I get a lot of questions about how to get and use GMS/GMID discounts.

The truth is there really is in no advantage for a dealer to sell to you at a discount when that dealer has a limited allotment.

Why would they sell you a car for thousands less than they can sell that same car to the next person who will walk in the door; the dealer receives no rebate, reimbursement, extra allotment or any other benefit from the factory for selling to a holder of one of these discount certificates.... none, nothing, nada.

The only reason a dealer would sell at a discount is the same for you (as a would be certificate holder) as it is for anyone else: market forces, such as a slow selling car and or a poor market etc.

So, in a good market such as California where I live, virtually every car is sold at or close to MSRP. There is just is no reason to sell to you at a GMS/GMID price; people misunderstand this thinking they can walk into a local dealership and get a $6,000 discount just because they have a certificate...... It doesn't work that way.

Here is how it does work: In a good market there are only a few dealers with very large factory allocation who will routinely accept these certificates. Not so coincidentally they are also the dealers who advertise $4,500 discounts on their cars. This in my opinion is where you should go if you are looking for a discount.

The up side is you can save a lot of money on your car.

The down side is they are probably not local to you. Therefore you will not only have to wait five weeks or so to have your car produced at the factory, but you will also have to wait another two to three weeks to have your car delivered to a local dealer via courtesy delivery or have a private carrier bring it to your door (both at a cost to you in addition to the $800 you pay in destination charges).

So, if you want to save money on your car and don't mind waiting for it, this may be the way for you to go...... as it was for me.

If however you're looking for a way to get your car quickly while saving money... this isn't it.

If you have further questions about where to get certificates, who the dealers are etc. you can PM me and I will help.

I would however ask you to please be serious about your purchase; I get so many people PM-ing me, dreaming about buying a Corvette without any real intentions of doing so. If you are one of these people please keep dreaming but please don't PM me asking for information on a certificate. There is a very limited availability and they expire after 6 months..... It would be a real shame if someone lost out on the opportunity because someone else got a certificate without intending to use it.

Al

 

Al, my recent findings while looking to buy an '07 echo your post. I am a California buyer and was hoping to buy locally using my Supplier Cert. The local dealers have very small Corvette allocations and thus were unwilling to accept my cert. and would only give me $2k off of sticker.

Fortunately we now have a Forum Dealer in CA, Boardwalk Auto in Redwood City. I sent an email to Carl and received a reply within hours, verifying he would accept my cert, saving me over $6k off of MSRP. My '07 coupe will be here in September.

Mike

 

Al,

You are right that there aren't many dealers that will accept a GMS cert on a Corvette. But, they ARE out there. Out of the 40 or so dealers in NorCal that I initally contacted about purchasing a Vette, there were only 3 (if I remember right) that would accept a GMS cert.

I ordered mine on 6/2/06 and it was built last week. I think it all depends on the mentality of the dealer. Some don't mind not making quite as much on each deal as long as they are moving them off the lot ASAP. Then there are other deales who try and soak prospective customers for a much as possible (ya know, those that STILL have new '05s on the lot). While the dealer I bought mine from could most probably made a lot more on the car, the reality is, with the hold back, they made a nice chunk of change and all they had to do is inspect it off the hauler.

My 2 cents.

 

i've seen dealer postings that suggest this isn't true - saying dealers do get rebates from GM for participating in GMS and GMID. not a ton of cash, but some.