Someone in the "know" ought to put a web site together that explains the dealer allocation process. Would also be nice to see what dealer gets what allocated.

Got bad news about my Corvette order, or should I say non-order, from my local dealer. Apparently the sales guy three weeks ago told me that there would be an allocation for a Corvette.

The truth of the matter is that the dealer has no knowledge of what type model the allocation is going to be. Now I get to sit and wonder when the next Corvette will be allocated to my dealer.

The factory(GM) has too much power. Why not just build the cars as they are ordered and screw the allocation process all together? The allocation scheme from GM really does a disservice to the customer.

Guess ordering a Corvette is a test of patience. Booooo-hisssss.

Sincerely,
ps ~ please not talk about how the car is worth the weight. I already realize this, but the allocation process needs work!

 

Honestly, if you are serious about getting a C6 as soon as possible, without being jerked around by a "Stealer" with minimal allocation you should contact one of the higher volume dealers. For example, Kerbeck. I purchased my C5 from them. And, will be ordering an '06 C6 from them. Big selection, no haggling, knowledgeable sales staff and fast delivery even on ordered cars.

 

your absolutely right.
the way i see it, it only helps the dealers that move the most cars when they are in low demand, but when they are in high demand, it hurts the consumer more than it hurts the dealers that want them only when they are selling.

 

Thanks for the tip. Greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately there is a trade-in involved with the deal. So right now the dealer has my $22,000 trade-in as down payment.

Guess this is just turing in to a test of patience. Hope I don't need therapy to cope with this process.

 

The allocation process is a result of what GM and every other manufacturer calls "just in time" supply chains. In order to reduce overhead cost and cut down on the supply of the wrong parts (options not in demand) Manufacturer's now use the allocation system to forecast as precisely as possible the cars they will be building over the next 6-8 weeks. They then use this along with the actual flow of hard to come by options (VR, Dual Tops, NAV among other things) to constrain the allocation that they do give out to make sure that they match what they have in the supply chain. This whole process is supposed to make their costs lower and decrease the order to delivery time of vehicles. While I know it may be hard to believe it has made the average time from order to delivery of vehicles a lot shorter than it used to be. The system also rewards those who turn their vehicles faster by what they call "turn and earn" that is the fact that your allocation for cars is based on your 3 or 12 month sales history and how many you have in stock now. For example if I sell 120 corvettes a year then my travel rate would be 10 a month and I would earn an average of 10 allocations a month (Corvettes are on a 12 month earn) This process differs slightly based on the model (Cavaliers are on a three month earn based on days supply and travel rate).

 

Thanks for the info Marvin, you always bring the meat to the table!
AL

 

Just a question.
Before the on-time delivery method that GM has incorporated into almost all their plants, how did the allocation for Vettes work, and how did a dealer increase their allocation?
My understanding was if the dealer was allocated 12 a year, that is all he could receive unless sales slowed, and the dealer was able to sell 15, then the next year he would be allocated 15.

 

The allocation for vettes has been that way for a while. Just before the C5 came out though many dealers were turning their allocation for vettes down and others were picking them up to increase theirs. A really good example of that is Maxie Price. When the C4 was not selling very well they stepped up to GM and took all that GM would send them, That earned them the allocation that they get today. Any dealer could have done the same thing back then and those that did not really have no one to blame but themselves for the allocation they have now. The only other way to increase allocation is to buy cars from another dealer.

 

You are a dealer and I am not, so I respect your comments. But I must say that I think "allocation" is completely seperate from "just in time" manufacturing. Allocation refers strictly to the fact that demand is greater than supply. GM therefore needs some way to "allocate" the available supply in a fair?? and equitable way. My understanding is that it involves a number of factors based on geography, service index scores, possible trade off for sales of slow moving vehicles etc. But the number 1 factor is how many Corvettes you have sold in previous years. So the big Corvette dealers stay big and the small ones stay small.

The big problem is buyers who are not educated in the process, and dealers who are not honest. Any buyer should ask right up front what the dealers allocation is; they all know pretty accurately. If the dealer gets 15 cars a year and has delivered 3 with 9 more sold and it is only January, you ain't getting a car for a while! A big dealer who gets 40 cars a month can place the order and get it built pretty quick because he has lots of allocation.

My suggestion is to never listen to a salesman. Go see the Dealer Principal and tell him up front you need to know his allocation and where your order would sit IF you placed one. Good luck!

 

Could someone verify the following, to test my understanding of status event codes.

if you place an order for a car and there is no current allocation the status event code will be 1100 and will stay at 1100.

if the dealer does have an allocation but it is for some later time period, the status event code will be 1100.

when the dealer does have a current allocation, the status event code becomes 1101 and the status event code will start advancing as you get closer to build.

If you have a status event code of at least 1101 then you can be 100% sure that the dealer has an allocation for you. Is this true?

Both cars and options are allocated. If your status code is 1101 or greater, then the car will eventually be build with the ordered options. Is this true?

 

A-W-E-S-O-M-E question!

Can't wait to read the answer.

 

If there are multiple Chevy dealers owned by the same person, do the dealerships share the allocation based on combined sales?

Do dealers trade allocaitons?

 

vrodder64 are you saying the dealer has possession of your trade(car) or that you have promised to use it as a deposit but you still have the car?

In any case you have the right to cancel your order and I think you should seriously consider that option. There are many dealers that will be happy to treat you fairly, Marvin and other forum dealers come to mind.

 

Dealerships cannot trade allocations, nor can dealships owned by one Corp. share allocations. Each store stands on it's own in GM's eyes. Jerry

 

Dealer already has the trade and has it for sale on their lot. I was not anticipating the allocation debocal when we started the ordering process.

I'm good with the 8-12 week delivery time, it's just it seems like there is no start to the process. Car buying/ordering should be exciting. How can one get excited then there is no official start? I feel like I'm all dressed up and have no place to go.

Again, test of patience. Right now it's my favorite way to cope.

 

I'm in the same situation . . . except that I traded in my C5 last September (and it has long since been sold); but now I discover that the dealer's small allocation (11 total, 3 verts) is constraining his ability to even place the order for my car (MS vert, black manual top, gray interior, MN6, Nav, XM, F55). SO, here I am in January, and the order has not even been placed with GM, the dealer tells me that he has no information regarding convertibles, and I have absolutely no idea when I can expect to receive it.

 

Is there a way to check order status online other than bugging forum members?

 

When you place an order into the system the first step it goes to is 1100 (Preliminary) That means the order has passed GM's edit tables and is a valid "Buildable" order. It also is when an order # is generated and assigned to it. This order # is the one that will follow it unitl it is built. It also is what is used to make sure you have things like price portection in the case of a price increase between the order time and invoice time. 1101 is essentially the same thing as 1100. The only difference is 1101 is more of an internal code for GM. They both still mean that it is a preliminary order still. When your order gets accepted by GM for production it will move to 2000. Here is the breif list of Status codes that are applicable to an order as far as the customer is concerned.:

Order status codes:
1100 = Preliminary Order (Order passed GM edit tables but dealers has not received allocation to place order)
2000 = Accepted By GM (Dealer used allocation to place order into production)
2500 = Preferenced (Order pulled to the production system)
3000 = Accepted By Production Control (Order input into the production system)
3100 = Sequenced (Order sequenced for Production)
3300 = Scheduled For Production (Order is scheduled into the plant build cycle)***
3400 = Broadcast (Order is sent to various build & supplier areas to bring order together)
3800 = Produced (Order is built and VIN# shows in the Dealer Order system now)
4150 = Invoiced (Order is invoiced to the dealer)
4200 = Shipped (Vehicle is shipped to the dealer or point of delivery)
5000 = Delivered To Dealer
6000 = Delivered To Customer

There are other codes but they are almost exclusively used internally by GM and have no real effect on the status of the order as pertaining to the customer.

 

It seems to me that communication with the dealer about allocation is the problem, not the allocation itself.

I traded my 2001 for my 2005, but the deal wasn't done (and my 2001 stayed mine) until the 2005 was at the dealership. I asked the dealer explicitly if he had an allocation for my order that month, and I asked for the status code along the way. Deposit 9/24, arrived 11/05 -- six weeks.

.Jinx

 

Dealer told me they would have a Corvette allocation in three weeks. Here it is a week after that date and they are still waiting for their allocation.

Not sure who to blame. The "stealer" or the General.