Museum delivery charges explained
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 11,146
Likes: 1,913
From: Missouri City, TX
Thanks for the detailed post Paul. We all have seen that GM is not shy about increasing the MSRP on vehicles including vettes two or three times a year. It is really bizarre that GM left R8C at the same price over that period of time. It was fully in their power to increase it but didn't. That big of an increase for MY2014 I fear is going to have a negative impact on the number of deliveries, which will as Joe has pointed out, cascade to the overall BG economy to some degree that decreased visitor numbers will bring.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,548
Likes: 15
From: Paris TN
I certainly agree that the Museum does a great job and what they do cost money. I don't know their budget, but suspect deliveries are a small part of their total income. I would suspect that general donations are huge as well as the sales of Museum specific concession sales. That, along with those who maintain membership should be significant.
Everyone would agree that the current nationwide financial crisis, has much to do with where we place our financial priorities and, for most, unless money is no object, museum delivery is not a high priority. That its an option and you can pay for it in 60 or 72 convenient monthly payments makes it almost palatable. Finance charges on that option won't be a huge deal for most.
I don't disagree with much of what you say, but my opinion is that most who opt for the museum delivery are rather well to do (I guess you could say that about anyone who buys a new Corvette...lol).
It would be interesting to know how many Corvette Forum members are dues paying members of the Corvette Museum. I'd like to know that. I am currently not, since I had a trip planned to Bowling Green this month and would join while there. I think it would be good for us to support museum membership on the forum.
Everyone would agree that the current nationwide financial crisis, has much to do with where we place our financial priorities and, for most, unless money is no object, museum delivery is not a high priority. That its an option and you can pay for it in 60 or 72 convenient monthly payments makes it almost palatable. Finance charges on that option won't be a huge deal for most.
I don't disagree with much of what you say, but my opinion is that most who opt for the museum delivery are rather well to do (I guess you could say that about anyone who buys a new Corvette...lol).
It would be interesting to know how many Corvette Forum members are dues paying members of the Corvette Museum. I'd like to know that. I am currently not, since I had a trip planned to Bowling Green this month and would join while there. I think it would be good for us to support museum membership on the forum.
Last edited by ParisTNDude; Apr 29, 2013 at 01:01 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,135
Likes: 14
Here's my take:
Chevy should have taken a lesson from Porsche.
They should have priced the base model $500 higher and made Museum Delivery free for anyone. Everybody here would be celebrating and saying how generous GM was...What a gesture! And the base sticker would still have been celebrated as a good deal.
Economically, probably only 25-30% of buyers would likely take advantage and on balance GM would've likely made more $$$ since there would be more non-takers than takers and non-takers would be heavily subsidizing the venture.
No, in my opinion, GM took the high road and broke the cost out to charge only those who want and can afford the option.
Chevy should have taken a lesson from Porsche.
They should have priced the base model $500 higher and made Museum Delivery free for anyone. Everybody here would be celebrating and saying how generous GM was...What a gesture! And the base sticker would still have been celebrated as a good deal.
Economically, probably only 25-30% of buyers would likely take advantage and on balance GM would've likely made more $$$ since there would be more non-takers than takers and non-takers would be heavily subsidizing the venture.
No, in my opinion, GM took the high road and broke the cost out to charge only those who want and can afford the option.
AIR FORCE VETERAN
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,223
Likes: 441
From: Pennsylvania
Here's my take:
Chevy should have taken a lesson from Porsche.
They should have priced the base model $500 higher and made Museum Delivery free for anyone. Everybody here would be celebrating and saying how generous GM was...What a gesture! And the base sticker would still have been celebrated as a good deal.
Economically, probably only 25-30% of buyers would likely take advantage and on balance GM would've likely made more $$$ since there would be more non-takers than takers and non-takers would be heavily subsidizing the venture.
No, in my opinion, GM took the high road and broke the cost out to charge only those who want and can afford the option.
Chevy should have taken a lesson from Porsche.
They should have priced the base model $500 higher and made Museum Delivery free for anyone. Everybody here would be celebrating and saying how generous GM was...What a gesture! And the base sticker would still have been celebrated as a good deal.
Economically, probably only 25-30% of buyers would likely take advantage and on balance GM would've likely made more $$$ since there would be more non-takers than takers and non-takers would be heavily subsidizing the venture.
No, in my opinion, GM took the high road and broke the cost out to charge only those who want and can afford the option.
Do you want everyone to pay more for the car so some can go to the Museum Delivery? They are trying to keep the cost down. Look what a good bargain the Z51 is.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 476
Likes: 0
From: American in Germany 1 Hour to the ring fast
I would like to point out that in reality
GM could do a heck of a lot more for the museum and change its demographic
Give us a Museum or "factory" Pick up and I will gladly write a $1000donation to a 501c Corporation plus the profit in all the stuff I Buy !
I said earlier Porsche was charging I believe $2500 for factory delivery and they reduced it to Zero. They still make money and build their brandGM/Bowling Green/Museum etc. could do the same.
I say build the brand of Corvette and have GM charge a nominal $$$ and keep up the museum.
I know the deliveries take time and have had the experience It was very nice and I know the people were exhausted at the end of the day.
Its all in the perception, and $1000 is not a lot of money, but add the road trip to Bowling Green, the Drive home and such and you start to
see that the time spent is a pilgrimage How much did you spend last time at the NCM store?
I cannot stress that making the experience available and enticing to people who are buying a first Corvette is KEY Chevrolet NEEDS the Demographics of a Porsche or BMW-Mercedes Driver who often has little time off and combines it with a holiday
Hard to Compare Stuttgart to Bowling Green, for things to do. Also Mercedes and BMW will ship the car back home for you after paying for insurance !! I would love to do a tour of the south and still take Chevrolet on that destination fee. Especially once the track is built!! My son is going to school at a great School in Kentucky on an incredible Scholarship so I will I am sure Pony up to the table so he and I can do it together, I would like to drop it back off at a Chevy dealer and make sureit was sent to my local dealer! or wherever to get my money out of that delivery charge. I am fine with it but someone who has limited time would love to pick it up and drop it off knowing they would get it at home without hassle
BMW and Mercedes actually offer a discount for european delivery that will easily cover the trip !!!
Now I do have a Friend who has been doing Factory Porsche deliveries for 10 years and is an ultimate professional with an exhausting job
come now GM see the big picture
Give us a Museum or "factory" Pick up and I will gladly write a $1000donation to a 501c Corporation plus the profit in all the stuff I Buy !
I said earlier Porsche was charging I believe $2500 for factory delivery and they reduced it to Zero. They still make money and build their brandGM/Bowling Green/Museum etc. could do the same.
I say build the brand of Corvette and have GM charge a nominal $$$ and keep up the museum.
I know the deliveries take time and have had the experience It was very nice and I know the people were exhausted at the end of the day.
Its all in the perception, and $1000 is not a lot of money, but add the road trip to Bowling Green, the Drive home and such and you start to
see that the time spent is a pilgrimage How much did you spend last time at the NCM store?
I cannot stress that making the experience available and enticing to people who are buying a first Corvette is KEY Chevrolet NEEDS the Demographics of a Porsche or BMW-Mercedes Driver who often has little time off and combines it with a holiday
Hard to Compare Stuttgart to Bowling Green, for things to do. Also Mercedes and BMW will ship the car back home for you after paying for insurance !! I would love to do a tour of the south and still take Chevrolet on that destination fee. Especially once the track is built!! My son is going to school at a great School in Kentucky on an incredible Scholarship so I will I am sure Pony up to the table so he and I can do it together, I would like to drop it back off at a Chevy dealer and make sureit was sent to my local dealer! or wherever to get my money out of that delivery charge. I am fine with it but someone who has limited time would love to pick it up and drop it off knowing they would get it at home without hassle
BMW and Mercedes actually offer a discount for european delivery that will easily cover the trip !!!
Now I do have a Friend who has been doing Factory Porsche deliveries for 10 years and is an ultimate professional with an exhausting job
come now GM see the big picture
First and foremost I want to thank Damian for taking the time to post this information. It is something I have been meaning to do since the announcement of the pricing for the Stingray but with the Bash going on, I just wasn't able to put my thoughts in a format that I could post on the forum to get it done.
The information as posted above is nicely written, accurate and to the point. I wanted to post some clarification for some of the questions and comments I have read in this thread to this point.
The NCM typically hovers in the top 5 "dealerships" nationwide for deliveries. I have the word "dealership" in quotes because the NCM isn't a GM dealership but is tracked as one for delivery statistics. What this means is that the NCM delivers a lot of cars.
When the C5 delivery program launched, the demand was overwhelming. This was done in the old PDI area and in the smaller delivery footprint of the NCM pre-expansion. There were on average 8 deliveries a day and it went for weeks at seven days a week. The museum likely wasn't making a penny after costs on this program.
What you are seeing is time marching on. Museum delivery is a program that hasn't had a price increase in 12 years.
- Yes, the NCM is a 5013C charitible organization and yes, you can get tax deductions for contributions and donations you make to the NCM. These do not apply in the case of R8C Museum Delivery as it is a good or service exchanged for your payment and is not a qualifying contribution.
- Yes, you will pay a destination charge with museum delivery. This is a nationally negotiated rate and every Corvette whether delivered 1 mile or 1,000 miles pays the exact same fee. This is just there to level the playing field for dealers. At the end of the day, even with museum delivery, the Corvette is held in the transportation lot, loaded on to a car carrier and delivered across the street to the NCM, they are not driven over and due to the agreement, can't be.
- Museum delivery cars currently carry with them a two week quality hold. Since the car being picked up is often the only means of transportation the new owners will have for the ride home. GM wants to ensure that any latent issues that may be found on the assembly line can be dealt with before the customer picks up their car. When a car is shipped it is on a carrier and or on a dealer lot so if a problem is discovered the car can be captured and the issue dealt with. With a museum delivery vehicle that isn't the case. The plant and the NCM are always working on ways to improve this time and you may see that time come down in the future, right now it is mandatory.
- Regarding the breakout of the cost for the NCM delivery, a small portion goes to the selling dealer, a portion goes to the NCM and a portion goes to GM. There is a significant amount of scheduling and logistics that must take place at both the NCM and the plant to make this work and it needs to be paid for.
- In terms of what is involved in the cost is primarily labor. Remember, when you have a museum delivery you get a museum paid host who greets you at the start of your delivery day. Bearing in mind that they have generally been at the museum for at least 30 - 60 minutes prior to your arrival to go over the car, the paperwork and make sure everything is in place and correct for your arrival. They will take you on a tour of the assembly plant and a tour of the NCM and then they will spend however much time you need to get comfortable with your new Corvette and get all your questions answered. This can be a 10 hour day for the host if the owners take full advantage of learning. What you see is this host's time. What you don't see is the amount of time (phone calls, emails, questions between the owner, the delivery department personnel and the assembly plant) required in the background to get this done. You get a full tank of gas and we've all seen gas prices more than double over the last few years. Lot's of little things conspire with cost based programs.
The new Corvette is going to carry a new learning curve and the delivery is going to take longer so that folks can ask everything they need to ask to be comfortable.
- Delivery customers will receive a personalized wooden plaque to hang in their house or garage and they will also receive a new personalized nameplate that is mounted in the Corvette below the HVAC controls on the front center console. It will replace the Stingray plaque that ships on non-delivery vehicles.
With museum delivery you will get the best PDI and prep in the business. With dealership delivery you may get a "lot boy" with a bucket of dirty water and a sponge going over your car. With museum delivery you get the backing of the National Corvette Museum and the Corvette Assembly plant if an issue is found with your car during prep or delivery. I've seen folks from the plant come over and deal with things that the PDI folks at the museum didn't feel were perfect right there at the NCM.
For those stating that the Porsche and or BMW delivery were "free", in my opinion, that just tells me that they have more profit in their car to cover the cost and at the end of the day the buyer is paying for it...particularly the subsidizet didn't order it helping to subsidise the buyers that did.
Museum delivery is a wonderful experience and I've received nothing but positive comments from those that I have spoken with about it. It is an option box that I will be checking when I take delivery of my Stingray this fall. If nothing else, it helps the museum and if they are getting a larger share of the cost, even better (and I have no idea of the breakdown of who gets what from the increase). I personally believe that the National Corvette Museum has an important role of the preservation of the history that is our sports car and doing that takes money.
Some will continue to do it, some will elect not to based on the price. That's fair and understandable. Some always look for the "payback" in it and some do it because they want to experience it or contribute to the museum and I believe that will continue. It is all about choice. I believe that not doing it will not diminsh your ownership experience but I also believe that doing it will certainly enhance it.
Thanks for reading.
Paul
The information as posted above is nicely written, accurate and to the point. I wanted to post some clarification for some of the questions and comments I have read in this thread to this point.
The NCM typically hovers in the top 5 "dealerships" nationwide for deliveries. I have the word "dealership" in quotes because the NCM isn't a GM dealership but is tracked as one for delivery statistics. What this means is that the NCM delivers a lot of cars.
When the C5 delivery program launched, the demand was overwhelming. This was done in the old PDI area and in the smaller delivery footprint of the NCM pre-expansion. There were on average 8 deliveries a day and it went for weeks at seven days a week. The museum likely wasn't making a penny after costs on this program.
What you are seeing is time marching on. Museum delivery is a program that hasn't had a price increase in 12 years.
- Yes, the NCM is a 5013C charitible organization and yes, you can get tax deductions for contributions and donations you make to the NCM. These do not apply in the case of R8C Museum Delivery as it is a good or service exchanged for your payment and is not a qualifying contribution.
- Yes, you will pay a destination charge with museum delivery. This is a nationally negotiated rate and every Corvette whether delivered 1 mile or 1,000 miles pays the exact same fee. This is just there to level the playing field for dealers. At the end of the day, even with museum delivery, the Corvette is held in the transportation lot, loaded on to a car carrier and delivered across the street to the NCM, they are not driven over and due to the agreement, can't be.
- Museum delivery cars currently carry with them a two week quality hold. Since the car being picked up is often the only means of transportation the new owners will have for the ride home. GM wants to ensure that any latent issues that may be found on the assembly line can be dealt with before the customer picks up their car. When a car is shipped it is on a carrier and or on a dealer lot so if a problem is discovered the car can be captured and the issue dealt with. With a museum delivery vehicle that isn't the case. The plant and the NCM are always working on ways to improve this time and you may see that time come down in the future, right now it is mandatory.
- Regarding the breakout of the cost for the NCM delivery, a small portion goes to the selling dealer, a portion goes to the NCM and a portion goes to GM. There is a significant amount of scheduling and logistics that must take place at both the NCM and the plant to make this work and it needs to be paid for.
- In terms of what is involved in the cost is primarily labor. Remember, when you have a museum delivery you get a museum paid host who greets you at the start of your delivery day. Bearing in mind that they have generally been at the museum for at least 30 - 60 minutes prior to your arrival to go over the car, the paperwork and make sure everything is in place and correct for your arrival. They will take you on a tour of the assembly plant and a tour of the NCM and then they will spend however much time you need to get comfortable with your new Corvette and get all your questions answered. This can be a 10 hour day for the host if the owners take full advantage of learning. What you see is this host's time. What you don't see is the amount of time (phone calls, emails, questions between the owner, the delivery department personnel and the assembly plant) required in the background to get this done. You get a full tank of gas and we've all seen gas prices more than double over the last few years. Lot's of little things conspire with cost based programs.
The new Corvette is going to carry a new learning curve and the delivery is going to take longer so that folks can ask everything they need to ask to be comfortable.
- Delivery customers will receive a personalized wooden plaque to hang in their house or garage and they will also receive a new personalized nameplate that is mounted in the Corvette below the HVAC controls on the front center console. It will replace the Stingray plaque that ships on non-delivery vehicles.
With museum delivery you will get the best PDI and prep in the business. With dealership delivery you may get a "lot boy" with a bucket of dirty water and a sponge going over your car. With museum delivery you get the backing of the National Corvette Museum and the Corvette Assembly plant if an issue is found with your car during prep or delivery. I've seen folks from the plant come over and deal with things that the PDI folks at the museum didn't feel were perfect right there at the NCM.
For those stating that the Porsche and or BMW delivery were "free", in my opinion, that just tells me that they have more profit in their car to cover the cost and at the end of the day the buyer is paying for it...particularly the subsidizet didn't order it helping to subsidise the buyers that did.
Museum delivery is a wonderful experience and I've received nothing but positive comments from those that I have spoken with about it. It is an option box that I will be checking when I take delivery of my Stingray this fall. If nothing else, it helps the museum and if they are getting a larger share of the cost, even better (and I have no idea of the breakdown of who gets what from the increase). I personally believe that the National Corvette Museum has an important role of the preservation of the history that is our sports car and doing that takes money.
Some will continue to do it, some will elect not to based on the price. That's fair and understandable. Some always look for the "payback" in it and some do it because they want to experience it or contribute to the museum and I believe that will continue. It is all about choice. I believe that not doing it will not diminsh your ownership experience but I also believe that doing it will certainly enhance it.
Thanks for reading.
Paul
Last edited by Gmumd48; Apr 29, 2013 at 01:41 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 808
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, NV
Cruise-In II Veteran
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Contributor
It is the best delivery experience that you can encounter. The Museum will also prep the car better than any dealer.
During my delivery we had a private tour of the Assembly plant and the Guide at the plant pushed my late wife's wheelchair.
You will be treated like royalty at both the museum and the plant.
During my delivery we had a private tour of the Assembly plant and the Guide at the plant pushed my late wife's wheelchair.
You will be treated like royalty at both the museum and the plant.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,135
Likes: 14
As I said, to repeat and emphasize...GM took the high road in my opinion and charges the option only to those who want it and kept the price of the car as low as they could.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 808
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, NV
Cruise-In II Veteran
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Contributor
The best part about the NCM delivery is the fact that I never saw the dealer. I called and ordered the car. I sent them a check. I picked up the car at the Museum. I put some easy road miles on the car when it was new. I was in Brazil when I ordered the Corvette, and I have never lived in Atlanta where I placed the order.
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AIR FORCE VETERAN
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,223
Likes: 441
From: Pennsylvania
No, no, no...perhaps my tongue-in-cheek comment was too subtle. I was being a bit facetious although I DO think that's how Porsche does it and it's unfair to compare the 2 programs.
As I said, to repeat and emphasize...GM took the high road in my opinion and charges the option only to those who want it and kept the price of the car as low as they could.
As I said, to repeat and emphasize...GM took the high road in my opinion and charges the option only to those who want it and kept the price of the car as low as they could.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 476
Likes: 0
From: American in Germany 1 Hour to the ring fast
I have to say that offering it at No Cost is building the brand !
No, no, no...perhaps my tongue-in-cheek comment was too subtle. I was being a bit facetious although I DO think that's how Porsche does it and it's unfair to compare the 2 programs.
As I said, to repeat and emphasize...GM took the high road in my opinion and charges the option only to those who want it and kept the price of the car as low as they could.
As I said, to repeat and emphasize...GM took the high road in my opinion and charges the option only to those who want it and kept the price of the car as low as they could.
Mercedes BMW Porsche will do that on any of their cars and it makes it easy for the customer !
To build your brand you have to think like the new customer not the old
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,244
Likes: 122
From: st paul minnesota
In response to one of the comments on NCM membership I am a founding and lifetime member of the NCM and have owned 8 new Corvettes. My most recent ones that have been eligible for museum delivery I did not go for the option. My 800+ mile drive back to MN would not be something I would consider anytime from Nov.-March based on weather and my C7 order may possibly fall within that timeline. I'm also a bit skeptical about taking something with all the high tech features/circuitry right on the road for that distance worrying about a module failing, etc. leaving me stranded with no one familiar with the fix. Much simpler if that failure occurs closer to home. I'm OCD in regards to detailing and I'm sure the museum staff does a fine job, but to do all that work and drive it 800 miles and risk getting the first chips before I even get it home is not on my radar as well. I do drive mine in the rain but I'd like to at least get it home first. I do agree the doubling in price for delivery will likely impact the number who select this option; those who were wavering in the past will likely decide to pass. I agree the dash plaque is not a 'plus'; the wall plaque is OK as would be a door jamb sticker, but a 'built in' plaque will not be for everyone. Just my take...
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 6,937
Likes: 348
From: My interests are mobile
Seriously? You'd be scared of your corvettes reliability in the first 1000 miles. Man...these cars are junk!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
Luckily, I live only 170 miles from the dealer where I purchased the car, so at 380 miles I was at home, only 4 miles from my local dealer. I would have hated to have to spend that 10 days in a motel while waiting for my car to be repaired while being stranded away from home.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 26,714
Likes: 344
From: Houston, TX
It will be interesting to track what this does to the number of people doing museum delivery. And assuming they do go down, it will be interesting for someone to find out what happens to their sales of jackets, coffee cups etc, etc that people buy while picking up their car. Unintended consequences can be a real bitch.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 819
Likes: 5
From: Indianapolis IN
I've done the NCM delivery & will do it on the C7. Will even do the photo album again for another $500 (only looked at it twice). It was fun. That being said, if it was down to another option I wanted & the RC8....getting the car built the way I wanted would trump the delivery every time. I can't help but think revenue & enthusiasm are going to take a drop, hopefully not for long.
Where else can you pick up your new toy that has a Museum dedicated to it?
Where else can you pick up your new toy that has a Museum dedicated to it?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,244
Likes: 122
From: st paul minnesota
I had power window regulator tape issues (stuck partway down) with my '84, the "do not drive the car" rear end bolt problem with my '97, and the dead battery syndrome with my '05. All were early VIN's and these problems showed up right away, so yes I would have second thoughts about driving it 800 miles from BG and being caught waiting for parts and/or a solution.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,860
Likes: 3
From: 96598
the same. Take the 500 and put more in your car. You can go
up take a tour of the plant and museum anytime. But just to
have your name on poster board is not worth the $$$$.
I've seen people on video picking up there car, looks just boring
as the wait at any dealership
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
I've done the NCM delivery & will do it on the C7. Will even do the photo album again for another $500 (only looked at it twice). It was fun. That being said, if it was down to another option I wanted & the RC8....getting the car built the way I wanted would trump the delivery every time. I can't help but think revenue & enthusiasm are going to take a drop, hopefully not for long.
Where else can you pick up your new toy that has a Museum dedicated to it?
Where else can you pick up your new toy that has a Museum dedicated to it?