That is correct. I got that email today regarding my NA sled that had a ship date of Dec. Good thing I have this boat anchor Boost to ride in the meantime...
Missing Boost Sled, need it found.
- Thread starter mt.sledder
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Looks like mostly Matryx and a few Axys in this post from last week. Is that customer sleds?
The recurring Yamaha sales number joke makes me laugh every time. Thank you.
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Yeah, the first time buyer. You never know they may finally have hooked another ski-doo guy. They already impressed you. You bought 6 times. They really have to impress the new buyer. They want to increase market share. LOL
You guys are funny. I get it...sucks not having your new sled. But, if you were ignorant or optimistic of the supply chain problems when you snow-checked your sleds...well...there's really no one to blame but yourselves.
If the auto industry can't get parts (chips mostly), do you think the sled industry is going to get them? The dealers can't tell you anything, they're just repeating whatever the OEM says. The OEM's can't tell you anything because they literally have no idea when some chips might show up at their plant. When all is said and done, many people aren't going to get their 22's at all. Next year will likely still be a mess and you can expect prices to be higher just so the OEM's and dealers have an opportunity to recover some of the losses they're taking.
I work in the auto biz. We've been told that chips for some of our products won't start showing up again until "sometime" in 2023. And it's not as simple as "Just make more chips!". The electronics industry is the slowest damn supply chain on the planet. Auto makers have been pushing for more product for the past year and it's gotten nowhere. We're actually losing out to the consumer electronics markets. Playstations, cell phones, tv's, etc. where sales are at an all time high thanks to everyone sitting on their Covid asses the past couple years.
If the auto industry can't get parts (chips mostly), do you think the sled industry is going to get them? The dealers can't tell you anything, they're just repeating whatever the OEM says. The OEM's can't tell you anything because they literally have no idea when some chips might show up at their plant. When all is said and done, many people aren't going to get their 22's at all. Next year will likely still be a mess and you can expect prices to be higher just so the OEM's and dealers have an opportunity to recover some of the losses they're taking.
I work in the auto biz. We've been told that chips for some of our products won't start showing up again until "sometime" in 2023. And it's not as simple as "Just make more chips!". The electronics industry is the slowest damn supply chain on the planet. Auto makers have been pushing for more product for the past year and it's gotten nowhere. We're actually losing out to the consumer electronics markets. Playstations, cell phones, tv's, etc. where sales are at an all time high thanks to everyone sitting on their Covid asses the past couple years.
Here's an article about why the auto makers ran into trouble. Then cancelled their chip orders early on thinking demand would drop. By the time they realized it wouldn't, they'd lost out on chips.
Car Makers to Get No Special Treatment in Chip Shortage ...
https://www.wsj.com › articles › car-makers-to-get-no-spe..May 20, 2021 — Auto makers canceled chip orders early in the coronavirus pandemic, not expecting demand to pick up in the near future.
…. Shortage of chips …… do you think there is a shortage of chips for EV’s? I don’t know, but if there isn’t for EV’s, then I wonder what is happening…..
All this is just a hunch. Anyone have knowledge about EV’s and chips?
Ev’s are 3-5% of auto sales………..
No, there is someone to blame, the company not communicating with its customers. I ordered a car in November of 2021. Received it in December of 2021. Was I "ignorant" to believe my car would show up (a car, which btw, has more semiconductors than any other car made) on time? Turns out, I wasn't.
The onus is on the manufacturer to communicate with its customers. Not on the customer to suss out "are they lying to me?". This doesn't mean I should be surprised, but does mean I should be disappointed when December 15th came around and they go "hold up, you aren't' going to get your sled until January...if at all."
Had they communicated this to me back when they were aware there were problems (which was well before December 15th), I'm not mad. I'm cool with Polaris doing whatever they have to do to navigate these "difficult times". Communication is damn near free, especially in 2022.
True …. But is this their way of pushing them to a higher %? Very well could be….
Few buy seasonal cars, we all buy seasonal sleds, that also get updated/re-released every spring, and with a much shorter lifecycle. Autos are a thin, borderline stupid, analogy. Very different business models, with some limited parallels in production methods, and a small handful of common suppliers. Supply chains are very different, who, what, when, and how.
Snowcheckers who are at the end of the line this year are getting the shaft without the lube, plain and simple. Poo put the Boost on allocation, sold out in a day or two, committed to delivery, and boasted that they had this figured out, trust us. Poo overcommitted, oversold, and underdelivered for lots of riders who will never get those days or a season back on a current year model.
It really isn't that hard to figure out, no pretzel logic or spin required. Some will accept easier, and if you didn't sell your current sleigh, at least you can ride. If you did, and many do to finance a $20k US unit or two, and you're left empty handed, you got a gripe. Don't accept mediocrity. Maybe poo will do more to square up, beyond the discounts on some overpriced gear that is also limited/undeliverable this year. The OEMs are all guessing what each other is doing, hoping the other ones don't blink first. Snowcheck 2023 is gonna be an adventure.
Snowcheckers who are at the end of the line this year are getting the shaft without the lube, plain and simple. Poo put the Boost on allocation, sold out in a day or two, committed to delivery, and boasted that they had this figured out, trust us. Poo overcommitted, oversold, and underdelivered for lots of riders who will never get those days or a season back on a current year model.
It really isn't that hard to figure out, no pretzel logic or spin required. Some will accept easier, and if you didn't sell your current sleigh, at least you can ride. If you did, and many do to finance a $20k US unit or two, and you're left empty handed, you got a gripe. Don't accept mediocrity. Maybe poo will do more to square up, beyond the discounts on some overpriced gear that is also limited/undeliverable this year. The OEMs are all guessing what each other is doing, hoping the other ones don't blink first. Snowcheck 2023 is gonna be an adventure.
I’m guessing the biggest issue Poo is having is that someone down the line is telling them parts are on the way, or will be soon and they are not. They getting the same run around they are giving you. I don’t really know what you do other than do your best to believe and plan based on the info you are given.
I would think they will step up at some point and offer some sort of credit, but first get sleds delivered before they determine how to approach it. A golden ticket that gets larger for each additional month someone has waited beyond Dec 15th would be nice, and simple.
I think it’s more like human decision makers at Polaris made the projection of what would be possible, downgraded that and limited snowcheck numbers accordingly. (After taking a beating in 2020)
Shortages got way worse than they could have anticipated. (At snowcheck time there was some optimism it would get better)
Acting like the consumer who didn’t receive their $20k toy at a certain date got “screwed” is pretty narcissistic at best.
In reality polaris and every other manufacturer is essentially reeling from a never ending series of punches that constantly cost more and more money.
It’s simply a matter of them making the best of a lot of bad situations.
Unfortunately that means the projections they are making get crushed over and over.
I’m a pessimistic person and working in project management for commercial building construction. My theory has always been to project a timeline that’s 20-30% longer than I think we actually need to complete a building……… During The last 12 months we have almost tripled the amount of time required for each phase of construction………. The enormous scale of material, parts and labor shortages completely crushes scheduled completion dates.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many large corporations are unable to weather the sh!tstorm.
No excuses, no freebies, no feel good BS……
Simple survival…..
(News flash!!!! When in survival mode facts don’t care about your feelings)
Shortages got way worse than they could have anticipated. (At snowcheck time there was some optimism it would get better)
Acting like the consumer who didn’t receive their $20k toy at a certain date got “screwed” is pretty narcissistic at best.
In reality polaris and every other manufacturer is essentially reeling from a never ending series of punches that constantly cost more and more money.
It’s simply a matter of them making the best of a lot of bad situations.
Unfortunately that means the projections they are making get crushed over and over.
I’m a pessimistic person and working in project management for commercial building construction. My theory has always been to project a timeline that’s 20-30% longer than I think we actually need to complete a building……… During The last 12 months we have almost tripled the amount of time required for each phase of construction………. The enormous scale of material, parts and labor shortages completely crushes scheduled completion dates.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many large corporations are unable to weather the sh!tstorm.
No excuses, no freebies, no feel good BS……
Simple survival…..
(News flash!!!! When in survival mode facts don’t care about your feelings)
You got that car in a timely manner because you paid full price. And I promise they didn't commit to a delivery date. They may have provided an approximation based upon what they were currently seeing, but it was pretty broad. I know...because I see the OEM orders. The auto makers are prioritizing all inventory to special orders right now (not bought off a dealer's lot) in effort of maximizing profit. The auto OEM's can't tell you week from week what parts they're going to have to build cars, so they certainly can't predict timing. I'll assume you didn't order a base model of something...because had you, it would likely have been delayed unless you're buying fleet vehicles. They're pushing out as much max content as they can right now, again because that's where they make the most money. Many base model vehicles aren't even available right now. The assembly lines at the suppliers for those products are literally shut down. There are no incentives to be had right now and most dealers aren't even honoring employee discount programs.
Depending on your region and the OEM, many dealers still have empty lots. But don't feel bad for the dealers. 2021 is the best year many have had in decades. Again...because they can sell at full price, don't have to honor any incentive programs, they have no advertising costs, etc., etc. Many dealers have figured out the game and they have friends, family, etc. coming in and ordering vehicles with no intention of ever picking them up, just so the dealer can get some inventory on the lot that they can then sell at full MSRP. OEM's aren't doing too bad either thanks to their prioritization of the high end, high profit vehicles. The ones bearing the brunt of it all are the suppliers who based their costs on a predicted volume which isn't there. The suppliers aren't getting paid any more for their parts than they did 2 years ago. Actually, they're getting paid less because every year costs on parts have to be reduced as part of the contracts with the OEM's.
My point here is...the snowmobile industry is NOTHING like the auto biz. The volumes simply don't scale and the sales strategies/production strategies are nothing alike. If an auto OEM applies pressure to a chip supplier for product, they're going to win out over the sled OEM. And likewise....if a cell phone manufacturer applies pressure to a chip supplier, they're going to win over an auto OEM.
The sled OEM's aren't keeping secrets. They've literally been telling you everything they know. I understand how communication may seem so easy, but when it has to travel through a dozen different people/suppliers/corporations before it gets to you....it doesn't happen instantly. It often becomes a piece of "corporate strategy" and negotiations. I work for one of the largest global automotive suppliers on the planet. We can only go off course so much based upon predictions. Despite some early 2021 "expert predictions" that there could be shortages, the chip supply problem that I referenced earlier wasn't directly communicated to me until September of last year. Now imagine being a sled manufacturer whose production is supposed to be starting at that time. That chip passes through no less than a half dozen suppliers before it gets to my floor so it then took another 2 months of communications through the supply chain before we understood just how bad the situation was. And that situation is changing every week based upon who the chip supplier decided to run parts for the week prior, what ships were allowed to dock at the ports, how many employees were out with Covid, etc., etc. As of today I literally have no idea what we'll receive. We might get 5 parts that utilize that chip this week, we might get 1,000, or we might get zero. How could I communicate that to my customer? Probably the same way Polaris has been communicating it to you. Basically...we're sorry, please understand it's out of our control and we're doing the best we can. Think about it this way.....they told us 2 years ago that it would take "2 weeks to flatten the curve." How did that prediction play out?
I do sympathize with those who ended up with nothing to ride this year. That would obviously suck. You can ride nuts to butts with me on the next trip if it helps.
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Not entirely true .. I kept my 2021 khaos for this reason, however my series 8 track and drivers got so bad that its been inoperable all season .... Guess what else I've been waiting for ? Yup, parts to fix my 21 under warranty and my 22 snowcheck
I've been making numerous attempts to contact polaris and ask them to make it right for a loyal customer who has been sitting at home all season while owning a 21 snowmobile which they won't fix and a 22 snowmobile which they won't deliver... sadly, no response !
maybe its time to go back to skidoo ... riding a wobbly fat snowmobile is better than riding nothing at all...
Poo had no idea in March what the situation was going to be 6 months down the road. That's why they limited sales in the first place. Saying there is an "end of line" implies that there was a start. lol The sales and manufacturing strategies of the sled OEM's put them in a much worse situation in regards to ability to react and resolve than auto. In the auto world we're in communication with our suppliers at least weekly, often daily, in regards to shipments, component availability, etc. In the sled world, an order is placed in April and it's not due for months, often arriving in only a few or less shipments. By the time that shipment doesn't arrive and you realize there's a problem, you're f'd.
And it's not just Poo we're talking about. I have friends with brand new Ski-Doo's and Lynx's sitting on the dealer floor for nearly 2 months waiting for a gauge cluster or DESS.
You'll find it far more difficult to purchase an EV right now. Even Tesla, who manufactures much of their own electronics, is seeing delays. A new Japanese EV is nearly impossible to get your hands on. If a dealer does get one, they're selling it for waaaaay over MSRP.
I wasn't able to read the article but as a very large auto supplier I can assure you, we cancelled none of our orders. Also, the OEM's didn't cancel any of their orders with us. That's not really how it works anymore. They don't really place an order in advance the way most might think. We base our capacity off agreed upon volume projections and build our tooling/assembly lines to suit that potential demand. Then...weekly or even more often now, daily, we get orders from the OEM. An order comes in at 6am and we're expected to have it at their plant that afternoon. If we don't, we get huge fines....I mean....huge.
We never really hold them accountable to whatever those initial agreed upon volumes were. The supply chain is just expected to keep up or adapt. Seldom, when volumes exceed expectations, we're able to seek additional funds for more tooling, etc. Since we have no idea from day to day how many parts we're going to be shipping, we always have to keep inventory available to satisfy the potential maximum demand. That's why we seldom cancel orders/shipments from our supply chain. The article may have been focused on a certain commodity where the OEM may be more involved with the supply chain....like powertrain for example. There are few segments where they actually "own" the entire supply chain. In most cases, they rely on a tier 1 like the company I work for to manage everything.
The pandemic has highlighted the pitfalls of "just in time" manufacturing. Especially for the suppliers who are losing their ass right now. Though it hasn't happened yet, I expect future contracts will be revised with more protections in place for the supply chain. That of course means higher prices passed along to the consumer.
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You could always just get the 21 fixed yourself and go ride the Effing thing…….Not entirely true .. I kept my 2021 khaos for this reason, however my series 8 track and drivers got so bad that its been inoperable all season .... Guess what else I've been waiting for ? Yup, parts to fix my 21 under warranty and my 22 snowcheck
I've been making numerous attempts to contact polaris and ask them to make it right for a loyal customer who has been sitting at home all season while owning a 21 snowmobile which they won't fix and a 22 snowmobile which they won't deliver... sadly, no response !
maybe its time to go back to skidoo ... riding a wobbly fat snowmobile is better than riding nothing at all...
Yeah it sucks to fix what shouldn’t be your problem…… but it’s still cheaper than buying a different sled.
Or keep complaining about it ?????
Or, you could be like alot of us that got them only to have problems with them and are also now sitting and waiting. My fuel pump crapped out as did lots of others evidently and we will be waiting until April for a new one. Hopefully by the time yours gets built all the crappy fuel pumps will be gone. I don't blame Poo for the fuel pump fyi. They didn't build the pump, someone else did and did a crappy job of it - and they are not alone, there is alot of crappy product being built in ALL industries. Go talk to your buddy the electrician and ask him how many parts he's throwing away these days. My buddy says as much as 10% of everything he's getting doesn't work - breakers, outlets, light fixtures, etc.
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