[[email protected]]

I've heard very good things about Stingray Corvettes- nothing negative, actually. I've heard some good/bad things about Jon Hall Chevrolet. But I experienced something at New Smyrna Beach Chevrolet that left a bad impression with me. Tell me what you think.

I was in that neighborhood and had some time so I went there to see if they had a C7. Yes, there were two in the showroom- a black one that was sold and awaiting pick up, and a red one. The black one was locked but the red was open and since either interior was the same the color didn't matter. Besides me telling how I loved just sitting in it, the conversation I had with the dealership's GM was disappointing.

He was asking $10K above MSRP for the black one, and he said he got his asking price in just one day. The red one is on their floor and he's asking the same- $10K above MSRP. He turned down $5K above MSRP and won't even negotiate the price anywhere lower than $10 above. Does this attitude suck, or what? He says having the car in his showroom NOT SELLING is making more money for him than if he sells it for MSRP. He further commented that this is a money maker and maybe down the road when the feeding frenzy simmers down, he'll be forced to sell at MSRP.

Maybe it's me, but do dealers look for a buyer's loyalty anymore?

 

[mjw930]

New Smryna is a low volume dealer, they MIGHT get 10 C7's this year so they will milk it for all it's worth. $10k over is the standard add sticker in this area for an unsold C7 on the floor, that is until next month when all the base C7's the dealers with allocation had to order or lose their slot start showing up.

Yes it sucks but it's a sellers market, if you want one now and aren't willing to travel that's the price. Hall and most other dealers with inventory are doing the same thing. I don't know if one is worse than the other anymore.

 

[Mark JD]

I'm on the west coast of Florida, Sarasota just south of Tampa, my dealer (Sunset Chev.) has a small allotment and has never charged a dime over MSRP. He has delivered 7 Stingrays so far in the past month. Still taking orders at MSRP. My order finally went to GM last week, been on Sunsets list since the end of August. Hope to see delivery (at the Museum) in mid-Nov. (fingers crossed)

 

[mjw930]

I'm on the west coast of Florida, Sarasota just south of Tampa, my dealer (Sunset Chev.) has a small allotment and has never charged a dime over MSRP. He has delivered 7 Stingrays so far in the past month. Still taking orders at MSRP. My order finally went to GM last week, been on Sunsets list since the end of August. Hope to see delivery (at the Museum) in mid-Nov. (fingers crossed)

Big difference between taking orders at MSRP and marking up a cancelled order sitting on the floor. Both dealers mentioned here were doing MSRP on ordered cars but both have exhausted their current allocation.

 

[Werk-it]

It is called supply and demand! If they can get it, why not!

 

[jroes57]

Some dealers in the Florida area are selling floor models at 5k above sticker

 

[killascrimp]

omg so funny I live in Panama city and I was calling dealers to see what they had because my order was stuck at 1100 status. I called and spoke w a lady at that dealer she told me to come down because her manager was "getting sick" of people calling about these new vettes.... what a lame answer I tell you some of these dealers should go back to school, needless to say I found a nice 2lt z51 near Milton....def worth the fun drive back home.... LMAO

 

[63 Stingray]

At Autonation Chevrolet here in Orlando they want a 2k deposit to order a C7 and that 2k is their markup over msrp.
About the comment on the sales people out there I agree that they should be trained better, I knew the options and color combos better than the salesperson

 

[Mark JD]

Big difference between taking orders at MSRP and marking up a cancelled order sitting on the floor. Both dealers mentioned here were doing MSRP on ordered cars but both have exhausted their current allocation.

Mark,
Are you saying that Stingray Chevrolet has exhausted their allotment? Wow.... that's a surprise. I was told they had the 2nd largest allotment in the state, behind some dealer near Miami. I know Sunset is still taking orders, but don't think they can place too many per week. May be close to running out.

 

[mjw930]

Mark,
Are you saying that Stingray Chevrolet has exhausted their allotment? Wow.... that's a surprise. I was told they had the 2nd largest allotment in the state, behind some dealer near Miami. I know Sunset is still taking orders, but don't think they can place too many per week. May be close to running out.

No, the dealers the OP mentioned are Jon Hall and New Smryna, they have orders and/wait list for all their current allocation.

 

[Gary]

Folks, if you want MSRP from a large dealer, call Dennis Vaughan at 561-227-6025. I have no skin in this game except he is the guy I am working with. Schumacher Chevy is the dealership in North Palm Beach. Dennis takes $1000 deposit which goes towards the purchase price and it is refundable if you change your mind. First class.

 

[Werk-it]

Mark,
Are you saying that Stingray Chevrolet has exhausted their allotment? Wow.... that's a surprise. I was told they had the 2nd largest allotment in the state, behind some dealer near Miami. I know Sunset is still taking orders, but don't think they can place too many per week. May be close to running out.

I was at Stingray Chevrolet Wednesday and they had a silver one on the showroom floor for sale according to the receptionist. She also said that she thought it was the only one they had. I was looking at it for at least five minutes including getting down on my knees to look at the clearance. Not one sales person walked up to me to ask if I was interested. I left and as I pulled around to go out a different way than I came in I noticed a crystal red and a torch red sitting there. I got out and looked at them and noticed dealer tags on them. I was there another 5 minutes and still no salesman came out. I am glad I have mine ordered through Regal in Lakeland. Regal does not have a large allotment but I am #1 on their convertible list.

 

[Mark JD]

Mark....
OK.... got it now. I got a little confused.

If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely got to Stingray. Their Corvette guy, (Sean McCann) is awesome and very understanding. And here is a shock.... he is a salesman that actually knows a lot about the C7!

 

[Mark JD]

Hey Werk-it...... That's hilarious!
How many times have we gone to car stealerships and get swarmed by a mass of salespeople like vulchers that don't even let you look for 2 minutes without them hanging on to your belt-loops!
I would say you had a very pleasant experience!
I much rather have to ASK for a salesperson then have them come after me..... JMHO

PS.... Sean must have had the day off.

 

[STGRA]

Whatever you do run from Jon Hall. Go anywhere but there!

 

[mjw930]

Whatever you do run from Jon Hall. Go anywhere but there!

Care to elaborate?

I think I know where you are coming from. For me they are convenient but I've only purchased one vehicle from them and that was with Supplier pricing so I bypassed most of the floor staff. My father in law just got back from there trying to buy an SUV, ended up across the street at their GMC store after being slapped around by the Chevy staff. It's a shame the Caddy, GMC store can't handle the Corvette traffic, they aren't working off a Cruse / Malibu mentality, they deal with a more affluent clientele.

 

[Georgio51]

Care to elaborate?

I think I know where you are coming from. For me they are convenient but I've only purchased one vehicle from them and that was with Supplier pricing so I bypassed most of the floor staff. My father in law just got back from there trying to buy an SUV, ended up across the street at their GMC store after being slapped around by the Chevy staff. It's a shame the Caddy, GMC store can't handle the Corvette traffic, they aren't working off a Cruse / Malibu mentality, they deal with a more affluent clientele.

As in most organizations, regardless of public or private sector, leadership sets the tone. An egotistical, over aggressive, and arrogant leader will propogate that attitude through management and operational ranks. Agreed, although demographics shouldn't matter when managing a customer relationship, I personally believe that organizations in lower income areas get an inflated sense of who they are and how they respond to individual customer personalities, needs and preferences. Having worn out many pair of auto salesman's shoes, I am blown-away by the cavalier, "so-buy-it-elsewhere" posture I've witnessed in recent months.

 

[j14152]

Actually Buying One?

No, the dealers the OP mentioned are Jon Hall and New Smryna, they have orders and/wait list for all their current allocation.

If you really want to buy a 2014 Corvette, here's how I did it. I ordered one with the options I want, not what the dealer wants me to buy. To do this I needed to find a dealer with allocations remaining. Many of those dealers are advertising Stingrays in autotrader.com. Smaller dealers without allocations remaining will likely not advertise 2014 Corvettes here.

I will take a bus to North Carolina to get my car, and enjoy driving through the back roads of the Appalachian Mountains and Georgia on the way back to Florida. If you buy locally, you will miss this opportunity to "get to know" your new car.

Here's how to do it: Go to autotrader.com and look under "New". When you choose a location, scroll down to "any distance". There you will see listings for many Stingrays, most of which are probably sold by now. Order the listings by "nearest". Then call the dealers in the areas you might want to travel to. Look the location up on Google if the listing doesn't have an address.

I spoke with maybe a dozen dealers. None wanted over retail for a car I ordered, but dealer fees varied. I paid retail price, but I was able to negotiate away the dealer or "doc" fee. What I will pay is exactly what is on the factory window sticker, plus Florida sales tax and plate transfer fees that go to the State of Florida. If you wait a year or so, you may be able to get a discount from sticker. But now, its very unlikely. Some dealers are charging considerably over sticker for available cars in their showrooms. One dealer tried hard to sell me an available car for $10k over.

I have negotiated a number of new car purchases over the phone with out-of-area/state dealers. When you call, ask for "Internet Sales". I usually got better deals than I found locally, which covered the cost of picking up the car, and then some. I never had a problem with a dishonest sale or dealership. I always got what I negotiated when I arrived at these dealerships. When the right dealer is found the process of negotiating and buying takes maybe 10-15 minutes max, and it's virtually hassle-free. If it doesn't go smoothly, move on to another dealership, or call back later and speak with someone else. If you deal locally, they want you to come in and then you have to "run the gauntlet". I think this works because there's something bred into some salesmen and dealerships, where they "cannot lose a sale". Out of area sales gets you a better price for this reason - it's thought of as "found business", perhaps.

 

[[email protected]]

As in most organizations, regardless of public or private sector, leadership sets the tone. An egotistical, over aggressive, and arrogant leader will propogate that attitude through management and operational ranks. Agreed, although demographics shouldn't matter when managing a customer relationship, I personally believe that organizations in lower income areas get an inflated sense of who they are and how they respond to individual customer personalities, needs and preferences. Having worn out many pair of auto salesman's shoes, I am blown-away by the cavalier, "so-buy-it-elsewhere" posture I've witnessed in recent months.

Love it! That is one heck of a commentary.

 

[ChevroletCustomerCare]

Greetings!

While we are unable to be a part of the negotiation process on new vehicle purchases, we're happy to document any dealership feedback you wish to share (positive and negative). We request that your comments be sent via direct message with your name, contact information, and the name of the involved dealership.

Regards,
Sarah
Chevrolet Customer Care