I am trying to understand Order# vs Event Codes vs TPW vs "I definitely have a car that was accepted by GM and they are building it (or will build it on...)."

I ordered my Corvette a few weeks ago from my local dealer. He gave me a copy of the sheet with the Order# on it. I read later that that sheet meant nothing and I would have to have him show me his allocation for the week it was ordered. When I went back and pressed him on this issue, he admitted he had no allocation and could not tell me when or if he would be able to get the car.

So I ordered the car from a bigger, not-so-local dealer. I was contacted today by email with an Order# and a TPW of 7/10/06. Should the inclusion of a TPW make me feel more confident that I will actually get a car? If not, WHAT CAN I DO TO BE ASSURED THAT I HAVE AN ORDER THAT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AND WILL CERTAINLY BE BUILT?

Thanks in advance.

 

The TPW pretty much assures you of a car, but that date could move on you either way. The important thing to find out is you Event Code (Status Code). Once you get get past 2500, you're in good shape. At 3400, it has a VIN.

 

In addition to what Dave said, make sure that the TPW was actually provided to your dealer by GM and that it's not just the dealer's guess. We've had instances of the latter reported here; in those cases, the orders were still sitting at 1100 and the dates provided were meaningless.

 

Hi Ya CFUNKB - So the Saga Goes On, yes?
It sounds like you are in a good situation now as you ahve a TPW of 7/10/2006, but let's backtrack. (With apologies if you already understand some or all of this...)

TPW (Target Production Week), is GM's lingo for the expected week that your car will start on the manufacturing line. You car is simply an Order # to GM in their VOMS (Vehicle Order Mgmt System). Getting a TPW means that your Order (Order # in GM VOMS) matches to your Dealer's Allocations and known GM Vehicle Contraints for that production week. While TPW's will change from time to time, it is pretty reliable when your Order in GM VOMS is at Status 2500 and very reliable at Status=3000. (Some will say reliable only at 3100, but...)

Status 2500 and 3000 simply represent the steps in the sequential ordering and manufacturing planning processes used by GM. There are other threads here that give you the english definition of each status but 2500 means that your order has been 'sent to production' and is 'preferenced'. That really means that someone in Corvette Manufacturing Planning has selected your order for manufacturing planning (this is really just a computer algorithm whose results are approved by a Planner). Things can still change and sometimes do. The next step is for Manufacturing Planning and Control to accept your car's order for detailed planning... when that happens you get status = 3000.

Here's a listing of GM VOMS Order Status Codes I copied in:
1100-Order placed at dealer
1101-Order accepted by GM
2001-Order generated to dealer
2005-Order replaced with GM Prospec order
2050-Order changed
2500-Order sent to production, preferenced
3000-Order accepted by production control
3100-Order available to sequence (now the tpw becomes more stable)
3300-Order selected for production by assembly plant
3400-Order broadcasted for production
3800-Vehicle produced
4150-Vehicled invoiced to dealer
4200-Vehicle shipped
5000-Vehicle delivered to dealer
6000-Vehicle delivered to customer

If your selling dealer doesn't have an allocation, the order will sit at Status 1100 with no TPW.

Status 2500 will happen almost immediately for forum dealer's as they typically have sufficient open allocation slots. This is when you can get a TPW

Status 3000 may take a few days to a couple of weeks after reaching 2500 and depends on several characteristics about your selected options, Mfg plans, Colors, constraints, etc. You order wont las last very long at this status as Mfg PLanning moves it to 3100 pretty quickly (A few Days to about a week or so)

You can read the sequence of status codes / order steps in the little listing I copied into this thread above....

Using this list, You can back schedule from your TPW to see that each 3100, 3300, 3400 status can be only a limited amount of time if your TPW is to hold true. Ask your selling dealer to update you when the status changes or about 1/week if you want to keep track or the order's progress - your dealer can get the info from VOMS at any time.

When your order hits either 3300 or 3400 ( I don't remember specifically as I learned about this only after my vert was built), Kevin Torrence in Bowling Green can see the order and let you know what day it will start on the line and what day it will finish. I think he see's the order only about 1-2 weeks in advance notice of the cars first day ion the assembly line. I've seen other threads indicating that you can schedule to be on the production line with your car (For A Fee) by scheduling with Kevin or maybe via NCM- search these other threads for details...

BEWARE - the wait is from status 3800 "Produced" to 4200 "Shipped" is always the LONGEST! But don't worry, there is a built in 2 week 'hold period' after production is completed to ensure that the assembly plant can catch any QC problems and fix them prior to shipment to the dealer/customer. (That's really the way you'd want it to work - let the experts at the plant fix any issues!) Then Allied Trucking needs a full trailor (I've heard min=9 cars, but can't verify) into your geography to make it a cost effective route so that may take a few more days to build a shipment load.

The dealer wont see any status changes in VOMS during this periond until they're invoiced for the car (Status 4150). Invoicing to the dealer is typically a day before (Or on day of) the the shipping load is dispatched. Then it's only the number of miles and how many stops come before your dealer in the trucks route that dictate the time until delivery.
Hope this helps build you confidence and prep you to get the right data along the process. - Enjoy the Ride, It'll seem a lot longer than it really is!

 

Absolutely great info.

I'm new to this forum and must say I've learned a bunch browsing. I recently ordered a 2007 and must confess I have been a bit (whole bunch really) frustrated in the responses I get from the dealer when I ask for the status of the order.

 

All great information, but the above portion is not correct. There is NOT a built in 2 week hold period. This may be true at some times during a model year cycle, but is definitely not true all the time. My car was delivered to my dealer 3 days after it came off the line (build date verified by Kevin, and I picked it up the day it was delivered). Others on the forum have experienced the same.

 

Thanks all for the answers (especially kts1962). But I guess I didn't ask the most important question of all:
How long does it take to make the car?

I read kts1962's very thorough response, but it details the Status (or Event) codes.

What exactly does Target Production Week mean?
Is this is when they expect to START building the car (if so, how long does it take to complete)?
Or is this when they expect to FINISH the car (if so, is that when it jumps to 3800)?

As of now, I have a good understanding of the codes and some of the time between them, I just don't know how to estimate the date my car will be shipped out from the info I have (TPW of 7/10, Event Code 3000).

Thanks again to all.

 

The length of time it takes to build the car is about 1 1/2 days. The Target Production Week (TPW) is the week that your particular car is expected to be built. It could be started anywhere within that week. While it is a rare situation, it is possible for the actual build date to slip to either the previous or next week, especially if it was originally expected to start on the Monday or Friday of the targeted week.

The closer it gets to the actual build date, which goes hand in hand with a higher status code, the projected build date can be estimated more accurately which is why the TPW can shift from what is projected in the early stages.

 

Hiya Zymurgy !
You're right, the shipment does sometimes come earlier than two weeks but this is the exception rather than the rule. Everyone from Kevin to Gary & Adam at NCM and Forum dealers talk about this hold period so I'm pretty sure its the SOP and also pretty sure there are your and other exceptions to it...

More to the point, I was speaking about the period being Psychologically Long rather than as a comparisson to actual temporal length between status events.... I could have made that more evident in my phrasing.

To CFUNKB - If your TPW is 10-July, then worst case is that it will exit the production line on Friday 14-July. Presuming the 2-week QC Hold Period is real, and that shipment ocurrs as soon as your car is eligible... then I would GUESS you'll see it during the first week of August.

Please understand that is a GUESS and that things can change between now and then. I hope it's sooner rather than later!

 

Sorry, but Zymurgy is correct. The factory-imposed 2-week quality control hold is by far the exception. Very few Corvettes are actually subjected to it. Cars with museum delivery are an entirely different story, though. The museum generally will not schedule delivery until at least 2 weeks after the car is built. This is to protect against the unlikely possibility that the car is not immediately released by the factory and to give them time to prep and thoroughly go over the car.

 

This is the right answer!

 

Thank you all for the answers. Now if I only had some Valium to keep me calm until delivery!

 

Let's order some valium in bulk !!!