Max Tow Orders

[TXNJ]

Hello from Dallas. I've followed this forum for the better part of 8 months now and it has been great. Unfortunately, I think it can make you more knowledgeable than some of the salespeople, which can be frustrating when you get answers that you know aren't correct.

My question relates to Max Tow. I "ordered" a Denali with basically no options except Max Tow (ordered in May) and a sunroof. Very basic. Through the greatness that this forum is, I've been able to track the status of the constraints around Tow and I saw recently when people noted it was up to 60% versus the 0% it had been at. I then did some searching through the GM inventory (also thanks to this site) and noticed that there are units out there with Max Tow that are either on lots or in transit. I then contacted my dealer for my monthly check in and asked if they had any updates considering the constraint change. I also pointed out that there were a few units inbound to his dealership that had Max Tow, per the inventory site (I gave him the specific stock #s). He said that it was still at a snails pace, and that the unit I highlighted was actually ordered in August of 2021!

With all that being said, has anyone placed an order for a unit with Max Tow and actually received one (or even had it picked up and in production) in 2022?
I'm working with one of the larger dealerships in Dallas so I don't suspect they are playing games in any way. I just can't get much clarity on the potential timeline, even after 5 months (which I know isn't that long compared to some others). Salesguy has said that dropping Tow would obviously speed up the process, but isn't able to provide enough detail to let me know if that would be something like dropping Tow gets me the vehicle in a month versus 6 more months with Tow, or if it would just be me getting the vehicle in 4 months versus 6 with Tow. Hard to know what you are gaining in exchange for dropping an option.

I'm sure it is more frustrating to be a salesperson in this environment fielding these kinds of questions over and over. And honestly, I've answered 90% of my questions just using this forum and not even bothered to reach out to my guy. For what it's worth, this is one of those dealers that puts your name on an internal list and then orders when they get an allocation (no deposit or obligation). So they don't have an order number I can track at this point. Several colleagues of mine have purchased through them in the past year and I've purchased through them in the past. Their reputation is solid.

Also, special thanks to those of you who have ordered and received your vehicle, but still come back to this forum to provide reviews and tips and relay your order to delivery details.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

I ordered my Denali in November 2021, with Max Tow, and it was picked up, produced on Jan 6, 2022, and delivered to my dealer on Feb 6, 2022.

 

[StephenPT]

I'm in a similar boat as you - Yukon XL SLE w/ Max Tow, Pro Safety, Duramax and 9-passenger config.

I've also been watching incoming inventory and there are a few but not many with the option. My guess is that since the constraint was moved up to 60%, those units haven't made it down the production line yet and within the next month or two we'll see incoming inventory represent that 60% constraint.

Dealers don't seem to be able to give a straight answer on much of anything. I'd say most of it is because it's a situation out of their control, but it's a frustrating process because GM tells you to talk to your dealer and when you do you don't get an answer that instills any confidence.

It sounds like you have a good dealer - I think my dealer is decent - but the #1 thing I've learned through this whole process is that no matter how good of a dealer you have, if they don't get allocation to fulfill your order - it will sit forever. This comes down to GM's antiquated allocation process. It is NOT the right process to have when 90% of customers are placing orders for their vehicles and expecting that by "ordering" that means it will eventually come. There's zero guarantee that placing an order gets you anything. The bigger dealers will move more volume, which means your order will more likely get allocation, but it's a fallacy to believe that having an order means you'll eventually get it. In hindsight I don't think I will ever order a vehicle again. I'll keep an eye on incoming inventory, find what I want and if it's available I'll put down a small deposit.

 

[Polo08816]

I'm in a similar boat as you - Yukon XL SLE w/ Max Tow, Pro Safety, Duramax and 9-passenger config.

I've also been watching incoming inventory and there are a few but not many with the option. My guess is that since the constraint was moved up to 60%, those units haven't made it down the production line yet and within the next month or two we'll see incoming inventory represent that 60% constraint.

Dealers don't seem to be able to give a straight answer on much of anything. I'd say most of it is because it's a situation out of their control, but it's a frustrating process because GM tells you to talk to your dealer and when you do you don't get an answer that instills any confidence.

It sounds like you have a good dealer - I think my dealer is decent - but the #1 thing I've learned through this whole process is that no matter how good of a dealer you have, if they don't get allocation to fulfill your order - it will sit forever. This comes down to GM's antiquated allocation process. It is NOT the right process to have when 90% of customers are placing orders for their vehicles and expecting that by "ordering" that means it will eventually come. There's zero guarantee that placing an order gets you anything. The bigger dealers will move more volume, which means your order will more likely get allocation, but it's a fallacy to believe that having an order means you'll eventually get it. In hindsight I don't think I will ever order a vehicle again. I'll keep an eye on incoming inventory, find what I want and if it's available I'll put down a small deposit.

I think in 12 months time, we'll be back to the old way of buying cars. Will there be as much inventory on dealer lots as pre-pandemic? Probably not. But Americans like to see and feel what they are about to buy and if one manufacturer does it, other mainstream manufacturers will end up following.

 

[bunky319]

I'm in a similar boat as you - Yukon XL SLE w/ Max Tow, Pro Safety, Duramax and 9-passenger config.

I've also been watching incoming inventory and there are a few but not many with the option. My guess is that since the constraint was moved up to 60%, those units haven't made it down the production line yet and within the next month or two we'll see incoming inventory represent that 60% constraint.

Dealers don't seem to be able to give a straight answer on much of anything. I'd say most of it is because it's a situation out of their control, but it's a frustrating process because GM tells you to talk to your dealer and when you do you don't get an answer that instills any confidence.

It sounds like you have a good dealer - I think my dealer is decent - but the #1 thing I've learned through this whole process is that no matter how good of a dealer you have, if they don't get allocation to fulfill your order - it will sit forever. This comes down to GM's antiquated allocation process. It is NOT the right process to have when 90% of customers are placing orders for their vehicles and expecting that by "ordering" that means it will eventually come. There's zero guarantee that placing an order gets you anything. The bigger dealers will move more volume, which means your order will more likely get allocation, but it's a fallacy to believe that having an order means you'll eventually get it. In hindsight I don't think I will ever order a vehicle again. I'll keep an eye on incoming inventory, find what I want and if it's available I'll put down a small deposit.

Yes....This ^^ 100%.

One weird thing I noticed when searching inventory for diesels is that there is a dealer in the Salt Lake City Utah area that seems to have a crazy number of diesels compared to the national average. For example, if you do a nationwide search (2000) miles I see that the diesels represent about 5.6% of the 4WD Yukon XL's. But this particular dealer is currently showing 13 out of 24 Yukon XL's as diesels--over 50%. Now I have talked to them and of course those are sold, but my point is (and I even asked them this) why do they have such a huge percentage of diesels compared to the national average? Any other dealer I look at I might be lucky to see only 2 - 3% of their inventory as diesels.

So on top of everything that was said in the post above, there seems to be some "secret sauce" that GM uses when they figure out which dealer gets an option when it is on constraint.

 

[TXNJ]

Yes, I recall reading about your order because of the unique front bench seat config.
I think you are correct about how it will eventually get reflected in inventory proportionately as the previously constrained items are installed. But it's amazingly frustrating to have so little actionable info on how the process will unfold, and thus we are all making decisions in the dark. If you can tell me Max Tow is 12 months out until everyone that already has an order in will have their vehicles then I can make a decision to drop it and hopefully get my non-optioned Denali in short order. But all we get now is "we don't know" and then you kind of feel like you should hang on because there's a chance it's just around the corner from being produced.

 

[TXNJ]

I ordered my Denali in November 2021, with Max Tow, and it was picked up, produced on Jan 6, 2022, and delivered to my dealer on Feb 6, 2022.

That actually seems like a decently fast turnaround considering the constraint impact timing you were ordering in. 3 months is quite impressive.

 

[StephenPT]

I have the same feeling - if I drop max tow and my order would have otherwise been allocated a month later then I'll always regret it. Unfortunately it's not a situation that can be answered - at least through the dealer or reaching out to GM customer service. I guarantee there are material planner/production forecast people that work for GM that know exactly how all of this works and could give a straight answer - it's just the nature of dealing with a Fortune 500 company.

 

[KingJacobo]

My dad placed an order for a 2023 Yukon with the Maxtow probably 5 months ago. They said there is no ETA on it, and they wanted one soon.
He told them drop the Maxtow package so I can get my damn car.
It was built and delivered a month later.

 

[TXNJ]

My dad placed an order for a 2023 Yukon with the Maxtow probably 5 months ago. They said there is no ETA on it, and they wanted one soon.
He told them drop the Maxtow package so I can get my damn car.
It was built and delivered a month later.

I suspect (hope) this would be the case for me and others, but there's no certainty and no ability to weigh the cost/benefit inputs and results.