Richie Fazio

Hi All. 10 year forum member here. So a couple months ago my apartment building in Yonkers/Bronxville NY caught fire and the entire building was damaged from either fire or water damage. My gf and I lost just about everything in our apt and to make matters worse the garage where I kept my 2009 c6 with 28k miles was flooded - my car was completely totaled. I loved that car and intended to keep it forever... we found a new apt and now I’m searching for a new vette - ideally a 2015-2018 gray Z06 m7 with comp seats. Last week I found a 2015 shark gray m7 Z06 3lz w comp seats and 5,800 miles at a dealer in Newburgh NY. I reached out and they said it was for sale for $60k. I made an appt to go see it and drive it yesterday and my buddy and I drove up in his 17 WGG GS.

We saw the car and overall the exterior and interior only had had a few scratches but nothing too serious. We said OK looks good now let’s see how she drives. The dealer said that they don’t allow for test drives on Zs because apparently a young guy tested one a while back at a dealer and crashed it (I am 33)... instead he got approval from his mgr to let me drive it around the parking lot once lol. He put it in eco mode and we drove 10 mph in a circle. I amused him and went inside to crunch numbers. All in with taxes and extended warranty the cost was about $70k. He said that the price they quoted me at $60k was low and that they would honor it but it was currently listed at $66k. I said we were going to grab lunch and would be back after.

At lunch I got a call from dealer saying someone was there looking at the car and they asked if I wanted To put a deposit down to hold the car. I said no and I’d be back in 20min. I went back and with no surprise the car wasn’t sold. I was honest and said I like the car but can’t purchase it without driving it. I explained that I wasn’t looking to hammer it I was simply trying to get it up to highway speeds to test each gear and ensure there was no vibrations or anything odd. They said that for a $2k deposit they would allow me but only if I took the car assuming everything was ok. I replied saying sorry but that’s redic to have to do that for a simple test drive in a used car. They said regardless that the car would be sold end of day to auction. I shook their hand and got into our car to leave. The sales mgr came out and asked me how I was turning away from a 60k priced car. I said I cannot make this type of purchase without driving it. It’s simply too much money and big decision to not give it a fair ride and think about it for a day. I mentioned that regardless it was going to auction so the car would be sold. He replied saying it no longer would be going to auction... we ended up leaving after that. My questions is

I can see them being reluctant to test drive a new Z but has anyone seen this with a used one? Do you think there was something wrong with it which made them not want me to drive it?



Thank you!

Gixxerman

Sounds pretty fishy, plenty of good legitimate deals out there.. going to auction? hmmmm run away King Arthur Run Away

ssmith512

If the dealer talks and acts like a douche bag, then they are a douche bag and dont deserve your hard earned money.

ShagVette

Post the dealer/VIN here, see if we can track it's history.

ZR1Bob

Sounds like these are not guys you want to deal with. Calling to say someone else wants to buy it but we'll hold it for you with a deposit is an old trick to get you to commit and good dealers don't do things like that. If they are really going to take to auction shortly, (a) they will get much less than $60k for it and (b) they would only do so if it has been on their lot for 60-90 days and they are unable to sell it, probably due to having paid too much for it on trade and therefore having to ask too much money. If you really like the car I would suggest offering $55k since a test drive is probably worth about a $5k discont. Better yet, Call Mike Furman at Criswell Chevrolet or his successor if he has retired. They have a rep for treating people well and offering good deals. A couple other good dealers in the northeast as well like Kerbeck and MacMulkin. Check the forum vendor directly for car deaerls.--Bob

Richie Fazio

Here it is. Also we asked if they dealer would drive and take it up to speed while I sat in passenger seat and they said no...

http://www.bartonchevrolet.com/Vehic...model=Corvette

dvilin

Kind of ridiculous, no way would I purchase a used or new Vette without a test drive. I would do exactly what you did and walk away.

Gary '09 C6

Rich,

IMO you did the right thing. Test drives for (non-exotic) used cars shouldn't be an issue for any dealer. Plenty of other examples
to choose from--keep looking. Sorry to hear about losing your personal possessions, but glad both your g-f & you are OK.

Gary

ss2z06

I’m sorry about the trauma you’ve just gone through in your life but happy to hear it sounds like all is going back to normal. Frankly it’s a used car. It’s bs to not be able to drive it. The dealer and you have insurance. Maybe if it were brand new and a rare model I’d understand without a deposit. $60k is no swinging deal. Find another and don’t look back.

Richie Fazio

Hi Gary. Nice to hear from you and thanks for the kind words. Hope all is well with you. I’ll keep you posted on the search!

dmaxx3500

there are 20+ on autotrader for $55-65k

all colors and some with 2,000 miles to 20,000 miles

Bryan Peroni

With all the games they played make it seem fishy. That said, the dealer that sold me my 2015 Z would not allow a test drive either until a deal was done. I’ve bought and sold a fair number of sports bikes over the years and no rest rides is pretty normal in that world so I never gave it much thought at the time. My Z06 wasa GM certified vehicle with super low milesso I didn’t mind and I never did drive it until I took it home.

23/C8Z

They were never going to sell you that car at 60k.


When it sounds to good to be true... well then you know....

You may find a private sale for that price but that's someone who is impatient. Keep looking and check the classifieds here.. if you time the ask right you'll get it.

Are you able to pay cash for it? Or cashiers check through credit union etc?

Reason I ask is my buddy is a wholesaler and he Carries more than 25k on him at any given time (secured in his truck) so that he doesn't miss out on that insane deal on his way to wherever. Same guy has a 3 million dollar credit line through his business. He established all that buy starting at half price offers lol.

If you need to finance? Buy it from a Chevy dealer. A reputable chevy dealer. Someone like a Mike Furman @Criswell Corvette for example, has such a HUGE customer base, if you speak with him and let him know exactly what you want he can find it... I'm telling you. Worth the time to check him out.

Good luck brother. The C7 Z06 is an animal. Best performance supercar beating bargain of our lifetimes.

Donuts

Did anyone run the VIN ? The price at $60k was the top and strange that the sales fool didn’t offer to drive you down the highway. Took a test drive and ride in a new 911 last week and he practically made me rage it out.

Richie Fazio

Not sure yet. Yes I test drove a new 911 a year ago and I drove it normally at speeds and then the guy who took me out was someone who used to race Porsche’s in Germany and he showed me what it could do. He said Porsche’s thing is that they let you drive anything because the car will sell itself once you see what it can do. They should have done that yesterday w this Z06...

Prime Target

Rich, I live about 5 miles from that dealer. They are known to be difficult to deal with. They don’t move many corvettes and the ones they have sit for months because they don’t negotiate and cant compete with the bigger corvette dealers. I’ve never used them for anything and wouldn’t b any of my cars there. I’m not the least bit surprised that you got a few different stories from the sales crew on what they were doing with the car. The only Z I heard that was wrecked there was a demo being driven by the owner. And that was about 3 years ago. If you’re interested in more info on them PM me. Good luck.

Richie Fazio

Appreciate it. Sending you one!

rjacobs

I always believe this is a BS line from a dealer who doesnt WANT to compete with another dealer. To me, its a sales tactic. And this isnt just on Corvette.

I have bought a lot of cars and typically use other dealerships offers on similar cars to negotiate. Ive used various "big dealers" around the country to do this as well as local dealers. I have a job that allows me to travel around the country for free so I can use that to my advantage also(although airline tickets are so cheap these day anybody really can fly and drive).

So far it has worked at every dealer I have bought a car from. Big, small, medium sized dealers. New and used cars.

When I bought my 19 Z06 2 months ago, I used Kerbeck and a few others to show 12% off MSRP plus $3000 owner loyalty. They said "oh we arent that big, we cant get close to there" and I said "ok, ill fly to new jersey and drive a car back" "no you wont" "yes, here is what I do for a living" "oh, ok, you are serious...ok lets talk"... and they matched that price.

I say if a dealer wants to move a car, they will move a car and the "we arent that big, we cant compete with the big dealers" sales tactic is B.S...

Just my perspective after doing lots of car deals.

Richie Fazio

I think this is a true statement. Again for me this issue really wasn’t about the price of the car, more trying to get an understanding of why they wouldn’t let me do a simple test drive on a used Z06 to ensure theyre weren’t any shakes or rattles at 50-60mph.

rjacobs

i dont think thats exclusive to that dealer on cars like this... Now, to not even allow you to ride along with a sales manager or what not, on a used car, thats a bit odd.

The dealer I bought my car from new has a base model manual and automatic they use for test drives. Beyond that, they dont allow test drives on any new Corvettes(not sure on used). They dont even keep gas in the cars and they have the new owner drive the car around the corner with the sales manager to the gas station to fill it up as part of the delivery process. I was afraid of running out of gas on the 1 mile trip to the gas station(the needle was bottomed out) and the car took like 17.5 gallons or something like that so it was EMPTY.

But as has been said, lots of cars out there all over the country that are an airline ticket away, especially without having a trade in, that makes the process so simple.