Calling ALL Corvette Owners — It MAY Be Time To Upgrade To A C7...

You think the deals on C7's are good now just wait until the C8 is actually out. Based on a Chevy insider I have known for years people are going to be blown away by the low price of a C8 in comparison to its performance. Performance is going way up while the base price will be only a bit higher than a C7.

I hope this is true.

All I've heard is that the C8 is going to be a $100K vehicle.

With it having to back to engineering to fix with wiring harness and to redesign it for structural integrity, the C7 is a better buy.

We've been doing well with internet sales of the Corvette as well as walk ins.

Corvette fans with money in hand are souring on the C8.

You may be right but to my way of thinking current C7 sales are capturing Vette fans who can now afford one with the large discounts and the big money guys are keeping their powder dry until the C8 arrives. Time will tell.

How large are you imagining the discounts being? LOL ALL premium cars are discounted, but we aren't discounting more than usual and sales continue to happen. Given that I make it a point to be active in several Corvette clubs, I can tell you that every time the C8 has a glitch, the confidence cracks. With my ear to the ground, I ask: "Would you like a Z06?" :)

Don't know about sunny California but $10,000 off Z06 the norm in East Coast.

My Z06 was stickered (sic) at $106K and the Z06 usually comes optioned to the gills. The $10K discount is accurate-ish for our retail offers, but you're looking at 10% which is hardly fire-sale pricing. Even with $10K off, there is still a lot of profit in the car.

Matt, bringing the facts.

Is GM taking deposits yet on the C8? If so, what are the terms? $5,000 down or what?

If not, what are customers doing? If you want a Corvette, buy a Corvette.

"GM" doesn't take deposits, but dealers can. You clearly don't understand how retailing works.

The group of dealers I work with will not "pull a Tesla" and take an arbitrary deposit for cars we do not have in the pipeline. When we can see the actual cars that are coming then we accept deposits, but the deposit is for a specific car that will exist.

We've gone as high as 50% down of the negotiated price with a 10% penalty if they change their minds. That quickly narrows the field to people who are engaged in the pursuit of the car. Sure, we could accept $5K deposits left and right and make money off the money and refund it if the person gets cold feet, but (1) that's shady business practice and (2) anti-consumer.

And yes, I know many dealers do that, but our group won't.

"Shady, anti consumer"...personally I think its highly ethical and pro consumer. As a consumer I've done it many times and always satisfied with the outcome. Its like buying a call on a stock. Using your example, if I put $5,000 down a year ahead to get an early Mustang GT500
or C8 I get to buy the car and keep it, buy it and flip it (have never done) or pass on it getting my money back but having foregone $100-$150 in bank interest, a small cost given all the options I've received.

So you think I should reserve a Mustang GT500 or a C8 because you put 1/15th down? Asinine!

I'm not in business to stroke the vanity of people who want to brag that they put in a deposit down on a C8 who never intend to buy one. AND that is the case when you accept a deposit that isn't a commitment.

Deposits like that do me no favors and I'm not in business to do favors for non-customers. Thus, we ask for a real commitment on a real car with a real price with real penalties for breaking the agreement so that real buyers come forward and because they are real paying customers, we focus on them.

If you want to be cash raped because you think the $5K deposit is consumerism done right, then happily hit the road.

In the $5K scenario you'll have more deposit holders than allotment and the dealers will then start a price war among the deposit holders for the markup. Then feelings get hurt and the dealer gets trashed in the court of enthusiast opinion.

I hear you but the five times I've done it with up to 3 years lead time and never as much as $5,000 I never had a problem with a dealer asking for a markup as long as I had a build sheet stating agreed to price (MSRP) at time I put deposit down. All I was responding to was comment that it was anti consumer and from my experience always worked out well or that it was unethical as dealers I dealt with honored our deal every time. Maybe its bad business from your end but from mine I came out a winner every time and the dealers were free to enter into the deal or not.

The role I occupy within the automotive group is an odd, self-assigned HR/Consumer Relations post in which I simultaneously help with the juggling of our own people and their perceptions and also the management of customer perceptions.

I've been a sledgehammer at stupid practices that do us no favors.

The auto group ditched Jaguar (no sales but high drama) and VW/Audi/Porsche (meager sales at the time, lots of drama from angry customers). Those franchises were the hobby project of one of the partners who first gave me control over his stake and then willed it to me. I had no problem cutting the detritus and for nothing would I want those brands back.

I also put a stop the the wishy washy deposits on cars with the commensurate price gouging that caused all sorts of hard feelings and replaced it with a put up or shut up stance at an agreed-to price. We're not here for the mental masturbation of supposed car guys who want to brag that they have a deposit on something.

Drama has been virtually eliminated and people are much happier with the group.

I also cut the decision making time we were taking with accepting customer offers. Each car has an acceptable sales price as the bottom line and if the customer's offer at or better than the bottom line we say yes and if it is not we say "I'm sorry, but at this time we cannot accept your offer." We do not immediately counter offer because to do so leads the customer to believe that we are desperate for the sale. The goal is to move fast on the negotiation and on to the paperwork most of which is pre-slotted.

Occasionally, I am the sales person so that I can meet customers and understand that dynamic, but I also oversee the internet sales which is becoming bigger and bigger in the group as people wish to negotiate electronically rather than in person. I am often the one who explains to the customer why their numbers won't work. It's done in a matter-of-fact tone.

The staff knows I am their best ally if they are being professional, respectful, hard-working, and honest and their worst nightmare if they aren't.

I also outlawed the four-quadrant negotiating tactic that is designed to confuse customers because when they catch on that they've been had, they bad mouth your dealer. We set the price of the car first. Then we set the trade-in allowance. Then we set the down payment. That produces a monthly payment for 48/60/72 months. At that point, it is the buyer's move.

Matt, if I buy a C7 Corvette (great long hood GT profile and better performance) I am coming your way to get it. Sound extremely ethical.

The irony of making lots of money is to be 100% ethical and honest. You also sleep better at night. We have a dozen people wanting GT500s but no deposits because we have no real cars to sell them.

Black A pillars: this Corvette, Range Rover, Nissan Z, Saab, Ford Explorer, Mini Cooper, Scion Xb, Nissan Maxima but only the Kia Soul's A pillars would be accused of copying allowing the 2020 Chevy Blazer to get away with it.