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21 Posts
First off, I apologize for the long winded post. But I'm an A) very detail oriented person and B) my purchase process was not anywhere close to walking into a dealer and out with a car the same day! So here goes.
I'm an exec for one of the biggest advertising agencies on earth. I travel a lot, have minimal free time, and given my industry...think a lot about customer service when buying things. Somewhere in the neighborhood of June this year, I decided I wanted/needed/lusted after a C7. Being the picky SOB I am, I wanted a Z51 vert, in white, with black wheels, NPP Exhaust, Mag ride, Nav, black interior, red calipers, and 2LT. In addition to this, I wanted it at the supplier discount price since my company does advertising for one of the not_to_be named divisions of GM!
I tried calling what I believe to be damn near every Chevrolet dealer in California. First off, not a single one of them could provide me with the supplier pricing. I heard everything from MSRP to $10,000 OVER MSRP!!...and these were for cars already in inventory and obviously spec'd differently than the one I wanted. So while on a business trip to NY, a colleague told me to check out Kerbeck. I had seen them on the web, but hadn't yet considered ordering a car and having it delivered from out of state because of all the BS that you hear California makes you go through with Cali emissions, etc... FWIW i also contacted MacMulkin, who seemed to be able to honor my discount as well. But when asked to call me back, never returned the call. So sorry MacMulkin, you lost my business. They even claimed to be cheaper than Kerbeck because of some documentation fee...This seems silly because given the price of a new vette, that doc fee is a rounding error and if it really makes a difference...I'd suggest looking for something more affordable. But I digress..
Upon looking at the site, I found they had the EXACT car I wanted. Ok, in truth...I kind of wanted a carbon dash. But it was certainly close enough! At the time, I sent Dave an email ([email protected]) who handed my business off to the salesperson named Amoni. Amoni got back to me within 24 hours and we began the process of procuring my new ride.
It was an un-trivial adventure because I was headed to London the next day for ten days on business and had to deal with wiring cash from Europe to ensure I got my down payment on the car I wanted and that it didn't get sold to someone else. Which while is not impossible, I'd avoid if doing again. Not surprising, American banks don't appreciate $30k wire transfers from computers in Europe!! Every step of the way Amoni remained positive and kept me informed as to what was needed next.
The next step is where it got a bit hairy. On two separate occasions Kerbeck made a typo with my information. This is the type of stuff that if I were sitting there at the dealer would be corrected in 5 minutes and moved on. But since we were doing this via fedex it did result more paperwork than needed. That said, Kerbeck owned up to it as their error, apologized profusely, and sent me a free set of stingray upgrade floor mats just for the hassell.
Ok, at this point I've inked the deal, fedexed the requisite docs, and gotten insurance. I have a shiny new C7. Only problem, it's in New Jersey...I'm in the Bay Area in Cali. Oh and one more note, it was the week prior to Pebble Beach's Concourse auto show...aka the superbowl of car shows. So every reputable car shipper (Passport, Horseless Carriage, etc...) had their trucks in California already and I was looking at 30 days minimum before delivery! ARRRRGH!
Fortunately, I found the uship.com website. Specifically I found John Rapp ( SAL'S LLC - New Windsor, Maryland | Get Quotes for Transport ), who is a retired trucker who still hauls coast to coast with his F-350 ON the uship.com website. For the same price as Passport, John delivered my car ahead of schedule (by 3 days) in perfect condition. My car was his only load, it was strapped down at each wheel, and clearly the man has done this for a long time. Like Amoni, John kept me informed every step of the way. I couldn't possibly say more good things about the level of service I received.
Upon inspection, I found a small defect in the paint on the front of my C7. Honestly, I felt pretty discouraged at the moment. But the good news is that I called Kerbeck and they completely reimbursed me to have it repaired. This was a VERY stand up move on Kerbecks part in my opinion, because they could have easily just blamed the shipper. But that conversation never came up. Only, we'll take care of you sir. Don't worry. A few days later I had the check in hand and will plan on getting it fixed once I get a chance to slow down with work travel!
Today I got the paperwork for registration in Cali. I guess I'll have to defer to a future post as to how it goes. But the document says all I need to do is get it smogged (half hour at most process) and do a VIN verification at a DMV with a verification lane. So no need to even get out of the car, let alone deal with the grumpy DMV folks. I send those two docs to the company Kerbeck partners with...and they send me my plates. At least, thats as easy as they explain it to be!
At the end of the day, I can understand why Kerbeck is #1. I'll admit to being nervous about the process at numerous different points. But they always answered my calls and always did what they could to help answer questions. They went above and beyond with the floor mats and even more so IMHO by paying for the small blemish I found.
So if you're in the market for a C7 and your local dealer is giving you the runaround. Call Kerbeck or email [email protected] or [email protected]. They are class acts and even though it cost me $2500 extra in shipping to get it here. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I'm already considering a Z06. I wouldn't hesitate to call Kerbeck first.
I sincerly hope this helps anyone with anxiety about buying out of state. Especially from my new friends at Kerbeck. Thanks Amoni. Thanks Dave!
If you have specific questions about the process, send me a PM and I'm happy to discuss.
I'm an exec for one of the biggest advertising agencies on earth. I travel a lot, have minimal free time, and given my industry...think a lot about customer service when buying things. Somewhere in the neighborhood of June this year, I decided I wanted/needed/lusted after a C7. Being the picky SOB I am, I wanted a Z51 vert, in white, with black wheels, NPP Exhaust, Mag ride, Nav, black interior, red calipers, and 2LT. In addition to this, I wanted it at the supplier discount price since my company does advertising for one of the not_to_be named divisions of GM!
I tried calling what I believe to be damn near every Chevrolet dealer in California. First off, not a single one of them could provide me with the supplier pricing. I heard everything from MSRP to $10,000 OVER MSRP!!...and these were for cars already in inventory and obviously spec'd differently than the one I wanted. So while on a business trip to NY, a colleague told me to check out Kerbeck. I had seen them on the web, but hadn't yet considered ordering a car and having it delivered from out of state because of all the BS that you hear California makes you go through with Cali emissions, etc... FWIW i also contacted MacMulkin, who seemed to be able to honor my discount as well. But when asked to call me back, never returned the call. So sorry MacMulkin, you lost my business. They even claimed to be cheaper than Kerbeck because of some documentation fee...This seems silly because given the price of a new vette, that doc fee is a rounding error and if it really makes a difference...I'd suggest looking for something more affordable. But I digress..
Upon looking at the site, I found they had the EXACT car I wanted. Ok, in truth...I kind of wanted a carbon dash. But it was certainly close enough! At the time, I sent Dave an email ([email protected]) who handed my business off to the salesperson named Amoni. Amoni got back to me within 24 hours and we began the process of procuring my new ride.
It was an un-trivial adventure because I was headed to London the next day for ten days on business and had to deal with wiring cash from Europe to ensure I got my down payment on the car I wanted and that it didn't get sold to someone else. Which while is not impossible, I'd avoid if doing again. Not surprising, American banks don't appreciate $30k wire transfers from computers in Europe!! Every step of the way Amoni remained positive and kept me informed as to what was needed next.
The next step is where it got a bit hairy. On two separate occasions Kerbeck made a typo with my information. This is the type of stuff that if I were sitting there at the dealer would be corrected in 5 minutes and moved on. But since we were doing this via fedex it did result more paperwork than needed. That said, Kerbeck owned up to it as their error, apologized profusely, and sent me a free set of stingray upgrade floor mats just for the hassell.
Ok, at this point I've inked the deal, fedexed the requisite docs, and gotten insurance. I have a shiny new C7. Only problem, it's in New Jersey...I'm in the Bay Area in Cali. Oh and one more note, it was the week prior to Pebble Beach's Concourse auto show...aka the superbowl of car shows. So every reputable car shipper (Passport, Horseless Carriage, etc...) had their trucks in California already and I was looking at 30 days minimum before delivery! ARRRRGH!
Fortunately, I found the uship.com website. Specifically I found John Rapp ( SAL'S LLC - New Windsor, Maryland | Get Quotes for Transport ), who is a retired trucker who still hauls coast to coast with his F-350 ON the uship.com website. For the same price as Passport, John delivered my car ahead of schedule (by 3 days) in perfect condition. My car was his only load, it was strapped down at each wheel, and clearly the man has done this for a long time. Like Amoni, John kept me informed every step of the way. I couldn't possibly say more good things about the level of service I received.
Upon inspection, I found a small defect in the paint on the front of my C7. Honestly, I felt pretty discouraged at the moment. But the good news is that I called Kerbeck and they completely reimbursed me to have it repaired. This was a VERY stand up move on Kerbecks part in my opinion, because they could have easily just blamed the shipper. But that conversation never came up. Only, we'll take care of you sir. Don't worry. A few days later I had the check in hand and will plan on getting it fixed once I get a chance to slow down with work travel!
Today I got the paperwork for registration in Cali. I guess I'll have to defer to a future post as to how it goes. But the document says all I need to do is get it smogged (half hour at most process) and do a VIN verification at a DMV with a verification lane. So no need to even get out of the car, let alone deal with the grumpy DMV folks. I send those two docs to the company Kerbeck partners with...and they send me my plates. At least, thats as easy as they explain it to be!
At the end of the day, I can understand why Kerbeck is #1. I'll admit to being nervous about the process at numerous different points. But they always answered my calls and always did what they could to help answer questions. They went above and beyond with the floor mats and even more so IMHO by paying for the small blemish I found.
So if you're in the market for a C7 and your local dealer is giving you the runaround. Call Kerbeck or email [email protected] or [email protected]. They are class acts and even though it cost me $2500 extra in shipping to get it here. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I'm already considering a Z06. I wouldn't hesitate to call Kerbeck first.
I sincerly hope this helps anyone with anxiety about buying out of state. Especially from my new friends at Kerbeck. Thanks Amoni. Thanks Dave!
If you have specific questions about the process, send me a PM and I'm happy to discuss.
