[grkjet]

Hello all,

Long time reader/lurker, not much a poster but here it goes.

My current lease of my alfa romeo giulia is coming to an end in March 2022 and I'm looking to replace it with a Camaro LT1.

Originally, i thought perhaps I should just try to work with a dealership at the end of my term, or close to it, to secure one that's already on a lot. Currently there is 69 lt1's within a 200 mile radius of me.

But I have also heard of dealerships jacking up the price on cars due to the shortage.

I contacted a few dealerships to see if I could custom order an lt1, and one of the dealerhsips said they could certainly place a build for me at MSRP (no markup), but they could not give me a timeframe as to when it should arrive.

Given the recent stoppage in production and the overall production limitations, should I custom order the car and hope it's ready within the next 5 months, or just go to a dealership and try to get MSRP.

Your thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[raptor5244]

If you can find one on a lot that meets your requirements and they are selling at MSRP then I would snag it. It looks like the supply chain shortages are going to get worse before they get better so if you order one you have to make sure your dealer has an allocation and you have to make sure there are no constraints on the particular car you are ordering. Then you have to pray the plant doesn't keep shutting down every other week due to lack of components to build the cars. It seems like GM is prioritizing the higher volume and profit vehicles, Silverados and Corvettes. C8 Corvettes have about a 12 month wait at MSRP. If you pay $10k over you can get one in about 3-4 months. Crazy times...

I had a 2022 1SS 1LE on order but found a new 2021 ZL1 show up in inventory so I bought it. Currently, there are only 4 ZL1s available in my area. 2 are convertibles and the other two are not my choice of color and they are all asking over MSRP right now. I was able to buy mine at MSRP less a couple $500 rebate.

[TacticalByte]

I was in your boat a few months ago looking at what was on the lot. It seemed the ones I liked and had what I wanted were already spoken for. At that time the dealer had 6 or 7 2021 Camaros on the lot, they are at this time gone and they have 2022s on the way, most likely ordered by a customer.

So after wheeling and dealing for week with my salesperson, we ended on the note that we should just order exactly what I want.

I suggest the same, especially if you are just getting an LT1, those come of out the plant quicker and more than likely you'll find a dealer that has an allocation for one.

Keynote - make sure you ask the dealer if they have an allocation for a Camaro and what the wait period is going to be for them to put that allocation in. Don't put more than $500 down for a Camaro order deposit. Don't be afraid to call around different dealers asking about their allocations and wait periods. Mine was allocated 2 weeks after putting down my deposit, but I've seen some people wait months not aware that their dealer doesn't have the allocation for a Camaro.

[Staves]

If you find one on the lot at MSRP, definitely do that.

[grkjet]

Originally Posted by TacticalByte

I was in your boat a few months ago looking at what was on the lot. It seemed the ones I liked and had what I wanted were already spoken for. At that time the dealer had 6 or 7 2021 Camaros on the lot, they are at this time gone and they have 2022s on the way, most likely ordered by a customer.

So after wheeling and dealing for week with my salesperson, we ended on the note that we should just order exactly what I want.

I suggest the same, especially if you are just getting an LT1, those come of out the plant quicker and more than likely you'll find a dealer that has an allocation for one.

Keynote - make sure you ask the dealer if they have an allocation for a Camaro and what the wait period is going to be for them to put that allocation in. Don't put more than $500 down for a Camaro order deposit. Don't be afraid to call around different dealers asking about their allocations and wait periods. Mine was allocated 2 weeks after putting down my deposit, but I've seen some people wait months not aware that their dealer doesn't have the allocation for a Camaro.

The dealership I spoke to actually said they have no issue ordering the car so I assume they have an allocation. He also mentioned 500 would be the deposit needed.


Is it common for the salesperson to ask that you physically be there when ordering the car? In our email exchange, he stated that I would need to be there. I live 2 or so hours away from this particular dealer so i think a zoom or facetime meeting would save me a ton of time.

[JKSully]

Originally Posted by grkjet

The dealership I spoke to actually said they have no issue ordering the car so I assume they have an allocation. He also mentioned 500 would be the deposit needed.


Is it common for the salesperson to ask that you physically be there when ordering the car? In our email exchange, he stated that I would need to be there. I live 2 or so hours away from this particular dealer so i think a zoom or facetime meeting would save me a ton of time.

Don’t assume on the allocation. To most of the sales people, placing an order just means entering it into the build system (Workbench), and that is no problem - but it’s really the allocation assigned to that build that matters. Mine told me all the same things but it still sat without allocation for weeks.

Mine did want to see my ID for verification, so I can see why they may insist on you coming in but I don’t think it is a hard and fast rule. I bought my Subaru last year over the phone and never actually went to that dealer until the car came in - it wasn’t an order, but they did swap a car with another dealer.

[TacticalByte]

Originally Posted by grkjet

Is it common for the salesperson to ask that you physically be there when ordering the car? In our email exchange, he stated that I would need to be there. I live 2 or so hours away from this particular dealer so i think a zoom or facetime meeting would save me a ton of time.

I did have to fill out some generic form, do not let them run your credit until the car is onsite and you're ready to finance. They also made a copy of my license and then I gave them my form of payment for the deposit.

I also went on chevy's site before going and spec'd out the car exactly how I want it and handed them a print out of that, it made their job a lot easier, otherwise you might deal with a person that tries to add additional packages that raises the price above the MSRP you're looking at. Going in also shows you're serious about sticking it through with them until the car comes in.