Knob Jockey

My next door neighbor wants to buy a new C7.

This is significant because he is a life-long Porsche owner (has 7 or 8 mostly 356's) but he can't justify the ridiculous cost of a new 911.

He likes the looks, is aware of and willing to accept, the immediate depreciation hit he will take.

He's looking for a base coupe, Auto, 3LT and F55, in silver or grey (big surprise from a P-guy LOL). Doesn't want any additional aero/carbon fiber packages as well.

He has been to a couple dealers nearby and was given the typical BS as the sales people were trying to sell what they have on the lot.

"Automatics are hard to get and GM doesn't make many Vettes with them", "The F55 is a track-only suspension", etc. SHEESH.

He also doesn't want to pay a 'premium markup' over retail. I told him he might have buy from a Forum Vendor and then take a vacation to drive it home.

Neither dealer would give him a test drive either. He's an older professional business owner and presents himself very well. Definitely not just a 'looking for a joy ride' type.

Thanks for your help.

Entaille

sounds like your friend had the same experience as my friend when he was contacting all of our local dealers, and largely why he is buying one in montanna and driving it home to break it in. lol, automatics are hard to get ... 3 out of 5 stingrays are auto. they all treat it like it's some exotic supercar and are only willing to work with what's on their lot. I think this is a result of how poorly chevy does in this region and how few allocation they all have to work with, if they custom order something it could take a long while to get allocation and fulfill.

the only place I can even vaguely suggest as local would be joe @ joeknowscorvettes, at the monroe chevrolet dealership. I had a fantastic experience with him on one car, but he seemed to blow off my communications (and my friends communication) when I tried to give him repeat business. I would still push him towards buying out of state. http://www.rimrockchevrolet.com/ is the place my friend ordered through, they had immediate allocation and are not dicking him around in any way.

MACE_Hardware

I'm also buying from Rimrock after not getting any cooperation from the local dealers. I hope my service experience is better than was my attempt-to-purchase experience.

To tell the truth, the 2016 order books might be opening pretty soon. Perhaps the locals will have some early open allocations to fill. My order experience was in February and it seemed like they were all sold out and only interested in selling what was on the lot or taking my deposit with no real expectation of fulfilling the order.

Knob Jockey

Thanks for the quick responses.

He was told that production was halting soon for re-tooling at the factory. Not sure if this is factual given the source.

He was also told that ordering a new car would take 6 months for delivery.

I'll pass on the info about Rimrock.

last901

Interesting, but no surprises here. I bought a C6, new, off the showroom floor in late '06. I'd been trying to make the right deal ever since the C5's came out. Had to wait until the planets aligned I guess. Even so, I had to "buy" the car before they would even let me drive it.

I guess it's the price one pays when buying a great car from a dealer who would prefer to sell you a Malibu or a Silverado. I'll be they don't send all their new salespeople to Bowling Green for 2 weeks to learn how to sell Corvettes. Hell, some salespeople don;t even last long.

No Chevrolet (or Ford, Fiat, et al) dealer ever sets up a recruiting booth on graduation day at Stanford or Yale. There is no Mensa Society discount, so far as I know at any local Chevrolet dealer.

As near as I can discern, if you have the means to pay cash or otherwise not require to trade in your person car, the forum dealers are the way to go. I'm not saying they are without potential issues, but a lot of them seem to have cars available and so it might just be a matter of sending them a deposit and picking up the new car.

To be fair, these dealers are in business to make money. They may often sponsor a local Corvette Club - which is bizzarre given that all the members already have Corvettes and expect the dealer to thank them for it one way or another. But at least they are trying.

I went from 911s to a C6 Corvette. In terms of what the cars have to offer, I have no regrets, but I never felt an urge to wash my hands or change my clothes whenever I left a Porsche dealer's service department. (probably because I count afford to use the bathroom) kidding, kidding. Theses a forum and we all get to express our opinions...

Knob Jockey

Pretty much what he encountered as well. They wanted him to own the car before he could test drive it.

I'm hoping the Forum Dealer route is this simple.

He had a similar opinion concerning the the Porsche/GM Dealerships. One salesman, after being introduced as their 'Corvette Expert', admitted he didn't really know much about them.

Thanks

Mufflerbearing

Another dealer locals have had good buying experiences with is Dave Smith Chevrolet in Kellogg, Idaho.

www.davesmith.com

JETninja

Yeah, I know at least 3 members in here have bought cars in the past few years in Idaho, and are very happy customers....

George's_Vette

I bought my 2009 Vette special order from DS in Kellogg and it came in 3 weeks earlier then expected. C7 could be completely different since demands for the C7 are up compared to the C6 in 2009.

That said I tried twice once by phone and once in person last year to purchase a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Got a couple test drives while in town and both sales people never followed up so I bought from a dealer in Spokane.

I bought a new Jeep and a new VW TDI the same day while in SPO last year and both dealers were excellent to deal with. Both salesman knew the product I was interested in and answered every single question we had without hesitation or having to go check with someone else. I was amazed. And impressed.

Not sure who I would order a new Vette from. Now for a new Lambo, I know a guy who knows a guy.

George

George's_Vette

If you've never stopped in Kellogg, ID it makes auto row along Aurora Ave in SEA look like kiddy car land. DS has purchased every business and vacant lot in town and parks inventory on it. They collect you in a mini van and practically have to have GPS to locate the lot a vehicle similar to what you are inquiring about is located.

Dave Smith Motors, ID

George

Knob Jockey

I had mentioned to my neighbor that going East of the mountains might be necessary.

I got my truck from Dave Smith Motors and they were one of the first dealers I thought of.

Good to hear that they are still keeping their customers happy. Thanks for the updates.

I also reached out to Mike (Forum Member mpuzach) at Bud Clary Chevrolet in Longview for help. I don't know anything about the dealership, but if they've got Mike working for them it's a big plus in my book.

I really appreciate all of the insight.

Rohey

Buying a corvette in the Seattle area is a challenge. Finding a dealer with an allocation first then finding a salesman willing to sell their "rare" car. I went to 5 dealerships with the same pitch and had 3 willing to take me up on my offer. First you have to balance getting the car versus getting the lowest rock bottom price. Sure you can get sometimes both but for how much effort?

For me I went in willing to pay MSRP and a good trade value for my C6. From there it was just who could order the car I wanted. As it turned out, Good Chev in Renton had one coming in that matched my specs and the deal was made after a few back and forths on the trade value.

I see 17 vehicles in local inventory. plunge in a take propose a realistic deal and then stick to your guns....

ExRedRacer

Don't forget about the option of an out-of-state purchase from one of the big forum vendors and having it shipped back here. Not that I've done that, but from what I understand, it's a pretty seamless transaction with them taking care of all of the paperwork and everything

Might be worth a look.

Mufflerbearing

I looked into that a couple years ago with Kerbeck Corvette and although the process was going to be seamless with a good price and no allocation problems, the cost of enclosed shipping out here was going to make the deal no better than the Idaho and Montana dealers listed above. Of course a person could have flew back to Kerbeck and driven it home. Always a variable.

MACE_Hardware

The locals I contacted would not do the "courtesy delivery". Seriously, I really wanted to deal locally but there was zero cooperation.

In my case, I wanted exactly what I wanted - which meant an order. No help in February 2015. My Montana deal went through with "supplier pricing" and no hassles. I'll pick the car up in two or three weeks. I guess I can't say it's all good until I have the wheel in my hand, but I'm pretty confident...

VIK TOY

Husband,Ken ordered his C7 from Dave Smith Feb 2015 after researching a "lot". They had the best price and allotment! A friend drove him up there and he drove it home. Has never regretted it. Has all his warranty work done at Wilsonville Chevy.

duckvett

Suburban Chevrolet in Sandy, OR has a `15 Shark Gray 2LT coupe, auto.

884fun

They want top price and won't deal. They also want as much for a used Vette as you could get for a new Vette.

mpuzach

Thanks very much, Fred. I'd be happy to help your friend in any ways that he'd like, even if it's only to serve as an information resource.

Just a point of info...we're now in the final two weeks for placing orders for 2015s. Many dealers won't have allocations until the first 2016 consensus which is just around the corner. If he wants a 2015 he'll need to act quickly. I don't yet have any concrete info on changes for 2016 other than that there will be a new color or two and there will be a few minor trim options (e.g. colored interior stitching, possibly some different exterior stripes, etc.). I've heard absolutely nothing about any big changes. I've also heard nothing about whether or not there will be a price increase at the start of 2016 production. I expect that we'll get a complete report of 2016 changes at the bash in Bowling Green on April 23rd but at that point it will be too late to order a 2015.

If it was me, at this point I'd order a 2016. There's something kind of cool about owning the newest model for what would end up being the better part of a year!

JETninja

Some 2016 info here:

http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2015/...gin-to-emerge/

Couple new colors, colored Vert tops, etc.......