33 yrs old & looking to buy my first Corvette. Last summer, I was set on buying a 50th Aniv. coupe, until I caught the buzz about the C6. Finally saw the Motor Trend article a few months back and started thinking C6...C6...C6. Found the ordering guide, took it to my small home-town dealer and thought I had a great deal going - dealer and I verbally agreed to split the difference between DI and MSRP. I was #1 on wait list. Last item to be determined was color, so went to large St. Louis dealership to look at C5 inventory. Narrowed it down between LeMans Blue and Machine Silver.

I took a '04 Commemorative coupe for a ride and really liked it. A couple of days later, I got a call from my home town dealer who informed me that he just got off the phone with a CA dealer who offered him MSRP for all of his alloted coupes and MRSP + $1K for the verts and that we would need to revisit our initial negotiations. This really pi$$ed me off as I got the feeling this was a shakedown. I called a friend of mine from high school who used to work at the dealership and he said it was common for the dealership to sell its Corvette allotments to CA dealers. Later in the day, I got a call back from the St. Louis dealer asking me to come in as they had a number on the '04 Commemorative coupe I test drove - $42, 500 (MSRP was $50,795).

I am now stuck on what to do and would appreciate any advice you "experienced" Corvette buyers can give:

1. Do I go back to my local dealer and force him to work with me (I have been told that GM has problems with dealers selling their allotments). If this is true, I may have some leverage.

2. Do I wait for the C6? If so, my principles are going to force me to go to a different dealer, which will probably put me at the end of a waiting list and I will likely pay MSRP+

3. Do I pull the trigger and buy the C5? If so, my first excursion will be to visit my local dealer and do a burnout right in front of his office window!

 

go with #2 you wait just a little longer,check forum dealersmost all at msrp then do the burnout at the dealer with the salesman in front of the car looking at the new cool lights.

 

Talk to some of the dealers here on the forum. I know some have said they don't have to big of a list and will sell at MSRP.

 

I would wait on a C6 and forget dealing with those people... there are several forum dealers who have very high corvette allocations and you wont have to wait that long... thats what I would look into...

 

No real need to rush into getting a C6. They'll be available for the foreseeable future, and the longer you wait, the better they'll be.

It might depend more on which exterior/interior you prefer and whether you can get the options you want on the C5.

The dealers in your area are notoriously inflexible as regards vette pricing, and the allocation method has been rumored to be changing. I wouldn't count on leverage in that area.

I also would rule out that specific dealer based on its behavior, particularly if it starts with an 'E.' If you're seriously considering a C5, you might see if other dealers in the area also have the model you want and will compete. Sometimes, they will. It is also true that dealers in other areas are more aggressive in their pricing, and that is a viable option.

Whatever you decide, be sure you drive the car first, and the more cars you drive, the better idea you'll have of how good any particular one is. They're all different. Good luck.

 

Bought the 2004 CE Coupe this afternoon. I may kick myself in August when her younger sister hits the streets, but I am going to have an awful lot of fun in the meantime!

 

Here's wish you many miles of smiles in your new C5.

 

Congrats

 

Good choice! The C6's will be around for quite a while. Keep the C5 for a few years and if you are still interested in getting a C6, trade up. By then you should be able to negotiate a far better price than MSRP. But until then, enjoy!

 

How much did you pay for the C5? I heard that GM is offering $3000 cash back or 1.9% financing.

 

Hi, I'm new to the forum and glad to be speaking with everyone. My current fun car is a modded 93 RX-7. In jan I saw the motortrend or car & driver article and fell in love with the C6. I went to the Chicago Auto Show and fell in love even more.... Then I saw the viper srt10 and porche gt3. I decided I would buy 1 of these this year. After reading thru volumes of threads on this and the other 2 forums the past few weeks I was about 90% sure I would by a c6 Z06

This is a stretch for since the last 3 sports cars I've owned have all been foreign. I've driven a 99 viper GTS but wasn't pleased when compared to the RX-7.... Weight distribution etc. 2 days ago I went to my local dealer to obtain any info on the c6. info was non-existent. I asked if I could test drive a vette... any vette... didn't hav-2-be a Z06... they said NO. The sales manager reason was that test drives neither helped nor hindered the sale of the car.... and only decreased the cars value.

Is this common practice? I just wanted a general feel for the automobile. Should I try another dealer? Please excuse the long post...

 

Plenty of people here have gotten test drives including me...I bought the C5 I test drove but they knew I was serious ....it only had 7 miles on it when I drove it. It's a touchy situation because I would not buy a "new" Corvette that had 100 miles on it, but I admit, I'm wierd that way. Plenty of people have been turned down for test drives too for the reasons your salesman mentioned. It's worse for the younger folks. My advice is to go find a used C5 that is as close to new as possible. If it's got 3,000 miles on it, they won't mind another 20 miles being put on it.
If it's not a Z06, be sure to drive a Z-51 equipped (performance suspension) version. And if you plan to get a manual tranny (as in C6 Z06), you need to drive a 6 speed C5.


Oh, and Congrats Ruler89......you were really in a win-win situation. That is one nice C5 and at a great price too.





[Modified by need-for-speed, 9:03 PM 5/9/2004]

 

I just had a similar choice to make.

I was the owner of an 80K mile 12 year old 40th Anniversary MN6 coupe. I saw it deteriorating in front of my eyes - wear and tear items like tires, screws popping, expensive things under the hood needing replacement - with more to come.

I was never really in love with the C5, although I knew it was a great car, and head and shoulders above my '93. My long term plan was to wait for a C6.

I knew if I waited for a reasonably priced C6, my Ruby would just be that much older and worth that much less (unless I sold it right now, and went Vetteless for a while. Uhhhh - No!!!).

With all the discounts out there right now on C5s, I decided that it would be hard to turn down a value like that. A good discount can effectively pay for the first year of depreciation. I took the plunge yesterday on a CE convertible.

History shows that the C6s will be there for a while down the road, and they will only improve with time.

 

Go with the C5, it looks much nicer. Remember, you do have to be seen in the car.


[Modified by RedOnRed1995, 10:29 PM 5/9/2004]

 

I went to a different dealer today. The nice salesman let me drive a bunch of cars today. I understand now why you all love your vettes so much. I test drove 2004 z51 coupe, 2003 z06 and 2004 z06. I Told the nice manh I would think about it. A few hours later he called me up said he would give me 5g's off MSRP on the LeMAns blue carbon fiber hood z06.
2 questions??? Please help...

1. Is this a good deal on this car?

2. Will the resale value / trade-in value dip so much on c5's that these dealers are willing to part with them so fast because of the c6. I really fell in love with this car but I really like the c6 as well...

 

Well that's not a bad deal. However, IMHO, the carbon fiber hood is an overpriced option, which eats up part of that $5K. What is MSRP on that? C5's are being discounted somewhere around $7k......they are great values at those prices. You may be able to squeeze a $7K discount out of that salesman. Go look at the C5 for sale section, there are several supporting dealers selling new C5's there. You can find out what a new Z06 is going for.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zeroforum?id=52

Yes, C5's are awesome cars. Lucky for us, not everyone knows that. As far as choosing between a C5 or C6, only you can decide. You will have an ear to ear grin either way.

 

Thanx.
I really appreciate the reply... I think however I almost bought on impulse today.. After having a couple of hours to gather my thoughts and change my shorts, I decided I'd rather have a C6. It will take some time to sell the
RX-7 and by then the c6 will be here. It will be hard to part with a 400 rwhp sub 3000 lb car though. But after snaking that Z06 thru the twisties I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

It's always better to "sleep on it" . Looks like it payed off for you and you have made the decision your "gut feeling" told you to.....the 'gut feeling" is almost always right.
Based on your enjoyment of the twisties, it sounds like you will want to get the Z-51 package. Of course, I also recommend the MN6 as well.
You won't miss that RX-7 for long. Thers's something about smooth, OEM engineered, factory horsepower that's hard to beat. Not to mention driving a car that is 12 years newer.

 

I have to agree with Tracey. If your heart is set on a C6, that's the way to go.

However, since this is your first vette, if the $$ are tight, there are some absolutely fantastic deals on C5s out there. It's an EXCELENT car, and there are plenty of performance parts around if you are inclined to wring it out a bit. This has been plaguing me since I started seeing new, loaded C5s for $40k - $41k.

 

Buckeye - sorry I did not get back to you sooner - I have been out of town. MSRP on my 2004 CE coupe was $50,795. Invoice (per Edmunds) was $44,454. I got GM $3K cash incentive in lieu of GM financing and redeemed $1K GM earnings. Result $42,519 (without tax-I pay when I title).

As for the test drive matter, I had the same problem at a couple of dealers. The dealer I bought from must have taken me seriously from the start because they offered to let me test drive the car. Better yet, it was in the back fo the showroom and they had to move several cars to get it out. A+ for effort. The car only had 8 mi on it when I took it out and I brought it back with 11, so I don't think too many people got to test drive. In my opinion, any salesperson who won't let you test drive doesn't consider you a serious buyer.