Cyber_C7

Maybe this is old news, but I'm a newbie both here to the forum and to buying a new car site-unseen. Awhile back I sent in my deposit for a 2015 Stingray through a reputable dealer in MI. I live in the Bay Area, CA. They were recommended by a friend in So.Cal who had a great experience buying his 2014 and I was getting the run-around from local dealers here.

Placed my order and all is well, but in order to get my car, I must either fly out to the dealer and pick it up and drive home, or, get a "courtesy delivery" set up at a dealer near you. No problem, sounds reasonable. I calculated the costs & time and figured I'd just let Chevrolet deliver it out here to me.

So I start calling local dealers to help me out. Well it appears that dealers are not "open" to courtesy deliveries. In fact, the dealers here in the Bay Area have been outright rude. This includes our Forum friends at Boardwalk Chevrolet in Redwood City, CA. Tim Boone's reply to my request was "We won't do that here." end of email.... Only one dealer was willing to quote the service.

The way I look at this, I'm buying a Chevrolet and these are Chevrolet dealerships. What's the problem.?? I'm in the Customer Service business as well and if I took the attitude that these dealers are taking, I wouldn't have any customers left and I wouldn't be able to afford the Stingray I'm buying. I understand that they did not make any profit for the actual sale of the car, but they do charge for this service and it is more than likely they will make much more money from me for service related activities over the next years.

I realize that I'm venting a here and I hope that others are having a better experience, but we all better remember that these dealers are here to make money. Nothing more, nothing less. Any assistance they are providing on this forum is purely for profit. Obviously some will have better service than others and I hate to "lump" them all into this, but I honestly believe that Customer Service is a thing of the past. You are nothing more than an invoice.

Cyber_C7
(soon to be SharkGray_C7)

Modshack

That's the way it is in an area where dealers can make huge profits on a new C7 sale.

My local dealer was more than happy to do a $250 courtesy delivery.....After I gave him first option on getting me a car (he couldn't)...
After filling the tank and spending the time he did in prepping the car, I'm sure he made ZERO $$. He's counting on my return business for parts, service and warranty work. BUT, This is a 50 yr. local dealer that counts on long term local business... It was an entirely pleasant transaction.

Have the car shipped (at greater cost) directly to you. Many forum dealers will gladly do this. I suspect you'll still be saving money (if that is your primary motivator)

tunaman

I'd be willing to bet that Abel will accommodate you. Give Derek a call and see - they are straight shooters.

Also, consider picking it up from the dealer and driving it back, or do Museum delivery! We just did and it was an absolute bucket list trip.

Mdm23

Man, those California dealers suck. There seems to not be much good to say about them when it comes to the C7.

rstrait

Pure self interest on their part. Their over the top pricing and sales at their dealerships would take a hit if courtesy deliveries were commonplace in CA. Price gougers want unfettered gouging conditions.

Larry/car

I'm really surprised dealers even do a courtesy delivery, let alone the $200 - $500 fee. I'm thinking percent (%) of profit between dealers, that would be thousands. Fortunately for customers it still happens. There is dealer resistance, and it is building. Future, don't count on it.

RicK T

Those were my 2 thoughts as I read your post. Abel in Rio Vista has a great reputation around here. And just shipping it from the selling dealer, while more costly, is still a great option if you don't want to pick up and drive.

wgood

I drove from KC to Seattle the long way 3200 miles in 1 week a lot more fun and a drive I may never make again in my lifetime !!! I used google maps and found lots of interesting points of interest , gas stations and self car washes !!! Pick up a small bucket and some towels at your 1st stop !!! Wayne

AORoads

I am not surprised. I've heard all of the comments before about NorCal dealers, incl. the good one about Abel. That's where I'd go.

Too bad you're not here. I once had a now-Forum dealer quote me a $0 courtesy delivery. Talk about smart guy. He's now a very prolific seller and vendor/dealer on here.

MikeC4C5C6...C7

Did MI to LA drive on historic Route 66 in my first C5. Great guidebooks for the trip and great fun. Some great driving stretches too. Even my wife who isn't in to Corvettes loved it. Consider it!

Modshack

Yes...Fly N' Buys are great fun. I did that with my C6 from NH (MacMulkin) to NC...Great trip!

Nonstop

We bought our car from Kerbeck and it was a pleasure, feel like they earned almost every penny, at MSRP too, but the local dealer that took our "courtesy delivery" total crap. No courtesy about it, it was apparently unload, throw away the wrapper, call you a day after it arrives, here's your car.. I'd have liked to get a little info. Amoni at Kerbeck was 1k miles away and did more on delivery than they did.

If you find a dealer willing I would ask what to expect, if you're expecting more than nothing. I was expecting a walk through. The last corvette in my family was a C3 L82! and this would be the first american sports car in 15 years, so it would have been nice to be familiarized. My point is I don't think a dealer that will reluctantly "accept" the car, should be your first choice. If you have the luxury, make a day of it, take a ride. Pick a dealer that says, "heck yeah bring us your bussiness we love accepting courtesy deliveries, we'll have coffee ready" and enjoy it, you may end up using a dealer that is 75 miles away for oil changes.. The good ones are out there, hard to find but.

You might want to contact GM Customer Care on here, they have been super receptive and helpfful on tons of topics. I'm not sure you'd want them to "make" any dealership deliver your car, or if they could, but they may steer you in the right direction. Plus this stuff needs to be known, it goes for the gouging too, hot topic, they are still getting MSRP and more down here, and the car is sitting right next to an Aveo or something, and the salseperson knows that it's called a Stingray, that's all.

7/10 American car dealers suck, people will come to their defense but it's true, the training and respect level are more a lack of training and contempt. They would rather alter to avoid than spend to fix, look at the trouble GM is in rigth now. I'm super easy to deal with, oddly, but it's amazing the type of stories you hear about GM, Ford, or ChryCo., all dealerships have horror stories, my last car was a bmw, I'm a Jeep nut too, so I love torture. It's the type of stories that make me laugh at American dealerships.. Same dealer as on delivery. The Arctic White Corvette with red interior on its first oil change, visible smeared greasy hand print on the hood, and an evident dry spot on the door and seat that looked like a greasy hand print had been wiped clean, with what, shop degreaser? Lately I'm using Griots vinyl stuff on the door, it was a gift, like any cleaning nut, it's obvious where my product was and no longer is... This is not my Jeep, I like to go overboard on this thing.

We service a black Lexus ES locally, and I rarely detail it as it comes back cleaner than I drove in 99% of the time.. It's the workhorse of the family. so it is a little rougher than the other cars, but they treat it like it was worth 3 times what it is. And we bombed them, GM we bailed out. hmm

Best of luck.

Pie R Squared

Cyber C7, Google Courtesy Delivery Enrolled Dealers. You should find an excel spread sheet with point of contacts (I couldn't attach the file). BTW: Boardwalk in Redwood City is listed with a POC of Bill Wessel.

I am ordering from Les Stanford and they picked the Courtesy dealer for me.

Virtual Geezer

With C7s selling at MSRP, the dealer you're asking to provide a local delivery is losing thousands of dollars. Right or wrong, I can understand why some are not very courteous. Money shouts loudest, boys.

01VETTECOP

I feel ya. F em !

Take some time off, fly out, and drive that Bad Boy back !

fdxpilot

Sounds like a problem with living in California, and dealing with California dealers. No other state makes buying a car out-of-state and bringing it back to register such a pain.

millpond

No problem registering in CA for me...half hour at DMV in Vallejo earlier this month. Bought in Pataskala, Ohio and drove it home.

Snowwolfe

Another reason why you want to stay with a forum vendor such as MacMulkin Chevrolet. When I bought my Grand Sport last year I paid for it then Tommy held it for 2 months (I was moving). After the move he put it on the truck and had it delivered to me. I never once thought anything of it and could trust Tommy 100%.

fizzman

That's very short sighted thinking. Clearly they couldn't match the price offered by the selling dealer so instead of trying to win the customer's service business, telling them to F**k off is just dumb

CORVETTEZL1001