Buying my C8 Stingray

[WillRockwell]

I'm going to start this thread to relate my experience so far in purchasing a new C8 Corvette. I hope others who are beginning this adventure will contribute to the thread.
I've just come from my Chevrolet dealer, Schumacher Chevrolet in East Hanover New Jersey. I put a $5,000 down payment on a red LT1 Stingray with no options at all. I was told that the purchase price would be MSRP, with no added charges. I was able to look through a 36-page internal document showing all the options available on the various configurations of the car, with no prices. I was told the pricing information will be released on August 15th. On August 5th, a C8 will be at the Schumacher dealership in Little Falls, and as a customer, I will be allowed to sit in it, but I can't drive it. I am actually the first to make a down payment at my dealership, so everyone there is very excited about receiving my car.

Looking through the options , I found that the front end lift is not available on the LT1, and is not standard on the LT 2 or LT 3, it will be an additional option on those cars. I have asked to be able to pick my car up from the factory in Bowling Green Kentucky, but they have not confirmed that I'll be able to do that.

My deposit is refundable within 72 hours after the announcement of pricing on August 15th. There is no information yet on availability or delivery time tables.

[John]

Congratulations Will. Some people are unhappy with placing a large refundable deposit, but no me. After all what is the interest in a bank between now and 20 days from now on $5,000 — for C8 detail pricing will, as you noted, be out then. There absolutely positively will be Museum Delivery, but (is there not always one), GM has yet to announce when Museum Delivery will start — just as they have not yet announced when Buyers Tours will start. Maybe right at the beginning, maybe in month # 2, or ???

As for your sitting in the car, that is great news, and just know that the second you do two things, you will be hooked. First, walking around it once — looking into the engine compartment as you do so, and second, sitting in it.

[ZORA 69]

Willrockwell , welcome and congratulations on your deposit . If you do not get any other option you may one consider one . The Dual Mode performance exhaust. It was $1200 on the C7 and MacMulikn , who is the second largest Corvette dealer puts this option on every car that is not previously sold . It is a great feature to be able to tune up the Exhaust note or tune it down. If you do not get this option then you become familiar with it later you may be sad. .

[Gators2020]

Congrats Will. I like the write up. I’ll share my experience as well. I waited until the day after the reveal to decide to put my name down on a list, once I was sure I wanted one I called the major dealerships near me and even 2 of the ones on the top 50 list. One had an allocation of 9 vehicles for the first quarter and I would be 8, with only s $1,000 deposit so I chose them. However, I found another dealership note requiring any deposit so I put my name down with them as well. Funny enough, the one not requiring a deposit is from the top 50 list.

However, my experience so far in being kept up to date and informed of the ongoing process has been subpar. One dealerships sales rep almost never has the answers to my questions, while the other dealerships sales person is just not very friendly.

You would think since were dropping nearly $80k or more that we would get a little more out of the experience.

[WillRockwell]

Congrats Will. I like the write up. I’ll share my experience as well. I waited until the day after the reveal to decide to put my name down on a list, once I was sure I wanted one I called the major dealerships near me and even 2 of the ones on the top 50 list. One had an allocation of 9 vehicles for the first quarter and I would be 8, with only s $1,000 deposit so I chose them. However, I found another dealership note requiring any deposit so I put my name down with them as well. Funny enough, the one not requiring a deposit is from the top 50 list.

However, my experience so far in being kept up to date and informed of the ongoing process has been subpar. One dealerships sales rep almost never has the answers to my questions, while the other dealerships sales person is just not very friendly.

You would think since were dropping nearly $80k or more that we would get a little more out of the experience.

I would not buy the car for 80000 or more, but for anything close to the base price of 60000, I consider this an incredible bargain, and feel with the value of the car can only go up. The dealer agrees with me that the car comes loaded, and does not need any options. I have bought new cars before at the base price, and was never disappointed. I was surprised that raising the front end was optional, but the dealer assured me that the C8 is the same height as previous Corvettes, so clearance should not be a problem

[Milliwatt Rob]

There is no sound business reason to demand a large deposit on a car that will, at least initially, be in short supply, long demand, and therefore easy for the dealer to sell if you back out. Legally, there is a "lost volume" argument, but that argument depends on the dealer being able to obtain an unlimited number of cars from the manufacturer.

[WillRockwell]

There is no sound business reason to demand a large deposit on a car that will, at least initially, be in short supply, long demand, and therefore easy for the dealer to sell if you back out. Legally, there is a "lost volume" argument, but that argument depends on the dealer being able to obtain an unlimited number of cars from the manufacturer.

I am anticipating that the high deposit I paid will influence the length of time I have to wait for delivery

[JB]

I met several shuemocker chevy buyers today down in atlantic city.

i met one guy whi said he was number one, one guy who was number four...one guy Mr number four said he met Mr number 3 on the list at sheumocker..(sp)


msrp is cool..

its 1LT, 2LT and 3LT on the interior...

the engine is a LT2...

if you want that front end E60 lift system...you have to also order 2LT interior unfortunately so 99 percent Im blowing off the E 60 front lift aystem..

i am definitely buying the z51 fe4 suspension ...

Thats 7 grand give or take that is a must have for me...

the 1LT interior is fine in my opinion and once I do 2LT...i have to then say why jot 3gt seats etc and it begins to get crazy....

so no E60 lift for me either.

[Milliwatt Rob]

Wonder what the E60 lift system adds to the weight up front.

[JB]

Imdont anticipate a problem with the front height....just dont barrel into parking spaces with those cement curbs....be cautious until you get ipused to the length of the front end...

i managed for twenty hears without the front end cameras or lift kit..

once in a blue moon I hear crunch...but nothing permanent that we can see...

some guys put in a videoca,era on the front of their c7 1LTs pretty easy...

i think one of my friends bought his corvette from shoeimocker (sp) he lives in east hanover and he was always pleased with his purchase...of course his wasnt the c8 but rather a purchase at the end of a generation.

congrats and welcome to the forum..

[JustOneMore]

I am anticipating that the high deposit I paid will influence the length of time I have to wait for delivery

The large deposit will have no influence on delivery time. I put down $5000 16 months ago, it wasn't demanded or even requested, I offered it to secure my dealers first allocation, that is what your deposit got you also, hopefully their first allocation. Since they are paying to have the show come to them they should have no problem getting an early allocation.
Good luck with the process.

[WillRockwell]

The large deposit will have no influence on delivery time. I put down $5000 16 months ago, it wasn't demanded or even requested, I offered it to secure my dealers first allocation, that is what your deposit got you also, hopefully their first allocation. Since they are paying to have the show come to them they should have no problem getting an early allocation.
Good luck with the process.

Since Shumacher has secured a C8 preview at their Little Falls branch, I'm hoping they carry weight with GM, and my deposit will be honored

[JustOneMore]

Since Shumacher has secured a C8 preview at their Little Falls branch, I'm hoping they carry weight with GM, and my deposit will be honored

The weight they carry with GM is the $16000 they paid GM for a one day show ($25000 for 2 days).

[tooold2race]

While I've had deposits at two stores for over a year, I have to sit on the sidelines for a while and wait for the 'vert'. In the mean time, 3 of my buddies who were either on the fence or not at all impressed with the early 'hype' have headed over to the dealer to put down money ($1000) for a spot on the list for a coupe. Believe it or not, all of us are getting Torch Red! I hope they don't run out of paint....

[John]

So all know our forum rules on posting dealership with open allocations, we are MECF actively support our five forum dealership vendors who pay us an annual fee to advertise their businesses. Vendor payments, though nominal compared to other forums, are very critical for us to pay our bandwidth costs, etc.

We can not and will not allow anyone to post, my dealer “X” has five open allocations for 2020 C8’s, and will continue to delete such posts up until every one of our five forum dealerships vendors have sold out of their 2020 allocations and also has a good sized waiting list (for traditionally 30-40% of people on waiting lists drop off).

If you have a dealership interested in becoming a vendor, please have them contact me through you via a private message.

All of you may continue to post however about your own experience, i.e., I am # 5 at my dealership, did or did not put down a deposit, etc.

Thank you all for complying with our MECF survival need to actively support our forum vendors!