Corvette Forum Editor

Corvette sales in the U.S. take a dive, while Canada’s demand grows.

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i3kc

It was the 0% Financing rate for 48 months in Canada that made me pull the trigger this month.

DAFFYDRUNK

It was my understanding that allocation was pretty thin in Canada. Now that there's less demand here, the Canadian dealers are probably getting allocation. Most of the allocation seemed to be in the south. C7s are still kinda rare around here, but are about a numerous as Buick SUVs in south Florida.

roadbike56

The Editor is correct. The bigger question is, why the decline in the US? I'm glad there are more C7s going to Canada, but that's not an answer to the slow US sales.

C7DriverOnt

When I bought my '14 there were 12-15 month waits in Canada, I expect it is just demand that has been waiting in line. Allocations were awful for the first couple of years. I had to go to Toronto to get mine as the two city dealers (city of 400k) were only getting one each the first year. Nutty !

Patman

We have quite the weird market for C7s up here. My plan all along has been to pick up a used C7 but because there was such low allocation up here, the prices on used ones really hasn't dropped at all, in fact it's higher than a new 2014 was in some cases! For instance, back in 2014 the starting MSRP was $55,000 Canadian, but right now in Ontario there are only a handful of 2014s for sale and all of them are $65,000 or more! Because prices haven't dropped like I thought they would, I feel it makes way more sense for me to buy a new one next year. I don't plan on loading it up with too many options, so a 2018 the way I want it has an MSRP of only $71,000 CDN, barely higher than the prices I'm seeing right now on used 2014s (granted, those are Z51 cars that are loaded up) And dealers seem to be knocking $3000 to $4000 off MSRP up here so that makes the price differential between new and used even closer. This could be why sales on new ones is going up so much here, as a lot of people could be in a position like me and were waiting to grab a deal on a used one, and then realized they might as well just buy new!

The nice thing about the C7s holding their value so well up here is it has a trickle down effect too and I've seen the value of my C6 holding steady ever since I bought it in 2013 (it's a 2005 model, so it's depreciation curve bottomed out)

Woodson

themonk

I was looking at an ad the dealership where I bought my car from back in December 2013 put in the paper. Prices for a Stingray ranged from 91k up to 105k, these were all coupes, 8 spds, 3LT (although they didn't list the trim they did say all had NAV), some with competition seats, some were Z51s, some with PDR....my point is that the least expensive one they had advertised was a yellow Stingray with matching calipers, comp seats, automatic and NAV (all the options they listed) and it was priced at $91,870......for a 2016, they were all 2016's, my car is a 2LT with comp seats, NPP, 7 spd, solid roof, gloss black rims, Z51, custom plague and cost me all in including taxes 77k.........have prices really jumped that high in 2.5 years? To replace my car with all the options it has you're looking at well over 90k, that's lunatical for a car that is basically the same as it was 2.5 years ago.

murtro

The fact the 2014's haven't gone down much is a direct reflection of our Canadian $ exchange rate being much worse now than it was then and the price for new model years increasing. I got the green light from my wife on a new 2014 3 years ago...and like you thought I'd just buy one for 70% in a few years and less than 25,000 miles on it. That didn't work for me either but last fall (Sept) GM gave 10% off and getting close to winter I was lucky to find EXACTLY what I wanted in inventory and I pulled the trigger on a brand new 2016 for about 18% off MSRP and less than that 2014 was going for 3 years earlier.

If you have the patience - wait until fall when they are wanting to get rid of the '17's.

murtro

CAD to USD

2013 0.971164 (when 2014's were selling)
2014 0.905912
2015 0.782992
2016 0.755107
2017 0.749239 (today = puke)

JoesC5

While the sales of Corvettes have increased in Canada, the number sold is still very small

Patman

There isn't a huge inventory of 2017s right now that are close to what I would be ordering, so the chances of me finding one leftover in the fall that meets my needs are slim. Besides, the timing of my purchase works better for the spring of 2018. They only raised the base price on the 2018 by $50, plus added the Z51 style wheels as the standard wheel on the base model, so that's a better reason for me to get a 2018 as well.

roadbike56

Canadians: What happens if you cross over the boarder and buy a C7 in the US? I get the feeling the tax consequence must be substantial or that would be happening. Please educate me.
Thanks in advance.

drew_c6

I'd wager a bet at least part is due to the incoming 2018 ZR1 and the growing rumors of a mid-engine Zora and the C8.

thill444

The answers are actually pretty easy for that:
1. The C7 is on the fifth year of production with little to no changes over the previous years. Demand is always higher the first few years of a new model release and then tapers off as the car ages. This is nothing new and expected.

2. Car sales across the entire car industry are down in 2018. New cars cost more now than ever and consumer demand has been focused on SUV's and trucks for sometime. Expensive sports cars are not flying off the lots.

Go look at the whole Porsche sports car lineup. Cayman, 911, and Boxster sales are way down (much more than Corvette) year over year in terms of percentages.

I have no idea why the author of this article would expect Corvette sales in the US to be surging when the car is in it's fifth year of production, the incentives are okay at best in the US, and US car sales are trending down.

i3kc

I'll take a simplified stab at this looking at a base model with no options excluding Freight / PDI / Delivery / Admin Etc.

US Vehicle: $55450 USD MSRP less 10% Markup = $49905 USD. Current Promotion is 10% Below cost = $44914.50. Assume we buy in Buffalo which is 8.75 sales tax = $48844.52 USD. Now exchange into Canadian at 1.33 = $64963.21 CAD.

The MSRP in Canada for the same vehicle is $64895. Our tax rate in Ontario is 13% and you will pay that on a new vehicle purchased in Ontario and on a a import (5% at the border and 8% to register the vehicle with the Ministry of Transportation).

Yes, we would essential pay double tax (US and Canada) but it's the exchange rate makes it not economical. Back when we were close to par in 2013, many Canadians would import cars from the states due to the favourable exchange rate.

In Canada, there is such a limited supply, there is little discount to be had on the Vette during peak sales season. If you wait until Winter, sure you can get close to cost, but those looking for a Vette close to a base model will have a very hard time finding one.

Patman

GM dealers will not sell new cars to Canadians, they can get stiff penalties for doing so. They can sell used though, so some unscrupulous dealers might label a new car as a demo and try to get around it. But there are also warranty issues too.