Richard Yarrow's opinion for startrescue.co.uk, providing low cost Van Breakdown Cover.
I wrote on 15 April about how the Japanese earthquake and tsunami were impacting on new car delivery times. It’s genuine; a dealer told me this week how the normal 10-week wait for a factory order has turned into up to five months.
I also predicted things would get worse before they got better, and I’ve been proven right with the news that manufacturers are now having to change the spec on some models because of component supply issues.
It being Japan, you would think electronics would be the biggest sticking point, and some firms are having problems. Renault has had to dump the Scenic Bose special edition from price lists – embarrassingly, just a few weeks after it was launched – because the necessary audio bits that make it special aren’t available. The same brand also struggling to find enough parts to offer Bluetooth hands-free connectivity across the board. Interestingly, the price of its cars doesn’t seem to have changed, even though customers are getting slightly less for their money.
But, bizarrely, top of the list of problems is paint. Japan was home to one of the world’s largest suppliers of a certain pigment that’s used in the manufacturer of the metallic finishes which are pretty much universal on new cars these days. This factory is apparently in the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant, and consequently business isn’t exactly booming. Jaguar and Land Rover have already culled a handful of colours from the available palette, and several other firms are gently steering buyers away from certain shades.
How long all this is going to last is anyone’s guess, but if you’re looking to buy a new car any time soon – particularly if you have a specific model in mind and need it for a certain date, like a birthday – I would suggest you get to the dealership pronto.