So they say. I talked to them on the 17th and they said it was being built on schedule.

 

i'm posting this to see if anyone else has/had a similar experience... so bizarre i couldn't make it up i tried:

i just had a totally unexpected conversation with a local dealer. since i wasn't thrilled with the dealer i've purchased from previously i decided to call another that is also local. i started the call with some small talk and by saying i was a customer (true, only didn't purchase from them). i said am looking to order a defender 110 and i wanted to know what they are projecting for delivery times. the salesperson told me "we are not giving ANY delivery estimates on defenders" (stupid me didn't think to ask about other models). she also said "ALL current defender orders are on hold." i asked if this is due to the plant closure and she said "JLR isn't telling us anything except it's the chip shortage."

so i tried a different angle. i asked if the orders are good once the plant re-opens. no, she told me, there's a good chance all orders will have to be re-submitted (what???). and she wouldn't even commit to new orders being a 2022 or a 2023. in short, she said she couldn't give me any hard information about defender availability!

she did say "there are about 30 other customers who want to put in orders and we've got a list of names. if you want to be on the list we will need a $2,500 deposit, it's refundable, blah, blah, blah." i said it all sounds ok and put down a deposit. but wow. i'll probably put in a deposit at the other local dealer also, just to cover my bases, and go with whichever one opens up first.

tl/dr: no current estimate on defender delivery times, no ability to put in new orders, no confirmation that existing orders will be built.

as a business owner i'm left with a lot of questions. for starters, is this true? if so, what's going on at JLR? also, how does a local dealer stay in business if it can't get product? and lots more...

 

Very likely they have just pre-sold their allocation and have a list of people ahead of you. Otherwise possible they're not going to pre-sell and then they can throw them out on the lot with a markup.

Find another dealer and see if they have allocation that you can still configure. They'll give you a build date and arrival date and can print it all out through Vista, their ordering system.

 

Which part of the country are you in? Maybe they will be on the same boat. I'm in Chicago so I'm pretty sure it will come through an East Coast port, which appears good given the article that the other gentleman posted about LA and Longbeach ports in CA being so backed up.

 

We have 2 dealers in Austin, one said no new orders. The other took $2,000 from me and put me on a list. They had no clue about future orders either but they did get a small allocation on 9/15 according to the SP. I’m getting a 110 S and the SP thought it may be a little quicker since there is less demand for the base models. Who knows, as long I get something by July 2022.

 

Most local dealers have zero Defenders on the lot. My closest dealer had one Range Rover in the showroom, and no new on the lot other than some Disco sports. Saleswoman said they sold the last Defenders for 20K over MSRP and one was sold for "only" 10K over MSRP. The other dealer has one on the lot and two enroute and each is 20K over the sticker price. This has become a zoo for buyers and I suppose dealers are just gouging to make the most they can on any new vehicle in stock. Model year end is here for most vehicles, and the usual price cutting just isn't happening, unless it's one of the "loss leader" vehicles (read stripped or a base model) they have one of and can't dump. 2022 not likely to improve from all I have spoken with.

 

On the positive side, if you manage to get your hands on a new, desirable 21/22 vehicle at close to MSRP it should hold value better than it would have a few years ago. At least for the next year or two. The used car market supply is going to be lean for years

 

i've now spoken with 7 dealerships: 2 local, 1 regional and 4 in other states. none are currently taking defender orders. apparently the order system will not allow any new entries. none have any idea when they will be able to place orders. (if anyone here can point me to a dealer taking orders i would be very appreciative.)

there's an old cold-war era joke about shortages and waiting in line: in russia you wait on bread, in america bread waits on you. only america (world?) is now quickly becoming the land of scarcity. whodathunk?

 

First time poster here from NC…sharing the timing I was given today based on a build I submitted 9/11/21:

MY22 110 P400 SE
Hakuba Silver
black ext. pack
19” Style 6010, 6 spoke, gloss black
Acorn grained leather w/ lunar interior
12 way heated/cooled seats
Air suspension pack
Tow pack
Cold climate pack
Off-road pack

Last Amendment: 9/29/21
Build Date: 10/29/21
Delivery Date: 12/24/21

So far no exceptions to my build. Fingers crossed and knock on wood but sounds like I was very lucky with this timing.

 

You must have been able to take over a dealer order. I ordered my 110 in April and my build date (which was originally mid July) is now October 27.

Good for you