Eric McDonald ordered his Ineos Grenadier 3.0d Fieldmaster in August 2022.
He is still awaiting delivery: “Originally, I was told build would start in February, then in May, and now I’ve been told it will begin this month, in June. I expect it will slip back but, like others who are waiting, I’m not concerned.”
Not even the news that people are jumping the queue by buying nearly new Grenadiers with delivery mileage from independent dealers and online auctions unsettles him.
One that sold recently on Collecting Cars, an online auction company, was, like McDonald’s car, a diesel Fieldmaster with extras and it had just 64 miles on the clock. Registered in 2023, it sold for £73,000. “I paid £64,000 for mine plus a bit more for extras,” said McDonald.
“In November, Ineos put the price up to around £70,000, although not for those cars already ordered. I reckon that by paying £73,000, the person who bought that Fieldmaster has only cut their waiting time for a new one, but it does reassure me that having been tested in the open market, Ineos’s prices would seem to be realistic.”
On that point, not far from where McDonald lives in the Scottish Borders, an independent dealer is advertising a 2023-reg diesel Fieldmaster with 200 miles for £77,995.
Taking the extras fitted to it into account, the price is about £5000 more than a new one costs today. However, assuming its first owner bought it before the price rise, it’s at least £10,000 more expensive.
“The local Ineos dealer is quoting 14 months for delivery of a new one, so I don’t think we’re asking a lot to jump the queue,” said the dealer.
“We’ve sold two Grenadiers. The first took just 48 hours to sell and the second one week. It’s not an ‘overs’ market in the sense you can ask a big premium. People who buy a Grenadier are serious and most have a job for it. It’s not a fashion statement and so they don’t throw their money around.”
Car makers have mixed feelings about what is called the secondary market and what others call ‘flipping’, where a person buys a new, in-demand car to quickly sell for a profit.
Those manufacturers unfamiliar with a new model actually making money rather than losing it are likely to be flattered; those with an image and a reputation to protect, frustrated. Ineos is in the latter camp.
