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I’m looking to purchase a C7 Grand Sport but a friend told me to wait until winter time for prices to drop. I think he has a point since summer time is “sports car season”. But does a price drop typically happen?
Assuming you are referring to new as you didn't state in your OP? If so, in my experience, while season can have an impact, not so much in today's C7 market, which
more depends on inventory on hand (thus sales promotions, or lack there of) and timing of new model year etc.
Look more towards searching the forum sponsor dealers (regardless of season) as opposed to buying local to find just what you want at the most desired pricing.
Note, there is added costs with buying out of state, however ways to negate these costs which will still result in substantial savings in many cases.
Last edited by Kevin A Jones; 06-24-2018 at 09:48 AM.
Sales go down in the Winter. As for prices if you are dealing with a dealership in the snow belt areas they may be more inclined to negotiate lower than they normally do. But waiting for a big Winter price drop is doing nothing more than depriving yourself some valued seat time in a Vette.
It really does, at least for convertibles, though not that much. Basically, assume the supply stays about the same. But fewer people are actively searching and "competing' for those same cars so it lowers the red demand curve, which in turn drops the price (P*).
I’m looking to purchase a C7 Grand Sport but a friend told me to wait until winter time for prices to drop. I think he has a point since summer time is “sports car season”. But does a price drop typically happen?
Thank you!
“Generally,” yes, but any statistics to support this claim may be skewed as dealerships typically offer larger discounts on previous MY inventory, which often occur around the same time. However, “winter” is a factor, particular from the big three, which are located in the NE. Dealerships in the South are obviously less affected by seasonal inclement weather and can maintain higher pricing, but may still offer discounts on previous MY inventory, albeit, not as high... So, not a “myth” in a literal sense.
Nonetheless, there has not been any major changes with the C7 GS, so if you want a new GS, then you should be able to find a leftover model that is already discounted. You can save a few thousand and enjoy the car now. GL.
Armchair Grandsport Market analyst here. Been watching the market closely since ~Feb.
Yes C7 Grandsport prices will be driven down. Wait for it...
I don't believe it'll be for the entire Winter (Dec. - Mar.), not as a blanket rule / condition. The market could begin moving in the Autumn (Oct/Nov).
IMO it'll oscillate more frequently for brief periods in certain locales. Kind of an "ebb and flow" on a cadence specific to the C7 GS.
As mentioned above, keep an eye out for New/Old Stock on Dealer lots (talkin' more about 2018's but a few 2017's will still be out there). Those gotta go!!
These Dealers will provide downward pressure on Used prices. Scenarios will arise where you'll be able to buy a brand new 2018 GS for a few thousand over a Used GS.
The closer we get to the release of the C8, the greater the downward pressure on pricing.
Yes, late winter/early spring is the time to buy. I used Car Gurus to track cars over several months. The car I bought had been for sale over 120 days. Dealers really hate a car sitting. When I started tracking it the car was at 70. I paid 56. Now that it’s summer I’ve checked on similarly optioned cars to mine and the prices are all back up 5-10k.
As others have said, its' purely a supply and demand thing. If a supply backlog develops because of over-production and depressed winter sales, manufacturers add incentives to clear the backlog. However, many manufacturers try to control this by cutting back on production. Its no longer as simple as saying that prices go up in the summer and down in the winter.
Actually sales are pretty good during the winter months. A lot of people up north, will buy a new Corvette when the weather is bad, put it in the garage until the weather is nice, and they don't have to wait to be able to drive it in the spring and summer. That is especially true if their new Corvette is special ordered to their exact specs.
I think you might set yourself up for failure, meaning you may be looking for price drop (discount) that you might not find, if you do it may be something you really didn't want,,ex...color..options. I personally think if you set up your search engine properly, you can find 2017...with some great discounts...10-15 k off sticker.
Peace
I looked at the used C6 convertible I own now in August and it was more than I wanted to spend, I went back to the dealer the first week of October to look at a different car. The salesman said they still had the convertible I looked at earlier. I told him it was more than I wanted to spend. He said they had dropped the price $10,000 because of the season for convertibles. I wrote him a check for it.
You don't have to wait for Winter to get a great deal. Do an Internet search for what you want and you're going to find a great deal on one. Pretty simple to do.
During January and February of this year, MacMulkin was discounting 2018 coupes 20% off MSRP. Almost pulled the trigger on a WGG 1LT, but held off hoping for a new blue. Prayers answered - Elkhart Lake Blue starting October. Nevertheless, that 20% off was tempting.
Actually sales are pretty good during the winter months. A lot of people up north, will buy a new Corvette when the weather is bad, put it in the garage until the weather is nice, and they don't have to wait to be able to drive it in the spring and summer. That is especially true if their new Corvette is special ordered to their exact specs.
I took delivery of my factory ordered 2018 on Dec 20, 2017. I had figured that as typical up here in the winter, I'd have enough dry days to put about 500 to 1000 miles on it before spring arrived but it turned out we had very nice weather from the middle of January on, so even though the car sat in my garage from Dec 20 to Jan 20, I still managed to put about 2000-2500 miles on it before the official first day of spring.
Yes:
Corvette prices drop. In Nov 2017 GM, faced with an inventory overhang, dropped the leftover 2017 Z06 (only) 20% in price, for a short time. Other 2017 leftover models had similar but not exactly 20% discounts unilaterally. Next you look for dealers putting their skin in the game, and blanket GM multiple incentive offers, and IVC's (dealer held Individual Vehicle Coupons - $500 price reductions per coupon for the dealer to use on any car they wish to assign it to, maximum 8 IVC's per car).
No:
GS prices are hot, hot hot. I looked from June 2016 until March 2018 and ended up with a Z51, because the desirable GS's sell quickly, even less desirable GS 1LT models go faster than Z06's and Stingrays. So the hottest deals are on the cars still sitting on the lot as the discount season progresses. Both my brother and I ended up buying in March 2018. he saved $25K off a loaded 2017 Z06 and I saved $15k off a "stripper" 2017 Z51 1lt. But I never saw a GS i liked that I coulda gotten at the price I wanted to pay. They sold too quick to drop too far in the monthly deeper discount reductions. YMMV
2017 Leftovers, Nothing tastes finer!
Last edited by SilverGhost; 06-24-2018 at 03:38 PM.
New car pricing today is driven by factory incentives...period. There is not enough mark-up from invoice to MSRP to make a huge difference from dealer to dealer unless you have someone deluded enough to think they can get sticker for a new Corvette. Most of those guys are gone and won't return until the C8 is here.
The incentives come in many different forms but at the end of the day are given to the dealers for one purpose...making them do exactly what the factory wants. Basically the factory wants the dealer to buy more inventory, produce good CSI, and have a facility to meet their wishes and standards. The reason people think they are cheaper in the winter is because that is when the majority of the major incentives take place. The incentives then are on the dealer's current inventory so as to make them move so as to sell the dealer more product. That inventory they are trying to move is going to be one model year old normally.
If the buyer is happy buying a previous model year so as to minimize their outlay for the new car, late fall and winter would be the time. If the buyer wants and is only happy with a current model year car and is not impressed by saving a thousand dollars on a $70,000 car, buy it when you want it.
I assume it would depend on whether you live in state that has nasty winters. Because waiting til winter means it will likely just sit in the garage so buying now means you get to drive it the next five months
I looked at the used C6 convertible I own now in August and it was more than I wanted to spend, I went back to the dealer the first week of October to look at a different car. The salesman said they still had the convertible I looked at earlier. I told him it was more than I wanted to spend. He said they had dropped the price $10,000 because of the season for convertibles. I wrote him a check for it.
I bet you could had negotiated close to that $10,000 discount when you first looked at it. Just asking the price of a car isn't negotiating. And when they offered you the $10,000 discount, you could had negotiated for a larger discount. It sounds like you turned down their first offer, then accepted the 2nd lower offer in October.
06-24-2018, 09:21 AM
Do Prices Really Go Down in Winter?
