[PaulT00]

Just heard from the dealer (Blade SEAT in Bristol) that the Blue Bus is "pencilled in" for build w/c 27th Feb (which would make it week 9 by my calculations) and delivery would take about 3 week after that. So he reckons unless something moves, I'll be looking at delivery end of March. Which isn't great considering I confirmed the order before Christmas and was being quoted a 9 week lead time at that point. Fingers crossed they can pull that in a bit... of course if it slips out a bit I'll be looking at more road tax courtesy of Mr Osborne's last gasp come April 1st.

 

[Taffy2]

Congrats on getting your build date, time will fly and it will so be your turn to pick up the keys. . Placed my order on Nov 1st and picking it up tomorrow, so not long really, infact had build week 52 and told delivery late Jan early Feb only to get call last week to inform me it's in port and will be at dearship at end of last week.

 

[PaulT00]

Fingers crossed my order does the same as yours! We were originally hoping for a March 1st delivery...

 

[PaulT00]

Another update from the dealer: my provisional build date has come forward from week 9 (w/c 27th Feb) to week 6 (w/c 6th Feb). He's expecting a confirmed date sometime in the next week, at which point the spec freezes... last orders, gentlemen (and ladies!) please, do I swap out the double boot floor for a spare wheel and maybe SEAT sound and/or a Nav Plus, or keep it as it is? :? Actually it's probably already too late to change - that date makes the build only two weeks away and on target for an early March delivery, which is what we were hoping...

wibble!

 

[Simp11]

When is the last time you Can update your order? The week before building week or when you ordered the car at the dealer?

 

[PaulT00]

Well... I pinged the dealer straight back (had thought I might have another week or two to think about it given the original prov.build date of week 9) but he came back with 'as it's only 2 weeks to the likely build date it's pretty unlikely I can make spec changes at this stage'. I suspect that the reason build dates get jiggled around is that there is a massive ERP process going on where the myriad components for the extant orders are ordered in bulk and then as the supply chains all sync up the precise spec for each car determines a provisional build slot which is then confirmed when all the relevant bits are available.

I have a mental image of an order acquiring a shopping list of parts based on spec, which gradually get ticked off as bits are allocated before finally going 'I have everything, feed me into the car building machine!' when everything is confirmed available. Obviously the shorter SEAT can keep the supply pipelines the better from a work-in-progress point of view, but there's an irreducible minimum lag between 'got all the bits, freeze spec' and 'start putting car together' which seems to be about 2 weeks. And of course having allocated parts and slots, if they allowed the spec to change past that point, it would cause a bubble in the pipeline because the revised spec would have to go back through the allocation process.

I suspect (but am short of information) that the different engine/chassis/gearbox combinations may actually be built on different lines at the factory for logistical reasons, too, which is why changing from a manual 150 to a DSG 190 (like what I did!) requires cancelling and resubmitting the entire order. The setup time to build a different basic structure on any given line is probably nontrivial, which would also explain part of why the petrol DSG has only just become available to order in the UK even though the parts are all common across other models - VW group had to rejig the lines to make room for it.

 

[mcderms]

Paul,

I've been on a few different factory tours over the years and, on mass production, there is usually only one 'build' line for final assembly, as the body and drivetrain are built separately elsewhere (often not in same factory anyway) and mated on the final assembly as two large 'components' ; I think any other approach is too costly on a volume based car production.

 

[PaulT00]

Paul,

I've been on a few different factory tours over the years and, on mass production, there is usually only one 'build' line for final assembly, as the body and drivetrain are built separately elsewhere (often not in same factory anyway) and mated on the final assembly as two large 'components' ; I think any other approach is too costly on a volume based car production.

I stand corrected; as you say, the 'big chunk' components all have to be built in themselves and there may be many subsidiary lines leading to that last putting-it-together stage... at what point, for example, do the seats go into the bodyshell (before or after mating the drivetrain to the body?) and when are the wiring loom and electronic components brought into the mix given the degree of computerisation in most cars these days?

Supply chain management always seemed to be a bit of a black art to me anyway!

 

[mcderms]

Paul,

I've been on a few different factory tours over the years and, on mass production, there is usually only one 'build' line for final assembly, as the body and drivetrain are built separately elsewhere (often not in same factory anyway) and mated on the final assembly as two large 'components' ; I think any other approach is too costly on a volume based car production.

I stand corrected; as you say, the 'big chunk' components all have to be built in themselves and there may be many subsidiary lines leading to that last putting-it-together stage... at what point, for example, do the seats go into the bodyshell (before or after mating the drivetrain to the body?) and when are the wiring loom and electronic components brought into the mix given the degree of computerisation in most cars these days?

Supply chain management always seemed to be a bit of a black art to me anyway!

From what I've seen, the painted body (minus doors) gets wiring looms first, then maybe headlining & carpet, followed by dashboard in one piece, then seats and other interior; mating to drivetrain (engine, gearbox, fuel, cooling & exhaust system) next, followed by wheels and complete doors & trims last. Aat other points, headlights, twilight, trims and bumpers are added. YouTube is full of car assembly videos

 

[PaulT00]

I wonder if all the variants use the same wiring loom? I would bet they do... just not all the connections end up occupied down the line?

 

[mcderms]

I wonder if all the variants use the same wiring loom? I would bet they do... just not all the connections end up occupied down the line?

Don't know about SEAT specifically, but I think there are probably a small number of wiring looms covering variants; or they may themselves be 'modular' depending on variants and options and are 'built to requirements' from modules.

Neighbour is an Audi guru and says a lot of times the wiring is there for options not fitted in factory! To some extent probably more cost effective to build many of the 'same' loom rather than too many variations

 

[Golfmk56]

To some extent probably more cost effective to build many of the 'same' loom rather than too many variations

To cut a long story short - Ford Fiesta Titanium models come with footwell lighting as standard but was a cost option on Zetec S models. (from memory it was something like £150 'ish). However after reading Ford owner forums I discovered the same wiring loom and even the bulb holder was already in place on Zetec models so all I had to do was buy a 20p bulb and hey presto - footwell lighting in the Zetec S

The profit manufacturers must make when customers hit the options list !

 

[mcderms]

To some extent probably more cost effective to build many of the 'same' loom rather than too many variations

To cut a long story short - Ford Fiesta Titanium models come with footwell lighting as standard but was a cost option on Zetec S models. (from memory it was something like £150 'ish). However after reading Ford owner forums I discovered the same wiring loom and even the bulb holder was already in place on Zetec models so all I had to do was buy a 20p bulb and hey presto - footwell lighting in the Zetec S

The profit manufacturers must make when customers hit the options list !

Exactly - and what's worse these days is that sometimes all the option really requires is an additional bit of programming to be downloaded into the ECU ! :shock:

 

[trogette]

To answer the question though, yes the Seat Sound is worth it if you have ears at all, and having a door-level loading height is a must for me. So if you still can, do.