Arnell

First, does anyone know the length of time it takes Honda to build a new S2000? I was told by one dealer 2-3 months and about 24 days by another dealer (10-12 days build time, 10-12 days for delivery).

Second, what information can dealers get regarding the status of an ordered S2000? Specifically, how accurately do they know the estimated date of delivery.

Bret

I'm an Industrial Engineer and have been asked this question about products a few times. It is hard to answer without first defining what exactly you mean by "build". That's why you are probably going to get a different answer every time, especially from car salesmen who probably just make it up to begin with. By "build" do you mean:
1) The time from when the car is completed back until the point in time when the oldest part on that car was manufactured? Probably not, because that would likely make the build time several years if you include small parts.
2) The time from which they start to manufacture the major subassemblies like the engine until the car is completed. The time for building the subassemblies is likely greater than the time for final assembly.
3) The time from when a new VIN is created until it rolls out of the final assembly plant? This is probably what you mean. I don't know exactly what the answer is, but it's probably shorter than you would imagine, like a day or two. I can guarantee you that it takes longer to ship here than the entire final assembly takes. Some people from this board visited the final assembly plant a while back. They can probably give you a more definite number. But remember that whatever number you are given really doesn't tell the whole story. I glad I could clear things up.

koala

They "assemble" the car in one day (or less I would assume)... generally you'd get the car 1-2 weeks after it was built, all depending on when they ship over here and where in the country you're located... Most Honda's/Acura's are imported to Washington state or Cali.

Arnell

Good point Bret. I was indeed referring to final assembly of the major components of the vehicle (number 3 in your post).

I ask because I've ordered a 2004 and was told I wouldn't be getting the car until December despite getting one of the first two cars they're going to get.

slalom44

Since the only option you can order is color, it's not like they custom make the car for you. Options like spoiler, hardtop, alarm, etc. are not put on at the factory anyway. I'd guess that the lead time is almost all shipping and some sort of allocation.

When I was shopping for my car earlier this year, I recall several dealers saying that they didn't know what color their next S2000 coming in was going to be, only that it was coming in around a certain date. That implies that for a dealer to get a specific color, he has to have an order. If this is true, then the guys responsible for distributing cars to the dealers just has to swap delivery locations of certain colors.

derwood03

Honda works on an allocation system. They send in a request for the color combo on the pre-set # of cars for that specific time frame( usually 60 days) . Then they will get an on order print out of what has been allocated to them for the next 60 days from Honda. It will give the model, color combo and TPD= Target Production Date. When they vehicle is assigned one. The turn around time from TPD till arrival at the dealership is approx. 4-6 weeks, it varies from location( west coast gets them before the east coast) and inventory at the "port". Total time from order request till delivery is approx 60 days

P.S. - A dealer will know the exact color combo for the vehicle(s) in their allocation.

I hope this helps

Bret

My '03 was delivered to the dealership in Atlanta on December 4, 2002. I picked it up on December 6. It is number 1615. I saw quite a few '03's available before I got mine, so based on this and my car number it seems like your dealer is getting his allocation late. I wouldn't be surprised if it showed up earlier. Also, when I bought mine, my dealer was able to get an extra one to replace it in his inventory because another dealership had passed on its allocation. The S2000 market is thin both ways. Supply is small and the pool of buyers is small, especially during the winter. For this reason, I wouldn't be surprised if another dealership passed on its allocation in order to avoid having to pay the monthly inventory interest and January 1 ad valorem taxes. If I was betting, I'd bet that you have your car before December.

If you can, ask them for the car number. That should give you a more definite arrival date estimate based on the experience of others here.

wickerbill

Koala, it takes a lot more than a week or two to get from Japan to your dealer. It's much closer to five or six weeks depending on where you're at and how long it sat in Japan waiting for a ship. As for how long it takes a dealer to get a car, that is based on their allocation and what cars the dealer already has headed their way. Once it's ordered they can do a decent job of tracking it as it makes its way across the country. Being in Arizona, you shouldn't have to wait too long though since yours will probably arrive in Southern California.

Arnell

Thanks for all the info!

It's interesting the amount of discrepencies I'm getting from different sources. The dealer indicated new cars are delivered to the east coast first then the west coast which conflicts with what derwood03 stated. Given a choice, though, I'll believe the comments made here before I'll believe a dealer simply because they are ignorant / kept in the dark. Which begs the question, why aren't they on S2kI.com getting their information?

jyeung528

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Arnell
Thanks for all the info!

It's interesting the amount of discrepencies I'm getting from different sources.