[Mavrick81]

Hello everyone,

I recently put down an order for a ZL1 with Sunset Chevrolet in WA state. They advertise as the #1 volume Chevy dealership in Washington so I figured I would have the best chance of getting an order filled with them. Unfortunately they also are including a $5k ADM.

My understanding is allocations are based on sales volume. Is that correct? I would like to shop around to other dealers, but I also don't want to waste my time with those that say they can get me one (what do they have to lose by saying they can), when in fact the odds are highly unlikely. With that said, I am wondering if there is a way to determine dealership size. If so, I would love some insight.

And if anyone happens to know an honest dealership in Washington state that can get me a ZL1 at MSRP, I would really appreciate a recommendation.

Thanks in advance everyone. My first two cars were used 3rd gen Camaro's, and I am really looking forward to (hopefully) rejoining the community after all the years before we have to say goodbye to the Camaro.

[HOTZLE]

Same here, also looking for a dealer with allocation in PA that can get me one.

[rbiehl]

Allocations are given based upon the sales volume for the specific model line. A high volume truck dealer that only completes 1 camaro sale a month isn't going to get a high allocation. I would recommend you look for a dealership which shows they have 10 - 15 stocked or in transit orders. I had the same problem and moved my order to a local dealer that has number of 22 and 23 units on the ground or in-transit. It only took me 30 days to receive an allocation.

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608593

[Mavrick81]

Thanks for the clarification on the allocation being specific to the model, and congrats on your good fortunes on getting one accepted and built so quickly. To bad Missouri is so far away from the Northwest. I did a search around the Seattle area and most dealerships only had 1-3 on hand or in transit. I can't imagine finding a dealership with 20. I did find one with 7 and reached out. Unfortunately they are asking for $10k over MSRP. I'll keep searching, but my expectations for getting one at MSRP in my area are pretty low at this point.


Eric

[jc707]

Originally Posted by Mavrick81

Thanks for the clarification on the allocation being specific to the model, and congrats on your good fortunes on getting one accepted and built so quickly. To bad Missouri is so far away from the Northwest. I did a search around the Seattle area and most dealerships only had 1-3 on hand or in transit. I can't imagine finding a dealership with 20. I did find one with 7 and reached out. Unfortunately they are asking for $10k over MSRP. I'll keep searching, but my expectations for getting one at MSRP in my area are pretty low at this point.


Eric

Here's what I ended up doing, it was a lot of work but I ultimately found the right dealer and they were able to obtain an allocation for me within 30 days.

1) Create a spreadsheet and list all of the Chevrolet dealers that are a reasonable distance from you.

2) Once a week, check each dealership to see how many New cars they have in inventory (including cars in transit), record that number.

3) Next, tally the number of New inventory camaros they have (including those in transit), record that number.

4) Each week do the same, record the number of new inventory and number of new camaros, use a separate tab in each spreadsheet for each new week. Also calculate the % of their new car inventory are camaros and record that number.

After several weeks, you will notice a pattern. The dealerships that have the highest number of new cars, and the dealers that have the highest numbers of new camaros (and the highest % of their inventory as camaros). Pay special attention to those dealers that have the number of camaros going up and down over time (net changes week to week), that means they are turning over their camaros and getting new allocations to replace them.

I developed a scoring system. I ranked the dealers based on who had the highest # of camaros, the highest # of "net camaro changes" as defined above, and those that had the highest % of camaros in their total new inventory. Most of the dealers in my area had only 0-4 camaros at any one time, a couple of outliers had 6. The key was the movement over time and if they were getting new camaros. Some dealerships I tracked had 0 camaros for months on end.

I did this over several months, and when I scored them I made a top 10 dealer list. Then I started reaching out to my highest ranked dealers and asked if they are they selling camaros at MSRP, and what they required for a deposit. I also asked how often they got Camaro allocations and if they had any coming up. I contacted my top 3 dealerships and landed on the one where I ultimately ordered was lucky enough to get that allocation.

In the end, I was able to hedge my bets on what I figured would be the "best" dealers in my area based on my scoring, but I also realize I got lucky too. I knew I couldn't always count on dealers being honest, so I tried to base it in part on the numbers I tracked.

[keep_hope_alive]

Originally Posted by jc707

Here's what I ended up doing, it was a lot of work but I ultimately found the right dealer and they were able to obtain an allocation for me within 30 days.

1) Create a spreadsheet and list all of the Chevrolet dealers that are a reasonable distance from you.

2) Once a week, check each dealership to see how many New cars they have in inventory (including cars in transit), record that number.

3) Next, tally the number of New inventory camaros they have (including those in transit), record that number.

4) Each week do the same, record the number of new inventory and number of new camaros, use a separate tab in each spreadsheet for each new week. Also calculate the % of their new car inventory are camaros and record that number.

After several weeks, you will notice a pattern. The dealerships that have the highest number of new cars, and the dealers that have the highest numbers of new camaros (and the highest % of their inventory as camaros). Pay special attention to those dealers that have the number of camaros going up and down over time (net changes week to week), that means they are turning over their camaros and getting new allocations to replace them.

I developed a scoring system. I ranked the dealers based on who had the highest # of camaros, the highest # of "net camaro changes" as defined above, and those that had the highest % of camaros in their total new inventory. Most of the dealers in my area had only 0-4 camaros at any one time, a couple of outliers had 6. The key was the movement over time and if they were getting new camaros. Some dealerships I tracked had 0 camaros for months on end.

I did this over several months, and when I scored them I made a top 10 dealer list. Then I started reaching out to my highest ranked dealers and asked if they are they selling camaros at MSRP, and what they required for a deposit. I also asked how often they got Camaro allocations and if they had any coming up. I contacted my top 3 dealerships and landed on the one where I ultimately ordered was lucky enough to get that allocation.

In the end, I was able to hedge my bets on what I figured would be the "best" dealers in my area based on my scoring, but I also realize I got lucky too. I knew I couldn't always count on dealers being honest, so I tried to base it in part on the numbers I tracked.

Nerd Alert!

Your process is nice. I was lucky to know people that worked for a local dealer and still recommended them. I asked allocation questions but not as detailed as I should have, but they did have enough available for me. They told me they had received 7 coupe Camaro allocations for the year (so far) and I snagged #6.

[SATINSTEEL1LE]

Biggest volume dealer in FL is Stingray Chevy. Their parts department is bigger than the biggest car dealership I've ever seen.

[jc707]

Originally Posted by keep_hope_alive

Nerd Alert!

Your process is nice. I was lucky to know people that worked for a local dealer and still recommended them. I asked allocation questions but not as detailed as I should have, but they did have enough available for me. They told me they had received 7 coupe Camaro allocations for the year (so far) and I snagged #6.

Thanks. I definitely can be nerd, lol. Showed my true colors with that post. Getting a good recommendations is definitely a plus.

[JimRockford]

Kudos jc707, pretty cool approach.

Another approach is to order via Macmulkin in Nashua NH and visit the gateway city to pay MSRP. If you register it in NH you pay zero sales tax. Auto insurance is optional in NH but obviously that's not a factor.
After 200 miles of break-in cruise you can enjoy the vehicle on the I-90 roadtrip back to northwest USA.

2022 1SS Camaro A10, 2015 SS Sedan M6, 2019 GMC Terrain diesel

[GroverDill]

I am in North Idaho and I did my searching and while I didnt want to order/wait I did find one in North Dakota for 3k over MSRP. The PNW prices are insane, I paid the 3k over and including shipping it is still less than any local used 22's and mine is a 23 with the price increase.

[CEE]

Do you have anyone family/friends that have recommended a particular dealer & person specifically?? I searched online & saw the market adjustments etc & most cars were "in transit" & not on the lots.

I good friend of mine, whose wife used to work for our local Chevy dealer (small town less than 25,000) so I had a name of the General Sales Manager who I contacted back in NOV 2021. Agreed on MSRP & the extended timeline on our order & got the order number. After no movement over 2-3 months (holidays, shortages, etc) manager called me & told me about another dealer 100 miles away that he sometimes swapped vehicles with, & also that dealer already had an allocation for a 2SS where our dealer only had a current 1SS allocation. I agreed that would work great, & couple days later had a new order number, & by the first week June 2022 our 2SS was built & the wait began on transport. Aug 8th, I just happened to stop by when our car was delivered on a single car trailer from the other dealer. Got the paperwork done & about 3 hours later my wife has her retirement 2SS!

To me, the key is working with someone you can trust, which both now days & the sales process can be hard to find. I had told my wife that I'd even be willing to fly somewhere & drive her car back, but lucked out.

Good Luck!

[dtrackstar]

Love this system! I'm in Chicago and placed an order with Libertyville. Do you mind sharing your top 10 results (and any insight you may have from your calls with them). Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by jc707

Here's what I ended up doing, it was a lot of work but I ultimately found the right dealer and they were able to obtain an allocation for me within 30 days.

1) Create a spreadsheet and list all of the Chevrolet dealers that are a reasonable distance from you.

2) Once a week, check each dealership to see how many New cars they have in inventory (including cars in transit), record that number.

3) Next, tally the number of New inventory camaros they have (including those in transit), record that number.

4) Each week do the same, record the number of new inventory and number of new camaros, use a separate tab in each spreadsheet for each new week. Also calculate the % of their new car inventory are camaros and record that number.

After several weeks, you will notice a pattern. The dealerships that have the highest number of new cars, and the dealers that have the highest numbers of new camaros (and the highest % of their inventory as camaros). Pay special attention to those dealers that have the number of camaros going up and down over time (net changes week to week), that means they are turning over their camaros and getting new allocations to replace them.

I developed a scoring system. I ranked the dealers based on who had the highest # of camaros, the highest # of "net camaro changes" as defined above, and those that had the highest % of camaros in their total new inventory. Most of the dealers in my area had only 0-4 camaros at any one time, a couple of outliers had 6. The key was the movement over time and if they were getting new camaros. Some dealerships I tracked had 0 camaros for months on end.

I did this over several months, and when I scored them I made a top 10 dealer list. Then I started reaching out to my highest ranked dealers and asked if they are they selling camaros at MSRP, and what they required for a deposit. I also asked how often they got Camaro allocations and if they had any coming up. I contacted my top 3 dealerships and landed on the one where I ultimately ordered was lucky enough to get that allocation.

In the end, I was able to hedge my bets on what I figured would be the "best" dealers in my area based on my scoring, but I also realize I got lucky too. I knew I couldn't always count on dealers being honest, so I tried to base it in part on the numbers I tracked.