A. Vandelay

I feel silly asking this question. However, due to recent events (story below) I feel I must ask. Is the order number shown on the GM Order Workbench unique to a specific customer?

The Story
In January I decided to take a plunge and order a 2014 Corvette Stingray Z51 coupe. Before I placed the order, the dealer sales manager told me that he had allocations, but there were Z51 orders ahead of me. I was in no hurry, so I placed my order and received my order number the following business day.
I would check about once every three weeks to find out if any of the customers ahead of me were able to get their orders filled. Of course I also checked Chevrolet's "Track Your Order" website throughout. In late April, my dealer informed me that he had just one Z51 allocation remaining for 2014 and there were still customers ahead of me waiting. I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to wait for a 2015 model, losing my price protection in the process.
Then, two weeks ago the dealer called to touch base. I ended up just going into the dealership to talk face to face. It was at this time that he told me the three orders ahead of me had either dropped out or were waiting for a 2015. He also told me there was a chance he would receive one more allocation. It would be mine for the taking.
Last weekend, for the heck of it, I entered my order number on the "Track Your Order" site and the status had moved to Queued For Production! There was a problem though. I had ordered a 2LT in Blade Silver Metallic with a seven speed manual. What was showing on the site was a 3LT in Arctic White with the automatic. I checked and rechecked the order number. The following day I called the dealer for an explanation. He did not immediately have one. He said he was unaware they even had an order. I sent him the copy of my order, complete with my order number. He said he would look into it and get back to me.
Today he informed me that the order had been changed for a customer "ahead of me".
First, he told me a little over a week ago that there were no customers ahead of me. Second, if there was a customer ahead of me wouldn't they have had their own unique order number? Why would they have to go into my order and change it to fill another customer's order?

Up to this point I felt the dealer has been up front and honest. This just doesn't seem right. Am I missing something?

RicK T

If it was entered as a "customer order" then yes, it is specific to the person.

I hope he doesn't mind but here's Glen e's Workbench example that he has posted several times. He has redacted his address info but you can see his name is on it in the "customer" section:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1587035182-post3.html


Oh, I do not know if the dealer can change a customer's name after it has been entered. Wait for one of the more knowledgeable guys to chime in on that.

C7Joy

IMO you need to find a dealer that will stop screwing around. To answer your question, order numbers are specific to the customer. Mine was RNSBW7. There are no others.

Mfserge

Hey Art, use a forum dealer and your problems will be solved.

A. Vandelay

That's what I thought. The order number is RPGZM2. The GM Order Workbench has all of my information (name, address, phone numbers, etc.). It shows as a Retail Sold order.

I just wanted to be sure. I'm very disappointed in the dealer, but such is life. There is a forum dealer near me, although they do not seem to be super active here on the forum.

jerryv

It sounds like the dealer was playing fast and loose with his orders.. there's no reason he couldn't have entered a separate order for each customer ..

But if the car on the order is not what you wanted, pitch a fit, cancel, get a deposit refund and walk away ..

Mdm23

I'm sorry, but some of these dealers are just ridiculous. From what I understand, a dealer knows his allocation for a set period of time. Therefore, he should've known from the beginning whether or not he could get your car built. When I placed my order for a Z51 my salesman told me exactly how many cars they could order that week (z51 & non-z51). Something is fishy.

A. Vandelay

I had assumed since there was a GM Order Workbench order with all of my information, along with the options I chose, that specific number was tied to my order.

In fairness to the dealer, he never promised me that he could get the Z51. He had allocations. However, he rarely got Z51 allocations. What bothers me is that "my" order was finally progressed to 3000. However, the dealer had changed it to match another customers order. For months when I checked Chevy's website, I would see my Blade Silver 2LT with the Manual transmission. Then, all of a sudden this white 3LT auto starts showing up when I enter "my" order number.

rcooper

The dealer ordered a car on your order number, since it was not the car you wanted I am guessing that it is a car the dealer wanted for someone else. They are hoping that you will opt out of the order freeing them up to sell to someone else. Don't opt out and make them pay you for "stealing" from you. This is a very bad thing they did, not at all ethical, I would bet that you now hold all the cards. I should think that the GM of the dealership might want to talk about what they can do for you.
You might hint to them that the district sells manager, of what ever it is that they call him, might find this of interest.
Good luck with your problem.

Zymurgy

Actually, the order number happens to have your name/address on it. That can be changed by the dealer at any time. If the car that is being built is a non-Z51 then what happened is that your dealer realized he was not going to get a Z51 allocation and rather than forgo the allocation, he changed the existing order. They could have just entered a new order and assigned it to the allocation and then you would have never known. I'd demand a full refund of any deposit and go to a reputable dealer - yours is not.

A. Vandelay

The order is a Z51.

HDBADDOG55

I note that Kerbeck currently lists at their site the following as regards Blade Silver Coupes: 1 auto-in stock, 3 manuals "in bound", and 1 auto "in bound". Maybe you should give them a call. Great dealership. Good Luck.

A. Vandelay

Just for further clarification, I'm attaching sheet one of my order with personal information blacked out for obvious reasons.



And here is a quote (e-mail) from the dealer I received this week,
Again, I would assume if a customer was in front of me, they would have had their own order number.

Mike Mercury

jerryv

Probably someone came along without a discount, or who was willing to pay a premium, and you got bumped. Dealer is (likely) a scumbag. Report him to GM. They created the whole allocation system so dealers couldn't 'game' the system with phony orders.

There are still '14 cars out there to be had.