There have been so many inconsistencies and communication issues, that my wife is understandably concerned about spending this much on a car where the support has been so dubious, and she isn’t alone there, as she says, If it’s this bad now, what will it be like when owners start to need post-delivery support?
Unfortunately, she is waiting to be advised of the build date for a Toyota she has ordered, so she has a direct comparison. Even with Toyota’s established reputation as one of the biggest and most reliable marques globally, the communication and support from Toyota has left Ineos looking very incompetent, something she keeps being able to take embarrassing digs at me about. She also makes a point of wearing the cap Toyota sent her for Christmas, as a 'thank you for being patient', and she only ordered it in December 22.
To make matters worse, we attended a drive day where she was thankfully impressed with the vehicle, but as an event organiser herself, she was gobsmacked at how badly managed the event was, and she is correct, it was as basic as it gets. There were a few Ineos staff to provide verbal information about the vehicle, no ability to change our specification there, staff give us wrong information about how to make changes, no merchandise, toilets hadn’t been unlocked, no brochures, no information boards … her list of failures goes on. Suffice it so say, the event only reinforced her lack of confidence in Ineos, but she did like the car though.
The only comfort I have been able to give her is that at least the design and development were largely outsourced, it’s a Mercedes built factory and trained staff, and some of the more critical components, like the engine and drivetrain, aren’t ‘Ineos’, and BMW does have a solid reputation.
She still isn’t comfortable with me buying the Grenadier though … I hope I’m right !