dbw2

I just saw the article where bob Lutz discusses the C7 and in that article is a comment about less than stellar C6 Sales.

This past spring my Porsche came off warranty and it is not a vehicle I wanted without warranty - one repair last winter was $4K for the part and the better part of another $2K for labour but the warranty covered it.

Anyway, I looked at a number of different vehicles and one that was tied at the top of the list was a new 6 speed Grand Sport. I live in Winnipeg (pop approx 700K) and there wasn't one to be had, viewed, whatever and the standard response is that they would be pleased to order one.....if I was fortunate I might see it by the end of summer - great. Hell, I couldn't even find a new C6 of any kind to drive though I did manage a short drive in a used 2008 which really did not do much for me. The Grand Sport from everything I had read indicated it was a superb vehicle, totally different from the 2008. The dealer attitude was essentially "too bad, so sad" (to the fact they didn't have one and there are lots of dealers here) and discussions with sales reps at various dealers was that they might let me have a short, supervised ride were one available - The Porsche store would just hand me a set of keys, make sure there was lots of gas, send me off on my own with the instruction to Have Fun. If the right Porsche was available I would have bout it.

Bottom line was that I was not going to buy a new GS without seeing one. Doing a lengthy demo ride was going to happen for an $80K CDN purchase (minus rebates, discounts) or the purchase was not going to happen. And it didn't which is too bad as I still wonder what the GS would have been like. I suspect it would have been fabulous. If GM wants to sell expensive veehicles they better get their heads out of their collective @sses and try some customer service.

I did get something else which I'm quite happy with but it could have been a new Grand Sport.

BuckyThreadkiller

Its a long time problem - I've purchased three Corvettes, I'm in a club that meets at the local dealership and still, when I wanted a test drive for the car I eventually purchased, the dealer wanted signed paperwork before allowing me the privilege of test driving the car I was buying.

When I confronted the General Manager he said it was because they could not sell a Corvette with extensive demo miles - and he meant in the 200 mile range, as Corvette buyers want to have as few as possible when they get the keys. I think mine did have 15 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.

dbw2

Regardless of the reason that kind of attitude displayed by GM verges on insulting. It's probably the last or next to last purchase of that magnitude before I retire. A thought that kept going through my mind was is if this is how things are before the purchase what kind of treatment awaits after the purchase. I'd still like to experience the GS.

dboz

I would have walked also. It is not a VEYRON for crying out loud. It is not even a rare car period. So they have to knock an extra $1-2k off the already highly inflated price to get a guy to overlook the 200-300 miles (doubtful they get any where near that). Chump change for a dealer for the chance to sell a highly profitable car?? Seriously, do they have a guy walk in every day wanting to buy a Corvette, in this economy??? DOUBTFUL. Most test drives I have ever been on are about 5 miles max.


BTW, that is a lot of test miles, and I seriously doubt there are that many in line wanting a test drive, so the entire premise behind their reasoning is ridiculous.


I am certain there are plenty of shop employees who had their fun in more than one CORVETTE doing the prep drive. You should have called their bluff and said you would take one only if you get to see it come off the truck and no one but you gets to sit in it or you are not buying it. You being more **** than most Corvette guys. LOL

hihoSilver

r u saying that a GS cost 80K? Sure ur not looking at a z06? SHould be around 55K fully loaded.

dbw2

Actually it was one level up from the base so as to get the HUD plus a couple of minor options(apppox $83K list). Prices in Canada are considerably higher than the USA. When the dollar is par (+/-)....enough said. Don't need to get into that. In fact when I looked at a GM dealer's site in Wisconson theere were new ones for under $50K US. That got my atttention. At the time I was looking (last May) there was with both GM rebates and discounts total $15+K off list. Then put on 12% combined sales tax...... Down the road I may look for a US vehicle and bring it back here.

AC04

In the Summer of 2009 I was checking out one of the Limited Edition CSR's (Basically a 1LT Coupe with Z51, NPP, Jake Logo's and a Racing Stripe. Sales were so bad with the Credit Crisis and Market tanking, they let me test drive it and I put roughly 15 miles on it. Had my Job not been in Jeopardy I would have pulled the trigger.

dboz

On the CHEVY website a fully load GS runs $75k, so I am not sure where you are buying your cars or seeing this price, but let us know.

I was referring to the $55k fully loaded GS.

chaase

He is in Canada and it was $80k CDN. It is not exclusive to Chevy. When I was looking to buy my Vette the Ford dealer wouldn't give me a test drive without paperwork on a Cobra. The Chevy dealer let me drive one without hesitation.

I wonder if the Porsche dealer around here is like yours. I am debating what to do with my vette. It is over 8 years old and I want to do something. I am not a C6 fan and it sucks waiting to get decent info on a C7.

jackhall99

While many here will jump on the bandwagon about 'poor dealer service' for not letting you test drive a car, that's really a moot point as none of your available dealers even had a new Corvette. Why bash the dealer for that?

There are many dealers in the US who don't carry Corvettes in stock, while others have 10, 15, 20, or a hundred of them sitting available.

As to test drives: dealer's choice. The dealer closest to my home had a salesman ride with me while the dealer 20 miles away tossed my wife and I the keys and said "See you when you get back. Have fun."

We bought our car from the second dealer.

Unfortunately, many people taking the test drive treat the car like it was on the race track. Even on this forum, many boast of accelerating a brand new car to 120 to "test it out", even though the salesman is pleading for his life.

I'm not sure if those posts are factual, or just some punk trying to sound like he's a big man to his fellow forum members, but it only takes one experience like that at a dealer to ruin Corvette test drives for everyone else.

Sorry your dealers in town don't have one to drive. The Corvette is an awesome car to own and drive.

Kelly100

I don't agree with much of what you have said. The fact is a salesman should be in the car to prevent the bad behavior and it does not take a genius to weed out the punks. The fact is the dealers stink and so do most of the service depts. Go back and research ALL of the people, including myself, who are absolutely affraid to death to take their ZR1 or any vette to a dealer. "MY" dealer recently did a while U wait oil and filter change and managed to scratch my front spoiler. Only a detailed, documented pre inspection saved me. And then they waited to see if I would notice it--they did not come forward like at Porsche, MBZ, Lexus, infiniti etc dealers. They were forced to replace the 1800++ spoiler. These kinds of stories are true and all over the place. I bought mine from boardwalk chevy and found Tim to be a up front guy and without any of the tricks. He did take an hour and half to explain the car to me. It is their service dept that stinks.

I recently walked into a salesman meeting by mistake and on the blackboard were listed commone ways to get around people to make a sale: like I don't have my check book with me, like throw in a little something (very little) to make the sale. They finally saw me a boy was I kicked out but fast

jackhall99

Oh grab onto yourself!

Your service s#it or the sales tactics used by every salesman in the industry has nothing whatsoever to do with a dealer not having a Corvette in stock to test drive or to buy off the floor!

Streetk14

You really might not have been too happy with a Grand Sport. If the 2008 you drove was equipped with the Z51 package (as is my '08), it would have very similar vehicle dynamics to a GS. The Z51's different gearing, oil coolers, spring rates, shocks, swaybars and summer tires were all used on the GS. The GS is basically a replacement for the '08-09 Z51 option -but with the wider Z06 wheels/tires and fenders and larger Z06 brakes. The interior, powertrain, and chassis are nearly identical to a comparable trim Z51 car.

With that said, I rented an '08 or '09 Hertz HTZ convertible (no coupe available) before I bought my car. It was a standard suspension automatic trans car with the magnetic ride control and all-season tires. I wasn't impressed with that car's ride and handling, but realized the car I really wanted would be different - and it was.

marcolin

SHould be around 55K fully loaded.

dbw2

Bottom line.........GM did not sell the C6's in numbers they wished. I was a buyer prepared to deal - not a tire kicker. All they had to do was provide a vehicle to drive so I could assess it's suitablility for me. As to the 2008 I drove it was a base model, poor performing tires and the interior left a lot to be desired though the exterior was sharp. As to GM providing mickey mouse test rides with a watchdog present that is a GM culture thing. There used to be a time when for a perfomance vehicle in that league the Corvette was the main show in town - not any more as there is a lot of good competition now hence the need for looking long and hard at what is available and that includes a decent test ride.

As to the thought that a salesrep has to be present to keep a leash on people taking said test ride they should qualify people when they walk in the door. I think showing up in a Porsche (or any other suitable car) should help them somewhat with the qualifying process. As to bashing the dealer(s) for not having a verhicle to drive when there are many hundreds of malibus, cobalts etc on the lot and they would like to sell a corvette having one to look at/drive is not asking too much - they expect these things to be purchased for the most part sight unseen and driven at least here. GM shouldn't be commenting on the lack of sales if there are none to be driven. I envy those south of the border with dealers that maintain a good stock. I simply wanted to find one I could drive home.

One final thought on sales reps in general. They need to have good knowledge of the product they are selling and that is not generally the case. A lot are simply order takers and will process the paperwork for the sale without knowing what they are selling. There was one guy who knew his product very well but simply could not get one. The dealership did not stock them.

In summary the GS still has a lot of my interest - this said without driving one. A friend who has a C5 Z06 and local Corvette Club member called a couple nights back and said there was a used one available in town I hope to see tomorrow. I'm about 5 years from retirement (maybe sooner in this economy and just don't know it!) and I plan to get to know the GS and if I like it that could be my retirement gift to myself.

As to what I bought last spring - a Nissan 370Z roadster. I wandered in
to the dealership at 545pm (they closed at 6pm), to my surprise found one on the lot, even though they were closing taking one for a drive was not an issue and they set me up with a knowedgeable, sports car savy young sales rep I klicked with. The guy knew the car, let me do what I wanted with it, which included being quiet so I could start to figure out whether this would work for me.....I really did not mind him being there - this guy does very well with his sales numbers and it was obvious why. ANyway, to shorten the story up I went home, researched the hell out of it (the car drove very good so that part was done), called the sales mgr Thurs night on his cell - he was at home - worked out a deal over the phone and I picked it up Friday night this with no money changing hands till then. Great service. They qualified me as a sincere purchaser and I qualified them through the process. Sales experience was superb. Service dept treats customers like gold. But as nice as the 370 is I still have my eyes on a jetstream blue GS. Maybe a C7 even if the blue may not be available.

Kelly100

Poor, poor Jack. At least you could have made a witty come back.

geezerman

i had the very same experience a few years back with nissan"s gtr,...went to look at it, and probably test drive it[or so i thought!],...as i was very smitten with all the hype i'd been reading bout the car,..wife and i drove up in our new porsche 911 carerra s,...and were imediately told what a piece of crap it was![ruler no#1,...DON'T DENIGRATE THE RIDE YOU WILL PROBABLY BE MAKING A TRADE ON MORON!],... so we look at the car,..still very smitten,...and askfor a test drive,...and guess what?,...no testdrives allowed,...so we ask for a dealer to drive the car, and we will be passengers,[so we can at least get a feel for how it rides and handles as passengers]...still no dice,...finally,..wifes says upon exciting the dealer,..and i quote,..."what a bunch of f-n idiots you all are,...hereyou had in all likely hood a probable sale,...and you totally f-n blew it!,...i don't know what my husband was even thinking to "step down" to a nissan!,...but i was willing to let him have his fun,...and i just can't believe you're really that stupid!",...[she does really speak her mind,...among the many reasons i loves 'er],...so,...guess what? ...going on what,...4 years now?,...and nissan sells what?100 GTR'S A MONTH nationwide!,...VERSUS 600 911'S, USUALLY AT A HIGHER PRICE POINT TOO!,...it's not rocket science here,...if someone's gonna drop 100 k on a car,...they're gonna freakin' test drive the car!!!!

andy82

Funny, that sounds like the story when I tried to buy my Z06 in 2007. Testdrive - nope! Then I went off to the Dodge dealer and they drove a Viper off the showroom floor and after a short drive with the salesguy I was handed the keys...

geezerman

i still can't wrap my head around dealerships that will turn away paying customers,...IN THESE ECONIMIC TIMES!,..for the sake of a no-test drive policy,...any dealer who has a qualified buyer,..[just do a little research,...like have the prospective buyer give you their license for you to verify,..other simple solutions!],..is just an absolute a-hole!,...i think nissan's moronic no-test drive policy might have been to dissuade pimply teens who couldn't buy the car anyway[ still seems to be the biggest lovers of that overweight piece of techno-crap to this day!], but really,...if you've got an interested buyer,...[me, porsche owner, you, vette owner,...these ARE NOT CHEAP CARS!,...and then you say no-test drive, you should be drawn and quartered in the school of better business practices,...it's just plain stupid business practice!!!

dbw2

Yesterday I went to the local dealership that had a used GS convert in the showroom. Battery was dead. Told the sales rep again I would like to sit in it.....but am told again the battery is dead and we can't open it up. No offer to get a battery pack so we could at least open the doors so I could at a minimum sit in it. Suggested I comeback later in the week. Maybe a test drive could be arranged. but as we'll get snow here any day that will stay......enough said.