Corvette Order vs Allocation
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Portland Oregon
St. Jude Donor '10
Corvette Order vs Allocation
Hello,
Can anyone explain to me how allocation and constraints work? I have a 2006 silver Z51 convertible on order with a local dealer. I've moved from third on their list to first on their list. During my last call with them they indicated that they should be able to place the order in January. I'm not in a huge hurry, with a convertible, I do not plan on driving it unless I can have the top down - late spring (maybe). BUT I do want to get the car in time to enjoy it.
I have read on the threads here that the Z51 option is on constraint, will be all year and from Ken's Weekly Production Constraint updates it appears that Chervolet limits production to about 30 to 300 Z51 cars each week depending on the week.
What or how determines what dealers get the limited orders for a particular option on a car? I know that if the dealer I ordered from sells two corvettes a month they will receive two corvettes a month but what about customer 'ordered' cars and options that may be on constraint?
Any help would be great - Jeff
Can anyone explain to me how allocation and constraints work? I have a 2006 silver Z51 convertible on order with a local dealer. I've moved from third on their list to first on their list. During my last call with them they indicated that they should be able to place the order in January. I'm not in a huge hurry, with a convertible, I do not plan on driving it unless I can have the top down - late spring (maybe). BUT I do want to get the car in time to enjoy it.
I have read on the threads here that the Z51 option is on constraint, will be all year and from Ken's Weekly Production Constraint updates it appears that Chervolet limits production to about 30 to 300 Z51 cars each week depending on the week.
What or how determines what dealers get the limited orders for a particular option on a car? I know that if the dealer I ordered from sells two corvettes a month they will receive two corvettes a month but what about customer 'ordered' cars and options that may be on constraint?
Any help would be great - Jeff
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: warner robins georgia
Originally Posted by U2bassAce
I'm not even sure if GM knows how this works!!! 
I'm not sure if GM knows how a company works.
I'm curious, too, b/c I have a Z51 package on order. Salesperson thinks mid-late Jan. We'll see.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
I started a thread "Another Z51 Allocation Question" here in October. Still available if you use the search function.
Supporting Dealer Ken Fitchner did a cut & paste of the GM document that desribes the system. I read it 3 times and ended up laughing so hard that i cried. The description reads like something deliberately designed to confuse a rocket scientist. The un-funny part is that this is how GM runs their company and produces our cars.
Please pull up that thread and read Ken's post. Then, if you can figure out what it means, post your explanation here.
I ordered a Z51 car with standard silver wheels about a week ago, the local dealer has enough Corvette allocations that they can get me a car at an excellent price with no trouble, if the wheel fiasco doesn't shut down the line completely. But neither of us can really predict when/if I will be able to get a Z51. Disgusting.
Supporting Dealer Ken Fitchner did a cut & paste of the GM document that desribes the system. I read it 3 times and ended up laughing so hard that i cried. The description reads like something deliberately designed to confuse a rocket scientist. The un-funny part is that this is how GM runs their company and produces our cars.
Please pull up that thread and read Ken's post. Then, if you can figure out what it means, post your explanation here.
I ordered a Z51 car with standard silver wheels about a week ago, the local dealer has enough Corvette allocations that they can get me a car at an excellent price with no trouble, if the wheel fiasco doesn't shut down the line completely. But neither of us can really predict when/if I will be able to get a Z51. Disgusting.
Safety Car
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From: Austin TX
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05
Originally Posted by Gearhead Jim
I started a thread "Another Z51 Allocation Question" here in October. Still available if you use the search function.
Supporting Dealer Ken Fitchner did a cut & paste of the GM document that desribes the system. I read it 3 times and ended up laughing so hard that i cried. The description reads like something deliberately designed to confuse a rocket scientist. The un-funny part is that this is how GM runs their company and produces our cars.
Please pull up that thread and read Ken's post. Then, if you can figure out what it means, post your explanation here.
I ordered a Z51 car with standard silver wheels about a week ago, the local dealer has enough Corvette allocations that they can get me a car at an excellent price with no trouble, if the wheel fiasco doesn't shut down the line completely. But neither of us can really predict when/if I will be able to get a Z51. Disgusting.
Supporting Dealer Ken Fitchner did a cut & paste of the GM document that desribes the system. I read it 3 times and ended up laughing so hard that i cried. The description reads like something deliberately designed to confuse a rocket scientist. The un-funny part is that this is how GM runs their company and produces our cars.
Please pull up that thread and read Ken's post. Then, if you can figure out what it means, post your explanation here.
I ordered a Z51 car with standard silver wheels about a week ago, the local dealer has enough Corvette allocations that they can get me a car at an excellent price with no trouble, if the wheel fiasco doesn't shut down the line completely. But neither of us can really predict when/if I will be able to get a Z51. Disgusting.
OMG! What in the heck ever happened to customer service, and letting the customer order the car that they want? I can understand that there may be constraint issues due to parts availability, but this is ridiculous.
Hello Chevy, anybody listening? You have customers that want to buy vettes in the configuration of their choice. Your constraints are slapping them in the face and you are saying "no!" Please listen to your customers while you still have them.
Chevy needs to be tasered for this.
I feel sorry that dealers like Ken Fichtner have to be a middleman between the customer and a goliath that says "have it my way or wait indefinitely".
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Camano Island Washington
allocation
I don't know either, however I was told by my small dealer he had 1 spot to order a car. We knew the z51 was not available so i chose to order standard + I will install z51 sway bars. Got a great price a a build date.
Monty red/black/black vert,3lt, nav, mn6,polished wheels (not anymore) to be built week of 1/17/06...ordered 12/14/05
Monty red/black/black vert,3lt, nav, mn6,polished wheels (not anymore) to be built week of 1/17/06...ordered 12/14/05
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Portland Oregon
St. Jude Donor '10
Whew, I read (scanned) thru Thread ID 74
The two replies I found most interesting were Ken Fichtner's and JmpnJckFlsh's. How do you know if the dealer you ordered from is a RCC dealerships or not? And if they are not an RCC dealership will a dealer work with you on the order placement like JmpnJckFlsh's suggestion?
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Damascus-Boring Or
Originally Posted by Luftwaffe35
The two replies I found most interesting were Ken Fichtner's and JmpnJckFlsh's. How do you know if the dealer you ordered from is a RCC dealerships or not? And if they are not an RCC dealership will a dealer work with you on the order placement like JmpnJckFlsh's suggestion?
This is going to take patience and a bit of luck to git 'er done, I'm afraid.
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Racer
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Mountainside NJ
St. Jude Donor '06
As indicated in previous threads it seems that some of the larger dealers can get Z51's much easier than other dealers. Checkout Kerbeck.com they have tons of Z51s both in stock and incoming.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,827
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From: Tucson Arizona
St. Jude Donor '08
Allocations!
You have heard the saying "Location! location! location!" when it comes to the three most important aspects of buying real estate. When it comes to getting a Corvette as fast as possible or getting difficult to get options (Z51) it is Allocations! Allocations! Allocations! The dealer with the biggest allocation (Kerbecks) will get you what you want the fastest or in some cases at all! Knowing how allocations are made is unimportant to your problem.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2005
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From GM point of view they have to limit the Z 51 because of CAFE. It is a poplular option. Do you reward the dealer who sells a few corvettes a year and wants to cash in on what is popular now or do you reward the guy who pushes that product year after year? The kicker is how do the have nots get the product to be a big seller in the first place. i was in a similar situation small vol dealer alloction for a vette but not for a Z 51 I solved it by going to a higher vol dealer who matched( actually beat the other guys price) I used MacMulkin and was happy with that choice.
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From: Austin TX
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St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05
I have to raise 
when people say CAFE is the reason for Z51 constraints in '06. I could begrudgingly agree to it in '05. In '06 though, there is no gearing change or diff gear change in A6's with or without Z51, and the window sticker shows identical mpg. ('05 Z51 with A4 had a 3.15 diff gear and got a few mpg less.) The MN6 with Z51 has a minimal gearing change in the tranny, but overall the mpg is the same, and is listed the same on the window stickers.
Z51 should be all gravy for GM. A popular option that costs money, with some additional profit for both GM and dealers. Why not make as many as people are demanding?
when people say CAFE is the reason for Z51 constraints in '06. I could begrudgingly agree to it in '05. In '06 though, there is no gearing change or diff gear change in A6's with or without Z51, and the window sticker shows identical mpg. ('05 Z51 with A4 had a 3.15 diff gear and got a few mpg less.) The MN6 with Z51 has a minimal gearing change in the tranny, but overall the mpg is the same, and is listed the same on the window stickers.Z51 should be all gravy for GM. A popular option that costs money, with some additional profit for both GM and dealers. Why not make as many as people are demanding?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2000
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From: Pottsville, PA. USA Home Of America's Oldest Brewery Yuengling
My dealer told me when something is on constraint you need to be ready to place the order when the system comes online. I think it is Tuesdays at noon.
He told me if there is a limited number of something they are gone in one minute. He said dealers order all of their inventory into the system on the same day. If you don't order the Corvettes first you won't get what you want.
He told me if there is a limited number of something they are gone in one minute. He said dealers order all of their inventory into the system on the same day. If you don't order the Corvettes first you won't get what you want.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Damascus-Boring Or
Originally Posted by Corvette ED
My dealer told me when something is on constraint you need to be ready to place the order when the system comes online. I think it is Tuesdays at noon.
He told me if there is a limited number of something they are gone in one minute. He said dealers order all of their inventory into the system on the same day. If you don't order the Corvettes first you won't get what you want.
He told me if there is a limited number of something they are gone in one minute. He said dealers order all of their inventory into the system on the same day. If you don't order the Corvettes first you won't get what you want.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 8,133
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From: Ex-SF Bay Area; now happily Denver area
Originally Posted by jim2092
When it comes to getting a Corvette as fast as possible or getting difficult to get options (Z51) it is Allocations! Allocations! Allocations!
I was surprised that nobody IM'd me in light of how many people are complaining and being held up by the Z51 constraint.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 321
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From: Bethlehem PA
St. Jude Donor '08
"CONSTRAINT" means a percentage of the total build for a specific week......usually determined by parts availability, and yes, CAFE is a factor in Z51, or by what Chevrolet has deemed it wants to build. You think a Z51 or Chrome Wheels are tough, try allocating a Z06. The dealer has very little input into the process......and yes larger volume dealers do get a priority because they sell more overall product, not just Corvettes. Is it fair? Maybe not, but that's the way it is, has been, and will be. By the way, if a dealer says he has an allocation open, ask him for an order confirmation from VOMS ( vehicle order management system ) with a confirmation order number.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
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Quantum theory of Corvette allocations.
You can know the allocations or the constraints, but not both. These represent two descrete but entangled probablity amplitudes.
Knowing the allocations collapses the wave function, making it impossible to determine the constraints.
Knowing the constraints collapses the wave function, making it impossible to determine the allocations.
Driving your new Corvette off the dealer's lot eliminates the quantum entanglement and resolves all superposition of states. This is a metastable state for the duration of the warranty.
Once stability has been achieved entropy ensues.
You can know the allocations or the constraints, but not both. These represent two descrete but entangled probablity amplitudes.
Knowing the allocations collapses the wave function, making it impossible to determine the constraints.
Knowing the constraints collapses the wave function, making it impossible to determine the allocations.
Driving your new Corvette off the dealer's lot eliminates the quantum entanglement and resolves all superposition of states. This is a metastable state for the duration of the warranty.
Once stability has been achieved entropy ensues.