kotik

Hello,

So after a unpleasant encounter with one of the dealers, who didnt explain this to me, i went ahead and contacted GM.

Per new memo from GM, military members that have orders to go overseas, cant buy a c7 corvette and ship it with them. Not sure if this should be a sticky for other members to be aware of this new rule by the gm. So if i go to the dealer and tell them that ill be buying the c7 and shipping it with me, they cant sell me the car.

Rule is a rule... Kind of sad, i serve in the military and i want to buy an american iconic sports car, and want to enjoy it on the autobahns, but gm wont let me. I mean, offcourse i can bypass that and just buy one without telling the dealer i will ship it, but then im lying, then im bypassing the system. Why wont gm let me buy a vette?

I was stationed in germany before, where i had my c6z06. I took it on road trips accross europe, aweing all the people there. I was proudly parked in front of montecarlo casino next to veyron and ferrari gto, i sent GM pictures of my vette in most beautiful cities around europe (representing sort of speak), and they loved the pics and sent me appreciation letters. Why cant i buy a c7 and promote the car in the same way i did with c6? Is it money? Is it something else?

And on the side note, out of all the large manufacturers, GM is the only one tha doesnt offer military sales program in europe. Ford has one, so does dodge, bmw, vw, porsche, jeep, merc, and Audi.

The memo is a few months old, so now i have a case open with GM to find out if i can buy a car(used) that was originally sold prior to the memo, and ship that over and if the warranty will work. Initial response is that the warranty is attached to the car, no matter where it is (my c6z06 was under the warranty and they honored it in Germany.

kotik

Come on gm, sell me a c7, im ur biggest fan!

beepster

I am stunned to hear this. I am ex military (as many others on this forum) and would be interested in hearing the rationale for such a policy...

kotik

I mean, i can kind of see why they dont offermilitary sales program, those are hard to run, and they prob wont make much money... At least with the last vette, i was able to get my warranty done and never heard of an issue with shipping it. Granted i bought it used, but this memo is new, just recently came out. I had gm cs read it out to me verbatum and it says military members are not allowed to buy a new corvette (actually i think it was gm in general) and ship it overseas. Im not asking for much (shoot, all those other mil sales programs even offer free shipping back to US at the end of the tour).

Honestly id rather get a used car, but prices are crazy! I see used ones go for the same price as new ones.

Disavowed

I'm also a vet and this is disheartening, but I'm going to say we probably screwed this up ourselves.

Here's my take on how this went down.

I'm certain GM intends to sell the C7 to the Euro market thus their tight export policies on C7's ATM. I'm guessing that in the past GM allowed active military persons to bring over cars like the C7. My guess is also that military folks took advantage of this. They'd buy these cars with the sole intent to flip them and make a quick buck. They bought them and never intended to use them at all, just sell them. Thus abusing the system in place and taking advantage of GM. That in turn has ruined it for the honest folks like Kotik.

It's obvious Kotik has no ill intent at all. I'd love to be in his shoes with a C7 over there. It would be a total blast. Sadly my guess is that folks that lack his spirit and love for the Vette screwed it up. The same thing is happening in my line of work. I'm in law enforcement and the actions of a small percentage of effed up cops are ruining it for the rest of us. Those who go in and do an honest days work, looking to BOTH protect and help the public.

Kotik I truly hope you find a way to get a C7 over there. Based on your posted pics I can't think of anyone more deserving of it. I think you'd be a good C7 ambassador over there.

wbrands

This does not seem to be a real problem. Per post #22 (quoted above) in OP's other thread "Why kerbeck forcing me to pay sales tax?" (bold emphasis mine), seems like nobody would have a problem if you buy a car in the states, register it here (not withstanding OP's tax issue) then have it shipped overseas on Military Orders as your personal property.

owc6

You may have hit the nail on the head with this observation about what was really going on.

When I bought mine, I had to sign papers saying I was registering it in the US, and was NOT going to export it. I can't remember if there was a time frame included, though. I'm assuming everyone who buys one has to sign the same paper.

I can't imagine that once it's registered, that it can't go over as household goods, just like any other vehicle.

kotik

I just looked on mobile.de (its like german autotrader), and the only US spec cars seem to be for sale by some US dealers (dont know if corvette dealers or even chevy, could be random dealers willing to export). I could not find any adds that would implicate any military members trying to resell them. I also looked on our military sales site (in germany), there are no c7's for sale. Now, if i buy the car, drive it for a year and decide to sell it, its my right. If i sell it to the german, they will have to go through corvette dealer or autorized shop to convert to euro spec. Right now, i just did not find any on car sales sites that are us military members selling these for profit.

kotik

Correct, i spoke to the dealer and i was upfront about it, i said i got orders to germany and want to buy a vette and ship it with me, and dont plan to register it and take it straight to the port. He said he cant sell it to me like that, regardless if im in the military (i should point out that when i shopped around before, dealers had no issues doing that). Later the conversation lead to me saing, ok no problem, i can just register it in my home state and go from there, he said that i will have to pay sales tax (though i am tax exempt in my home state due to being active duty military). They also said that regardless of my state exemption, ill have to pay sales tax or they wont sell me the car. So i hope ur not mixing the two separate issues.

Yes, as i said up above, i could Go around it and just not tell the dealer that i will be shipping it, but then im technically lying, jumping through hoops, going through hassle of dealing with registering (paying additional fees for that). As u have quoted the dealer, they said they will get into trouble if they sell it to someone who they know will export the car. So in turn, gm will get dealer in trouble if dealer sells the car to a military member tha is getting statuoned overseas.

Disavowed

I'm not saying it's a fact or that I'm even correct. I'm saying this is my guess.

I know when I was in the Navy there was good money to be made buying BMW's and Mercedes and shipping them to the U.S. to be sold. The same with certain American cars wanted in Europe.

Based in the **** money we pay our service people. The money one could make flipping a car was pretty significant. At least a months worth of pay usually at least 2 months worth depending on the car and if you were importing or exporting. Back then there was no issues in doing so thru the proper channels and realistically computers and the internet wasn't what it is today, so it would have been hard to track anyway.

Since it's no longer something that can be done at will thru the proper channels. My guess is you won't see the ads to sell them on a web site. My guess is most folks would already have a car buyer already lined up.

kotik

For civilians i can see that, they ca make a buisness out of it (and some are making it that). I hope im not overusing this, but, im in the military, i have military orders to go serve overseas! Most active duty military members wont have the time to deal with buying and selling cars from US. Sure, one or two will slip through the crack, but i bet not a lot. Many more will be sold by civilians. Plus, come on now, vette is not THAT exclusive, if you look on mobile.de there are 189 listings for a c7.

retaf87

I think maybe one of the sticking points is that when a servicemember ships a car it is not the same as exporting as the vehicle is registered in their name. I am retired military and bought and shipped numerous vehicles to Europe and elsewhere with no issues.

Also - and I am not an expert on this - but if I remember correctly the vehicle you ship on military orders has to be registered in your name.

John Ulrich

By a used C7 and do anything you want with it.

kotik

Wish i could find one! I was quoted $54k for new 2015 z51, 7spd, 1lt (with all applicable discounts). If i could get one like that under $50, id prob jump in it

4thC4at60

As another poster has stated: buy it in the US and have it shipped under your orders to your country of assignment....

You cannot order a US spec Vette and have it shipped to Europe.

You CAN buy a Vette in the US and have it shipped to Europe under your orders.

Nothing new here - been that way for at least the last 40 years....

US Navy retired......

kotik

Here is the caveat: if i tell the dealer that im going to germany, he cant sell me the car! No matter if i tell him that i will register it first. Thats what happened with the largest dealer in US. First i told him that i dont even want to register it and just want to send it straight to port and ship from there, he said no. I said ok, then lets register it in my home state (NY) which has tax exemption for military, he said no. He will not sell me the car unless i register it and pay taxes.

C7-Beast

Your mistake was telling the dealer your plans to ship it. Buy one, register in your state and do what you want. I know technically GM can ban you from buying another GM car, but as a vet , a well worded email to the GM C-suite would likely revoke the ban. Screw GM. Your not looking to buy here and sell abroad which is what GM wants to avoid.

You serve your country. Get your Corvette, title it in NY and ship it. You deserve it!!

More BS GM rules that were not thought about before implementing.

AORoads

But, like the OP's other thread, that would mean he would have to register the car in NY state, and that would require a dealer to collect new-car sales tax for the title and registration. The OP is trying to avoid, or defer paying any sales tax until he returns with the car, if ever, and then registers it in a state where taxes are required which will be less for the car because of non-new age.

Still, it would seem to me that if a brand new GM car is sold by a dealer who knows that it is to be shipped abroad by the buyer, it is against their own rules, GM's---not a government's, but GM's. And the reasons have been stated in the past by Kerbeck/Dave, so no need to rehash them here. In which case, both the dealer and the buyer/shipper could be in trouble with GM. It has happened in the recent past and been well-described on CF. OP, you can look it up.

So, to stay on the right side of both dealers and GM, the OP is now left with the option to buy a used car, or some other brand. Those are the choices and the reasons. GM and some dealers are not changing their position on the matter.

kotik

Thank you Sir. When i initially encountered this, i didnt know about this rule, and would prob have done it tha way. But since i hit a brick wall on it with that one specific dealer, i started to get more info. I have a few pm's with dealers that have read this and are willing to work with me, so i thank them for understanding.

Just fyi, my last vette i shipped to germany on my own, and process to get it in the country, get VAT exemption (which is taken from US customs office on base, who btw register them, so u cant make a production line from importing cars), then u have to deal with ze german customs. So honestly, i looked on mobile.de, euro vettes are not much more than here in US ( € vs $ rate played a role). So if someone wanted to sell it to ze germans, u need to pay 10% import, 19% sales tax and convert it (which can be as high as $7k). So honestly, im just having a hard time imagining a military member making it out to be a buisness. We have a ton of mustangs that are sold through mil sales program, and rarely you'll see one sold to germans. Too much work. Like i said, maybe one or two.

AORoads

Most Mustangs don't start out in this country or in Europe at the value/cost of a Corvette. Unfair comparison, don't you agree? BTW, have you ever sold one of your cars you brought over to Europe, in Europe?