rwpatte

1953 C5

GM says they are powerless to do anything about dealer gouging....

how about simply letting the customer order the car online, GM ships the car to a dealer of the customers choice at a pre arranged price(MSRP), and avoid all the hassles involved with customer satisfaction, or lack of...no allocations, no dealer gouging on pre ordered cars....the new car game has gotten totally out of control the last few years.....I even saw a Pontiac Solstice advertised for $20K over MSRP...buyer beware is the key word, but the manufactureres could end this crap overnight if they desired....

The Garage Master

I think that's a great start.

Erik S. Klein

Courtesy Chevrolet is also very good. Both are currently getting way above sticker for their Z06 allocations (and Courtesy has a far larger allocation than Los Gatos) but come the new year both will be selling at MSRP or below, I'm sure.

Unfortunately it looks like you got screwed more by Anderson's going belly up than by any individual or dealership's games.

Good luck!

kewlbrz

I sympathize with you, however, i would imagine the new dealership is the one that had to pay for it from GM. They own it, and can sell it for whatever they want. Its unfortunate but thats how it is. Now if you had something in writing thats different. Then the tricky part would be how the assets and legal liabilities of the dealership went out of business were transferred regarding anything you had in writing.

prc6vette

Putnam sucks a$$.

I swear to god the Chevy dealerships in Northern CA are some of the crookedest bastards around.

GM really needs to look at how their stealership network operates & make changes ASAP.

steve burns

I would assume with the cash goes the contract and the liability to deliver the goods. They did not return his deposit when they assumed the dealership.

Michrider

Manufacturers hands are tied by state franchise laws. Car companies don't pick their retailers, state law dictates who the dealer will be. About the only way to deny a franchise is a felony conviction.

Manufacturers hands are also tied by state law not to be involved in the retail sale. Everybody cries GM must do something. Your going after the wrong direction - sue the business that screwed you - the dealer. GM had nothing to do that Z06 order getting blundered.

JoesC5

Please explain how GM can set the price of Saturn's sold through franchised dealers in every state in the union but not on a Chevrolet or a Pontiac or a Buick or a Cadillac or a Hummmer or a GMC.

Polar_Bear

The whole thing's strange- selling the 4 Vipers, ordering two Z06's for xxxUSD. I'm smelling export here for some reason (huge no-no for domestic dealers). Not trying to defend No Cal dealers- that's another story, but this particular case has an odd smell to it.

re: "Order contracts." If anyone takes the time to read the small-print legalese on the back of a purchase order, they'd see that the "contract" has about as many holes in it as Swiss Cheese, should the dealer decide not to deliver, or is unable to procure the ordered unit.

427Z

boo hoo. get over it already and try to think of a better story next time .

1991Z07

While true to a degree, GM has a lot more power than many realize.

Not completely in the loop on GM, but BMW has full control over whom can buy a dealership...does not matter how much money you have...if they don't like your business case or practices, they'll toss it out and find another buyer.

I'm sure GM has the same control. They have the option of revoking a franchise agreement anytime based on a number of criteria. They can yank it if the dealer is playing with the inventory floorplan, come in and lock it up tight in hours without the dealer/owner able to do a damn thing about it. GM Credit OWNS the cars until the dealer SELLS them and gets the money from YOUR banker.

And while they can't set the price, they CAN reward dealers who have high CSI numbers with better allocation numbers on high-moving vehicles (more Z06's, more SSR's, etc.) They also have monetary compensation packages that reward dealers monthly on service/sales quotas. All can be "tweaked" to reward good dealers and slap bad ones upside the head.

I personally know of quite a few dealers who have felt the pain of the manufacturer yanking the chain on the collar for unethical business practices. When your allocation for Corvettes goes from 20 per month to 5...they feel the pain right away.

The manufacturers CAN and DO it...regularly. The man on the street never hears about it...but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

Kelly100

Well, I can step in and independently verify all of the original post (By the way, I just love skeptical AHs like you and Shawn). My brother and I had 500.00 deposits each on two Zs at Anderson in Menlo Park. The fleet manager, Kurt, was taking care of the order. When menlo went out of business, Kurt then went to work for Putnam. He tried to take his Z orders and allocation with him. Putnam basically had nothing coming in for Zs. Kurt fought to maintain the deals as written at menlo park, but he obviously does not have the final word. Putnam is KNOWN for their greed and markups in the area (I have lived in the area all my life and have never been able to buy from putnam because of their practices).

So do not blame Kurt for the Putnam's greed. They have always been this way and I would not buy a tire from them. Kurt is an honest person and I have dealt with him for years---and bought many vehicles from him over the years. His integrity is not at issue.

427Z

STFU noob and quit your

Kelly100

Boy, you are really a piece of dung. I just stated the facts. You apparently cannot distinguish between fact and crying the blues. However, If you think you are going to start a war with me you are wrong. The original poster stated his facts and I have independently backed them up. No more is required of me So you can get in all the last words and insults you want

1991Z07

I wonder how much YOU would be if it was YOUR deposit on a Z that YOU had been waiting for 5+ months for and the dealer screwed you?

Bet you'd sing a WHOLE different tune then....

BHP

This is what of many of us do by using a reasonable Forum dealer. Many dealers will not accept a drop ship and those that do are not very friendly due to the "bypass." I just promise them sevice loyalty which I will do to compensate. It is not my problem that they did not what to deal in the first place.

vetteship

With two different people confirming some facts here, I vote for the original poster being genuine, who cares where he's from and how he post the dollar sign or what he want to do with the cars. So I put in a call for Putnam to inquire, and what a piece of work they are, let's just say RUN FOR THE HILLS.

camille

I'm can further attest to the Anderson Chevrolet fiasco, but with additional spins. I do feel sorry for the individual who thought his order would transfer with "kurt" to Putnam, but his facts do not completely agree with my own.

He says that in June 2005 he placed two orders with Kurt at Anderson. Then, when the dealership went out of business (about a month or two later) he was led to believe that his order was already in the system, and just needed to be transfered to Kurt's new dealership. Well guess what... I and others had much earlier deposits with the crooks at Anderson's - my own was placed November of '04! How is it that you were promised one of the first cars at Anderson's with your story of having waited "5 months." By the way, we were all in over MSRP.

So I see three major problems: First, you were far from "first" at the former Anderson's, whatever "Kurt" led you to believe. Second, the car was not yours the moment the dealership went out of business, so it was basically "back of the line" at that moment - I know, it happened to me. Third, this is the Bay Area, and there ain't no way the crooks at Putnam will treat you any better than the crooks at Anderson.

I feel for you, but try to remember that there are others here who had been waiting much longer at the moment Anderson shut down. Kurt had no business promising you a car that should have been assigned to any of a number of us ahead of you in line. As I've said before, he has a problem with being truthful.

allanlaw

Forget for a moment that this is allegedly a bad dealer - or that both of these dealers were or are really bad dealers. Do you have two different people confirming the other facts of the original post? Maybe someone who actually knows "MarinCounty," his 4 Vipers, etc.? Just curious.