[Evolvedx27]

so i went to my local dealer a few hours ago because they said they had an allocation.i had an appointment with the performance car specialist. He decided to let someone else speak to me instead which i didnt like right off the bat. long story short he goes and speaks with the manager and comes back saying they wanted 10k over msrp. i told him im not paying a dime over msrp. few minutes go by of going back and forth, i got up and said do me a favor dont waste your time or my time by contacting me if youre gonna mark up the car. we shook hands and i left.

salesman i said he knew a lot about the zl1s and zo6s. i quizzed him a little bit by playing dumb, he knew jack shit. i called him out on a few things and he then corrected himself. he later admitted guys coming in here looking for zl1s and zo6s know more than the salesman and managers. not too happy about this situation. going to another dealer tomorrow that has an allocation... any advice or thoughts???

[DenverTaco07]

yeah i love these "Performance car specialists", last one I ran into didn't know 5th gen ZL1 had MRC, and this was in 2014, he insisted with arrogance it didn't have it, i just pointed to window sticker and walked.

Glad you walked...honestly I don't know what to think, on the one hand MSRP seems to be the way for early buyers, but some are saying they are getting invoice, not sure i believe it, wish i knew for sure.

[MrChrisLS3]

Well, don't pay a dime over sticker, that's for sure. Heck, a year from now, they'll be discounted.

It is absolutely true that you, and the average enthusiast buying these kind of cars, knows much more about them than the average salesperson. You see, they feed their families by selling cars, cars that exist today, cars that are on the lot and can be driven away, right now. The Camaro, especially the ZL1's and the Corvettes make up a very small part of overall sales at the typical dealership, so the average sales person isn't going to spend a lot of time on them. Ask them about the features of a Cruze, Malibu, or Silverado, and they'll tell you what you want to know. They know those cars, because those are the ones that put dinner on the table.

Don't waste your time or theirs trying to "size up" the sales person. You have the advantage of knowledge about the car. You spend the time researching everything you can because you are an enthusiast and that's what we do, and any experienced sales person already knows this. Just talk straight with them, and more than likely they'll talk straight with you. If they mention 'mark up', just smile, say have nice a day, and move on.

[Evolvedx27]

i really hope i dont get the same bullshit tomorrow with dealer mark up at a different dealer...

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by Evolvedx27

i really hope i dont get the same bullshit tomorrow with dealer mark up at a different dealer...

Don't be too surprised if you do. It's fairly common this early in the game. The dealer has only so many phase I allocations, and there are always more people that need to be the first one on the block to have one than the dealer has allocation. So the dealer tries to find out how much that allocation is worth. Impatience = free money for the dealership and there's always someone willing to pay it.

[Evolvedx27]

i hear you... not gonna be me! lol

[rcandiloro]

I hate markups, but recognize it's the reality with hot new cars. When the GT350 came out they had one near me that was marked up $40k (it was NOT an R). I couldn't believe it, but it sold. What can you do, except not buy the car. It seems like this totally depends on the dealer. No doubt you'll find one that you can get for MSRP. Good luck.

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by rcandiloro

I hate markups, but recognize it's the reality with hot new cars. When the GT350 came out they had one near me that was marked up $40k (it was NOT an R). I couldn't believe it, but it sold. What can you do, except not buy the car. It seems like this totally depends on the dealer. No doubt you'll find one that you can get for MSRP. Good luck.

$40K mark up?!? And someone paid it? Proof positive that income and I.Q. are not necessarily related. lol

[Evolvedx27]

hope so man. really want this car. lol

Originally Posted by rcandiloro

I hate markups, but recognize it's the reality with hot new cars. When the GT350 came out they had one near me that was marked up $40k (it was NOT an R). I couldn't believe it, but it sold. What can you do, except not buy the car. It seems like this totally depends on the dealer. No doubt you'll find one that you can get for MSRP. Good luck.

[OminouSS]

Anybody have a clue what the mark-up from invoice is? I get that volume = better than invoice pricing but how about just standard invoice. I'll throw a random number out there having no more knowledge than what I know was the typical margin on the past cars I've bought... $55K?

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by OminouSS

Anybody have a clue what the mark-up from invoice is? I get that volume = better than invoice pricing but how about just standard invoice. I'll throw a random number out there having no more knowledge than what I know was the typical margin on the past cars I've bought... $55K?

Not sure what your asking here, however, from what I understand MSRP's today are about an average of 6% to 8% over dealer cost. Higher end cars and depending on RPO's may be a little more 10-15% perhaps? But it's a lot less than other retail industries. For example, if you go to a bar and order a 16 oz draft beer, it costs the bar about $.15 and charge you, what, $5 give or take?

[Glen e]

As a former sales manager and general manager, I can tell you that I do understand the markup. I don't agree with it , but I do understand it. There are dealers that think, and rightfully so , that somebody with an inheritance, or daddy's stupid money, or here in Florida we actually get people from the Middle East that will come over and pay way over sticker to have the first one. So,there are dealers the want to do the right thing and Charge MSRP , and there's other dealers that want to take 80 grand on the first two cars extra , and bank the money. There is stupid money out there, and some dealers want to take advantage of it. At least for the first six months.

My favorite story is down here in South Florida at the BMW dealership there are four guys, 35 years old that fly in from china in their G5 and buy 4 M4'S - cash- - just to run around town and raise hell for 3 weeks , and sell them back to the dealership and go home. Just because they don't like rental cars. They've done it for four years in a row.....

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by CreativeDawn

I think what it is, people that are established and can afford that 40 thousand dollar mark up are simply doing it because they'll be the rare dog on the streets with that beast of a car "The ZL1". I mean hell, if you got millions to blow (some of these fat cats do), they'll do it in the end! They can brag about it and laugh all the way home about it!

I remember seeing this Venture Capitalist "Tip Draper" (owns Draper University in San Mateo, CA) purchasing a 1.2 million dollar vehicle called "The Blade Hypercar" which can be viewed on Youtube.

I remember he purposely had this car parked near a busy intersection in downtown San Mateo just to BRAG about it! He was showing off his wealth and almost rubbing it in peoples face and he knew it!

And there's that. lol

One of the two reasons I stay away from Cars and Coffee around here. The other being 9:00 am on Sunday.

[Evolvedx27]

That's hysterical. Lol all the power to them for being able to do that.

Originally Posted by Glen e

As a former sales manager and general manager, I can tell you that I do understand the markup. I don't agree with it , but I do understand it. There are dealers that think, and rightfully so , that somebody with an inheritance, or daddy's stupid money, or here in Florida we actually get people from the Middle East that will come over and pay way over sticker to have the first one. So,there are dealers the want to do the right thing and Charge MSRP , and there's other dealers that want to take 80 grand on the first two cars extra , and bank the money. There is stupid money out there, and some dealers want to take advantage of it. At least for the first six months.

My favorite story is down here in South Florida at the BMW dealership there are four guys, 35 years old that fly in from china in their G5 and 4 M4'S - just to run around town and raise hell for 3 weeks , and sell them back to the dealership and go home. Just because they don't like rental cars. They've done it for four years in a row.....