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2023 Stingray Small Dealership Allocation Question
Hi folks; this might be a retread but I haven’t seen anything that addresses this in the discussions.
Anyway, here’s the backstory: I’m number 2 for C8 Stingray allocation at a dealer in a relatively smaller town that only gets about 3 allocations a year for C8. I put myself on the list July of 2021 and was number 6 at the time; a few folks got their cars, and a few dropped off the list, so I’m getting there.
My question is this: anyone know when I can generally expect allocation? I.E. if this dealer only gets 3 allocations per year and I’ve got one guy ahead of me waiting for his allocation, assuming the guy in front of me takes his allocation, am I looking at a 6-8 month wait to get my allocation, do small dealers get them all up front, or are they last out? Is there a method to how smaller dealers are queued around the bigger dealers with more allocations?
I do realize there may be too many variables to answer definitively, but was hoping someone might know the system well enough to shed some light for my expectation management. Thanks in advance!
Last edited by KiowaRanger150U; Apr 8, 2022 at 04:58 PM.
There's really no way to know. GM doesn't publicize the details of it's allocation process, and for any given dealer it can vary from month to month, so not always a linear path. If your dealer gets 3 a year, that could translate to 1 every 4 months, or they could get 1 a month early in the year, or get none at all until the year is almost over.
I think it's very unlikely that, as a general rule, smaller dealers get theirs all at the front, though. The dealer could tell you how it's typically worked for them in the past, but even that might not be accurate going forward.
There's really no way to know. GM doesn't publicize the details of it's allocation process, and for any given dealer it can vary from month to month, so not always a linear path. If your dealer gets 3 a year, that could translate to 1 every 4 months, or they could get 1 a month early in the year, or get none at all until the year is almost over.
I think it's very unlikely that, as a general rule, smaller dealers get theirs all at the front, though. The dealer could tell you how it's typically worked for them in the past, but even that might not be accurate going forward.
Yeah; that’s kind of what I figured. I’m working directly with the manager, and he’s a great guy, but they don’t really deal with these cars as much so it’s not something that’s high on his daily management priorities. He knows about as much as I do in terms of when and how the allocations are sorted.
I did an analysis of the 2021 top 100 dealers and discovered that they only delivered 39% of the C8 produced. The bottom of the list showed those dealers sold about 35 cars a year. So 60% of the cars were thru dealers that sold under 35 cars a year. It’s kind of an interesting analysis.
I used a small town dealer and had good luck. It took me 4 months to get a car...
It really is the luck of the draw and they had not received another allocation while my car was in the order system. The sales manager said that they expected they would get another allocation once my car was sold.
I did an analysis of the 2021 top 100 dealers and discovered that they only delivered 39% of the C8 produced. The bottom of the list showed those dealers sold about 35 cars a year. So 60% of the cars were thru dealers that sold under 35 cars a year. It’s kind of an interesting analysis.
Another way to frame that is to consider that of out of 2,991 dealers, the top 100 dealers that sell the most corvettes makes up a little more than 3% of Chevy dealers. 3% of Chevy dealers sell 39% of all Corvettes. That’s still a pretty significant share. 60% of all other sales are spread across 2,891 dealers. So let’s assume that GM sold 33,041 Corvettes in 2021 (that’s what Google tells me anyway). 61% of that is 20,155. Divided among 2,891 dealers comes to an average of 7 allocations per store if everyone got equal allocation. Does tell an interesting story. My big takeaway is that while the bigger dealers are probably great, their popularity may have you waiting longer, as it might be more expeditious to be number 5 at a small dealership that only gets 4 allocations a year than be number 1,400 at a dealer that gets hundreds a year. The one thing I’m finding is that a fair number of people on these lists drop off over time. Either thy face hardship and can’t swing it when their number comes up, or they change their mind, or
had orders in other dealers and already got theirs, etc.
I used a small town dealer and had good luck. It took me 4 months to get a car...
It really is the luck of the draw and they had not received another allocation while my car was in the order system. The sales manager said that they expected they would get another allocation once my car was sold.
Lucky indeed! That’s probably the fastest order to delivery I’ve heard of yet.
I will say in my case, I’m lucky my number DIDN’T come up that soon because when I put mine in, I hadn’t yet convinced Household 06 that buying a Corvette was a good idea (she’s on board now but still doesn’t think so), and needed to raise capital.
I went through a small dealer (6 to 7 cars a year) to purchase my 2021. It went well with a 10 month wait from order to delivery. I now have a 2023 on order with them and am next on the list. I have recently learned something about the smaller dealers though. If an option is on partial constraint, they are much less likely to get a car available with the constrained option. If mag ride is still on constraint when my car comes up, I will likely not be able to get it. @RUFAST? has experienced this first hand. He was working with 2 dealerships. One was small and the other a big one. The smaller one could not get a car with mag ride, and the larger dealer could. He ordered his car through the larger dealer and got what he wanted.
Good luck to you! Even with what I have learned, I am very happy to be working with a smaller dealer! To me it is a much more relaxed and personal kind of experience.
I was in the same boat. I placed deposits at 6 different Dealerships. 3 deposits at Top Eight Dealerships one at a Dealership that was getting a lot of Allocations (5 per month) and only 46 people on the waiting list. The General Manager at a Small Dealership near me told me he could get a Allocation because they normally get 1 or 2 a year. I quickly placed a Deposit with them because I knew I had the other Deposits which I was looking at a years wait, so placing a Deposit with the Small Dealership was using house money. To make a long story short I got the Small Dealership Allocation first in 4 months. GM’s Allocation process is completely random so know one can Precisely answer your question. My Small Dealership General Manager did tell me that he was constantly on his Rep trying to get a Allocation each month. Ironically enough my Small Dealership got my Allocation (February2022) the same time as last year (February of 2021). So find out their past maybe 3 year track record, in terms of dates which might allow you to better predict future date Allocations. But Small Dealerships are a good option. Good Luck!
FYSA, my dealer has an upcoming allocation for me this cycle. Will build and send order to GM next Thursday and should receive confirmation hopefully the following Tuesday. As it sits, I put in a reservation mid July 2021, so at my small town dealer I got allocation in right at one year. Taking delivery may vary. The last 2023 C8 he moved went from allocation to delivery in two months. I will continue update here for those who are looking for experiences and estimates on delivery timelines.
My local dealer gets somewhere around 12 C8's a year. In discussing their allocation with one of their top managers, he told me they don't know when they are getting cars until the actual allocation opens up. Some months they get a couple and some months, nothing. It's hit or miss with the small dealers. Even the top volume dealers don't know for sure. I remember Ciocca getting close to 300 allocations one month last year and the next month, they got around 60. There are many variables, some within the dealer's control but most outside of their control.
yeah my small dealer local just wouldn't bother to order mine. But low and behold they have a black one in the show room for 139k. As of yesterday just plain scum.
Update for those researching small dealer timelines, my order was accepted 14 July 2022 at 3000 status w tentative TPW of 9/5. (Non Z w MRSC)
I've used a small dealer that gets about 10 allocations in a typical year twice. My 2021 came in at 6 months. The 2023 order was placed on June 17th, 2022, TPW 8-1, and is now at 3400 with a VIN and production, based on the spreadsheet that gets posted every morning, should be 8-2 or 8-3 depending on the output at Bowling Green. Then should be at the dealer about two to three weeks later depending on Jack Cooper getting a truck headed this way. 2LT with Z51, Mag, lift, etc.
So roughly two months from placing the order to getting it. At MSRP.
I've used a small dealer that gets about 10 allocations in a typical year twice. My 2021 came in at 6 months. The 2023 order was placed on June 17th, 2022, TPW 8-1, and is now at 3400 with a VIN and production, based on the spreadsheet that gets posted every morning, should be 8-2 or 8-3 depending on the output at Bowling Green. Then should be at the dealer about two to three weeks later depending on Jack Cooper getting a truck headed this way. 2LT with Z51, Mag, lift, etc.
So roughly two months from placing the order to getting it. At MSRP.
A small dealer with an allocation will get the car just as fast, if not faster, than a remote "top 5" dealer. If you can negotiate the deal you want, and get it delivered at that price without any last minute changes, you're gold.
My local dealer gets about 20 a year. He quoted me a 24-36 month wait, and then wanted an ADM of $5,000. I tried every small dealer within a four hour radius and never found one that would promise a car in less than two years. At that point I sent a deposit to MM with a ten month delivery estimate.
There are some smaller dealers, without a large waiting list, who can get an open allocation in a short period of time … and deliver at MSRP. You have to be very lucky to find that dealer, and the odds are against that actually happening. I wish I had been able to find that rare gem, but it didn’t happen.
Congratulations to those who were able to pull this off. 👍🏻
My local dealer gets about 20 a year. He quoted me a 24-36 month wait, and then wanted an ADM of $5,000. I tried every small dealer within a four hour radius and never found one that would promise a car in less than two years. At that point I sent a deposit to MM with a ten month delivery estimate.
There are some smaller dealers, without a large waiting list, who can get an open allocation in a short period of time … and deliver at MSRP. You have to be very lucky to find that dealer, and the odds are against that actually happening. I wish I had been able to find that rare gem, but it didn’t happen.
Congratulations to those who were able to pull this off. 👍🏻
I lucked out in that my next door neighbor happens to be the GM of our local Chevy dealer and he’s just a fantastic and trustworthy guy. He didn’t mandate any deposit at any point and I have a signed buyer order at MSRP (actually 1500 below). I did have to wait a year to get allocation (now at 3000, TPW 9/5), but he only gets 3-4 C8s per year and it’s been worth it to deal with a team I feel I can trust.
I did an analysis of the 2021 top 100 dealers and discovered that they only delivered 39% of the C8 produced. The bottom of the list showed those dealers sold about 35 cars a year. So 60% of the cars were thru dealers that sold under 35 cars a year. It’s kind of an interesting analysis.
That is because there are way too many Chevrolet dealerships. There are 20 in the DC metro area in a 25 mile radius of my home, and that doesn't include Buick, Cadillac, and GMC dealers. It also doesn't include the #3 largest seller (Criswell) which is 45 miles away.
It seems like most towns in the US with a population over 50K has one.
That is because there are way too many Chevrolet dealerships. There are 20 in the DC metro area in a 50 mile radius of my home, and that doesn't include Buick, Cadillac, and GMC dealers. It seems like most towns in the US with a population over 50K has one.
Another way to frame that is to consider that of out of 2,991 dealers, the top 100 dealers that sell the most corvettes makes up a little more than 3% of Chevy dealers. 3% of Chevy dealers sell 39% of all Corvettes. That’s still a pretty significant share. 60% of all other sales are spread across 2,891 dealers. So let’s assume that GM sold 33,041 Corvettes in 2021 (that’s what Google tells me anyway). 61% of that is 20,155. Divided among 2,891 dealers comes to an average of 7 allocations per store if everyone got equal allocation. Does tell an interesting story. My big takeaway is that while the bigger dealers are probably great, their popularity may have you waiting longer, as it might be more expeditious to be number 5 at a small dealership that only gets 4 allocations a year than be number 1,400 at a dealer that gets hundreds a year.
I used a small town dealer that got 3 allocations per year. I was number one on the list for 23's and it took about 2 months total time to get my car. On the other hand I have also heard about small dealerships taking much longer than that. Theres really no telling how fast it will be and the dealer couldn't tell you even if they wanted to. Dealers just do the "about X amount of months thing" and if it goes faster they say wow this was fast and if its slow they say it was just a guestimate. Its hard to stay patient but hang in there.