ESE-DZT

My dealer states that there will still be a destination fee on my Corvette being delivered to the Museum for pick up. This sounds ridiculous at face value. They claim that GM charges the dealer even in the case of Museum delivery. Has this been the experience of anyone else on this forum?

mvcrash

You pay the regular destination fee and the Museum Fee. It is worth it!!! Do a search for some of the NCM experiences some folks have had. Worth every penny.

dbradley

It costs money to drag people around in there and keep them from dorking something up. Takes people, time and effort. That's not free. And they do a very good job of making everyone feel like someone....

timd38

A whole bunch of years ago, dealers close to the assembly plants had a transportaion advantage, so the car companies charge the same freight charge even if the car goes across the street from the plant just to make it fare.

ESE-DZT

Well, I suppose I will just have to live with it. $800 to ship it across the street seems like a crime. But, my TPW is 11/13 and I am super excited about the trip and getting in my new Vette

Indy-hp

This is correct. Everybody pays a flat $825 destination fee, regardless of whether you pick it up at a California dealer or across the street at the Museum.

talon90

That's an interesting thought but it has nothing to do with the delivery fee. The fee is a negotiated rate between GM and Allied the transportation company. The rate is a per vehicle fee and is independant of destination. The simple fact is that this is a dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. To get the vehicle to the museum it is loaded on a truck and transported. This has costs associated with it. It takes a driver, handlers to load and unload the truck, it takes gas, depreciation of the truck, insurance to operate the truck, so on and so forth. So you say, it is a mile why not just drive it. Because owners complain and scrutinize every last mile on their new vehicle we know this since they come here and complain about it ad-nauseum. This is not to mention the liability if something were to happen as they crossed over 31W on public roads and had an accident. This fee covers some of the liability associated with that trasportation. The work that the museum does for the pre-delivery inspecton (a.k.a. P.D.I.) is so far and above the effort that any dealership puts out it is legendary. Picture the museum delivery as the best courtesy delivery that you will ever see and realize that the R8C fee and the transportation fee to insure that your car gets there in one piece are some of the best dollars that you will ever spend on your car. Combine all of this with the rumor that museum delivery cars are a "cut above" because they are slated for the museum I consider this money well spent.

Paul

GN1270

GM would save alot of face if they remove the destination fee on Museum delivery, and just add the $825 into the museum delivery cost option. I would love to know how GM is not making money by charging $825 to stick 12 cars on a hauler. You can probably deliver them to the North pole and still break even.

water boy

The guys in Hawaii and Alaska LOVE that destination fee.

WB

su8pack1

You got that right.

JVM225

It's on the level!

eagle93

Yep, it feels like a rip off when you are ordering the car and have to pay the delivery fee, but I can promise you, when you do the tour and see your car for the first time, detailed to a level of excellence that few dealers could match - you forget all about the cost - it is worth every penny! And if I understood my guide correctly, that $800 goes straight to GM and the Museum doesn't see any of it. When you consider the amount of time your guide spends with you and the amount of time they take to prep your car - you really aren't paying that much for the level of personal care you get. Get the NCM option and you'll never regret it!
Congratulations on your new Vet, and don't forget to wave!

MADinAK

It's a killer deal for us up in the 49th state. They are truck hauled to Bellingham Washington, then boated up to Anchorage. Same deal for the people in Hawaii.

lcbiiimd

that is amazing that the cost to ship to alaska or hawaii is the same as if they ship it across the street - that might be the only thing that ever gets out to those places that isn't more expensive due to the distances traveled. Cost of living cuts into those oil dividends the guys in AK get every year. I spent 4 months in Anchorage once and was actually pleasantly surprised what a nice place it was and overwhelmed by the beauty of everything in driving distance - especially the trip to Seward and Denali. All good. Something everyone should see at least once.

PappyTinker

The destination fee is fixed and applies whether the car is delivered across the street (as in NCM delivery) or across the country. I believe that it also is non-negotiable.

Shylor

While the Museum fee is worth it, the full shipping charges to move the car across the street is not! Yes I know the fee is the same no matter where it is shipped and that it is a union thing. Maybe the "union", needs to rethink this. I find it insulting that I can't drive to the factory and pick up my new car without paying this charge.

gota07

I don't think the averaged destination fee is the union's doings. Legislation was passed to average out the destination charges to keep the market areas farther from the assembly plants having to pay more to get their cars delivered since they were either having to charge the customers more or making less profit per unit sold.

If I recall correctly, I think it was the dealers in California that lobbied congress for the legislation.

bh747

Yep, that's the case but it is worth it. Just do it. You will not regret it in the least.

Shylor

No, actually it was the direct result of union lobbying. Unions are ruining this country.

AFVETTE

I wonder why it costs me 39 cents to mail a letter across town or to Alaska?

Tom