2023 V8... I put a deposit on it March 7 with Land Rover New Rochelle and picked it up on July 11. 4 months from signed order to delivery. Better than expected!

 

V8 and higher end took priority over lesser models

 

gotcha... It was basically the only way to get options that I had on my 21 X-Dynamic HSE

 

Thank you all for all this information about dealer service and lead times. Last week, I "built" my Defender 90 using the Configurator, but when a message informed me that there were no cars available I gave up. After reading several threads on LandRoverForum, I decided to try again today and forward my choice to a dealer. But LR seems to have changed the Configurator completely in the past couple of days. Prices are not shown--not even for base cars (are they $65,000 or $85,000 or $105,000?). And the base cars have changed completely. Instead of S, SE and X-Dynamic there are now over 20 Defender base models to choose from. They are still S, SE, X, etc., but the letters are aligned with different levels of horsepower (I think the 6 cylinder motor is available in 3 states of tune) and all base interior upholstery choices must include Ebony (only two base cars start with another color and that is Acorn, but it must be paired with Ebony surround). So now there are 4 Ss, 4 SEs, 4 Xs, etc. I will try the Configurator again tomorrow, but not knowing any prices is troubling. This is a version of poker wherein I must show all my cards first, but the dealer doesn't have to show any. Not being a gambler, I might have to buy second hand.

 

I see price for the USA Configurator.

 

Thank you very much. I did not know there were more Land Rover Defender configurators. I just noticed that the US site is on top and I clicked on the site just below. I see the prices and am back in business.

 

Buying used worked for us. We bought a used 2020 110s in early January because we couldn’t get any ordering info from our dealer and everyone was saying the production might stop altogether. Then, two weeks later we got a call from the dealer that we could place the order with them and it would go in their queue. They placed the order with LR mid March. Our new Defender is now on the ship in Baltimore, soon to arrive in Brunswick to be offloaded and prepped for delivery to the dealer in a couple weeks. So we have some leverage now, we have a car we love and if there are any “shenanigans” with the dealer, we can walk and still be happy.

 

I think the only shenanigans you might run into is on the trade in offer. My brother just traded in a Mercedes for the new full sized range last month and while they sold it for msrp they tried to jip him like $10k on his trade in. Luckily he had a quote from another dealer already so they honored it and he was still able to get the dealer trade tax credit towards the new car- and they prob just sold the car to that other dealer actually so it all worked out.

I think if you’re not happy with the trade offer, you could just buy the new ordered car for msrp without trading in and flip it for like an extra $10k within a week!

 

Thank you, Jespey! I look forward to seeing pictures of your new car on this forum. Your experience is very encouraging. I am fine buying used because I am too old to still be finicky about details of a car--except that its design must look devilishly cool which the Defender is (and so were LR's previous versions, but the current one represents a huge and courageous departure). Problem (as others have stated on this forum) is there are so few physical cars to behold and choose from--I have not seen one in real life. That too makes sense due to the newness of the current Defender compounded by Covid. It was similarly terra incognita when I wanted a Mini Cooper in 2005 and received loads of help from the Mini forum (so that a bunch of us ordered cars from the one dealer in the US known for charging actual MSRP--in Ohio--and they arrived on a truck in a big parking lot where 6 of us picked up our cars, met each other, sat in each others' cars, the organizer drove mine and it was a hoot). Now that I am used to working the configurator, I think I have the combination I want. It is as white as possible outside (the no cost White) and inside (the extra cost Oyster)--just for fun. I will contact a dealer about lead time. Right now, I don't have a car (and 4 rental shops that were near me closed during lockdown) so I might have to buy used. Thanks, again.

PS: I bought and paid for a Japanese made compact stereo system for Christmas 2020. It was out of stock, but was supposed to be delivered in 2 months. Last month, the dealer sent me an updated ETA for May/June 2023. So the lead times for LR that I have seen on this forum are commendably short.

 

I heard back from my sales associate that our Defender that was originally supposed to be handed over on 7/22 was delayed due to the railway construction. He did confirm our Defender reached Zeebrugge on 7/15 and was on the ship 7/17 but didn't provide the name of the ship and said there weren't any other updates (as of Friday).

Does anyone happen to know which ship this batch of Defenders are being transported on and its current status? I assume it should be pretty close to the US east coast port by now and once unloaded should make it to Michigan within probably a week or two.