Does anyone have any firsthand experience with any of the Houston area dealers? I would really like to hear from someone who has bought their Z from one of these local "VOLUME" dealers who are occasionally advertising thousands off of MSRP. Some too good to be true deals... and I know how that cliche goes but... maybe my desire to join the ranks of the Z family has clouded my better judgment. These dealers are churning their inventory and are always getting quite a few new ones in, so either there are lot of people in Houston throwing money at these dealers for them or I am missing out on a deal somewhere!!! I realize pricing is a regional thing but I am not in CA or NY thus MSRP is a foreign concept to me and $50K+ vehicles don't exactly fly off the lots in a down-trodden economy.
My first inclination is to go with a forum dealer and am still leaning in that direction but fear that transporting the Z back home will negate whatever savings. Also, the fear of buying out of state, albeit a mental stumbling block over the fact I have never done it before is causing me to think twice. Besides, $50K+ is more than I am willing to pay for yet another lesson from the school of hard knocks. Advice? Comments?
I know it's taboo to talk dollars and what type of "deals" people got so PM me if it's more appropriate.
Hey guys I am not to far from you!!! In Hammond ,La about 4.5 hours away! I will discount thousands below MSRP! I have 3 blacks and and EB available. Let me know if you need other info.
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Jason Walter
E-Commerce Director
Corvette Sales Manager
Ross Downing Chevrolet Louisiana's #1 Corvette Dealer!! 866-206-4714 225-324-7327-CELL
You'll get a better deal and you're more likely to get a car....as most local little dealers don't have the allocation to get what you want....though they may *tell* you that they do...
Big bad, Jason (above) is in Louisiana, you could drive that bad boy home! Or, any one of the vendors can have the car shipped and still beat all but the largest local dealer prices.....
Call up Anthony at Maxie Price 770-466-7000 or PM him here. It cost me $760 to ship my car from Georgia to Austin, TX... The savings off of MSRP greatly outweighed the shipping cost.
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Electron Mike
03 EB/Blk Z06
03 DSG Lightning
I know about the allocation thing and all that's what is kind of baffling to me. I am not referring to some tiny Chevy dealer in Houston, I am talking about the volume dealers, cars strewn across acres. The one I am alluding to had at least 6 Z's in their showroom. I test drove one of them! Everything was great until we starting the neg. process which I equate to undergoing a root canal while having a lobotomy w/o the benefit of anesthesia, more so in this case than my previous buying car experiences (not with this particular dealer...).
Jason would probably know me if I ditched the alter ego as we have traded emails... In our limited communications, he's been a great guy but we have yet to do any serious negotiations (obvious from my previous post). I am a life-long Houstonian and in this down economy I would like to keep the dollars I spend here- I know it's sappy but... However, on the flip side of the coin, I am not going to overpay for what amounts a toy- a very nice one.
I appreciate the input especially from you and the other seasoned Z veterans. Is Houston just loaded with filthy rich Z lovers who don't mind overpaying? Please don't get me wrong, the Z is a great ride even at MSRP but again, if there's a deal to be had (which I know there are...) I want in!!!
Bigbadbevo, it seems if you are living inside of me..The big volume dealership you are speaking of is, I bet on 59/Hwy90..Those guys make me want to SCREAM... I also have spoken to both Hammond and Ga., but now they are not offering the $ specials like they were when I began my twisted dream of owning my first Corvette,,, By the way, please dont tell me that you are a "TSIP"...
Congrats on the new Z. Glad to hear your shipping went smoothly. Saw your posts and associated pics- very nice! EB and MY are two favorites but leaning toward MY. I gotta give the dealer yet another reason to justify a higher selling price.
Without sounding overly paranoid- here are my experiences (actually those of close friends) with transporting a vehicle. These were not new purchases but transported due to relocation. Two instances have scarred me for life... In both cases the cars were damaged- scratches and nicks in the paint mostly cosmetic but nonetheless damaged either in transit or loading/unloading. In the one more severe case, there was also about 350 unaccounted miles on the odo of my friend's Boxter. Turns out the company he contracted, subbed out a few legs of the journey but all involved claimed the vehicle was never driven further than a few yards from transport to transport Did not quite understand that part of the explanation. It was not cheap either. Due to some very heated exchanges and accusations, there are now lawyers involved. There's more to this one but I won't go into anymore detail, suffice it to say that the icing on the cake was the final delivery was botched a few times and the car was "lost" for 2 days... seriously, no one knew where it was. I am guessing that's when the 350mi were being logged.
ALP2 - living inside you??? Don't blame those voices in your head on me...
You too have had the pleasure of dealing with that dealership I see... I heard their sister dealership was even better. There are stories of them holding prospective customers hostage to keep them from walking out. They hold their car keys, kids or something to that effect before allowing test drives. When/if I go over there I'll tell them the keys on are on the front seat next to my wife and the mother-in-law is in the trunk. BYE!!!!!!!!!!
And - yes, Hook 'em! just got back from the UT-ISU game. If the General painted a Z burnt orange, I would reconsider my MSRP hangup.
If you're an aggie- don't talk to me the day after Thanksgiving and if you're a sooner- well, just don't talk to me until next October...
12thMAN!!! I am looking at getting a slightly used one at this point. The entire experience is giving me HIVES. I would much rather deal with an individual than one of the $61k dollar dealers here (non forum vendors I might add!). I am also looking at MY and EB, the wife likes the EB and I am partial to the slap me on the @ss yellow. I am hung up on paying MSRP, or even "a few off". My aggie math tells me $2k of a $52k dollar car is $52K after the associated taxes, fees, preps, yada yada yada...But heh I guess they have their justifications.
My birthday is on Turkey day, so I will make sure to email you with the end of quarter scores..... At least you guys had Ricky "Rachael" Williams...He/she is sporting a nice nose ring these days...hahahaha
im planning on buying a z in late november of this year, just decided to start checking them out now and see whats up. i've found this site very useful and has a lot of info, sounds like the guy in louisiana wouldnt be bad to buy from considering it'd be a nice drive back home to get used to the vet and break it in. gotta break it in somehow anyways.
and if yal are wondering...by reading my profile...yes im 17 and turn 18 in november...im buying it when i turn 18 and no support from parents...me and a friend who is 21 started our own business last month and we have already made enough combined to buy a z but im saving up a lot more til november and gonna give myself a nice birthday present.
look foward to meeting the houston people with z's once i get mine, the 2004 will be out by then wont it? or is there no release date?
i currenty have a chevy silverado z71 =P just getting into the car scene
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Did not quite understand that part of the explanation. It was not cheap either. Due to some very heated exchanges and accusations, there are now lawyers involved. There's more to this one but I won't go into anymore detail, suffice it to say that the icing on the cake was the final delivery was botched a few times and the car was "lost" for 2 days... seriously, no one knew where it was. I am guessing that's when the 350mi were being logged.
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