[heymilton]

I posted another thread on my experience with trying to buy my new Corvette........

This experience I have had at......................... by playing the same old dealer games that they have been play for 30 years has left so disappointed that I am completely going to give up getting a new Corvette or GM product ever in my or my childrens future. Being originally from Detroit and having many friends and family work there through the years is truly unfortunate.

I ordered this car back in the middle of July and was to get it about Sep 1. Then the recall hit, which delayed it for a few weeks, no big deal. And then within an hour of picking up the dealer pulls the same shady game as yesteryear, Sorry , we don't accept your GM friends discount. This was a handshake agreement , even my wife was with me when I explained to him that I would have a GM Friends and family discount. Even told him the relationship of the friend to myself. I own my own business and would not pull this crap to any customers of mine, even on my dying day. Telling me he thinks he has something worked out and promising phone calls back, that never show up. I am sure he is hoping that I buckle and anti up the additional 6k because I want my car so much. Sorry, can't give in to greed.

Yes, I could go to another dealership and order my car, but I would lose my price lock. A couple more grand is not the issue, this comes down to principal and integrity.
This coming for the #1 Chevy dealership in the country and supposedly the GM dealer of the year tells me that GM does not set the bar very high for integrity.

I currently have 6 cars in my driveway, all foreign except 1 old work truck. My twin girls will be driving in March, so I will have 8. I work my tail of and make alot of money.
If a dealer was looking for a perfect profile of their car buying future, I would be it.

The good news is , all of my teenage children feel bad for me and are willing to go to town on social media about this dealer, they are very good at it and have tens of thousands of friends they are tied into. These dealers would kill for this type of advertising, but in this case it won't be very positive.



You guys enjoy your cars, I am sure they are great.
I will be the guy next to you in the Acura that I'm going to go get honking and giving you the thumbs up.

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

There is an old saying about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sounds like you are doing this.

There are several sponsoring dealers on this site that deal in a nationwide market, and accept the GM promotional pricing programs. If you work with them and comply with the programs rules from the outset, and do not rely on "handshakes" and unwritten representations, you can do well, and get what you want. There are many GM dealers in my local area I would not set foot in the door. But I did my homework, found out what kinds of discounts I could qualify for, qualified for the credit union discount, found a reputable dealer here on the site that would honor it on a new order (actually, there are at least two sponsoring dealers that I know would do so). I then made sure I complied with the rules of what needed to be done, when they needed to be done. I placed my order on Sept 16, and was at Step 3000 nine days later.

You sound like the guy who got turned down for his first date at age 15, and decided to become a monk instead. And here it thought you Texans were tough

 

[Roc]

There is an old saying about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sounds like you are doing this.

There are several sponsoring dealers on this site that deal in a nationwide market, and accept the GM promotional pricing programs. If you work with them and comply with the programs rules from the outset, and do not rely on "handshakes" and unwritten representations, you can do well, and get what you want. There are many GM dealers in my local area I would not set foot in the door. But I did my homework, found out what kinds of discounts I could qualify for, qualified for the credit union discount, found a reputable dealer here on
the site that would honor it on a new order (actually, there are at least two sponsoring dealers that I know would do so). I then made sure I complied with the rules of what needed to be done, when they needed to be done. I placed my order on Sept 16, and was at Step 3000 nine days later.

You sound like the guy who got turned down for his first date at age 15, and decided to become a monk instead. And here it thought you Texans were tough

Just what we need on the Forum, Another Reality Show! I think Thursday's at 8 PM NBC is open. I'll bet Ford would pick this one up.

 

[glen e]

Sic'ing your kids on a dealer...via social media.......priceless.....

 

[The Rock]

The logic to not buy a product because someone changes their mind in terms of accepting a discount seems off-kilter. This is a common business event that was not invented yesterday. Business practices by individual dealerships can vary and claiming that the actions of one dealer is reflective of the product is simply silly. Let's consider other factors, such as bad looking car, bad brakes, bad radio reception, bad, bad, bad..................... By the way, I think my car is bad looking -- to the bone.

Go to another dealership or use one of the ones in the forum that sells nationwide. Don't give up, keep trying to "win" what you seek and don't get bent over by some "evil" stuff going on with someone. Cheers

 

[heymilton]

I do not quite understand how I am cutting off my nose on this one. Last I checked they are making about 34k of these a year. Can grab one at anytime.

I still do business today on handshakes, I am a man of my word. I do expect others to be as well when I do business with them.

As far as your smart ass comment about being 15 and Texans are tougher than that. What is being tough and giving up 2k more to get the same car. Wow, thats being tough
I grew up and still have morals and values. And when a business does not share the same values that I believe in then I simply move on.

There is an old saying about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Sounds like you are doing this.

There are several sponsoring dealers on this site that deal in a nationwide market, and accept the GM promotional pricing programs. If you work with them and comply with the programs rules from the outset, and do not rely on "handshakes" and unwritten representations, you can do well, and get what you want. There are many GM dealers in my local area I would not set foot in the door. But I did my homework, found out what kinds of discounts I could qualify for, qualified for the credit union discount, found a reputable dealer here on the site that would honor it on a new order (actually, there are at least two sponsoring dealers that I know would do so). I then made sure I complied with the rules of what needed to be done, when they needed to be done. I placed my order on Sept 16, and was at Step 3000 nine days later.

You sound like the guy who got turned down for his first date at age 15, and decided to become a monk instead. And here it thought you Texans were tough

 

[grilloz]

I do not quite understand how I am cutting off my nose on this one. Last I checked they are making about 34k of these a year. Can grab one at anytime.

I still do business today on handshakes, I am a man of my word. I do expect others to be as well when I do business with them.

As far as your smart ass comment about being 15 and Texans are tougher than that. What is being tough and giving up 2k more to get the same car. Wow, thats being tough
I grew up and still have morals and values. And when a business does not share the same values that I believe in then I simply move on.

There are great dealers out there. I hope you find away to locate 1 because you don't want to miss this ride because of a low life dealer. GOOD LUCK

 

[NightRaceRick]

Just back-up, take a breath, and start over with one of our forum dealers. The bigger the anticipation, the bigger the disappointment when things go wrong, so you obviously wanted the C7 very badly. Once you take delivery and crank her up, you'll probably need a plastic surgeon to get the smile off your face, and the thought of your initial experience will be an ancient memory. You don't want to miss out on this car!

 

[Bucket List]

I still do business today on handshakes, I am a man of my word. I do expect others to be as well when I do business with them.

I want to say that I strongly agree with your comment here....as I believe that most of us on this forum would attest. However, we, including dealers, are all human with human shortcomings. I have seen "handshakes" go awry because an owner or sales manager would not back up his employee's agreement....and I have see an owner overrule their sales manager BECAUSE a handshake was done and that was it. You vote with your wallet....but you also have a voice. Social media has its positives, but the voices on social media that resonate with me are the voices of reason and controlled emotion.

OK, so Classic Chevrolet sucks....but the Chevrolet Stingray does not!! I would not do business with Classic Chevrolet if they behaved like that....and I would not do business with Classic if a forum member told us what happened to him in a reasonable way. I just think that is where the disconnect is. If you like and want the car, you can get it...but as Rob had stated, you need to do your homework to help you avoid some of this BS. I would also write GM a nice letter expressing my displeasure with Classic....in a very reasonable tone.

Hey, but that is just me. Your life, your money....the great thing is you get to choose your path

Good luck!

AJ

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

Milton, I apologize if I said some things that you found insulting. It was not meant that way. But the point is, we all know the generally poor reputation of the retail auto sales industry. And if you are going to take advantage of a pricing program that can save you as much as $7000 off of MSRP, it pays to do your due diligence. If you do it, gain familiarity of how to qualify, what you need to document, and when, and can track down a dealer who will work with you (they are right here), you can get a great deal on a great car. Good luck.

 

[mjw930]

I can understand both sides of this discussion but I have to side with Milton on this. He was honest and up front from the beginning. He and his wife both commented they wanted to purchase the car under the Friends and Family program and the salesman proceeded to write up the order and take his deposit. To "change their mind" when it's time to close the deal claiming they "misunderstood" wouldn't pass muster with me either. They are professional representatives of the dealership and GM, it's incumbent upon them to know EXACTLY what program Milton was talking about 10 weeks ago when they took his money in good faith. While I agree that should have been written into the sales contract, not doing that doesn't make Milton the bad guy or a miss informed guy or someone who hasn't done their research. It makes him an honest guy who is used to doing business on a handshake and an understanding. In many ways it's a regional difference in the way people do business. In the South, doing business on a handshake is much more the norm than it is in the North East. Only a cynic would chastise a gentleman for being put out by a business who won't honor their agreements, whether they are written or spoken.

However, I disagree with concept of blaming Detroit / GM for the way this deal transpired. It's 100% on the dealership and their lack if integrity and it can (and does) happen every day regardless the brand dealers represent.

 

[heymilton]

I appreciate that. I did talk to Mackulkin, Very staight forward. Seemed great. Just handing over another 2k because of someones lack of integrity really upsets me.

QUOTE=Milliwatt Rob;87060]Milton, I apologize if I said some things that you found insulting. It was not meant that way. But the point is, we all know the generally poor reputation of the retail auto sales industry. And if you are going to take advantage of a pricing program that can save you as much as $7000 off of MSRP, it pays to do your due diligence. If you do it, gain familiarity of how to qualify, what you need to document, and when, and can track down a dealer who will work with you (they are right here), you can get a great deal on a great car. Good luck.[/QUOTE]

 

[tbob]

you know, i am not a big fan of the UAW, or GM because of the bailout and all the shareholders and bondholders that got whacked with the re org, and i own other brands of sports cars... however i did fall in love with the new vette's lines and value for your buck.... and i am paying MSRP for my 15'. z51 3lt coupe.... and i feel good that i dont have to worry about saving a buck or two... i was lucky to have an honest dealer just 50 miles away thats taking care of me... the car was ordered 8-6-14 and built 9-9-14... now i am waiting for the dang train to head west.... if you really want the car its out there, and there are honest dealers as well... park your attitude so you can drive the car.....

 

[Texas2Gun]

I bought my car at Classic Chevrolet and they honored my discounts on a hand shake. Did you talk to management about this or just accepted the salesman evaluation of your discount qualifications? Personally if I was qualified for such discount I would push the issue and win, but I always win that's just who I am.

 

[Z06 Owned]

I do not quite understand how I am cutting off my nose on this one. Last I checked they are making about 34k of these a year. Can grab one at anytime.

I still do business today on handshakes, I am a man of my word. I do expect others to be as well when I do business with them.

As far as your smart ass comment about being 15 and Texans are tougher than that. What is being tough and giving up 2k more to get the same car. Wow, thats being tough
I grew up and still have morals and values. And when a business does not share the same values that I believe in then I simply move on.

Stick to your guns. I feel for you. Similar thing happened to me about 8 years ago while trying to buy a C6 Z06, but it was worse than what you are describing.

Here's my advice->if there's a better car out there that suits your needs/wants...get it! If the C7 is really it, there is inventory building out there. Find one and buy it! You'll be in the proverbial "driver's seat", as far as negotiation. If they won't budge, move on! You'll get what you want at a fair price. You can win at this game, I promise.

 

[JS1977]

I'm not arguing anything the OP is saying as I was not there so I can't comment on his experience with classic, but I had NO issues with classic Chevrolet of grapevine when ordering my C7. My salesman was honest and straight forward about everything. He constantly keep me updated on the build process. He even worked with me to make sure I got an allocation that allowed me to get every option I wanted. Of course I didn't ask for a discount as I didn't have a friend/family working for GM. I did trade a car in and told them what I wanted for it (only had to say it once) and I got it. I hate that the OP had a bad experience with them as I don't like getting the run around either, but there are really great people at Classic Chevrolet, unfortunately the OP didn't have the same luck I had.

I hope you get the car your truly desire whether it be a C7 or some other brand.

 

[edjtyer]

Its a shame....My dealer, Lee Chevrolet in Washington NC is truly like having a good friend in the car business. I am buying at education discount supplier pricing. I wish you were close enough to deal with the Lee family. As to an Acura....how do you know that dealer will not suck. Please consider finding another Chevy dealer. For every bad one , I am sure there are many honest dealers that still value integrity their customers.

 

[greggshere]

Its a shame....My dealer, Lee Chevrolet in Washington NC is truly like having a good friend in the car business. I am buying at education discount supplier pricing. I wish you were close enough to deal with the Lee family. As to an Acura....how do you know that dealer will not suck. Please consider finding another Chevy dealer. For every bad one , I am sure there are many honest dealers that still value integrity their customers.

I whole heartedly agree ED, Lee Chevrolet treats you like family. I will never buy from another dealer, as long as they can get me what I want. They honored my GM Supplier discount as well. Steven, Steve and Sid, as well as the whole gang are a true joy to work with. That's why I treated the whole dealership to lunch about a week after I picked mine up. Just great people period.

 

[heymilton]

Update....Talking to the GM at the dealer, seems that they say this will all work out. May be a few more days, but we will see.

I really hope they pull through with this, since the sales guy was great. And their was a complete misunderstanding, I hope they do what they say. I would love to give them praise rather than to give them negative press.

This is a long hard road to get my car. I might have to burn through a set of rear tires in the first week once I get it.................

Mackulkin is on stand by!

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

Milton, it is always better to have a plan B than to give up. Sometimes, it seems as if my entire life has been more plan B than plan A Hope all goes well for you.