AlaskaPaul

So after I finally received my allotment I last week I decided to have courtesy delivery rather than pick my car up at the out of state dealer. That was the easy part, now for the questions.

#1: Vin #?

At what point can I get a VIN#, and from whom? I need it so I can coordinate/change my insurance as I received a preliminary quote from Erie which was way lower than my current Geico policy, but they require a VIN to finalize their quote.


#2: On-Star Tracking.

It is my understanding that the selling dealership can activate On-star at some point in the build/transport process so I can track my car as it winds it way through the system and finally reaches my courtesy delivery dealer. Is this automatically done or do I have to request it?

#3: Horror Stories.

I have read some rather disheartening stories of courtesy deliveries gone bad! (Should be a T.V. series!) What should I look out for upon picking up my car? I'm cool with the PDI and know that if something is wrong GM will make it right under warranty. I'm more concerned with the 150 mile joy rides before deliver I have heard about and such. Along the same lines, since I have to pay for the car before I see it, at what point do I have to certify the mileage, and perhaps the condition, of a car I haven't seen yet?

#4: How is the Title and Registration handled?

I have bought cars with 20 day temp licenses before, but that was 35 years ago, and I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast. I live in Maryland, but have read posts of cars from Texas and California (I think) having to have emission inspections prior to getting tags, but could not pass the test because the engine hasn't enough miles on it yet.
What's the story on that. And do I need a Certificate of Origin to register the car here in Maryland........and if so, who provides that?

Lastly:

All horror stories are welcome, so I have an idea what to look out for. I'd also appreciate some good stories, too, so I can sleep at night for the next month or so.

Thank you all in advance.

Paul

RicK T

1. The VIN is assigned sometime in the 10 days to 2 week time period when the Status Event Code goes to 3300-3400. You can get the VIN from the selling dealer or GM Chat.

2. Tracking? Are you sure you want to do this? Your choice of course.

....Once your dealer has activated OnStar, you can call OnStar and ask for "Family Link", $3.99/mo.

Caution though: (courtesy of CaryKen)

3. Horror stories. You don't "have to" pay for it before you see it. You can delay all of that until you check out the car but that will delay your taking possession for several days at least. You should keep checking with your selling dealer to find out when it ships. You can decide at that time if you want to pay up front or wait for it to arrive so you can see it first. Either way, I highly suggest you set up a wireless transfer of funds to expedite the whole payment process. Otherwise you will be waiting 10 business days for checks to clear. If you are financing then the lender can probably do the wireless payment.

4. Registration. The selling dealer will overnight FedEx the MSO to you OR the courtesy delivery dealer at your request, after they are paid. And yes, you have to have that MSO to register the car. Your car is being ordered for delivery in your state so there should be no issue with emissions and registration. The courtesy delivery dealer should handle all of that for you for their fee.....but make sure ahead of time they are going to do that. I had to argue with my courtesy delivery dealer for a few minutes to get them to do the DMV paperwork.

The biggest caveat is make sure you have a solid and full understanding of what the courtesy delivery dealer is going to do for the money you pay them. I, and many others, didn't get a tank of gas or explanation of the car's features. Not a big deal but they basically just received the car off the transport and gave it to me for which I paid them $250, and then argued for them to do the DMV paperwork. Not a bad deal for them, huh?

AlaskaPaul

Thanks RickT, not only for the detailed answer, but also for taking the time to do it. I really appreciate it.

AlaskaPaul

Glen e

Have you had a face to face with the courtesy dealer yet? I recommend you go and see what each other's expectations are....see if you can meet the service advisor/manager and the general manager.

nmvettec7

Glen e has made a very important point here.

You have the responsibility to make sure that any expectations on your part are made very clear to the dealership that will receive the car.

You are paying a "service fee" and make sure that the dealership fully understands what you expect. And you have to fully understand what the dealership is going to do for the funds collected.

Are going to use this dealership for future service?

If so, make sure that the dealer understands that you have already made the choice to use his expertise for future service. Create a bond with the dealership service manager as Glen e suggests. The dealership will make money from the future service even when under warranty as the dealership charges GM back for under warranty services.

Call and make an appointment well in advance so you get to know the principles at the respective dealership.

Corvette ED

If you live in Maryland why didn't you buy the car from Criswell?

AlaskaPaul

Thanks, that's a good idea, and I had already gone to talk to the service manager two weeks ago, before I had known I was doing courtesy delivery, to talk to him about the 500 mile oil changes.

AlaskaPaul

I went to Criswell a week before I placed my order, test drove a C7, and tried to negotiate a price. I rejected them because their discount wasn't even close to MacMulkin.

DAFFYDRUNK

Pretty sure my courtesy dealer is doing the minimal. Things I worry about is messing up the car lifting it during PDI and joyriding. Dealer I'm using may have never had a C7 yet, so the desire to go for a ride might be strong. They'd have to put gas in it to joyride though. How much gas do they come with?

nmvettec7

When the MSO was sent to me, the 2015 C7 mileage was listed at 5 miles. When the car was delivered it had 27 miles on it. Someone went for a joy ride. I asked the dealer about it, they would not provided any answers. My dealer was a mid sized Corvette Forum dealership.

My car was shipped with a "full" tank of gasoline.

DAFFYDRUNK

Not sure, but I think when they deliver them they got just enough gas to get you to the gas station. Someone put gas in the car. I guess that's luck of the draw on a courtesy delivery. Sucks, but I guess I'd rather have someone beat on it for 20 miles than paying another $2k locally. As long as there's no damage...

mcnwil

I received my car last week through a courtesy dealer that I was unfamiliar with. They are about an hour away from me. What I did was call the contact person which was the son of the owner when I had a TPW. I went easy with him at that point just introducing myself and that I would contact him prior to shipment. When I contacted him with the car in route he seemed to have an attitude and even regretted agreeing to the courtesy delivery. I informed him that I was not expecting him to perform all of the normal delivery process. I only wanted the mechanical items checked, no gas, no explanations, etc. He was good with that. I met the truck at the dealership and observed the unloading, uncovering and most of the PDI. It all went well and they were very cooperative in letting me in the shop during this. The first thing I did when the car came off the truck was photo the mileage, I knew it was zero when I left it at the factory! It had 2 miles on it. I explained that I did not expect to see many more miles on it, he said they normally do a 5 mile drive for PDI and I agreed to that. The car had 7 miles on it when I came back to get it and they retained all of my paperwork. My best recommendation is try to go easy with the demands and meet in person ahead of time if possible. I felt like I had to smooze him some since I did not buy it from him. I did not want to be demanding or too harsh up front since as long as he had my car he held the leverage. Explaining to him where I was coming from and what I wanted seemed to work out for me. Also ensure this dealer has certified Corvette techs. This dealer although small does a fair amount of Vette work and numerous engine replacements with VIR raceway nearby.

nmvettec7

The car was delivered and transported with a full tank of gas. The car was delivered directly to my residence and I was present when the driver unloaded the car. The dealership in Mo. filled up the car.

DAFFYDRUNK

That makes sense then. So it was courtesy delivered to a dealer that then delivered it to you. I was referring to right off the transport truck. I was thinking there's just enough gas to get the car to a gas station and that's about it.

nmvettec7

There was no courtesy delivery. The dealer in Mo. filled up the car with a full tank, had it loaded on the transport and was delivered directly to me. No middleman involved.