emsguy

I have seen threads here about dealers gouging buyers at over MSRP and other dealers who are limiting C8 showings to existing customers or people who have already put down their deposits. They are very, very short sighted. Yes, a dealer is free to charge whatever it wants, and can limit showings as it sees fit. But just because you are free to do something doesn't mean you should, or that it is the right thing to do.

I would like to share a lesson taught to me by my sales manager when I was a very young salesman. Any yahoo can make a sale. A salesman makes customers. And there is a big difference. Especially among a fiercely loyal bunch like corvette owners.

You can do what you want, but I would never patronize a dealer who gouges above MSRP or limits showings. And I have bought well over 50 new cars in my life. And sold many more as a car salesman.

I am sure that some may disagree. But think of the power of forums such as this. I think we have the power to show those dealers that it is bad business to abuse potential customers. Just my opinion.

C8Jake

emsguy

why do we put up with it?

C8Jake

TXshaggy

What are you “putting up with”? Why do you care what some businesses do? Move along if you don’t like such practices...

emsguy

Only by speaking out against what we think is wrong can we change it. Or we can just go on like sheep and keep getting sheared.

TXshaggy

Lol, because an obscure thread on CF changes such practices...

Michael A

I've told a number of dealers I will not pay over MSRP. It's not hard to find those dealers in California. One dealer told me I would have to wait 2 or 3 years before I would be able to buy at MSRP. He said some dealers were charging $30K over MSRP, and his dealership was only $5K over MSRP. You can imagine his shock when I told him I already found several dealers willing to sell at MSRP. When he asked who, I starting rattling off names of dealerships. He got off the phone real quick. I called his bluff.

Avanti

"...some dealers were charging $30K over MSRP..."

direct007

I'll play devil's advocate here. If a small dealer is only getting lets say 5 C8's all year and has buyers willing to pay over MSRP...Why not charge $5k or more over sticker. They will sell them. They aren't alienating buyers because they can't get any more of the cars at this point. Down the road in a few model years, when the floodgates open and the demand settles down, they will be able to sell at or below MSRP and people walking in off the street will be able to purchase them.

As far as dealers limiting the showing to just people that have left deposits at their dealership. I think that's very smart. You don't have a circus of people waiting in line trying to get their 90 seconds of seat time and again these dealers have a limited number of allocated cars for 2020. They can't sell what they don't have available, so why not cater to the people that had the initiative and loyalty to leave a deposit at that dealer? For what it costs a dealer to have the C8 tour, it makes even more sense than to have John Q Public come by, eat the dealer's food, look at the car and then order the car from a dealer that has a larger allocation.

When the cars are in plentiful supply, there will be plenty of time for people to sit in them and test drive them, but for now, cater to the early adopters.

I can see dealers that have huge allocations opening up the show to the public as they have not presold the majority of their inventory at the point of the C8 tour.

air86

Tell me where someone forces you to buy the car over MSRP? It's not gouging its supply and demand. They simply don't have enough cars for everyone so it goes to the people who come up with the most money for it. Simple. Its not hard. If you want a car at MSRP then find a vendor dealer. But prepare to spend thousands on stupid **** like truck transport and or lodging and fuel.

Price gouging is ripping people off with things they need when there is enough supply for the demand but choose to charge a higher price anyway. Gas stations are notorious for this practice especially around weather events. They will raise a products price in speculation for a shortage but when the shortage doesn't occur they still charge that amount anyway.

BobRBob

Why would you expect a dealer to sell a car for less than it's worth? Would you do that?

I Fly Low

You are absolutely right. We should have the government regulate the sales price and completely disregard capitalism and the free market. I'll get right on that.

Zjoe6

I don’t care if a dealer charges $100k over MSRP. I’m not paying it. Done deal.

MAKC7

Capitalism at its best.......supply < demand = top $

Mister Big

MSRP is a "Suggested" retail price and most cars are sold at below that, so I don't have a problem with it. If it's not worth it to me, I simply will not purchase one.

JALLEN4

If I were a Chevrolet dealer with a small allotment, I would not take the first deposit from anyone who either I don't know or who is not presently my customer. I would order the car with specs most likely to appeal universally and put it on the showroom floor. I would then start taking bids and would sell to the highest bidder... which is true market value.

You have to laugh at folks who condemn dealers for asking for more than sticker from people calling from five-hundred miles away. These folks didn't know you existed last week and will forget you exist next week when they can buy something next door. Short-sighted would be the idiot dealer who didn't get the money when he could!

C8Jake

smart

TXshaggy

Right now, dealers selling above MSRP are price gouging scumbags.

2 years from now, dealers not selling at a discount are price gouging scumbags.

Summary, if you won’t sell me my Vette at a price I want to pay today you are a price gouging scumbag.

These threads are still ongoing 6 MYs later on the C7 forum...lol.

tcinla

Give it time. WHen I got my 2017 in december of 2016 the first dealer I went to had about 8 C7's on their lot and acted as if they were the only one's in existence. They wouldn't even talk to me unless first agreed on a price. LoL...

So I left and went to dealers (all within 20 minutes of the first) with 30, 40 cars and, shocker!, they couldn't get me into a test drive fast enough before even talking about anything else. Give it time. Sanity will assert once the hype dies down.