I'm sure this is a stupid question to ask here, kind of like would you buy a Corvette vs.....
Anyone do it and think after, wow that wasn't really worth it at all?
Quite the expensive proposition if you ask me.
We already pay an outrageous delivery charge, then pay again, travel etc.
Flames begin.

 

Everyone should go to the museum, and tour the factory, at least once and I could see doing one car delivery there. Me, I'd pass.

 

I've done three NCM deliveries, and really enjoyed each one, although I do agree that the price is getting up there. My first one in 2007 was $500, the second was $1000, and now it's up to $1500. However, you do get the red carpet treatment, tour of the plant and they do a very good job of walking you through all the controls and features on the car. Also, the guys in the delivery department do a very good job on the PDI, and I have talked to some of them and they know the car very well and are very good at getting the car ready for you. The delivery department at NCM is very good at keeping you informed as to when the car will be ready and they will accommodate your schedule as much as possible. I've got a '23 HTC Stingray, and considering adding a Z06 to the collection, and would definitely do NCM delivery again.

 

I watched enough YouTube video on NCM delivery. I never saw a thing that made me feel like anyone is treated really special or got some service I would feel FOMO. So for me, it was find the car on a dealer lot I wanted and get it home ASAP for any updates it needed. Like the front grill guards. I would never want my radiators beat up with road rocks so I put those on at 10 miles. I trailered my ERAY home from the dealer. It was too far a drive for me in a brand new car that too many C8 seem to have hit or miss type of DCT issues. So far in 1000 miles I have no DCT issues at least.

Now the factory tour I would want to do. The FRAME video on YT of the C8 build looks amazing. That tour is rumor to come back in 2025.

 

That would be a simple "nay" for me. I did watch two of my C6's go down the line and saw my 24 on the line in October 2023....That's enough for me...

 

Hard pass for me, maybe a bit much for a few photo ops.

 

I found it to be a wonderful experience.
The people at the Museum are second to none.
My wife was not doing well, Lupus flare up. They took really great care of her during the visit.
The food at the cafe was also excellent.
I will do it again on my next car.

 

I've done the museum delivery twice - in 2021 and 2023 (both before the price went up from $995). For sure it is a good experience - especially if you haven't done the factory or museum tour. These events are very informative while you're personally attended to. One of the biggest benefits is the VERY low cost of any aftermarket installs that you want to have done (can't beat the price unless you do it yourself). Had special color engine cover, side skirts, front splitter, front grille guards done there, all for a very low cost. Lastly, it's a perfect time to spend a few days in Nashville (a blast) or do some of the bourbon trail - each a little over an hour away.

 

I'm sure that R8C Museum Delivery would be an enjoyable experience. However, still having to pay the standard $1695 Destination Charge, in addition to $1495 for R8C, just made no sense given that BGA is virtually adjacent to the NCM. So, it wasn't a difficult decision for me to pass on Museum Delivery.

 

I did NCM delivery on my 2008 in October of 2007....cost then, $500. It was worth it to get delivery and within a 4-hour drive of home. The BETTER value for me then, was the Buyer's Tour option GM offered......spent a day and a half with the car running along the assembly line and talking to the workers who were very nice and appreciative of me buying "their" car. I started the car for the first time....and I rode along with the drive off tech who ran it through the test booth and water test process....he even let me ride with him around the exterior bump track where they check for rattles or other issues. That was worth it! Today, NCM delivery....at $1,500? I'd probably pass. Kind of cool to see your car displayed in the NCM delivery area and the orientation to the car by NCM staffers is nice....but, at that price I would say no, mostly because I have seen it and done it before (of course in a less fancy facility that existed at the time). If you are well heeled and have not had the experience, probably something to do and check off your "bucket list."

 

I would not do a museum delivery. No reason for me. I like visiting the museum and factory, but I can't go with the delivery. Your paying for really nothing. The car has to be delivered and the dealer goes through all the necessary prep and delivery instructions to the customer.

 

The question is are you are you a boomer that is bored or do you need to feel special? If yes do it.
The museum/factory are like Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon. You go see it and then ok time to move on.
That being said I’ve been to the museum and factory twice.
I have never taken delivery of my ordered or new Corvettes at the museum for one big reason. I am not going to pay full shipping to have my car go across a parking lot and then PAY AGAIN to take my car out of said parking lot. You can bring it to me I paid for it. Not going to pay over $3200 with tax to go get my own car.
YMMV

 

I think it's worth doing once. I paid $995 for my 2023 and it was a good experience. I didn't do it again when I got my 2025.

 

I'd just get normal delivery at a dealer and then drive my corvette or fly out to the museum. It would be a lot cheaper that way. That $1500 could go towards a vacation.

 

Our C7 Museum delivery went from bad to worse. The weather was 10 F and icy, the factory was shut down for some reason, we toured it anyway. But with no one working to build cars, the assembly line was a ghost town. The Museum's delivery guy who was supposed to be an expert explaining the car was incompetent. Ask a question, his repeated response was you might want to check the user manual. He not knowing how the FOB worked, he'd left the top only partially down which killed the battery. The car wouldn't start for our grand exit. Late in the day, all the Museum techs had gone home. Our guy wanted to follow them asap. So there our car sat dead on the Museum floor. Dark outside and inside when we left it. That was the Bowling Green part. It was $1500 in airfare (likely $3000 today), hotel, and rental car in Nashville. Plus $2000 getting the car home. You have a long highway ride with gas hotel food or a paid shipping. For us, they figured to be the same cost. Plus add the RPO which was $995 back in the day. Most will tell you how swell it is. I will tell you it was not.

 

Interesting that those saying they won't do it are the ones that have never done it. I've done 2 NCM Deliveries - my 2014 C7 and my 2020 C8. In retrospect, I wish I had done NCM Delivery on my C5 and C6 too. If I'm still around to get a C9, it will be NCM Delivery. Not only is the delivery experience special, making a road trip out of going home is a great way to start off your Corvette ownership. For both deliveries, we planned road trips that completely avoided Interstates. Taking various national and state highways is really the way to see America. For the C7, we drove the entire Natchez Trace Parkway from the start near Nashville to the end in Natchez. From there, various state highways to home. For the C8, we did a stop in Bardstown (to visit some craft distilleries) and then took a variety of Scenic Byways heading home including Ozark National Riverways Scenic Drive, the Boston Mountains Scenic Drive, the Northwestern Arkansas Scenic Byway, and the Talimena Scenic Drive in both Arkansas and Oklahoma.

 

This is always a hot topic with opinions all over the map. I just did my 5th NCM delivery a couple of weeks ago. As this is my first C8, it was really helpful that Chris set the E-Ray driving modes and displays the way I wanted them. Good luck with getting a local dealer rep to spend that much time with your new car orientation. And the car was delivered in perfect condition.

As always, value will be in the mind of each individual. GM sets the price for R8C to control the number of takers of that RPO. Based on what a long time museum delivery host told me years ago, the museum gets less than half of that MSRP charge. The museum offers a $500 delivery event for already delivered vettes that is similar to R8C. So price complaints should be directed to GM, not NCM.

 

I'm sure the traveling through the countryside is great.
I've been to the NCM about 5 times in the last 20 or so years, enjoyed every visit regardless of weather. I've seen the museum deliveries sitting there in the main aisle, very nice, however that is something that I'm just not interested in. Due to my advancing age, most likely will not buy a new Vette again. I've got 3 older ones to keep me busy

 

I just took my second NCM delivery a little over two weeks ago. I took the first in 2022.

To answer the OP’s question directly, I have to say that if you feel the need to ponder the question yea or nay, then you are likely already leaning nay and you should probably go with your first mind as there are pros and cons to doing R8C delivery, and the cons are not obvious unless you’ve done R8C delivery before and know what to expect or do a lot of planning with lessons learned from folks here.

Here are the pros and (potential/possible) cons.

PROS:
-As has been mentioned in this thread, it’s an experience to do museum delivery as the staff really treat you like a VIP. If you’re a fan of the car, as I have been for my entire life, it’s like visiting the Holy Land. I’m honored that my wife and I bought a brick at the museum.

-The museum staff perform the pre-delivery inspection (PDI) on your car. The advantage of this is twofold. The museum staff, many former Bowling Green assembly workers, know what to look for in looking for flaws and if any are found, depending on the flaw, the car goes back to the factory for correction. The museum staff do a far better job of PDI than many dealerships.

-The staff give you as complete and thorough an orientation on your vehicle as you like. The staff member that accompanied me with my car set up everything before I arrived almost exactly how I would have set it up myself (e.g. how the stereo system sound is oriented, the drive mode settings, etc.).

-If you are a foodie, the Stingray Grill is pretty nice after taking delivery of a new Corvette.

-Depending on where you live in proximity to the museum, and if you’re driving the car home as opposed to using a carrier service at your own expense (the museum staff can assist you with recommended car transportation service providers), your car will be broken in while you’re driving it home. I’m 775 miles (by the route we took) from the museum to my doorstep.

CONS (these “cons” depend heavily upon your own point of view):

-The R8C option is currently $1463 (to be precise at current prices). Some people don’t think adding this cost is worth it considering the next con below.

-You have to make your way to Bowling Green at your own expense. Since you have no control over how quickly your car will be built and delivered to the museum, it can make planning your trip to pick it up a bit challenging.

-The staff do their best to lift money out of your pocket for merchandise. I list this as a possible con only to say that there are things that you might seriously want to buy. I bought custom R8C jackets for my wife and myself. The museum now has photographers that capture your delivery and take photos post-delivery that are offered to you afterwards. The first three photos are free. The entire photo set is $135. I bought the set because they did a great job, but others might not like this because they might want to just take their own pictures. This is an example of the effort the museum staff takes to “lift money out of your pocket.” I didn’t mind it and they offered many things that I wanted to buy, but others might not feel the same way. This dynamic is just something to be aware of.

-The museum no longer offers the ability to leave your rental car at the museum after taking delivery of your Corvette. This was previously only something available if you used Enterprise Rental Car. If you fly into Nashville (as most people do when taking museum delivery) as opposed to driving to Bowling Green from home, then it might be necessary to take rental car from Nashville Airport to Bowling Green. Enterprise won’t even let you leave the rental car at the local Bowling Green Enterprise. That said, it is my understanding that Budget Rental Car will allow you to leave your rental vehicle at their Bowling Green location. Just make sure you plan ahead on how you will make your way to the museum, where you’ll stay (I recommend the Hotel Sync in Bowling Green), how you plan to return the rental car if you use one. There is a shuttle service from the Nashville airport to Bowling Green, so that is always an option, but they don’t operate on Sundays.

-If you’re a stickler for such things, and you plan to drive the car home, you might want to invest in a car bra (NoviStretch, I think). Personally, I am not into babying my car that much, but if you are the kind that wants PPF on the car before you do any long trips, you might want to consider the bra (temporary solution) or make arrangements ahead of time to have a shop in Bowling Green do it.

Not an all-encompassing list of pros and cons, but overall, I think you should do a museum delivery at least once. It was a great experience for me and my wife both times we did it.

 

Excellent summary!! I will just add that NCM is a non-Profit organization per IRS rules. So their efforts to grab money is to fund their operations. Their revenue from just off the street visitors would potentially not allow them to stay open for long as GM does not contribute funds to keep them open other than their participation in R8C deliveries.