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Then why does GM send me surveys after I buy a new car or have service done at a dealer? If I am not their customer, why would they care about my satisfaction with sales and service of GM vehicles? Obviously, I am their customer and they know it even if you don't.
See Message 15 above. I made the 20-minute drive to one of the dealers yesterday morning to look at an Accelerate Yellow C8 on the showroom floor that came in three days ago. I just wanted to see the color; I wasn’t interested in buying the car. It was sold by the time I got there.
Then why does GM send me surveys after I buy a new car or have service done at a dealer? If I am not their customer, why would they care about my satisfaction with sales and service of GM vehicles? Obviously, I am their customer and they know it even if you don't.
Post sale, yes. Pre sale no. Before the car is built and sold, you are not a GM customer - the dealer is. Also you neglected to answer my question - what manufacturers keep an end purchaser "informed" through the product build process? Production information is typically considered proprietary information by companies.
See Message 15 above. I made the 20-minute drive to one of the dealers yesterday morning to look at an Accelerate Yellow C8 on the showroom floor that came in three days ago. I just wanted to see the color; I wasn’t interested in buying the car. It was sold by the time I got there.
This one.
Why - because this isn’t happening in your little world? In my area, three of the four Chevy dealers have had a total of five C8s delivered from BG and for sale at MSRP during the last month. All but the one that came in two days ago sold within a couple of days. Obviously, not all C8 builds are sold customer cars...
So please help me understand...you see (on the internet) total of five C8s for sale. You infer the cars are sitting on the lots because they dealers show photographs of the cars (I assume) sitting at the lots during last month and you see those cars disappear or marked as sold (on the internet) then you go over there in person to check the last one still listed for sale and it is gone. So did you asked the dealership you visited the "deal" on the yellow car?
Basically I am trying to understand is how do you know the cars were there in the first place (since you did not see them in person) and how do you know they were customers backing out and/or cars for dealers and not personal orders?
Don't mean to be coy but when you write C8s sitting in the lots at MSRP that is exactly what I pictured and then you write they disappear in two days which is the opposite of cars sitting at dealerships...
Bit confusing (at least for ,me).
Last edited by Telepierre; 07-26-2020 at 12:30 PM.
Parkway Chevrolet in Houston, and maybe they all do it, have ads with customer cars that are pre sold show up on their site photoshopped in front of their dealer like they actually have them which they do not.
Last edited by IdRatherBGolfing; 07-26-2020 at 12:42 PM.
So please help me understand...you see (on the internet) total of five C8s for sale. You infer the cars are sitting on the lots because they dealers show photographs of the cars (I assume) sitting at the lots during last month and you see those cars disappear or marked as sold (on the internet) then you go over there in person to check the last one still listed for sale and it is gone. So did you asked the dealership you visited the "deal" on the yellow car?
Basically I am trying to understand is how do you know the cars were there in the first place (since you did not see them in person) and how do you know they were customers backing out and/or cars for dealers and not personal orders?
Don't mean to be coy but when you write C8s sitting in the lots at MSRP that is exactly what I pictured and then you write they disappear in two days which is the opposite of cars sitting at dealerships...
Bit confusing (at least for ,me).
You don’t need to try to read between the lines to try to recreate the scenario. I did chase down four of these cars at the dealers when I knew they came in; the fifth one supposedly was delivered and immediately was shipped out of state. That’s a benefit of buying a lot of new cars over the years and maintaining longterm relationships with dealers - they call and say things like, “We’ve got a dark red and an orange one coming Wednesday, and neither one are sold. You ought to check the info on our website and come take a look.” I also only work with dealers that don’t mark up from MSRP, and I almost always special-order my cars but hate the wait - especially for a C8 convertible that may not show up until more than a year after I dropped off the deposit.
The yellow car was a dealer stock order. And I didn't say I didn’t see it; I just said it was sold by the time I got to the dealership. I didn’t ask any of the details about the buyer or the transaction, because they’re none of my business. I'll also tell you that IMHO yellow paint, yellow seatbelts and yellow calipers are too much freaking yellow in one place.
Regarding your post about tracking BMW and MINI orders, I did it myself just like any BMW or MINI buyer can do - and almost always had more up-to-date information than my salesperson. The toughest part is tracking the specific position of the ships as they work their way through waterways and across the ocean, which is information that comes directly from the shippers and maritime authorities.
You don’t need to try to read between the lines to try to recreate the scenario. I did chase down four of these cars at the dealers when I knew they came in; the fifth one supposedly was delivered and immediately was shipped out of state. That’s a benefit of buying a lot of new cars over the years and maintaining longterm relationships with dealers - they call and say things like, “We’ve got a dark red and an orange one coming Wednesday, and neither one are sold. You ought to check the info on our website and come take a look.” I also only work with dealers that don’t mark up from MSRP, and I almost always special-order my cars but hate the wait - especially for a C8 convertible that may not show up until more than a year after I dropped off the deposit.
The yellow car was a dealer stock order. And I didn't say I didn’t see it; I just said it was sold by the time I got to the dealership. I didn’t ask any of the details about the buyer or the transaction, because they’re none of my business. I'll also tell you that IMHO yellow paint, yellow seatbelts and yellow calipers are too much freaking yellow in one place.
Whether between the lines or not, nothing of what you just wrote reads to me as C8s sitting in the lots at MSRP. All I read is "cars in and poof they are gone".
Regarding your post about tracking BMW and MINI orders, I did it myself just like any BMW or MINI buyer can do - and almost always had more up-to-date information than my salesperson. The toughest part is tracking the specific position of the ships as they work their way through waterways and across the ocean, which is information that comes directly from the shippers and maritime authorities
Again, not to be a stickler, the online BMW tracker is cool but as you clarified above it is not really the whole process. Just like Porsches the system ends with the birth of the car and after that its pretty much awaiting shipment and arrival to dealer black hole which makes you wonder where the car is especially if it has been in route for months.
Glass can be half full or half empty
Last edited by Telepierre; 07-26-2020 at 03:30 PM.
My car is a perfect example, it was never anything but my ordered and sold car. When it came in we sent it and my friends to the body shop to swap rear bumpers (he didn't want the Z51 spoiler and I did). The GM said since they had been invoiced and the car was delivered, but not punched as a retail sale yet, it was probably going to show in inventory.
Wow - Does anyone have a picture of a whole herd of dead horses being beaten?
Originally Posted by Telepierre
Whether between the lines or not, nothing of what you just wrote reads to me as C8s sitting in the lots at MSRP. All I read is "cars in and poof they are gone.”
Whether a car sits unsold on a dealer’s lot for one or two or a hundred days, it’s still unsold. If it’s poof -gone after a day or two, good for the dealer. Maybe it’s because the store’s salespeople are doing their jobs and sending e-mails to or getting on the phone with their prospective buyers as soon as they know the cars are really on the way: “Hey, we’ve got a couple of unsold C8s shipped from Bowling Green that will be here Wednesday, and they won’t last long. All the salespeople here are contacting their buyers, so if you want to lock up one of these cars, tell me now and get a check to me right away so I can mark it sold until you can inspect it. All sales will be at MSRP.”
Originally Posted by Telepierre
Again, not to be a stickler, the online BMW tracker is cool but as you clarified above it is not really the whole process. Just like Porsches the system ends with the birth of the car and after that its pretty much awaiting shipment and arrival to dealer black hole which makes you wonder where the car is especially if it has been in route for months.
My response was to Zymurgy’s point about few manufacturers not keeping buyers in the loop during the entire production process, which I interpret to be, in BMW’s case, everything from entering the order in the factory’s computer and starting to stamp metal to hitting the paint shop and passing final inspection before the car is driven to the yard for shipment to the boatyard. After that, the car is in the hands of the shipper, which I don’t consider to be part of the production process. However, BMW does monitor and reports on the major shipping steps, although not to the extent I did. (Do you care what the longitude, latitude and speed of the boat are in the middle of the Atlantic? Do you need a security cam photo of the boat entering the final harbor? Probably not, but this information added to the paperwork trail and ultimately added value to the vehicle when I sold it later.)
Originally Posted by Telepierre
Glass can be half full or half empty
My only question would be, Why is your glass twice as large as it needs to be?
Not falling for anything, nor do I neccessarily trust what any website (or anyone) says on the Internet. I’m just pointing out what’s available info-wise on a particular C8 someone found, and I don’t believe the price or availability either.
It’s a good thing the Corvette Forum isn’t on the Internet, or some of the postings here might not be believable either.
Your telling us that you've been offered or think you've seen a few C8's for sale at the dealership that aren't already sold orders and didn't get one as "it's not quite like yours" knowing full well these cars are hard to get and fetch a premium?!?! If it looks too good to be true you know the saying...
Talk about looking at a gift horse in the mouth and doing the complete opposite. Reminds me of this scene:
Your telling us that you've been offered or think you've seen a few C8's for sale at the dealership that aren't already sold orders and didn't get one as "it's not quite like yours" knowing full well these cars are hard to get and fetch a premium?!?! If it looks too good to be true you know the saying...
Just to make sure I understand: You are suggesting I should buy a C8 model I do not want, in a color I do not like, equipped with options I do not need - just because the car is available? Since it is my $80K, I think I will just wait until the convertible I ordered arrives.
07-26-2020, 11:07 AM
got to love the C8 thread.
Since it is my $80K, I think I will just wait until the convertible I ordered arrives.