[Suzy Cruisy]

We're doing courtesy delivery to a CA dealer but buying from a NH dealer.

I get the impression most are paying their purchasing dealer before the car is shipped or while its being shipped and then they're driving off quickly when it arrives at the courtesy dealer.

However, we're a little concerned about damage in transport, so I think there is also an option to inspect it, send money, and then pick it up later. This sounds a bit painful on the increased wait time though, so we're unsure.

We haven't got that far with the dealer yet, so I'd rather be well informed before they ask for money than not.

Maybe Mark can chime in with one of those detailed and eloquent answers on the actual rules of all of this, and then maybe others can chime in on what they did or experienced in the past.

I DO know if you do the 'wait to pay' thing you need to wire funds and not send a check overnight because the dealer will hold your car paperwork until the check clears.

And please give description on any paperwork terms you use that are commonly abbreviated, because I know there are a few in this case and they confused me before.

Thanks in advance,

 

[Redc7]

This is a quote from another dealership:

"As for the logistics: The car is ordered from the factory and can be directed to a local
dealer for you to pick up. This is called a courtesy delivery. You still buy and pay me
for the car, but you'd pick it up locally. The dealer who receives the car will charge a
fee to receive the car, prep, clean and usually handle the paperwork to license and title
the vehicle. Typically a courtesy delivery charge is $300 or so, but dealers are free to
charge whatever, and may dealers won't handle them at all. You can of course pick up
the car here and drive it back. That would save the courtesy delivery fee, but you may
spend that in transporation to get here, just depends. While the car is intransit to the
dealer, you and I would transact paperwork and pay for the car. Tax and registration
can be included in the financing, and we can handle that here, or with your local
lending institution. "

 

[johnu]

As with a Museum delivery.....you take a leap of faith that you will like what's on the other end. I paid for mine and had it insured the same day money passed hands via Fedex which was a week before delivery. Of course I was not disappointed

 

[Racer_X]

I think Suzy is talking about buying a car from an out of area dealership and having it shipped to a local dealership. I actually have the same question! Is it better to do the dealer to dealer transfer? Or just have the hauler drop the car in your driveway? What is the typical process? Thanks.

 

[MarkZ51]

Aloha, here is my experience. The dealer you are buying from will take care of paying local taxes and the registration you basically send them a non-refundable deposit and when the car is built if you have financing or pay in cash they will process everything. The dealer receiving the car will have to provide the Dealer code and BAC number. All dealers have a different courtesy delivery charge because it includes the shipping. They do get paid from GM for the prep. Once it arrives at the courtesy dealer they basically want it off their lot ASAP because they made no money on the sale. In my case they were pissed because I told them I was dropping off the lease vehicle at their lot when I picked up the new one. I leased it from them. Anyway you pay the courtesy fee when you pick it up. In my case it was $800 but when you consider it would have cost me at least $3000 if I had to transport it from Atlantic city to Hawaii it was a deal. Anyway I hope this clears up your questions if not you can email me directly if you need anything else. [email protected] have had that email since 1986. Aloha, Mark

 

[MarkZ51]

One other thing I had to Pay for both cars while waiting for delivery after it was built, also I had to insure both cars until it arrived. Aloha, Mark

 

[MarkZ51]

This is off topic but just FYI. Do not buy Sanyo split A/c. I thought at the time they were top of the line so I installed one in my house and one in my office. They suck. I have had to replace 2 logic boards at $1200 apiece and 2 fan motors that should cost about $100 But Sanyo was $500. Anyway I'm venting because it just broke down again and it 90 degrees in here. Aloha, Mark

 

[MarkZ51]

Also, I would like to share a little perspective about the courtesy delivery process. I have explained the courtesy delivery dealer does not make any money from the sale, just prep fees from GM. This creates a problem for the dealer, when they need to deliver the vehicle to the new owner from another dealer. As was in my case, all the salesman make a commission on what they sell, and they have all been told their allocation has been sold out. So all the people that wanted Corvettes and were told they could not get one, no matter what, is what the salesman was told. This creates a problem, because the salesman that have been working their ass off to sell Corvettes, that they just don’t have, now see one appear out of nowhere, and one that no one has made a commission on, but they all see it being picked up. So, all the people that the salesman spent hours with, only to tell them they couldn’t deliver the car of their dreams, it tends to create a problem for the sales force and management. Anyway, I just wanted to relay that perspective.
PS. Just want to let you know I meant to articulate that better. You should know that when most of you are having lunch it’s already happy hour for me. I’m 6 hours ahead. That should explain it. Aloha, Mark

 

[ZeeshanFarooq29]

Is it a must to pay the local dealer the prep charges? 800 seems quite alot for getting the car delivered from a dealer that didn't do anything. It's free money for them

 

[ZeeshanFarooq29]

Courtesy delivery and prep charges are two different things?

 

[MarkZ51]

GM pays the receiving dealer the prep Charge. The courtesy delivery fee is what includes the shipping from Bowling Green to the dealer where you are located. It also includes any mark up they deem appropriate. The $800 that I was charged was completely appropriate because I live in Hawaii and the transport cost from Atlantic City to Hawaii is about $3000. I guess just like me, you failed to read the threads that have already been posted previously. On this board you need to read everything ahead of time or they will assume your an idiot. Anyway I wish you the best. Aloha, Mark

 

[blakebird]

GM pays the receiving dealer the prep Charge. The courtesy delivery fee is what includes the shipping from Bowling Green to the dealer where you are located. It also includes any mark up they deem appropriate. The $800 that I was charged was completely appropriate because I live in Hawaii and the transport cost from Atlantic City to Hawaii is about $3000. I guess just like me, you failed to read the threads that have already been posted previously. On this board you need to read everything ahead of time or they will assume your an idiot. Anyway I wish you the best. Aloha, Mark

Was your car put on a ship with other cars headed from GM to the dealer in Hawaii where you took delivery?
What sort of wait did you have....was your car delivered when the Hawaii dealer was getting it's next batch of cars from GM stateside?

If so, that's where the break in your cost was as opposed to paying a shipper to send your car by itself. Still a reasonable cost, all things considered.

 

[Redc7]

As with a Museum delivery.....you take a leap of faith that you will like what's on the other end. I paid for mine and had it insured the same day money passed hands via Fedex which was a week before delivery. Of course I was not disappointed

In some ways taking a Museum delivery is less of a risk in that you know the Museum folks are going to go over this car from head to toe before you get there and if they should discover a problem you have the Corvette plant right across the street.

 

[rdslon01]

GM pays the receiving dealer the prep Charge. The courtesy delivery fee is what includes the shipping from Bowling Green to the dealer where you are located. It also includes any mark up they deem appropriate. The $800 that I was charged was completely appropriate because I live in Hawaii and the transport cost from Atlantic City to Hawaii is about $3000. I guess just like me, you failed to read the threads that have already been posted previously. On this board you need to read everything ahead of time or they will assume your an idiot. Anyway I wish you the best. Aloha, Mark

I am sorry, Mark, but this is not the way it is supposed to be from what I have heard from elegant, and others who have had this service done.

The destination freight charge (DFC) was supposed to pay for your shipment to Hawaii. That is approximately $995, I believe, and is one flat rate for anywhere in the US (yes, people in the Eastern part of the US subsidize your delivery charge for you by paying way too much for the service, so you can be charged way too little).

On the other hand, the courtesy delivery fee is what the dealer is paid by you for their troubles to take care of any paperwork and get your car prepared for delivery. The courtesy delivery fee can be negotiated between the buyer and delivering dealership.

Yours is one of the highest I have ever heard. Usually it is $300-$500.

This courtesy delivery fee is covered by one of introductory sticky posts: http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum...ordering-c7-corvette-thread-will-helpful.html

The relevant paragraph from that post, in part, is as follows:
So far, we have been primarily discussing walking into a local dealership. Options include purchasing your car from a large Corvette dealership located in another part of the country, and make that special Corvette road trip home. Alternatively, large Corvette dealers have a list of car transporting companies who specialize in shipping "top of the line" cars, so you could buy your car across the country and have it shipped to you. Or, to minimize shipping costs, you could do a "courtesy delivery." Essentially you buy from a far-away dealer, pay that dealer, but that dealer doesn't have GM ship the car to them, but instead shipped to a dealership close or near to you. To do a courtesy delivery, you have to find a local dealership who will accept the delivery, including performing the pre-delivery inspection (PDI). Most dealerships charge between $300-500 to perform this service. However, many of the nation's top dealers already have an informal network of dealers throughout the country, one hopefully close to you, whom your selling dealer already knows those local dealerships will do a courtesy delivery for you -- again with the charge, but considerably less than shipping your car or going to your "cross country" dealer and driving it home.

 

[rdslon01]

Is it a must to pay the local dealer the prep charges? 800 seems quite alot for getting the car delivered from a dealer that didn't do anything. It's free money for them

$800 is too much. You can negotiate the price with the courtesy dealership. I also saw one case where the selling dealership paid the courtesy delivery fee for the customer (some customer in El Paso, Texas if I remember well). The information is here on the forum, but you would have to dig it out.

It is not completely free money for them, as they have to have a technician do the PDI work preparing the car for delivery. That takes time, and time is money.

Also, in some cases, the courtesy delivering dealership takes care of paperwork, including getting your car's registration and license plates for you.

 

[rdslon01]

Courtesy delivery and prep charges are two different things?

The courtesy delivery charge includes the prep charges, and possibly more work as well (such as paperwork). Check with your local courtesy delivery dealership for their specific charges, and exactly what services they offer for those charges.

 

[tmcternan]

Rodney is spot on here. I'm planning on going through the "Courtesy Delivery" process this next year. The $995.00 destination fee is paid on ALL sales and connected with the purchase price of the vehicle, regardless of where the vehicle ultimately ends up. It's an involuntary fee paid by the buyer up front, regardless of whether the car is shipped from the dealer or directly from Bowling Green. Actually, if the car is shipped from a dealer rather than Bowling Green, I would foresee additional transportation fees having to be paid. So, the $995.00 would cover from Bowling Green to "A Dealer" whether the selling dealership or the Courtesy Dealer, whichever choice you decided with the actual selling dealership. I'm thinking if a car was shipped directly from Bowling Green, regardless of where the selling dealership is located, to a courtesy delivery in Hawaii, at no additional charge, the buyer got the delivery deal of their life.....

And yes, the Courtesy Delivery charge is for prep work and paperwork by the receiving dealership performing the courtesy delivery. And like Rodney said, it normally runs around $300-$500 by most courtesy delivery dealerships. If you're charged more than that, that's on the dealership performing the service to you.

 

[elegant]

To summarize what we know about courtesy delivery,

1) GM will ship to any dealer in the USA that the dealer that you are buying from so specifies. As noted above, this shipping is the $995 DFC charge that everyone lays who buys a new Corvettes, whether the dealer it is shipped to is a few miles away from the Plant or thousands of miles.

2) When you either do Museum Delivery or courtesy delivery, you pay, in full, the price of your car to the dealer you buy it from before you pick it up.

3) In all circumstances, whether it is a local dealer you ordered from and licked it up from, Museum Delivery, or courtesy delivery, you have recourse though GM to make your car right.

4) What you lose in either Museum Delivery and courtesy delivery (and personally I will take the risk though some may choose not to do so), is the ability you "refuse delivery" that you would have had if you ordered from your dealer and it arrived in an unacceptable condition.

Think we are again focusing on the worst case, not the 99% that work out real well. Please let us remember the extreme GM went through to fix Jag's car (picking it up, shipping it from Oklahoma back to BG), re-skinning all the panels, etc., shipping it back to Oklahoma.

And if you are concerned about the condition of our courtesy delivery car should it arrive in an unacceptable condition, have a conversation now, before you agree with your courtesy delivery dealer, what will they do to fix your car (remember that GM will pay them to get it fixed (in-house or contracted to a third party) just like GM pays for approved other warranty claims. I have a written agreement with my courtesy delivery dealer that covers such things as, "no drilling into any body panels, no license plate frames nor plates shall be installed, no decals shall be applied to the car," "the fuel placed into my car will be premium fuel," and other things.

Great to be prudent, but let us not get into a "circling the drain worry cycle" as all car forums tend to do.

 

[LT1xL82]

$800 is too much. You can negotiate the price with the courtesy dealership. . .

Sure is high compared to the $200 the new car sales manager at my local dealer quoted. I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

[tmcternan]

To summarize what we know about courtesy delivery,

1) GM will ship to any dealer in the USA that the dealer that you are buying from so specifies. As noted above, this shipping is the $995 DFC charge that everyone lays who buys a new Corvettes, whether the dealer it is shipped to is a few miles away from the Plant or thousands of miles.

2) When you either do Museum Delivery or courtesy delivery, you pay, in full, the price of your car to the dealer you buy it from before you pick it up.

3) In all circumstances, whether it is a local dealer you ordered from and licked it up from, Museum Delivery, or courtesy delivery, you have recourse though GM to make your car right.

4) What you lose in either Museum Delivery and courtesy delivery (and personally I will take the risk though some may choose not to do so), is the ability you "refuse delivery" that you would have had if you ordered from your dealer and it arrived in an unacceptable condition.

Think we are again focusing on the worst case, not the 99% that work out real well. Please let us remember the extreme GM went through to fix Jag's car (picking it up, shipping it from Oklahoma back to BG), re-skinning all the panels, etc., shipping it back to Oklahoma.

And if you are concerned about the condition of our courtesy delivery car should it arrive in an unacceptable condition, have a conversation now, before you agree with your courtesy delivery dealer, what will they do to fix your car (remember that GM will pay them to get it fixed (in-house or contracted to a third party) just like GM pays for approved other warranty claims. I have a written agreement with my courtesy delivery dealer that covers such things as, "no drilling into any body panels, no license plate frames nor plates shall be installed, no decals shall be applied to the car," "the fuel placed into my car will be premium fuel," and other things.

Great to be prudent, but let us not get into a "circling the drain worry cycle" as all car forums tend to do.

Thanks John, you've truly mastered the way of clarifying a topic for everyone to understand, or at least most of us..