Jakartans willing to endure long wait for their dream car

Jakartans willing to endure long wait for their dream car

By John Aglionby

WHEN approaching Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport by air, one
of the few visible sights during the past year, however thick the
polluted haze, has been the massed ranks of Timor cars parked
beside a runway.

The brouhaha surrounding the National Car, and the reluctance
of people to buy it, has had one beneficial side effect for those
wanting one.

There is no waiting list.

Providing you have Rp 38 million (US$15,000) in cash, you can
more or less go into a showroom and drive one home there and
then.

The same cannot be said for all other makes.

At the opposite end of the scale is the new Kijang.

When it was launched at the beginning of this year, customers
had to wait up to four months for their vehicle.

That period has dropped, but only marginally, according to Lia
Santoso of PT Toyota-Astra Motor. "If you ordered a new Kijang
today, you would not get it before the end of October and that is
dependent on what extras you wanted," she said.

Toyota's Kijang assembly plant is already working at maximum
capacity, 362 vehicles a day, and the waiting list has only been
brought down by extending the number of days worked each month.

"It usually runs for 22 days a month but this was recently
increased to 25 to meet more of the demand," Lia said.

There are no plans for it to operate every day.

Customers are prepared to make a down payment and wait that
long, Lia said, because they are guaranteed a quality product.

"Kijangs are durable and economic and the new model is much
more comfortable than the old one. This means people are very
enthusiastic about it and are willing to wait."

There are no such problems with the other vehicles in the
Toyota stable, the Land Cruiser, Corolla, Starlet and Crown.

If waiting lists are anything to go by, the next most popular
car in Indonesia is the Nissan Terrano Grand Road.

Don't hold your breath if you want one because it is unlikely
to arrive before the beginning of October.

The head of Nissan's public relations department, Haryadi
Ataher, said that its popularity stemmed from the fact that it
was cheaper than its two siblings, the Kings Road and the Grand
Road XT, but had more accessories.

He said: "People can see that they're getting value for money
and as they don't read in the press about Terranos having a bad
reputation they trust it and are happy to wait for it."

The Kings Road and Grand Road XT also boast waiting lists, but
theirs are only three weeks.

The Kijang and the Terrano Grand Road are by no means the only
models buyers here have to wait for. The Volvo 960KL is one of
the few luxury cars that is not readily available, but waiting
times usually only go beyond a couple of weeks if the model is
new or a customer has specific wants.

Rahmawati, a sales executive at Indomobil dealer PT Sun Star
Motor on Jl. R.S. Fatmawati, South Jakarta, said: "We always get
inundated with orders for the latest model, whatever the make. It
seems people just want to be seen in the newest car and be able
to show off to their friends."

She added that the Mitsubishi Lancer was a case in point. "We
are telling our customers they will have to wait up to three
months for one but they don't appear to mind."

Other cars still enjoying post-launch sales booms are the Audi
A4 and the Nissan Infiniti.

Fussy customers are the other people who have to wait,
especially when wanting a certain color.

An employee at Mercedes dealer PT Hartono Raya Motor said
finding a particular model was not a problem -- even the new C230
Kompressor would only take a week -- but supplying some colors
was.

"I can get you a blue, green, silver or gold car without
difficulty, but if you want a white, black or red one, you'll
have to wait up to three months," she said.

BMW has similar problems. One dealer said: "Customers don't
have to wait for their cars unless they want a silver one. Then
it will take about a month."

So, unless you are prepared to buy a Timor car, a secondhand
vehicle, or are not at all concerned about the image of your car
don't expect instant delivery.

It might happen, if you're lucky, but be prepared to be
flexible and work on extremely elastic rubber time to avoid
disappointment.