Newb wants to switch from Infiniti to Corvette

[mpgxsvcd]

I have always been a diehard Japanese car fan. I have owned 7 Infiniti/Nissan cars before but Infiniti’s offerings just aren’t competitive anymore. The 2020 model year Infiniti cars don’t even come with Apple CarPlay and they have abandoned navigation altogether for some models. They just tell you to use your phone for navigation with a $45k car.

I am done with them when my current Q50 lease ends in late December. That car will be $6,000 underwater when I hand the keys back to them.

Honestly, I had never considered buying a Corvette before now. I have never owned a single American brand car in my life.

The C8 is different. It is everything I had always dreamed of. They absolutely nailed it and the price just seems absurdly low. I am all in and I placed an online reservation during the unveiling with my local dealer(Hendrick Chevrolet in Cary NC. Number 9 on Vette list).

I had talked to the head Corvette salesman a few weeks ago and he said they had 31 reservations already. Therefore, I assume I am probably going to end up being closer to 50 on the list.

The salesman was at the unveiling so he won’t be back until tomorrow but the dealership said he will call everyone on the list on Monday.

Does anyone have any experience with Hendrick? I would like to purchase locally if I can. I don’t want to go to the North East in winter next year.

I asked Hendrick on social media if they will sell at MSRP or not. To my shock they publicly responded in writing a few days later that all preorders will be sold at MSRP.

I am fine with paying MSRP. I think it is a fair price. What I really need help on is how to manage driving between when I have to end my Q50 lease at Christmas and when I will actually take delivery of the C8. My understanding is that the gap I could be without a car could be anywhere from a few weeks to MANY months.

I guess I could try to extend my Infinit Q50 lease but I think it has to be no less than 6 months for that. Plus I rolled a bunch of money into the lease because it was at zero percent interest. I will have paid that money off by then but they would still charge me the same lease price as if I was buying a brand new Q50 with extra money rolled in. I would rather make a clean break with them.

My son gets his license in a few months and he has an older 4 Door beater CRV that he will be driving. I don’t really want to try to share that with him. I don’t work close to our house so sharing a car with him just wouldn’t be feasible.

I looked at renting a car long term on Turo and that wouldn’t be terrible for a month or two. It is about $800 a month for an entry level sedan. I wouldn’t want to do that for more than 2 months at most.

My other option is that they have a brand new manual transmission 2019 C7 Z06 LT2 in their lot for $17k off. That car is actually listed below the KBB trade in value right now.

Theoretically I could buy the C7 and drive it for a few months and perhaps trade it in on the C8 without a substantial loss. The manual transmission Z06s hold their value reasonably well. However, I would have to figure something out with my driveway. Without the lift of the C8 I am going to massively scrape every time with the splitter on the C7. That would be $3,000 down the drain.

Does anyone else have any ideas on how to do a short term lease to get me by until the C8 gets here?

[John]

Sorry I have new had a lease.

[Milliwatt Rob]

Car dealers like to sell new cars. Which means, they need to get prospective buyers out of their old cars.

I think you are going to need a car for at least six months before you can get into a C8 of your own. Possibly longer.

There are people who want to cancel the remainder of their car leases. Perhaps you could assume the remainder of a lease for someone who needs to get out of theirs. If this sounds like a workable strategy for you, the sales departments of dealers may be a place to start.

Similarly, buy a used Chevy of some sort from your C8 dealer, sell it back to the dealer when the C8 arrives for you.

[mpgxsvcd]

Similarly, buy a used Chevy of some sort from your C8 dealer, sell it back to the dealer when the C8 arrives for you.

I might try to take over a Chevy lease on Swapalease.com. I doubt they will give me any credit on the C8 for the generic Chevy lease though.

[ZORA 69]

No advise here on leases, never had one, but then again just bought my second Japanese Car, a Toyota, I refer to as my beater and it is new. My first Japanese car was a 1992 NSX, had to make that exception.Oh, just remembered had a Nissan PU truck which was a fetcher in one of the businesses.

[Jljordann922]

Use swapalease if you absolutely must for a short term lease....keep in mind you're responsible for the transfer fees, credit app, and disposition fee at the end....so what may look like a great deal for 6 months, really isnt so great after you factor the other fees in. Be advised most if not all companies do not allow a transfer less than 6 months.

I too have an Infiniti lease in my lineup and am sick of Infiniti and their lease regulations.

[xzotklr]

I hope the dealers taking deposits and creating lists will actually get card to fill orders. My understanding is that most dealers will only get a few cars each.

[mpgxsvcd]

Use swapalease if you absolutely must for a short term lease....keep in mind you're responsible for the transfer fees, credit app, and disposition fee at the end....so what may look like a great deal for 6 months, really isnt so great after you factor the other fees in. Be advised most if not all companies do not allow a transfer less than 6 months.

I too have an Infiniti lease in my lineup and am sick of Infiniti and their lease regulations.

I have bought/leased 7 Infiniti cars/SUVs so I went in to the dealer to ask if I could extend my lease. I wasn’t looking for a discount or anything. I was prepared to pay my full “New Car” lease payment for a few more months.

The finance guy flat out said no. I asked him if he was sure about that and he said absolutely. He didn’t want my money unless I was buying a new car or buying out my entire current car.

I turned around and walked out of the dealer that I had been going to for 15 years, never to return. That sealed the deal for me. I am done with Infiniti and quite honestly I hope they fail now. Their cars just aren’t competitive anymore.

I drove over to my Chevy dealership(Hendrick in Cary, NC) not expecting them to give me the time of day. The head Corvette guy sat down with me for an hour and answered every question I had. It was wonderful. Best dealer experience I have ever had. They have earned my business so far for sure.

[mpgxsvcd]

I hope the dealers taking deposits and creating lists will actually get card to fill orders. My understanding is that most dealers will only get a few cars each.

My dealer is number 9 in the country and they are getting 50 for the first 3 month allotment. They should have enough cars but they have a lot of reservations as well.

[Milliwatt Rob]

I had an Infiniti Q45 on a 3 year lease in the early days of the Infiniti brand. What I found then was, you can turn your car in or negotiate lease changes at any dealer, not just the one where you bought the car.

In my case, I wanted to keep the car, but I thought the residual was too high. I went in three months before the lease ended to the original dealer, and they said "no can do". So I went to a different dealer, and what they did was cancel the remaining 3 months of the lease if I bought the car at the remainder price, and financed it with Infiniti Financial Services. So I wound up saving three lease payments, and the car loan rate was competitive.

The point is, you should be able to shop a different Infiniti dealer.

All this said, the most straight forward, transparent, and non pushy car buying experience I ever had was my C7 order from MacMulkin. Recently sent a friend there, he had the same positive experience. Keep that in mind if the going starts to get tough with your present Chevrolet dealer.

[Fireeagle]

You could also talk to the dealer where you are getting your C8. They should be able to sell you something cheap but reliable until your C8 is done and delivered. I have never done a reservation order so can't help you there, but when I bought my C7, we were also looking for a car for my wife and they were very good about pricing and finding an inexpensive alternative because they are selling you a Corvette. Sad to hear about your issues with Infinity. I was actually thinking about a Q50 when I wanted to replace my old TL and ended up doing a deal for a new TL back in 13 that I still use as my daily driver. Glad now that I didn't go that route.

[xzotklr]

My dealer is number 9 in the country and they are getting 50 for the first 3 month allotment. They should have enough cars but they have a lot of reservations as well.

Let me ask ...If you are on a waiting list is that a confirmation you will get to order a car..?
Watching some of the vlogs it was said that dealers will get C8's based on sales of previous year Corvettes...so the bigger dealerships ( in terms of Corvette sales) will get bigger allocations. Im concerned that some people will be on waiting lists and never see a car. The dealerships know how many C8's they will be getting as GM sent all dealerships letters confirming their allocations. If that is true then a dealership should only have a waiting list that matches their allocations. I can see having a slight overage of customers wanting a car so that the dealer can insure their full allotment will be sold but anything else would seem to me to be unethical.

[John]

GM does work on the “you turn, your earn new allocations,” and that consequently, the more Corvettes a dealership has sold in a previous specific time period, the more allocations they will get.

There are never any guarantees of course, but if your dealer is being honest with you, and telling those who are on their list below their allocation max amount that info, you will be getting your car. Timing is of course, always the issue.

Saw a comment from Alex MacDonald, Chief Chassis Development Engineer, that they are making between 40-50K of them annually.

[mpgxsvcd]

Let me ask ...If you are on a waiting list is that a confirmation you will get to order a car..?

According to my dealer they are getting 50 allocations in the first batch and I am in the 30s on the list. He seemed confident I would get a car just not right away. It will probably be closer to the end of the initial 3 month allotment.

[John]

1) Let me ask ...If you are on a waiting list is that a confirmation you will get to order a car..? I’m concerned that some people will be on waiting lists and never see a car.

2) I can see having a slight overage of customers wanting a car so that the dealer can insure their full allotment will be sold but anything else would seem to me to be unethical.

Let me address these critical and important comments and questions a second time.

1) Being on a waiting list does not guarantee anything, any more than in any other part of life. If your dealer or mostly your salesperson is not telling you and other customers the truth, such as their saying to 100 people, “yes we can definitely get your your first year C8,” but they know they only have 30 allocations, you will be out of luck in all probability the first year. However and thankfully, there are many honest dealers.

I helped 225 members of another Corvette forum get their 2014 SR and their 2015 Z06, never above list, when their dealers had not been honest with them) and every time of course without my getting a referral fee or anything back from any dealer whom I sent them — but getting immense satisfaction for getting a forum member this Corvette.

2) An overage is smart and real, for all of the following accurate and life appropriate reasons. Dealer A has 100 on his list (has 75 allocations), but when it comes time to place an order, exactly matching an allocation for the next consensus with the next customer on their list, in a typical ordering cycle more than 30% of customers will back out. Why? Medical, financial, they found and bought a 427 C8 1967 that they have always wanted or a used Ferrari or similar, divorce, their business needed extra cash to buy out a competitor who is retiring, and most of all, some C8 buyers will get on multiple dealer lists — so when dealer A calls them and says they are ready to place your order, the customer either ducks the call, or honestly says, well last week I placed my order with dealer B.

Personally, I have never gotten on more than one list.