Shrike6

Let me start by stating that I have done 2 Museum Deliveries and loved the experience. Always hated paying destination fee on top, though, as it is a pure union featherbedding cheat. Paying for transporting a car across the road should not charged the same as across the country in this one special case.
Now I see the Museum Delivery is double what it used to be. If you still have to pay $900 destination on top of that, it is pure BS.
So, the question I have is this; in the new pricing, will paying for Museum Delivery eliminate the destination charge?
I'm hoping GM has seen common sense, and lowered the destination fee and added it into Museum Delivery to come up with the new figure.
Otherwise, I can't see why it's now twice what it once was for Museum delivery. All due respect to the NCM team, but almost a grand prices you out of any future plans of mine for a new 'vette.
NINJA EDIT...
Just saw explanation given below that the dash plaque is $500 over and above the $495 Museum Delivery, and still paying $995 for destination. That's another WTF moment.

-CM-

The destination fee is government mandated, as explained here. Nothing to do with the NCM or the unions. A car delivered to a dealer in Nashville has the same fee as one delivered to San Diego. This keeps the playing field even.

But I agree about the Museum Delivery price. They should decouple the plaque from it, in case someone doesn't want it. The would make the price reasonable again.

Larry/car

I'm sure the destination charge will stand. The mandated Contract signed by GM and the Union have effectively set the fee in stone. There would have to be a reason to change the Contract, the fact that the Corvette Museum is just across the street and customers are complaining isn't reason enough. The reduction in price has to come from the Museum. The increased cost of the Museum Delivery has removed the desirability, I was going to due the Museum Delivery this time. Key word; WAS. Delete the plaque!!

Shrike6

Wait, the dash plaque is MANDATORY with the delivery?
This is gonna kill museum delivery.

pewter99

Jinx

If the Museum's goal was to reduce the number of deliveries, I predict success.

As for the Destination charge, GM would save themselves a lot of grief if they made the car cost $51,995 with a $0 Destination charge. Look, everyone, FREE delivery to any dealer in the country.

BlueOx

How does that save them grief? Why should they give that away? How many museum deliveries are there anyway?

RC000E

I'll investigate....lol

BuckyThreadkiller

I don't think there's a federal law requiring car companies to charge a destination fee. It's mandated that they disclose how much it is on every window sticker, but the charging of the fee and what it is doesn't come from the Feds.

It does keep people from flying from San Diego to Bowling Green to buy a car and that makes the California dealers smile.

JoesC5

I agree. Since it's a fixed charge, non negotiable, across the line for very Corvette, it should be part of the base price, not a add on.

Whether you buy the car from a dealer in Seattle or there in Bowling Green, that cost is the same, just like the steering wheel.

BuckyThreadkiller

That part is government mandated.

One of the requirements of the Monroney Law is that the destination charge be broken out of the cost of the car and shown separately on the sticker.

michaelinmech

AND (this is why the destination charge for the museum applies) the Destination Charge must be the same for the same vehicle delivered to any US Dealer. This is to keep ABC Chevrolet in Bowling Green from having a huge cost advantage over DEF Chevrolet in Seattle. It is no different for museum deliveries - they may not have a destination fee cost advantage over any other dealer.

Michael A

Unless GM is paying the carriers regardless of whether or not the car is shipped, then Museum Delivery should be a "no charge". They would already be pocketing the $995.

Also the law was written wrong. If there was no destination charge for factory delivery, it would not give any dealer an unfair advantage. You still have to go to the factory to pickup your car that you purchased from your local dealer, and eveyone would be paying the same amount, nothing, for the destination charge.

BTW, I have no use for the plaque.

Michael

RC000E

I made a thread answering the questions posed here

michaelinmech

Perhaps you can get the Monroney Law amended to be in line with your thoughts.
Factory Delivery would circumvent the Dealer System - no dealers = no local service, parts or expertise.
Don't want the plaque - take it off or skip museum delivery.

robvuk

I always thought that was strange as well. However, I don't see how the delivery charge to Seattle or San Diego is any disadvantage to a Bowling Green dealer. If you live in Seattle, you still have to get the car transported there, even if it's your own drive. You can't do that for less than the current destination charge. And if you're ordering the car anyway, you can order it from your local dealer for museum delivery much more easily than a Bowling Green dealer. And your sales tax and license still go to the state in which you live. So I don't believe it is intended for any kind of marketing equality.

michaelinmech

I'm on a business trip to Indiana - and I shopping for new car - just looked at new Toyota Camry's over the weekend - find out Camry's are made in Indiana - stop by the plant - buy there - save $1,000 destination charge - drive my new Camry back home to Maryland - tell my local dealer he lost the sale by the $1,000 destination charge . . . . . it is totally about marketing equality

Jinx

I think you misunderstand me. They're not giving anything away. They're not getting any less money from anyone, and it has nothing nothing nothing to do with museum delivery specifically. Museum delivery is a separate charge that has nothing nothing nothing whatsoever to do with the destination charge or what I suggested.

It would save them the grief of constant complaining from uninformed buyers angry that they have to pay the same amount no matter where they get the car in relation to its place of manufacture.

Breaking out the destination charge encourages buyers to misinterpret it as being a direct fee related to the cost of transporting their individual vehicle to a specific place. Then they get angry because "it's only across the street" or "I'm paying as much as the car that goes all the way across the damn country" and they don't understand, despite multiple people explaining otherwise, that GM is federally mandated NOT to charge more or less for a particular destination.

.Jinx

Michael A

Maybe I wasn't clear. You would still order your car from the dealer. The factory doesn't sell the car directly, so the dealer still gets all the profits, and, in fact, doesn't have to do the Pre-Delivery Inspection either. So the dealer comes out ahead. I know my grandparents did this in the 60's. They picked up their brand new Pontiac from the plant.

Michael