Officially Official: Corvette Starts at $59,995

One question: how does Chevy/GM prevent dealers from surcharging the new C8 Corvette?

  On 8/15/2019 at 3:16 PM, riviera74 said:

One question: how does Chevy/GM prevent dealers from surcharging the new C8 Corvette?

Expand  

I don't think they can. 

If they see dealers surcharging, they should stop shipping cars to them for a year to penalize them.    

  On 8/15/2019 at 3:26 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

I don't think they can. 

Expand  

And they won’t. The dealership I worked at last year sure didn’t hesitate to take advantage of that practice with any hot model much less what’s going to happen when this comes out. 

Aside from what dealers will charge for this, it’s a miracle starting price considering everything that went in to it. My only concern will be if the quality will be there. Like it or not, Vettes have always been hit or miss when it comes to that and a first year mid-engine Vette may be no exception to this rule. We will see after a year or three. 

I still think $72k for a 2LT and performance package is a good price.  

Dealers may  upcharge but if Chevy builds a ton and gets them on dealer lots, there won’t be a supply issue.  And that will limit how long they can try to over charge.

Dealers will upcharge a lot first 1-2 years but than prices will stabilize.

$5k for a Z51 package is a bargain, considering all the upgrades.

Can't wait till the reviews come out to see how it performs.

  On 8/15/2019 at 3:31 PM, Robert Hall said:

If they see dealers surcharging, they should stop shipping cars to them for a year to penalize them.    

Expand  

Thats not at all how the OEM / franchise business agreement works. Dealers BUY the vehicles; its their’s to sell. You’ve heard of ‘factory’ and ‘dealer’ incentives, right?

You wouldn't want an OEM to directly influence a private sale, would you?

  On 8/15/2019 at 4:34 PM, balthazar said:

Thats not at all how the OEM / franchise business agreement works. Dealers BUY the vehicles; its their’s to sell. You’ve heard of ‘factory’ and ‘dealer’ incentives, right?

You wouldn't want an OEM to directly influence a private sale, would you?

Expand  

I meant stop selling to (and thus shipping product to) these corrupt dealers.   Make them hurt...the current franchising model is obsolete and stupid, IMO... 

Is an individual ‘corrupt’ if they sell their pre-owned car above KBB book value? A new vehicle is conceptually no different. 

if some new balance-wearing beer gut waddles into a dealership to pay over MSRP so he can slide his XXL cargo shorts into a corvette before everyone else at the old country buffet, that’s his business and dealerships should absolutely capitalize on his idiocy.

  On 8/15/2019 at 8:29 PM, FAPTurbo said:

if some new balance-wearing beer gut waddles into a dealership to pay over MSRP so he can slide his XXL cargo shorts into a corvette before everyone else at the old country buffet, that’s his business and dealerships should absolutely capitalize on his idiocy.

Expand  

LoL....I've worn New Balance since high school, and am XXL... but I don't go to Old Country Buffet and don't plan on buying a Vette anytime soon...

A new C8 Corvette starting at $60K should make Porsche nervous at this point, or do they (and other mid-engine sports car makers) not seem to care?

I honestly do not see why GM cannot do what other companies like Bose does that sets a price and retailers are not allowed to sell it for more or less than the stated price.

The additional market markups needs to be smacked down by the auto companies and they can do this by refusing to ship them products.

I get what ever the market will bare, yet at the same time if GM is truly wanting to build goodwill, then they need to control their dealers and stop the stupid price add on's.

I refuse to do business with dealers like that.

GM doesn't own the dealers, and I'll bet they aren't interested in selling less vehicles on purpose.
The end game of an OEM rigidly controlling sell prices will mean no incentives, no dealing, and no variation on price between dealers. Wonder how well that will go over with consumers?

  On 8/15/2019 at 9:36 PM, balthazar said:

GM doesn't own the dealers, and I'll bet they aren't interested in selling less vehicles on purpose.
The end game of an OEM rigidly controlling sell prices will mean no incentives, no dealing, and no variation on price between dealers. Wonder how well that will go over with consumers?

Expand  

Seems to do very well for Bose and many other high end products. Corvette is a bargain at the MSRP price and would not only simplify the sales experience but guarantee a consistent profit margin to the dealer.

End result would be a win win for both GM and the dealer.

GM should have sold the first 1,000 Corvettes with a $40,000 “launch edition package”  and made the car $99,995 so they can cash in on the first 1,000 sold.  That would undercut the dealer ability to price gouge.  

  On 8/15/2019 at 8:54 PM, riviera74 said:

A new C8 Corvette starting at $60K should make Porsche nervous at this point, or do they (and other mid-engine sports car makers) not seem to care?

Expand  

I don’t think Porsche cares, because the 911 has Porsche build quality and the Corvette has Chevrolet build quality and Porsche owners know it.  Really the Corvette is a 718/Boxster competitor so we’ll see if sales of those get hurt.  They have a new 2020 911, that won’t get hurt at all.

  On 8/15/2019 at 8:55 PM, dfelt said:

I refuse to do business with dealers like that.

Expand  

That is the only thing you can do, dfelt.  The rest of what you said is pishposh.

this is one of the rare instances where GM has nailed it with price and packages out of the gate.

attractive and totally acceptable pricing.  logical option package structures that have real differences and not so many alacarte packages.

and on top of that, lots of customization possibilities.

wish GM did this with other models.

As far as mid-engine exotic cars go, Chevrolet TOTALLY missed the pricing mark.

  On 8/15/2019 at 11:09 PM, balthazar said:

As far as mid-engine exotic cars go, Chevrolet TOTALLY missed the pricing mark.

Expand  

It will be interesting to see how the performance compares to cars like the Ferrari 488.  In Z51 spec the estimated 0-60 time sounds in the same range, but over $200k less...

It's in the 718 Boxster/Cayman price range, but potentially playing at a higher level...

  On 8/15/2019 at 10:56 PM, regfootball said:

this is one of the rare instances where GM has nailed it with price and packages out of the gate.

attractive and totally acceptable pricing.  logical option package structures that have real differences and not so many alacarte packages.

and on top of that, lots of customization possibilities.

wish GM did this with other models.

Expand  

They can start with the crossovers that are so popular these days, especially at Cadillac.

  On 8/15/2019 at 10:52 PM, ocnblu said:

That is the only thing you can do, dfelt.  The rest of what you said is pishposh.

Expand  

You would know all about pishposh being an expert on the subject matter and all. He is not wrong. Dealers that do that are a joke and in this day and age, it is pretty damn easy to make dealerships regret the practice of overcharging just because they can. For all of Tesla’s flaws, their sales model will eventually spread to others who will get tired of these shady dealers that do nothing but make potential customers run far away from thus killing the bottom line of the manufacturers for which they sell. People are slowly but surely seeing through the tactic and eventually, the rules will change, pishposh and all. 

  On 8/16/2019 at 12:55 AM, surreal1272 said:

You would know all about pishposh being an expert on the subject matter and all. He is not wrong. Dealers that do that are a joke and in this day and age, it is pretty damn easy to make dealerships regret the practice of overcharging just because they can. For all of Tesla’s flaws, their sales model will eventually spread to others who will get tired of these shady dealers that do nothing but make potential customers run far away from thus killing the bottom line of the manufacturers for which they sell. People are slowly but surely seeing through the tactic and eventually, the rules will change, pishposh and all. 

Expand  

Another perfect slayed out explanation as to why Costco with their set prices have surpassed many dealers to become one of the largest dealers. People hate to deal with the haggle of sales at less than reputable dealerships.

Negotiating an agreement is not a sign of being corrupt. Charging more for the same item another seller does isn't either. When Snap On sells a ratchet that performs identical to another for quadruple the price, are they 'less than reputable'?
 
BTW : Costco may also be 'corrupt' because it doesn't adhere to the same pricing other sellers do (never mind it may be lower). Isn't that how this snap judgment thing works?

  On 8/16/2019 at 12:55 AM, surreal1272 said:

their sales model will eventually spread to others

Expand  

Surreal, how many times has this been tried?  Saturn is a prime example, but there have been others.

The only thing dfelt can do is buy his new Corvette (and never take the top off) from a dealer who does not price gouge.  This is plenty powerful enough.  Simple.  Done.

  On 8/16/2019 at 9:48 AM, ocnblu said:

Surreal, how many times has this been tried?  Saturn is a prime example, but there have been others.

The only thing dfelt can do is buy his new Corvette (and never take the top off) from a dealer who does not price gouge.  This is plenty powerful enough.  Simple.  Done.

Expand  

You are utterly clueless as to what we both are talking about. Saturn is terrible example of what’s being done now. It was still a dealership and it’s problem had not $h! to do with its “no haggle pricing” and everything to do with the product itself. Seriously man. Pay attention to the actual facts next time instead of just making up your own. 

As a matter of fact @ocnblu, the trend has been moving upward towards the no haggle model and it’s not just the Costco/GM model which has been wildly successful. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/autos/sc-end-dealer-haggling-autotips-1020-20161011-story.html%3foutputType=amp

“People who remain stuck in the old ways or are complicit to the old ways, will always remain stuck while the rest of the world moves on.”

  On 8/16/2019 at 3:31 PM, surreal1272 said:

As a matter of fact @ocnblu, the trend has been moving upward towards the no haggle model and it’s not just the Costco/GM model which has been wildly successful. 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicagotribune.com/autos/sc-end-dealer-haggling-autotips-1020-20161011-story.html%3foutputType=amp

 

“People who remain stuck in the old ways or are complicit to the old ways, will always remain stuck while the rest of the world moves on.”

Expand  

Both of my Grandfathers who lived into their late 90's always told us grand-kids the following motto:

"Learn from History so that you do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Draw INSPIRATION from the past to make a better future by ongoing learning and strive to contribute to bringing a better quality of life to humanity!"

Both were Marines who fought in WWII and a few other theaters and always felt the biggest mistake is when we cannot help humanity to have freedom and move forward into the future. Living in the past with stagnate ways of doing things is death to humans.

My inspiration is to always find new ways to help others and improve quality of life. Technology has done that and with it many others have drawn inspiration to help people have a better quality of life. 

Hurrah!!! to the Future!

Here is a perfect video showing why we learn from the past, move to the future and help all.