf.

 

[garygid]

There WILL be orphans, but they will be "hidden" and quickly adopted.

The Adoption Agency (Nissan) will be able to find suitable new "parents", quite quickly, I am sure.

Our account info now says ... have ordered (or intend to order) Color, Trim, Option(s), and Accessories (most of which can easily be changed). Nissan could add an additional: "I am also willing to adopt others ... [color, trim, etc.]" entry, and quite easily find suitably-located, eager-to-adopt "parents".

Typically, I expect 1 or 2 phone calls to prospective "parents" in the orphan's area ... will result in a quick adoption, with the new "parents" delighted by the premature (early) delivery.

 

[Gonewild]

There will be no orphan LEAF's, PERIOD. Not until the roll out ends. Any car "ORPHANED" will be routed to the person on the list.

That doesn't sound right. If a Leaf is manufactured to order, delivered to the dealer, but delivery is not taken by the buyer, how can it be allocated to the "next" person on the list? The next person has already ordered his/her own Leaf, so the next "unordered" person would have to be someone who hasn't even placed an order yet, which would allow that person to "jump" up several months as long as he/she was willing to accept the configuration of the "orphaned" Leaf.

Thank you for your input, but this was already answered in a old topic. My statement is not mine but from Nissan Corporate VIP and not from the online chat.

Like gary said.

There are only 3 type of cars.

SV choice of color..
SL with or without quick charge port.

Items are then added on the dock which can be removed or just sent as is.

Second the cars are not made to order they are being assigned VIN# at the end not so much as before it is made.

 

[smkettner]

There will be no orphan LEAF's, PERIOD. Not until the roll out ends. Any car "ORPHANED" will be routed to the person on the list.

That doesn't sound right. If a Leaf is manufactured to order, delivered to the dealer, but delivery is not taken by the buyer, how can it be allocated to the "next" person on the list? The next person has already ordered his/her own Leaf, so the next "unordered" person would have to be someone who hasn't even placed an order yet, which would allow that person to "jump" up several months as long as he/she was willing to accept the configuration of the "orphaned" Leaf.

There are only 5 colors and 3 options for a grand total of 15 car combinations off the assembly line.
The rest are just port installed accessories that could easily be added, removed or given away to match the next order.

 

[garygid]

Even after you have ordered, but have not taken delivery,
you might get offered an orphan.

Would you accept?

If not you (next on the list for that <trim,option,color>), then
the next after you will probably be delighted.

 

[dlich18]

this was already answered in a old topic.

One thing for certain: Nothing is ever "answered", even if based upon statements by Nissan Execs. It is all guesses and speculation. Thus, I will stick with my opinion that orphans cannot go the the "next" in line.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

The ECO decals and ClearBra options are not so easily added or removed. The rest -- yeah.

I would NOT want a clearbra installed by someone doing it for the first time -- I want it installed by someone in port who does hundreds of them. I've seen how dealers do them. You can ID the installer by the fingprints under the film.

I really don't know what happens to orphans. The Leaf would be unusual if orphans didn't belong to the dealer -- they've already been invoiced for them, and the car belongs to the dealership, not NNA.

For a high-demand car like this, it seems like a bit of juice for the dealership to put one on the showroom floor and get full list+ for it. It's not a philanthropic establishment they're running..

And last, just because I'm feeling cantankerous, what's with all the preemptive "Official Thread" threads lately? Placeholders? I would expect each new owner or special case to make their own thread with the details and title to match. Nobody is going to go looking for an Official Thread to respond to.
I need my coffee.

 

[deetime7767]

The way that it was explained to us was..If a customer cancels their "reservation" prior to ordering, then that 'open slot' gets filled by Nissan; if an "order" is made and a customer cancels during that time, before delivery, then the Dealers will still be sent that car thus, making it available as their "Dealer Demo" or an "orphan" sell.

 

[garygid]

Actually, if the car is a direct match,
they might not even ask you, but just change
your dashboard from "month of Feb" to "week of 3 Jan",
or from "Pending" to "im-Pending"?

There could easily be some arrangement between
the dealer and Nissan about handling "orphans".

Actually, the first 30 days on the dealer's lot, the car is still "carried"
by the Maker, I believe. The dealer only has to carry it on inventory
after the initial 30-day period, I was told ... perhaps by some dealer.

 

[Gonewild]

this was already answered in a old topic.

One thing for certain: Nothing is ever "answered", even if based upon statements by Nissan Execs. It is all guesses and speculation. Thus, I will stick with my opinion that orphans cannot go the the "next" in line.

Well I con seed, things do change and anything can happen.

Just a week or so ago I was sitting and talking with Nissan top management and I asked about the orphans being given to dealer to sell and the answer was NO at the time. I was not talking to Nissan sales VIP so someone could decide or can be made by others I am sure.

 

[Gonewild]

I am sure there is some room to wiggle on the cars being used as a demo.

 

[garygid]

If the Order is cancelled BEFORE the car is shipped to the dealer, that is not really an orphan, but an aborted delivery.

AFTER arriving at a dealer, if the "parents" do not want the "baby", we have a "live birth" delivery, and a REAL orphan.

So, the Nissan "people" might have been talking about how they will handle "aborted" Orders, but not about how orphaned "live" deliveries will be handled.

My guess is that suitable adoptive parents will be found, likely in that same area.

However, dealers (perhaps 6 months back) thought that they would be able to sell the orphan "baby" on the "black" market, with no oversight.

 

[LakeLeaf]

There are at least some dealers who believe that if a customer decides not to purchase the Leaf after looking at it and test driving it at the dealer, then that particular Leaf remains with the dealer to sell as the dealer sees fit.

Those dealers may be uninformed, or we may be uninformed. It certainly would be fairly easy to put the Leaf back on a truck and reroute it somewhere else - but with the already thin margins on the cars and the unfavorable exchange rate - this seems like a costly option. Who would absorb the extra transportation costs? The receiving dealer? the dealer who couldn't close the deal? Nissan Corporate? Would the car need to be returned to Long Beach and re-prep'ed with the new owners options installed and the old uninstalled and then shipped off to the new dealer? All seems like a lot of hassle when almost any dealer would be able to see the car in short order.

 

[Jimmydreams]

There are at least some dealers who believe that if a customer decides not to purchase the Leaf after looking at it and test driving it at the dealer, then that particular Leaf remains with the dealer to sell as the dealer sees fit.

Those dealers may be uninformed, or we may be uninformed. It certainly would be fairly easy to put the Leaf back on a truck and reroute it somewhere else - but with the already thin margins on the cars and the unfavorable exchange rate - this seems like a costly option. Who would absorb the extra transportation costs? The receiving dealer? the dealer who couldn't close the deal? Nissan Corporate? Would the car need to be returned to Long Beach and re-prep'ed with the new owners options installed and the old uninstalled and then shipped off to the new dealer? All seems like a lot of hassle when almost any dealer would be able to see the car in short order.

Considering how tight Nissan is being with info, the rollout itself, the ordering process, etc., I cannot imagine for a second that Nissan would let the dealer keep the orphaned car. At least not THIS early in the game.....

 

[TomT]

One interesting possibility is, what happens to EV Project cars that become "orphans?" Since the QC option is "free", would it be passed on to the new customer as is, or would it then become a $700 option they have to pay for, assuming they are not an EV Project recipient...

 

[garygid]

Organ donor, and recipient:
Getting a close-enough match to a geographically-nearby
"recipient" should only rarely be a problem.

The demand is great, and the donors are (probably) few.

 

[LakeLeaf]

Any dealers want to speak up about their current understanding if this situation arises?

 

[planet4ever]

Well, all I know is that if my dealer offered me a car early that was the wrong color, I'd take it, no matter what color it was. If it had options I didn't ask for, I'd pull out my wallet. If it was an SL instead of the SV I ordered, I'd gladly pay the extra $940. It's got the L3 charging port? Sure, tack it on. I just want the car!