[Stacey3107]

So I was looking at the dealers website I ordered from and saw they have two Ascents on the lot...2!!!!! I then did a check on cars.com and within a 200mile radius it says there are 11 in stock at various dealers. Do you guys know of any in stock in your area? These advertized vehicles have VIN and everything. Thoughts from anyone??

 

[Ctsoxceltsfan34]

So I was looking at the dealers website I ordered from and saw they have two Ascents on the lot...2!!!!! I then did a check on cars.com and within a 200mile radius it says there are 11 in stock at various dealers. Do you guys know of any in stock in your area? These advertized vehicles have VIN and everything. Thoughts from anyone??

My dealers Website listed three but the status of each one was "In Transit"

 

[Big Superroo1]

My dealer's website in Central Florida is saying 9 are "In transit". So they are almost here!

 

[jwhip]

So my dealer/salesperson has been keeping me in the dark. Based on other's comments, I went to check their web site. "My" White Touring shows up as one of two listed as "In Transit". Coincidence? Or really mine? Must call today.

 

[JPGators]

My dealer's website in Central Florida is saying 9 are "In transit". So they are almost here!

Which dealer did you order from? I placed mine at Sport Subaru South, but that was recently so unfortunately I still have a long wait

 

[abby41260]

Just looked at all the local dealer sites and they all only have premium and touring models! Maybe the first shipment didn't include limited lol

 

[Derived42]

Just looked at all the local dealer sites and they all only have premium and touring models! Maybe the first shipment didn't include limited lol

I was told by my dealer in SC that they were receiving two cars (premium and touring) to have as demos.

 

[abby41260]

I was told by my dealer in SC that they were receiving two cars (premium and touring) to have as demos.

Yes most only had 2, but a few had 4 coming, but no limited. I have seen 2 limiteds in person now, but both were 7 passenger and I'm interested in an 8. I think I'll go check out a premium since most of the ones I saw coming in were 8 passenger. I haven't decided between 7 or 8 so I need to see if the kids can handle the bench seat or not.

 

[Ctsoxceltsfan34]

I wonder if these being listed on the sites are actually available. I emailed my sales guy and inquired about test driving an Ascent. He mentioned that all Ascents coming into his dealership were "spoken for" and most likely my first attempt to test drive would be mine once it arrives at the dealer.

I did not push him on the listing on the web site though tbh

 

[notoyotanow]

So I was looking at the dealers website I ordered from and saw they have two Ascents on the lot...2!!!!! I then did a check on cars.com and within a 200mile radius it says there are 11 in stock at various dealers. Do you guys know of any in stock in your area? These advertized vehicles have VIN and everything. Thoughts from anyone??

Apparently many dealers all over the country are listing Ascents on their websites, even though there are no cars on their lots. They are all listed as in transit or coming soon. Since they are mostly pre sold, or possibly an additional allocation, none of them are available to sell currently.

 

[Gueromeister]

My dealer has 15 cars listed on their website as in transit .... mine is not among them .....
This is probably a question for Carl or Jason , Will pre-ordered cars appear on the dealers website or will they be hidden from view of the public ?
Or does it just depend on the dealer and how they want to do it ?

 

[Carl Abrams]

My dealer has 15 cars listed on their website as in transit .... mine is not among them .....
This is probably a question for Carl or Jason , Will pre-ordered cars appear on the dealers website or will they be hidden from view of the public ?
Or does it just depend on the dealer and how they want to do it ?

Pre-ordered cars, if the order was placed with SIA, should NOT show up on a website.

If the dealer simply TOOK the order and didn't actually place it with SIA, then those cars WILL show up on the website as in transit. That can cause issues, to put it bluntly, where someone can end up seeing a car with what they've been told is their VIN showing up on the dealership website.

I have 23 cars with July ETA's. I now have 9 that show shipped rail, with ETA's here of June 27 and July 02. I only have 2 showing up on our dealership website, with both of them showing as in transit, and neither of them are the any of the 9. (And one of them is already reserved.)

 

[Gueromeister]

Does a dealer typically get their monthly allocation,July for example, in one large shipment or is it spread out over the month as several smaller deliveries? That would not seem to be efficient....
My car showed as “in transit “ but the ETA has not changed....why?
The dealer said to check back in about 10 days for a better/more accurate idea of the ETA.....
What is a realistic/conservative delivery time to Southern California ?

 

[Carl Abrams]

Does a dealer typically get their monthly allocation,July for example, in one large shipment or is it spread out over the month as several smaller deliveries? That would not seem to be efficient....

Spread out.

Keep in mind that a car carrier can only haul 8 or 9 vehicles at a time anyway. An Autorack (aka train car carrier) can hold 20 - 24 vehicles, depending upon their size. AND the other minor detail that a dealer may need delivery of more than 100 cars each and every month, just to maintain the inventory they have on the ground.

So what's better? Sending a dealership 100 new cars all at once, which means the shop and service crew that has to PDI each and every car has to do that, as well as that dealership has to find parking for 100 cars that they may not have room for on their lot, AND that you're also having to do that to maybe 40 dealerships in your area? (Keep in mind again, you're talking 12 semi truck loads, ALL at once.)

There's a reason why logistics is what wins battles in combat. The same thing applies here - you've got to juggle things, so a dealership gets maybe 3 truck load this week, then 3 next week, etc., so they're continually refreshing and more importantly, simply replacing the inventory on what has sold the previous week.

 

[Gueromeister]

Spread out.

Keep in mind that a car carrier can only haul 8 or 9 vehicles at a time anyway. An Autorack (aka train car carrier) can hold 20 - 24 vehicles, depending upon their size. AND the other minor detail that a dealer may need delivery of more than 100 cars each and every month, just to maintain the inventory they have on the ground.

So what's better? Sending a dealership 100 new cars all at once, which means the shop and service crew that has to PDI each and every car has to do that, as well as that dealership has to find parking for 100 cars that they may not have room for on their lot, AND that you're also having to do that to maybe 40 dealerships in your area? (Keep in mind again, you're talking 12 semi truck loads, ALL at once.)

There's a reason why logistics is what wins battles in combat. The same thing applies here - you've got to juggle things, so a dealership gets maybe 3 truck load this week, then 3 next week, etc., so they're continually refreshing and more importantly, simply replacing the inventory on what has sold the previous week.

Your answer/explanation makes a lot of sense....
Once a car leaves Indiana via rail car, what might a “typical” transit time be to a dealer in Southern California be?

 

[Litemike]

So, I read they were sold out until September?

 

[Carl Abrams]

Your answer/explanation makes a lot of sense....
Once a car leaves Indiana via rail car, what might a “typical” transit time be to a dealer in Southern California be?

I'm simply guessing here, but I'd say add a week. It's going to depend on the rail yards and where they do the train consist make-ups, how long a rail car has to sit in the yard while getting switched around.

I've a Crosstrek that shows shipped rail on June 13 with ETA here of June 29. That's from just south of San Francisco to Fort Worth and then via truck from there.
I've an Ascent that shows shipped rail on June 12 with an ETA here of July 02. That's from Lafayette to Forth Worth, then via truck from there.

 

[Robert.Mauro]

I'm simply guessing here, but I'd say add a week. It's going to depend on the rail yards and where they do the train consist make-ups, how long a rail car has to sit in the yard while getting switched around.

If it's going across a mixed use rail line (eg: sharing with Amtrak, or other commuter rail company with a busy schedule), entire trains may be passed to sidings to sit for hours between other traffic runs. So, that too can add to the time that Carl is estimating.

Though our cars come via truck to Long Island, I've worked on rail freight shipments from out east on Long Island to upstate NY Port Henry. That'd be New York & Atlantic Railway (which is really the spun off Long Island Railroad freight, and still runs on the LIRR commuter tracks) through the Amtrak lines as freight. It's a 5 hour drive with no traffic. Freight was going to take considerably longer due to switching lines at the yards, as well as yielding to commuter traffic.

There's lots of bi-di single tracks with sidings here and there to allow other direction traffic to pass.

Train is cheap to move a lot of tons of cars over long distance, compared to a lot of trucks, but it presents its own challenges (each has different ones). I'd not want to be the guy coordinating such stuff for nationwide deliveries, lol.

 

[Carl Abrams]

I'd not want to be the guy coordinating such stuff for nationwide deliveries, lol.

Yeah, when you need to ship via rail overnight, you have to use Norfolk and WayPal ...

(Trigger warning - may cause uncontrollable laughter due to puns and crude humor)

 

[Jason]

So, I read they were sold out until September?

Subaru will only let us order about 90% of our monthly allocation so every dealership will show at least 1 available Ascent in inventory at some point in time. But that Ascent can still be reserved by someone who doesn't want to place an order and wait.

Orders are sold out through at lease August at most dealerships. My dealership is now placing orders for the October allocation.